• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.265-270
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• 2003

Purpose : To characterize the infants under 3 months of age with urinary tract infections(UTIs), and especially patients with bacteremia or meningitis Methods : Hospital records of all the infants under 3 months of age discharged from our hospital for 69 consecutive months with the diagnosis of initial episode of UTI were reviewed. UTI was defined when patients had fever with pyuria, and had urine culture results of ${\geq}10^5$ colony forming units/mL from a bag specimen. Patients with previously known urologic abnormality or immunodeficiency were excluded. Nosocomial infections were also excluded from the study. Results : The male:female ratio was 35 : 6. Of the urine cultures, 40(97.6%) yielded single pathogen, one yielded two pathogens. Escherichia coli was the predominant isolate from the urine. Five patients(12%) also had bacteremia. Pathogens isolated from the blood cultures were E. coli(4) and Enterococcus faecalis(1). No patient had culture-positive meningitis or cerebrospinal fluid pleocytosis. Clinical or laboratory findings between patients with and without bacteremia were not different significantly. The rate of vesicoureteral reflux(VUR) was 44%. The sensitivity of ultrasound for detection of VUR was 38%; specificity was 50%. Conclusion : Clinical and laboratory data were not helpful for identifying patients with bacteremia at the time of presentation. Consequently, blood cultures need to be obtained from all febrile infants under 3 months of age with UTIs. A large-scale study including the indication of lumbar puncture for infants with a febrile UTI and study of evaluation and treatment of infants under 3 months of age with UTIs are required.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.893-900
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• 2015

In this study, we evaluated the antidiabetic effect of a submerged culture of Ceriporia lacerata mycelium (CL01) on hematological indices, as well as protein and mRNA expression of the insulin-signaling pathway, in db/db mice. After CL01 was administrated for 4 weeks, blood glucose levels decreased consistently, and plasma insulin and c-peptide levels each decreased by roughly 55.8%, 40% of those in the negative control (p<0.05). With regard to HOMA-IR, an insulin resistance index, insulin resistance of the CL01-fed group improved over that of the negative control group by about 62% (p<0.05). In addition, we demonstrated that the protein expression levels of pIR, pAkt, pAMPK, and GLUT4 and the mRNA expression levels of Akt2, IRS1, and GLUT4 in the muscle cells of db/db mice increased in the CL01-fed group compared to the corresponding levels in the control group. These results demonstrate that CL01 affects glucose metabolism, upregulates protein and gene expression in the insulin-signaling pathway, and decreases blood glucose levels effectively by improving insulin sensitivity. More than 90% of those who suffer from type 2 diabetes are more likely to suffer from hyperinsulinemia, hypertension, obesity, and other comorbidities because of insulin resistance. Therefore, it is possible that CL01 intake could be used as a fundamental treatment for type 2 diabetes by lowering insulin resistance, and these results may prove be useful as basic evidence for further research into the mechanisms of a cure for type 2 diabetes.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.37-46
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• 2004

Background : Lung pericytes are important constituent cells of blood-air barrier in pulmonary microvasculature. These cells take part in the control of vascular contractility and permeability. In this study, it was hypothesized that change of lung pericytes might be attributable to pathologic change in microvasculature in acute lung injury. The purpose of this study was how hypoxia change proliferation and genetic expression in lung pericytes. Methods : From the lungs of several Sprague-Dawley rats, performed the primary culture of lung pericytes and subculture. Characteristics of lung pericytes were confirmed with stellate shape in light microscopy and immunocytochemistry. 2% concentration of oxygen and $200{\mu}M$ $CoCl_2$ were treated to cells. Tryphan blue method and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction were done. Results : 1. We established methodology for primary culture of lung pericytes. 2. Hypoxia inhibited cellular proliferation in pericytes. 3. Hypoxia could markedly induce vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) and smad-2. 4. Hypoxia-inducible factor-$1{\alpha}$(HIF-$1{\alpha}$) was also induced by 2% oxygen. Conclusion : Viability of lung pericytes are inhibited by hypoxia. Hypoxia can stimulate expression of hypoxia-responsive genes. Pericytic change may be contributed to dysfunction of alveolar-capillary barrier in various pulmonary disorders.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.5 s.85
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• pp.678-686
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• 2007

Human mesenchymal stem cells(hMSC), that have been reported to be present in bone marrow, adipose tissues, dermis, muscles and peripheral blood, have the potential to differentiate along different lineages including those forming bone, cartilage, fat, muscle and neuron. Therefore, hMSC are attractive candidates for cell and gene therapy. The optimal conditions for hMSC expansion require medium supplemented with fetal bovine serum(FBS). Some forms of cell therapy will involve multiple doses, raising a concern over immunological reactions caused by medium-derived FBS proteins. Previously, we have shown that hADSC can be cultured in human serum(HS) during their isolation and expansion, and that they maintain their proliferative capacity and ability for multilineage differentiation and promote engraftment of peripheral blood-derived CD34 cells mobilized from bone marrow in NOD/SCID mice. In this study we determined whether hADSC grown in HS maintain surface markers expression similar with cells grown in FBS during culture expansion and compared gene expression profile by Affymetrix microarray. Flow cytometry analysis showed that HLA-DR, CD117, CD29 and CD44 expression in HS-cultured hADSC during culture expansion were similar with that in FBS-cultured cells. However, the gene expression profile in HS-cultured hADSC was significantly different from that in FBS-cultured cells. Therefore, these data indicated that HS-cultured hADSC should be used in vivo animal study of hADSC transplantation for direct extrapolation of preclinical data into clinical application.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.475-485
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• 1996

The consumer perception on health and food habit, the experience of health food use and the discrimination between health food and drug of Korean consumer were surveyed by using a questionnaire containing 15 items in order to obtain the basic data for the assessment of the benefit and risk of health foods in Korea. A total of 1,000 people over 20 years of age living in Seoul and the vicinities were interviewed and asked to fill out the questionnaire during the period from the October 1995 to the February 1996. Among the 882 answers collected, 23 was incomplete data, and 859 answers were used for the statistical analysis by using SAS program. The perception of Korean consumer on health and food habit indicated that food habit was considered the most important factor for the maintenance of health, as appeared in 39.8% of the subjects, among which 93.9 % believed that food habit could cause disease, and 97.1% believed that disease could be cured by changing food habit. The most worried disease was cancer (30.6%), degenerative diseases (14.1%), diseases by accident (12.6%) and obesity (10.0%). The disease which likely to be caused by food habit was diabetes (35.6%), obesity (22.4%), high blood pressure (12.8%), constipation (12.7%) and cancer (7.9%). The disease which was believed to be cured by changing food habit was diabetes (40.1%), obesity (25.9%), constipation (16.5%), high blood pressure (7.4%) and cancer (3.3%). It appeared that the people had a perception that food habit was highly related with diabetes and obesity, but less with cancer which was mostly worried.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.151-159
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• 2003

Two experiments were carried out to evaluate the effects of feeding Aspergillus oryzae(AO) ferment on performance, intestinal microflora, serum components, ammonia generation and litter dampness in broiler chicks. In experiment I, three hundred sixty, one day old broiler chicks, Abor Acres, were fed 0 and 0.1% of Aspergiilus oryzae short conidia ferment(AOS) and 0.1% of Aspergillus oryzae long conidia ferment(AOL) for five weeks. In experiment II, three hundred sixty, one day old broiler chicks, Abor Acres were fed 0, 0.1 and 0.2% of Aspergillus oryzae long conidia ferment(AOL) for five weeks. In experiment I, growth rates were not statistically different among dietary treatments. AOS and AOL showed increased tendency in weight gain and feed intake compared to those of control, whereas feed conversion was not different. Litter dampness of AOS and AOL was also tended to decrease compared to that of control, but was not significantly different. Fecal ammonia gas generation was decreased in feeding AOS and AOL, and maintained 1/2 to 3/4 compared to the control. In serum metabolites, AOS and AOL increased glucose and calcium, and decreased total protein, blood urea nitrogen and total cholesterol. In experiment II, body weight of chicks fed 0.1 and 0.2% AOL were heavier than the control(P<0.05). Feed intake of chicks fed 0.1 and 0.2% AOL also were higher than the none, but feed conversion ratio was not different among treatments. Ileal and cecal microflora showed increased tendency in lactic acid bacteria compared to those of the control. Salmonella and E. coli were decreased in ileum of chicks fed 0.1 and 0.2% AOL. In conclusion, feeding AO ferment increased growth performance and improved intestinal microflora of broiler chicks and environments of broiler house.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.315-324
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• 2001

Background : IL-8 is a potent chemotactic cytokine that plays an important role in the host defense mechanism against M. tuberculosis by recruiting inflammatory cells to the site of the infection. Lung epithelial cells, as well as alveolar macrophages are known to produce IL-8 in response to M. tuberculosis. IL-8 gene expression is mainly regulated on the level of transcription by NF-${\kappa}B$. This study investigated whether or not A549 cells produce IL-8 in NF-${\kappa}B$ dependent mechanism in response to macrophages phagocytosing M. tuberculosis. Methods : Peripheral blood monocytes that were obtained from healthy donors were cultured for 24 h with M. tuberculosis and a conditioned medium(CoMTB) was obtained. As a negative control, the conditioned medium without M. tuberculosis (CoMCont) was used. A549 cells were stimulated with M. tuberculosis, CoMCont and CoMTB and the IL-8 concentration in the culture media was measured by ELISA. The CoMTB induced IL-8 mRNA expression in the A549 cells was evaluated using RT-PCR, and CoMTB induced $I{\kappa}B{\alpha}$ degradation was measured using western blot analysis. CoMTB induced nuclear translocation and DNA binding of NF-${\kappa}B$ was also examined using an electrophoretic mobility shift assay(EMSA), and the CoMTB induced NF-${\kappa}B$ dependent IL-8 transcriptional activity was measured using a luciferase reporter gene assay. Results : CoMTB induced IL-8 production by A549 cells($46.8{\pm}4.8\;ng/ml$) was higher than with direct stimulation with M. tuberculosis ($6.8{\pm}2.9\;ng/ml$). CoMTB induced IL-8 mRNA expression increased after 2 h of stimulation and was sustained for 24 h. $I{\kappa}B{\alpha}$ was degraded after 10 min of CoMTB stimulation and reappeared by 60 min. CoMTB stimulated the nuclear translocation and DNA binding of NF-${\kappa}B$. The CoMTB induced NF-${\kappa}B$ dependent IL-8 transcriptional activity($13.6{\pm}4.3$ times control) was higher than either CoMCont($2.0{\pm}0.6$ times control) or M. tuberculosis ($1.4{\pm}0.6$ times control). Conclusion : A conditioned medium of peripheral blood monocytes phagocytosing M. tuberculosis stimulates NF-${\kappa}B$ dependent IL-8 production by the lung epithelial cells.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.51 no.9
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• pp.971-976
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• 2008

Purpose : Surveillance for detecting and managing latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is a key component of tuberculosis control. The classic surveillance tool, the tuberculin skin test (TST), may have some limitations when used in the Bacillus Calmette-$Gu{\acute{e}}rin$ (BCG)-vaccinated population. The object was to perform a blood test $QuantiFERON^{(R)}$-TB Gold In Tube (QFT-G IT) based on the detection of interferon-$\gamma$ ($IFN-{\gamma}$) released by T cells in response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific antigens, and to compare the efficacy of this new diagnostic tool for LTBI with that of TST. Methods : For six months, between October 1, 2006 and April 30, 2007, data were collected from 111 patients under 15 years of age at Severance Children's Hospital. TST and QFT-G IT tests were performed with children with or without contact histories of tuberculosis. In addition to these tests, we examined comparative data from 29 adults who had tuberculosis, to detect false negative rates in the QFT-G IT method. Results : Thirty-three children had household contact histories. In this group, 15% and 42% of cases were found to be positive using the QFT-G IT assay and TST, respectively. Agreement was low between these two tests (${\kappa}=0.39$). In the adult active tuberculosis group, the QFT-G IT false negative rate defined as a positive culture and a negative QFT-G IT result was 12.5%. Conclusion : In diagnosing LTBI in children, the usefulness of a whole-blood $IFN-{\gamma}$ assay employing TB-specific antigens will be revealed only by examining additional longitudinal clinical data; this study serves as a starting point in that process.

• Journal of Aquaculture
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.547-556
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• 1998

This study was performed to obtain the basic data on the serum constituents of several marine fish spesies commonly cultured in Korea. Blood samples taken from six species of fish were analyzed for various components of serum, total protein (TP), albumin (ALB), triglyceride (TRIG), cholesterol (CHOL), glucose (GLC), lipase (LIPA), amylase (AMYL), aspartate transaminoferase (AST), sodium (Na), potassium (K), chloride (CI) and phosphorus (PHOS). The fish used were coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), rock fish (Sebastes schlegeli), sea bass (Lateolabrax japonicus), olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus), rock fish (Sebastes schlegeli), sea bass (Lateolabrax japonicus), olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus), parrot fish (Oplegnathus fasciatus) and jack mackerel (Trachurus jaonicus) reared at the Chungmu Experimental Fish Culture Station of KORDI when the water tempetature was ca. 16.5$^{\circ}C$. There were significant differences in TRIG, CHOL, LIPA and AMYZ among the species analyzed. TRIG concentratin were ranged 178~180mg/dl in jack mackeerel and rock fish, 126~159 mg/dl in olive flounder and sea bass, and 102~114 mg/dl in coho salmon and parrot fish, respectively. Jack mackerel showed the highest levels in CHOL (255mg/dl) and GLC(138mg/dl) among species. LIPA levels were recorded 256 U/dl in coho salmon, 41~42 U/dl in parrot fish and rock fisk, and 5~11 U/dl jack mackerel and sea bass, respectively. AMYL activity of coho salmon was measured as 2, 665 U/dl, and that of jack mackerel was 1,210 U/dl while sea bass showed 60 U/dl and parrot fish, olive flounder and rock fish had at most 5 U/dl. On the other hand, there was no significant difference in the concentration of Na and CI. Na and K were proved that they were negatively correlated in all the species. Generally, among blood components, PHOS and CHOL levels were different depending on environmental temperature of each fish species, especially in olive flounder. Rock fish and parrot fish showed high blood concentration of those components during low temperature period while olive flounder and jack mackerel reached high level during their optimal environmental temperature period. The electrolyte concentration and LIPA activity were high during low water temperature period, in general, but TP and ALB concentrations were high during optimal temperature period. The concentrations of TRIG, CHOL and GLC, those which were used as energy sourses, were different among species by season.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.703-712
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• 1995

Background: Peripheral blood monocytes are important immune effector cells that play a fundamental role in cellular immunity. In addition to their antigen-presenting and phagocytic activities, monocytes/macrophage produce a vast array of regulatory and chemotactic cytokines. Interleukin-8(IL-8), a potent neutrophil-activating and chemotactic peptide, is produced in large quantities by mononuclear phagocytes and may be an important mediator of local and systemic inflammation. Overexpression by IL-8 of such inflammation may be an important step of tissue injury frequently seen in inflammatory reaction. So it could be hypothesized that the agents which block the production of IL-8 can decrease the inflammatory reaction and tissue injury. To evaluate this, we described the effect of Dexamethasone, $PGE_2$, Indomethacin and Interferon-$\gamma$(IFN-$\gamma$) on IL-8 mRNA and protein expression from LPS-stimulated human peripheral blood monocytes(PBMC). Method: PBMC was isolated from healthy volunteers. To evaluate the effect of Dexamethasone, $PGE_2$ & Indomethacin, these drug were treated for 1 hour before and after LPS stimulation and IFN-$\gamma$ was only treated I hour before the LPS stimulation. Northern blot analysis for IL-8 mRNA and ELISA for immunoreactive IL-8 protein in culture supernatant were performed. We repeated above experiment three times for Northern blot analysis and two times for ELISA and got the same result. Results: 1) Pre- and post-treatment of Dexamethasone suppressed both the LPS stimulated IL-8 mRNA expression and IL-8 protein release in PBMC. 2) IFN-$\gamma$ pre-treatment suppressed the IL-8 mRNA expression and IL-8 protein release in unstimulated cells. 3) In LPS stimulated cells, IFN-$\gamma$ suppressed the IL-8 mRNA expression but IL-8 protein release suppression was not observed. 4) $PGE_2$ and Indomethacin exert no effect on the LPS-stimulated IL-8 mRNA and protein expression in concentration used in this experiment ($PGE_2;10^{-6}M$, Indomethacin; $10{\mu}M$). Conclusion: One of the mechanism of antiinflammatory action of Dexamethasone can be explained by the suppressing effect of IL-8 production in some extent and by this antiinflammatory effect, dexamethasone can be used to suppress local and systemic inflammation mediated by IL-8.