• Yonsei Medical Journal
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• v.59 no.9
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• pp.1015-1025
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• 2018

Kidney diseases including acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease are among the largest health issues worldwide. Dialysis and kidney transplantation can replace a significant portion of renal function, however these treatments still have limitations. To overcome these shortcomings, a variety of innovative efforts have been introduced, including cell-based therapies. During the past decades, advances have been made in the stem cell and developmental biology, and tissue engineering. As part of such efforts, studies on renal cell therapy and artificial kidney developments have been conducted, and multiple therapeutic interventions have shown promise in the pre-clinical and clinical settings. More recently, therapeutic cell-secreting secretomes have emerged as a potential alternative to cell-based approaches. This approach involves the use of renotropic factors, such as growth factors and cytokines, that are produced by cells and these factors have shown effectiveness in facilitating kidney function recovery. This review focuses on the renotropic functions of bioactive compounds that provide protective and regenerative effects for kidney tissue repair, based on the available data in the literature.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.319-323
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• 2007

Wild grapes have been used as traditional medicinal use and alcoholic beverage production in Korea. The objective of this study is to improve antioxidant properties in Sae-muru by far infrared ray (FIR) treatment, with expecting potential benefits of FIR treatment for wild grape products during manufacturing processes. FIR treatment in berries induced increased content of catechin, epicatechin gallate, epigallocatechin gallate, gallic acid, rutin, ellagic acid, and resveratrol, while content of epicatechin and epigallocatechin was decreased. Although FIR treatment resulted either increased or decreased chemical component groups, presenting in HPLC chromatograms, antioxidant activity in Sae-muru extract was significantly increased by the FIR treatment. Our results suggest that FIR treatment should be an efficient process in the production of high content of bioactive molecules in Sae-muru.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.93-97
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• 2010

To enhance the functionalities of ginseng, an acid impregnation pre-treatment was applied during red ginseng processing. Acetic, ascorbic, citric, malic, lactic, and oxalic acid were used for the acid impregnation treatment, and total and crude saponin concentrations and ginsenoside patterns were evaluated. Total and crude saponin contents of red ginseng pre-treated by acetic, ascorbic, and citric acid were similar to those of red ginseng without pre-treatment, whereas lactic, malic, and oxalic acid pre-treatment caused a reduction of total and crude saponin in red ginseng. From the high performance liquid chromatography analysis of ginsenosides, increased $Rg_3$ density was shown in red ginseng pre-treated by acetic, ascorbic, and citric acid impregnation. In the case of lactic, malic, and oxalic acid pre-treatment, increased $Rg_1$ density was observed in red ginseng. Increased $Rg_1$ and $Rg_3$ contents due to acid impregnation during red ginseng processing may contribute to improving bioactive functionalities of red ginseng.

• BMB Reports
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• v.48 no.11
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• pp.636-641
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• 2015

There are controversial findings regarding the roles of nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2)/heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) pathway on bone metabolism under oxidative stress. We investigated how Nrf2/HO-1 pathway affects osteoblast differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells in response to hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), or both. Exposing the cells to H₂O₂ decreased the alkaline phosphatase activity, calcium accumulation, and expression of osteoblast markers, such as osteocalcin and runt-related transcription factor-2. In contrast, H₂O₂ treatment increased the expression of Nrf2 and HO-1 in the cells. Treatment with hemin, a chemical HO-1 inducer, mimicked the inhibitory effect of H₂O₂ on osteoblast differentiation by increasing the HO-1 expression and decreasing the osteogenic marker genes. Pretreatment with NAC restored all changes induced by H₂O₂ to near normal levels in the cells. Collectively, our findings suggest that H₂O₂-mediated activation of Nrf2/HO-1 pathway negatively regulates the osteoblast differentiation, which is inhibited by NAC.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.246-252
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• 2016

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to obtain a natural antibiotic from Phenol-rich compounds; for the dressing and the treatment of chronic wounds. Methods: The Phenol-rich compound sweet gel was prepared by blending four natural herbal extracts, Acacia catechu (L.F.), Momia (Shilajit), Castanea sativa, and Ephedra sinica stapf, with combination of a sweet gel medium, including honey, maple saps, Phoenix dactylifera L. (date), pomegranate extract and Azadirachta indica gum as a stabilizer. The combinations were screened by using a well-diffusion assay with cloxacillin as a control. Pseudomonas spp. was tested with our novel antimicrobial compound. The zones of inhibition in agar culture were measured for each individual component and for the compound, and the results were compared with those of the control group which had been treated with cloxacillin. Data were expressed as means ${\pm}$ standard deviations. Quantitative analyses were performed using the paired t-test. Results: The antibiotic effect of the Phenol-rich compound sweet gel was statistically shown to be more significant than that of cloxacillin against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Our novel approach to fighting the antibiotic resistance of Pseudomonas proved to be successful. The Phenol-rich compound sweet gel was found to be suitable for use as an alternative medicine and bioactive dressing material, for the treatment of patients with various types of wounds, including burns, venous leg ulcers, ulcers of various etiologies, leg ulcers on the feet of diabetic, unhealed graft sampling sites, abscesses, boils, surgical wounds, necrotic process, post-operative and neonatal wound infection, and should be considered as an alternative to the usual methods of cure.

• CELLMED
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.1.1-1.13
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• 2019

Background: Contents of bioactive substances extractable from different parts of terrestrial plants vary enormously. Aim: To ascertain that parts of Withania somnifera other than its roots can also be used for prevention and cure of unavoidable stress triggered central hypersensitivity to pain. Material and Methods: Groups of male or female mice treated either with Withania somnifera extracts or with metformin, aspirin, imipramine, diazepam and niacin for 11 consecutive days were subjected to "foot-shock stress-induced hyperthermia" and "hot plate" tests on the 1st, 5th, 7th, and 10th days of the experiments. On the 11th day, they were subjected to tail suspension test and on 12th day pentobarbital hypnosis test. Results: Except for diazepam and imipramine, protective effects of all other tested drugs as well as of the Withania somnifera extracts against stress-induced central hypersensitivity to pain were accompanied by their preventive effects against foot-shock stress-induced body weight losses. All observed stress response suppressing effects of all test agents increased with increasing numbers of treatment days. However, mean duration of pentobarbital-induced sleep was shorter in the extracts treated groups and longer in the diazepam treated ones only. Conclusions: Reported observations reveal that pharmacological activity profile of Withania somnifera extracts in male and female mice are almost identical, and are not like those of several drugs currently often prescribed for the treatment of diabetes-associated comorbidities. Withanolides are not the only extractable bioactive constituents of Withania somnifera. The described bioassay system is well suited for pharmacological standardization of diverse types of Withania somnifera extracts.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.140-145
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• 2016

Ophiocordyceps sinensis is a natural fungus that has been valued as a health food and used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries. The fungus is parasitic and colonizes insect larva. Naturally occurring O. sinensis thrives at high altitude in cold and grassy alpine meadows on the Himalayan mountain ranges. Wild Ophiocordyceps is becoming increasingly rare in its natural habitat, and its price limits its use in clinical practice. Therefore, the development of a standardized alternative is a great focus of research to allow the use of Ophiocordyceps as a medicine. To develop an alternative for wild Ophiocordyceps, a refined standardized extract, CBG-CS-2, was produced by artificial fermentation and extraction of the mycelial strain Paecilomyces hepiali CBG-CS-1, which originated from wild O. sinensis. In this study, we analyzed the in vitro immune-modulating effect of CBG-CS-2 on natural killer cells and B and T lymphocytes. CBG-CS-2 stimulated splenocyte proliferation and enhanced Th1-type cytokine expression in the mouse splenocytes. Importantly, in vitro CBG-CS-2 treatment enhanced the killing activity of the NK-92MI natural killer cell line. These results indicate that the mycelial culture extract prepared from Ophiocordyceps exhibits immune-modulating activity, as was observed in vivo and this suggests its possible use in the treatment of diseases caused by abnormal immune function.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2011.10a
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• pp.36.2-36.2
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• 2011

Titanium and its alloys have been widely used for orthopedic implants because of their good biocompatibility. We have previously shown that the crystalline titania layers formed on the surface of titanium metal via anodic oxidation can induce apatite formation in simulated body fluid, whereas amorphous titania layers do not possess apatite-forming ability. In this study, hot water and heat treatments were applied to transform the titania layers from an amorphous structure into a crystalline structure after titanium metal had been anodized in acetic acid solution. The apatite-forming ability of titania layers subjected to the above treatments in simulated body fluid was investigated. The XRD and SEM results indicated hot water and/or heat treatment could greatly transform the crystal structure of titania layers from an amorphous structure into anatase, or a mixture of anatase and rutile.The abundance of Ti-OH groups formed by hot water treatment could contribute to apatite formation on the surface of titanium metals, and subsequent heat treatment would enhance the bond strength between the apatite layers and the titanium substrates. Thus, bioactive titanium metals could be prepared via anodic oxidation and subsequent hot water and heat treatment that would be suitable for applications under load-bearing conditions.

• Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering
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• v.35 no.12
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• pp.2452-2463
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• 2018

Surface treatment of sol-gel bioglass is required to increase its biomedical applications. In this study, a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma treatment in atmospheric pressure was performed on the surface of [$SiO_2-CaO-P_2O_5-B_2O_3$] sol-gel derived glass. The obtained bioglass was treated by plasma using discharge current 12 mA with an exposure period for 30 min. The type of discharge can be characterized by measuring the discharge current and applied potential waveform and the power dissipation. Apatite formation on the surface of the DBD-treated and untreated samples after soaking in simulated body fluid (SBF) at $37^{\circ}C$ is characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-Ray diffraction (XRD), inductively coupled plasma (ICP-OES) and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS). We observed a marked increase in the amount of apatite deposited on the surface of the treated plasma samples than those of the untreated ones, indicating that DBD plasma treatment is an efficient method and capable of modifying the surface of glass beside effectively transforming it into highly bioactive materials.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.64-72
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• 2023

Despite several advances in identification of cardiac transcription factors, there are still needs to find new bioactive molecules that promote cardiomyogenesis from stem cells to highly efficient myocardial differentiation. We analyzed Illumina expression microarray data of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs)-derived cardiomyocytes. 276 genes were upregulated (≥ 4fold) in mESCs-derived cardiomyocytes compared undifferentiated ESCs. Secreted phosphoprotein 2 (Spp2) is one of candidates and is known to inhibit bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) signal transduction as a pseudoreceptor for BMP2. However, its function in cardiomyogenesis is unknown. We confirmed that Spp2 expression increased during the differentiation into functional cardiomyocytes using mESCs, TC-1/Kh2 and E14. Interestingly, Spp2 secretion transiently increased 3 days after formation of embryoid bodies (EBs), indicating that the extracellular secretion of Spp2 is involved in the differentiation of ESCs into cardiomyocytes. To characterize Spp2, we performed experiments using the C2C12 mouse myoblast cell line, which has the property of shifting the differentiation pathway from myoblastic to osteoblastic by treatment with BMP2. Similar to the differentiation of ESCs, transcription of Spp2 increased as C2C12 myoblasts differentiated into myotubes. In particular, Spp2 secretion increased dramatically in the early stage of differentiation. Furthermore, treatment with Spp2-Flag recombinant protein promoted the differentiation of C2C12 myoblasts into myotubes. Taken together, we suggest a novel bioactive protein Spp2 that differentiates ESCs into cardiomyocytes. This may be useful for understanding the molecular pathways of cardiomyogenesis and for experimental or clinical promotion of stem cell therapy for ischemic heart diseases.