• 대한의용생체공학회:의공학회지
• /
• 제29권2호
• /
• pp.159-163
• /
• 2008

The goal of this study is to investigate the effect and potential of three-dimensional Co-culture of BMSCs (bone marrow stromal Cells) and NP (nucleus pulposus) Cells on the differentiation of BMSCs into NP-like Cells. The NP Cells and BMSCs were isolated and cultured from New Zealand White rabbits. The isolated NP Cells and BMSCs were prepared in different alginate beads. Those two types of beads were separated by a track-etched membrane of $3\;{\mu}m$ pore in a 6-well culture plate. No growth factors were used. In addition to these, NP and BMSC were cultured in the beads independently for control. The number of Cells in Co-culturing system was half of those in two control groups. Proliferation and production of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) were evaluated along with histological observation. The GAG production rate(GAG contents/Cell) of Co-cultured BMSCs were much higher than that of BMSCs cultured alone. The total amounts of GAG produced by BMSCs in Co-culturing system were larger than those produced by BMSCs in control group and were comparable with those produced by NP alone even the number of each Cell was half of BMSCs in Co-culturing system. This study showed the potential of differentiation of BMSCs into NP-like Cells through three-dimensional Co-culture system even without any chemical agents.

• 대한의용생체공학회:의공학회지
• /
• 제29권6호
• /
• pp.477-483
• /
• 2008

The observations of difference and similarity in brain activities involved in processing different languages have fundamental importance in cognitive neuroscience. The purpose of this study was to investigate the difference and similarity in temporal brain activation patterns due to the language difference during visual perception of Korean and English words under priming. Especially, we tried to find the difference in evoked spectral power in gamma-band, which is known to reflect feature binding. The stimulation was visually presented as word pairs belonging to same or different categories so that N400 event-related potential(ERP) was evoked. Average ERP analysis and spectral analysis of gamma-band activity(GBA) were performed on 12 normal Korean subjects. Several ERP components such as P1, N1, N400, and P600 could be identified consistently, and the differences in N1, N400, and P600 were observed. From the spectral analysis, we found that the evoked GBA(eGBA) was significantly larger for English at ${\sim}100$ ms poststimulus. The latency of the eGBA was also considerably delayed for English. Overall, the results on the ERP components and eGBA analyses seem to be commensurate with subjects' familiarity of each language, and the difficulty of perceiving words of each language. The methods of this study can also be applied for clinical purposes considering that the language-related processing can be greatly altered for the patients with neurological or psychiatric diseases.

• 대한의생명과학회지
• /
• 제20권4호
• /
• pp.185-193
• /
• 2014

Cancers are based upon an array of orchestrated genetic changes and the identification of changes causally related to the carcinogenic process. To elucidate the mechanism of cancer carcinogenesis, it is necessary to reconstruct these molecular events at each level. Microarray technologies have been extensively used to evaluate genetic alterations associated with cancer onset and progression in clinical oncology. The clinical impact of the genomic alterations identified by microarray technologies are growing rapidly and array analysis has been evolving into a diagnostic tool to better identify high-risk patients and predict patient outcomes from their genomic profiles. Here, we discuss the state-of-the-art microarray technologies and their applications in clinical oncology, and describe the potential benefits of these analysis in the clinical implications and biological insights of cancer biology.

• 대한의용생체공학회:의공학회지
• /
• 제26권2호
• /
• pp.101-110
• /
• 2005

Periosteum and periosteum-derived progenitor cells have demonstrated the potential for stimulative applications in repairs of various musculoskeletal tissues. It has been found that the periosteum contains mesenchymal progenitor cells capable of differentiating into either osteoblasts or chondrocytes depending on the culture conditions. Anatomically, the periosteum is a heterogeneous multi-layered membrane, consisting of an inner cambium and an outer fibrous layer. The present study was designed to elucidate the cellular phenotypic characteristics of cambium and fibrous layer cells in vitro, and to assess whether structural integrity of the tendon in the bone tunnel can be improved by periosteal augmentation of the tendon­bone interface. It was found the cells from each layer showed distinct phenotypic characteristics in a primary monolayer culture system. Specifically, the cambium cells demonstrated higher osteogenic characteristics (higher alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin levels), as compared to the fibrous cells. Also in vivo animal model showed that a periosteal augmentation of a tendon graft could enhance the structural integrity of the tendon-bone interface, when the periosteum is placed between the tendon and bone interface with the cambium layer facing toward the bone. These findings suggest that extra care needs to be taken in order to identify and maintain the intrinsic phenotypes of the heterogeneous cell types within the periosteum. This will improve our understanding of periosteum in applications for musculoskeletal tissue repairs and tissue engineering.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
• /
• 제5권2호
• /
• pp.93-100
• /
• 2011

Inhibition of angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) activity is the most common mechanism underlying the lowering of blood pressure. In the present study, five organic extracts of a marine brown seaweed Ecklonia cava were prepared by using ethanol, ethyl acetate, chloroform, hexane, and diethyl ether as solvents, which were then tested for their potential ACE inhibitory activities. Ethanol extract showed the strongest ACE inhibitory activity with an $IC_{50}$ value of 0.96 mg/ml. Five kinds of phlorotannins, phloroglucinol, triphlorethol-A, eckol, dieckol, and eckstolonol, were isolated from ethanol extract of E. cava, which exhibited potential ACE inhibition. Dieckol was the most potent ACE inhibitor and was found to be a non-competitive inhibitor against ACE according to Lineweaver-Burk plots. Dieckol had an inducible effect on the production of NO in EAhy926 cells without having cytotoxic effect. The results of this study indicate that E. cava could be a potential source of phlorotalnnins with ACE inhibitory activity for utilization in production of functional foods.

• 대한의용생체공학회:의공학회지
• /
• 제39권6호
• /
• pp.284-296
• /
• 2018

Obesity is considered as a primary health problem over the past century in line with life environmental changes. It is mainly associated with increased risk of numerous chronic diseases which may significantly reduce health-related quality of life. Therefore, efforts to reduce weight should be performed. This study suggested a novel approach to reduce body fat by applying external stimulation which is micro-current stimulation (MCS). In this clinical study, we evaluated the potential effects of MCS for reduction of abdominal fat and weight loss. Prior to the clinical test, computational simulation was conducted to find the proper MCS conditions that allow externally applied stimulation to reach the internal fat section from the external skin. Particularly, the clinical study evaluated the unilateral effects of MCS for body fat loss and lipolysis without any additional limitations such as physical exercise and dietary therapy. The results showed that whole body fat, waist circumferences, and abdominal fat are gradually decreased after intervention in proportion to the time. From the results, we can estimate that MCS can be effective on the body fat loss by activation of lipolysis in human adipose.

• 대한의생명과학회지
• /
• 제26권4호
• /
• pp.288-295
• /
• 2020

Infection of Helicobacter pylori on gastric mucosa is associated with various gastric diseases. According to the WHO, H. pylori causes gastric cancer and has been classified as a class I carcinogen. Riboflavin is an essential vitamin which presents in a wide variety of foods. Previous studies have shown that riboflavin/UVA was effective against the growth inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis and multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and had the potential for antimicrobial properties. Thus, we hypothesized that riboflavin has a potential role in the growth inhibition of H. pylori. To demonstrate inhibitory concentration of riboflavin against H. pylori, we performed agar and broth dilution methods. As a result, we found that riboflavin inhibited the growth of H. pylori. The MIC was 1 mM in agar and broth dilution test. Furthermore, to explain the inhibitory mechanism, we investigated whether riboflavin has an influence on the replication-associated molecules of the bacteria using RT-PCR to detect mRNA expression level in H. pylori. Riboflavin treatment of H. pylori led to down-regulation of polA and dnaB mRNA expression levels in a dose dependent manner. After then, we also confirmed whether riboflavin has cytotoxicity to human cells. We used AGS, a gastric cancer cell line, and treated with riboflavin did not show statistically significant decrease of cell viability. Thus, these results indicate that riboflavin can suppress the replication machinery of H. pylori. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that riboflavin inhibits growth of H. pylori by inhibiting replication of the bacteria.

• 대한의용생체공학회:의공학회지
• /
• 제43권4호
• /
• pp.251-258
• /
• 2022

Silk fibroin microparticles were fabricated using a phase separation technique between silk fibroin solution and polyvinyl alcohol. We found that the concentration of polyvinyl alcohol determines the size of microparticles. The mean diameter of the silk fibroin microparticles varied from 3.48 ㎛ to 4.05 ㎛. The silk fibroin microparticle size increased as a function of the concentration of PVA in aqueous silk solution. The resulting silk fibroin microparticles have narrow size distribution (i.e. monodisperse) and smooth/spherical surface. Also, we studied the effects of mouse serum, sodium phosphate buffer (PBS), and pH on the stability of the silk fibroin microparticles. Overall, we demonstrated the simple method to fabricate and to control the silk fibroin microparticles that makes our silk microparticles to be usable for a potential drug delivery carrier.

• 대한의생명과학회지
• /
• 제28권4호
• /
• pp.307-311
• /
• 2022

The extract of EA lacks studies showing its efficacy other than that it contains caffeic acid, an active compound that has antioxidant and neuroprotective effects on nerve cells. Therefore, in this study, we attempted to determine the effectiveness of EA extraction. In this study, we performed a DPPH assay to determine the antioxidant potential of EA. And then, the cytotoxic concentration of EA in HaCaT keratinocytes was determined, and the antioxidant effect was determined by measuring the malondialdehyde (MDA). The results of DPPH, a chemical antioxidant assay, clearly demonstrated the antioxidant capacity of EA extracted with distilled water. In addition, cell-based assays provide useful information on the protective effect of EA on oxidative stress-induced apoptosis.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• 제27권5호
• /
• pp.878-895
• /
• 2017

Phosphorylation, a critical mechanism in biological systems, is estimated to be indispensable for about 30% of key biological activities, such as cell cycle progression, migration, and division. It is synergistically balanced by kinases and phosphatases, and any deviation from this balance leads to disease conditions. Pathway or biological activity-based abnormalities in phosphorylation and the type of involved phosphatase influence the outcome, and cause diverse diseases ranging from diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and numerous cancers. Protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) are of prime importance in the process of dephosphorylation and catalyze several biological functions. Abnormal PTP activities are reported to result in several human diseases. Consequently, there is an increased demand for potential PTP inhibitory small molecules. Several strategies in structure-based drug designing techniques for potential inhibitory small molecules of PTPs have been explored along with traditional drug designing methods in order to overcome the hurdles in PTP inhibitor discovery. In this review, we discuss druggable PTPs and structure-based virtual screening efforts for successful PTP inhibitor design.