• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.29 no.12
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• pp.1147-1153
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• 2006

Mizoribine (MZR) has been shown to possess immunosuppressive activity that selectively inhibits the proliferation of lymphocytes by interfering with inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase. The efficacy of MZR is not only in patients who have had renal transplantation, but also in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), lupus nephritis, and primary nephritic syndrome. Because the exact mechanism of its immunosuppressive action is not clear, the object of this study was to examine the ability of MZR to regulate the antigen presenting cells (APCs), dendritic cells (DCs). In this work, we tested whether MZR ($1{\sim}10\;{\mu}g/mL$) could inhibit the cross-presentation of DCs. DC2.4 cells ($H-2K^{b}$) or bone marrow-derived DCs (BM-DCs) generated from BM cells of C57BL/6 mouse ($H-2K^{b}$) were cultured in the presence of MZR with OVA-microspheres, and the amount of OVA peptide-class I MHC complexes was measured by a T cell hybridoma, B3Z, that recognizes OVA (257-264 : SIINFEKL)-$H-2K^{b}$ complex and expresses-galactosidase. MZR profoundly inhibited the expression of SIINFEKL-$H-2K^{b}$ complexes. This inhibitory activity of MZR appeared to affect the phagocytic activity of DCs. MZR also decreased IL-2 production when we examined the effects of MZR on $CD4^{+}$ T cells. These results provide an understanding of the mechanism of immunosuppressive activity of MZR on the inhibition of MHC-restricted antigen presentation and phagocytic activity in relation to their actions on APCs.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.597-613
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• 1996

The tonnage of copper and tungsten produced at Dalseong mine by Taehan Tungsten Mining Company from 1961 to 1971 was 48,704 tons (M/T) of 4 wt.% Cu and 1,620 tons (S/T) of 70wt.% WO, but the mine was closed in 1974. Kyeongsan mine is a small abandoned cobalt mine with no data of production. To investigate the pollution level of the mine areas, soils, plants (Ohwi and Pampanini), stream waters and stream sediments were taken and Fe, Mn, Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, Co, Cd and Cr were analysed by ICP. Soils are considerably contaminated by the heavy metals related to ore deposits, The heavy metal contents in plants vary with the species and parts of plants. Stream waters are anomalously high in heavy metals in the vicinity of the mines but the contents decrease downstream in the process of dilution and precipiation. However, heavy metal contents increase very high in stream sediments due to precipiation. To protect environmental damages caused by acid mine drainages wetlands must be constructed outside pits, and it is necessary to fill pits with waters, limestone chips and organic materials, which give reducing and alkaline condition to ores. Under the condition pyrite is protected from oxidation and aqueous iron sulphates precipitate to form stable secondary pyrite.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.446-454
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• 2012

In order to evaluate the efficacy of SHT against atopic dermatitis (AD), various immune related cytokines as well as histological comparison were performed in animal models, and the results are described. Clinical skin index of the SHT treated group decreased significantly in weeks 11 and 13, compared to the control group. Also, CD4+ immune cell ratio in the dorsal skin was significantly decreased to 69%, and both epidermal and dermal skin thickness was decreased. Serum IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-13, and TNF-${\alpha}$, which are all important markers of inflammation, were decreased to 64%, 44%, 87%, 48%, and 45%, respectively. The expression of histamine, a chemical transmitter increasingly released during the progression of inflammation, was significantly decreased to 47%. The production of IgE immunoglobulin was significantly decreased to 16% compared to the control group. In conclusion, SHT pacifies the activation of T cells, leading to suppression of both Th2 cytokine overexpression and infiltration of immune cells into skin. As a result, relative thinning of both epidermis and dermis were observed. With the results obtained from in vitro studies, the immune modulatory effect of SHT in AD animal models was experimentally demonstrated. This study should provide solid information to construct EBM and for clinical practice.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.60 no.7
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• pp.208-215
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• 2017

Purpose: Activation of Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) present on circulating monocytes in patients with Kawasaki disease (KD) can lead to the production of proinflammatory cytokines and interleukin-10 (IL-10). We aimed to determine the association of the frequency of circulating TLR2+/ CD14+ monocytes (FTLR2%) with the outcomes of KD, as well as to compare FTLR2% to the usefulness of sIL-10. Methods: The FTLR2% in patients with KD was measured by flow cytometry. Serum levels of IL-10 (sIL-10) were determined in 31 patients with KD before the initial treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) and in 21 febrile controls by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Patients were classified as having coronary artery lesions (CALs) based on the maximal internal diameters of the proximal right coronary artery and proximal left anterior descending coronary artery one month after the initial diagnosis. Results: We found that FTLR2% greater than 92.62% predicted CALs with 80% sensitivity and 68.4% specificity, whereas FTLR2% more than 94.61% predicted IVIG resistance with 66.7% sensitivity and 71.4% specificity. Moreover, sIL-10 more than 15.52 pg/mL predicted CALs and IVIG resistance with 40% and 66.7% sensitivity, respectively, and 73.7% and 76.2% specificity, respectively. Conclusion: We showed that measuring FTLR2% before the initial treatment could be useful in predicting CAL development with better sensitivity than sIL-10 and with results comparable to sIL-10 results for the prediction of IVIG resistance in patients with KD. However, further studies are necessary to validate FTLR2% as a marker of prognosis and severity of KD.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.285-294
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• 1992

Biochemical polymorphisms of sow's milk proteins, $\beta$-casein ($\beta$-CN), $\beta$-lactoglobulin ($\beta$-LG), post-lactoglobulin (post-LG), $\alpha$-lactalbumin ($\alpha$-LA) and X-protein, as genetic markers for major pig breeds (Landrace, Yorkshire, Duroc, Hampshire and cross bred) in Korea were determined by starch gel electrophoresis. Phenotype and gene frequencies at all marker loci were estimated and genetic differences among breed populations were analyzed. Three $\beta$-CN phenotypes (AA, AB and BB) controlled by two codominant alleles (${\beta}-CN^A$ and ${\beta}-CN^B$), four $\beta$-LG phenotypes (AA, AC, $AC^{\pm}$ and CC) controlled by two codominant alleles (${\beta}-LG^A$ and ${\beta}-LG^C$) and ten X-protein phenotypes (AA, BB, CC, DD, AB, AC, AD, BC, BD and CD) controlled by four codominant alleles ($X^A,\;X^B,\;X^C\;and\;X^D$) were identified. In addition, a genetically controlled polymorphism of post-LG was found for the first time in sow's milk protein. Three different phenotypes (AA, AB and BB) were designated $post-LG^A$ and $post-LG^B$. Of the five marker loci examined, $\alpha$-LA locus was observed to lack any individual variation in all breeds studied. All populations were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for all loci. There were marked breed differences for phenotype and gene frequencies in the post-LG and X-protein marker loci. However, there were little differences between breeds in the gene frequencies at the $\beta$-CN and $\beta$-LG marker loci.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.92-96
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• 2006

Enzymes in organic media afford many advantages such as chiral synthesis and resolution, modification of fats and oils and production of biodegradable polymers. However, the nature of solvents influences the activity and stability of enzymes, and the presence of organic solvents always constitute a risk of enzyme inactivation. Heat-shock protein Hsp90, one of the molecular chaperone, was applied for understanding of enzyme inactivation and for increasing of enzyme stability in water-miscible organic solvent. Hsp90 showed stabilization effect on HRP in the 30％ of DMSO, in the 30％ and 50％ of dioxane. Hsp90 also showed reactivation effect on the inactivated HRP by water-miscible organic solvent such as dioxane and DMSO. In addition, structural analysis using fluorescence spectrophotometry and circular dichroism showed that exposure of HRP in water-miscible organic solvent caused appreciable conformational changes and enzyme inactivation, and the unfolded HRP by water-miscible organic solvent was refolded by Hsp90.

• The Journal of Korean Society of Virology
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.161-170
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• 2000

Continuous efforts are being made to find effective therapeutic agents against HIV-1, the causative agents of AIDS. In this study, we developed a cell-based assay system employing a trans-complementation for production of recombinant viruses which are capable of undergoing one round of replication in CD4+ T cells. This assay system was tested for ability to screen the agents that act at late stage of HIV-1 life cycle. The effect of a protease inhibitor on the trans-complementation assay was assessed. Recombinant HIV-1 viruses were prepared from a trans-complementation in the presence of various concentrations of protease inhibitor. Inhibition of single round infection of these recombinant viruses by protease inhibitor was observed to be a dose-dependent manner. Inhibitory effects of a protease inhibitor on HIV-1 Gag polyprotein processing by HIV-1 protease was detected at concentrations of the protease inhibitor compatible with inhibition of virus infection, confirming that the corresponding step was involved in the inhibitory mechanism of this compound. Together, these results provide evidence that a cell-based assay system established in this study can be used to screen the agents that target the late stage of HIV-1 life cycle.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.537-542
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• 1998

to more effectively drive immune responses toward antigen-specific T helper type 2 (Th2) cell-mediated responses, we constructed a mammalian expression vetor (oPVA/IL4) carrying a fused gene in which the ovalbumin (OVA) cDNA was covalently linked to murine interleukin-4 (IL-4) cDNA. A biologically active OVA/IL4 DNA, as demonstrated by Wes tern blotting and cytokine bioassay. In tramuscular injection of BALB/c mice with the pOVA/IL4 DNA increased both the production of OVA-specific IL-4 by CD$4^{+}$ T cells and the ratio of anti-OVA lgG1 to anti-OVA lgG2a isotypes, while the injection with the pOVA DNA alone, or with the mixture of the pOVA and pIL4 DNA did no or little increase. furthermore, the OVA-specific, Th2 cell-mediated immune responses were significantly enhanced by multiple injections with the pOVA/IL4 DNA. These studies indicate that the direct linkage of an OVA gene to an IL-4 gene in the expression plasmid confines the effects of IL-4 to the OVA-specific cells, efficiently driving the immune response toward OVA-specific, Th2 cell-mediated responses.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.02a
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• pp.185-185
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• 2011

ZnTe semiconductor is very attractive materials for optoelectronic devices in the visible green spectral region because of it has direct bandgap of 2.26 eV. The prototypes of ZnTe light emitting diodes (LEDs) have been reported [1], showing that their green emission peak closely matches the most sensitive region of the human eye. Another application to photovoltaics proved that ZnTe is useful for the production of high-efficiency multi-junction solar cells [2,3]. By using the pulse laser deposition system, ZnTe thin films were deposited on ZnO thin layer, which is grown on (0001) Al2O3substrates. To produce the plasma plume from an ablated ZnO and ZnTe target, a pulsed (10 Hz) YGA:Nd laser with energy density of 95 mJ/$cm^2$ and wavelength of 266 nm by a nonlinear fourth harmonic generator was used. The laser spot focused on the surface of the ZnO and ZnTe target by using an optical lens was approximately 1 mm2. The base pressure of the chamber was kept at a pressure around $10^{-6}$ Torr by using a turbo molecular pump. The oxygen gas flow was controlled around 3 sccm by using a mass flow controller system. During the ZnTe deposition, the substrate temperature was $400^{\circ}C$ and the ambient gas pressure was $10^{-2}$ Torr. The structural properties of the samples were analyzed by XRD measurement. The optical properties were investigated by using the photoluminescence spectra obtained with a 325 nm wavelength He-Cd laser. The film surface and carrier concentration were analyzed by an atomic force microscope and Hall measurement system.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.7-10
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• 2012

Objectives: The root of Lithospermum erythrorhizon Sieb. et Zucc. (Lithospermi Radix, LR) is a kind of heat clearing and blood cooling medicinal herbs. It can clear away heat and cool the blood, reduce toxins and disperse maculae. LR has long been used as efficacious therapy for inflammation, burns, frostbite and skin diseases such as eczema and psoriasis. Methods: In the present study, we investigate anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory effects of LR by using the 1-fluoro-2, 4- dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB)-induced contact dermatitis mouse model. Results: Topical application of 10 mg/mL of LR effectively inhibited skin lesions induced by repeated paintings with DNFB. Topical application of LR also inhibited hyperplasia, edema, spongiosis and infiltrations of mononuclear cells. In addition, production levels of total immunoglobulin and IgG1 in serum were decreased by using LR in vivo. Conclusions: These data suggest that LR acts as an antiinflammatory agent, improving skin lesions in CD mice.