• Journal of Korean Medicine for Obesity Research
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.77-86
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• 2017

Objectives: This study examined the effects of salvianolic acid B (SAB) on exhaustive exercise-induced cardiac muscle damage to rats. Methods: The study was carried out with 12-week-old young adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. Thirty-six rats were divided into 3 groups; normal (n=12), exhaustive exercise group (ExS, n=12) and exhaustive exercise with SAB (ExS+SAB, n=12). Five days before exhaustive exercise, SAB were medicated for 5 days in ExS+SAB group. Rats in ExS and ExS+SAB group were forced to swim for 150 minutes and then they were sacrificed, while rats in normal group were sacrificed at rest. After that, blood was collected and cardiac muscle tissue damage indices were analyzed. Results: Serum aspartate transaminase activity and lactate dehydrogenase activity were significantly lower in ExS+SAB group than in ExS group. Serum creatine phosphokinase activity of ExS+SAB was significantly lower than ExS group. However, the content of serum creatinine had no difference between ExS and ExS+SAB group. In the H&E stained left ventricle myocardium, ExS group showed signs of myocardial damage such as sporadic fragmentation of myocardial fibers, interstitial edema, cytoplasmic eosinophilia and neutrophils infiltration. However, ExS+SAB group alleviated the severity of the signs of myocardial damage. In the myocardial dihydroethidium staining, optical density was remarkably decreased in ExS+SAB group compared to ExS group. Furthermore, the up-regulation of Bax/Bcl-2 ratio was observed in ExS+SAB group compared with ExS group. Conclusions: The above results suggest that SAB may protect cardiac muscle damage via antioxidant activity and prevention of apoptosis.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.107-113
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• 2004

This study was conducted to investigate an effect of Mori Cortex in the cardiac injury following dermal scald burn in rats. Sprague-Dawley rats were induced scald bum (15％ of total body surface area). Heart was removed at 5 h postburn and examined with biochemical assay, ultrastructural observations and stereological analysis. The activity of serum aspartate aminotransferase and creatinine was increased at 5 h postburn compared with them of control. Administration of heat extracts of Mori Cortex after scald burn inhibited the production of KC (neutrophil chemoattractant cytokine) and increased the activity of protein kinase C (PKC) in heart tissue. The activity of myeloperoxidase (MPO) in heart tissue was decreased both at 5 h postburn and in case of Mori Cortex administration after scald burn. Ultrastructurally, many contraction bands and separation of intercalated disk induced by scald burn were decreased by administration of heat extracts of Mori Cortex. In stereological analysis, administration of Mori Cortex after scald burn resulted the volume densities of myofibril and mitochondria were increased compared with them of burn control. These data suggest that Mori Cortex may be a useful stuff to the range of available treatments for cardiac injury induced by skin burn.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2017.05a
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• pp.627-628
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• 2017

Recently, the smart health care industry is showing great interest in health due to the rapid rise of the industry, and various devices capable of monitoring health status in daily life are being developed. In this study, we implemented a system to monitor cardiac activity and anomalous signals from cardiac activity measurement in a manner different from conventional electrocardiogram or pulse wave measurement. And, we performed the measurement evaluation on the subject using the implemented heart sound system. As a result, we confirmed the possibility of monitoring cardiac activity during daily life through heart sound measurement.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.273-282
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• 2013

The present study was designed to investigate the cardioprotective effects of Korean Red Ginseng extract (KRG) on isoproterenol (ISO)-induced cardiac injury in rats, particularly in regards to electrocardiographic changes, hemodynamics, cardiac function, serum cardiac enzymes, components of the myocardial antioxidant defense system, as well as inflammatory markers and histopathological changes in heart tissue. ISO (150 mg/kg, subcutaneous, two doses administered at 24-hour intervals) treatment induced significant decreases in P waves and QRS complexes (p<0.01), as well as a significant increase in ST segments. Moreover, ISO-treated rats exhibited decreases in left-ventricular systolic pressure, maximal rate of developed left ventricular pressure ($+dP/dt_{max}$) and minimal rate of developed left ventricular pressure ($-dP/dt_{max}$), in addition to significant increases in lactate dehydrogenase, aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase and creatine kinase activity. Heart rate, however, was not significantly altered. And the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase were decreased, whereas the activity of malondialdehyde was increased in the ISO-treated group. ISO-treated group also showed increased caspase-3 level, release of inflammatory markers and neutrophil infiltration in heart tissue. KRG pretreatment (250 and 500 mg/kg, respectively) significantly ameliorated almost all of the parameters of heart failure and myocardial injury induced by ISO. The protective effect of KRG on ISO-induced cardiac injury was further confirmed by histopathological study. In this regard, ISO treatment induced fewer morphological changes in rats pretreated with 250 or 500 mg/kg of KRG. Compared with the control group, all indexes in rats administered KRG (500 mg/kg) alone were unaltered (p>0.05). Our results suggest that KRG significantly protects against cardiac injury and ISO-induced cardiac infarction by bolstering antioxidant action in myocardial tissue.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.299-304
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• 2005

Cardiac hypertrophy contributes an increased risk to major cerebrovascular events. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying cerebrovascular dysfunction during cardiac hypertrophy have not yet been characterized. In the present study, we examined the molecular mechanism of isoproterenol (ISO)-evoked activation of Ras/Raf/MAPK pathways as well as PKA activity in cerebral artery of rabbits, and we also studied whether the activations of these signaling pathways were altered in cerebral artery, during ISO-induced cardiac hypertrophy compared to heart itself. The results show that the mRNA level of c-fos (not c-jun and c-myc) in heart and these genes in cerebral artery were considerably increased during cardiac hypertrophy. These results that the PKA activity and activations of Ras/Raf/ERK cascade as well as c-fos expression in rabbit heart during cardiac hypertrophy were consistent with previous reports. Interestingly, however, we also showed a novel finding that the decreased PKA activity might have differential effects on Ras and Raf expression in cerebral artery during cardiac hypertrophy. In conclusion, there are differences in molecular mechanisms between heart and cerebral artery during cardiac hypertrophy when stimulated with β2 adrenoreceptor (AR), suggesting a possible mechanism underlying cerebrovascular dysfunction during cardiac hypertrophy.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.1743-1746
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• 2013

Background and Purpose: Cardiac myxoma is a major primary heart tumor which often causes unexpected symptoms or sudden death. This present study was designed to investigate its clinical pathological features and biological behavior. Methods: A retrospective analysis of the clinical pathologic and immunohistochemical features of 66 cases with cardiac myxoma was conducted. Results: In 66 patients with cardiac myxoma, 61 cases had involvement of the left atrium, one case in both the right ventricular and left atria. The female: male ratio was 2.7:1. Patients had symptoms of blood flow obstruction and systemic alterations with performance of arterial embolization. Tumors were spherical, lobulated or irregular in shape, and soft and brittle. Immunohistochemical markers of vimentin and CD34 in tumor cells were positive. Conclusion: Cardiac myxoma always exists in the left atrium and is more common in women, with diverse clinical manifestations and pathomorphism. Although proliferative activity and the recurrence rate are low, in addition to thorough surgical resection, strengthened review is important for young patients.

• Journal of the Institute of Convergence Signal Processing
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.14-19
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• 2018

Recently, the smart health care industry has been rising rapidly and interest and efforts for public health have been greatly increased. As a result, the public does not visit medical specialists and medical facilities, but the desire to check their health condition in everyday life is increased. Therefore, many domestic and foreign companies continuously research and develop wearable devices that can measure body activity information anytime and anywhere And the market. Especially, it is used for heart activity measurement device using pulse wave sensor and electrocardiogram sensor. However, in this study, a monitoring system that can detect cardiac activity using cardiac sounds, heart sound measurement rather than pulse wave measurement and electrocardiogram measurement, was performed and its performance was evaluated. Experimental results confirmed the predictability of cardiac heart rate and heart valve disease during daily living.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.44-55
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• 2021

Objectives: As the use of herbal medicinal products (HMPs) increases worldwide, systematic verification of the safety of HMPs is required. The induction of cardiotoxicity is one of the major factors in post-approval withdrawal of medicinal products, and drug-induced cardiotoxicity assessment is emerging as an important step in drug development. In the present study, we evaluated human ether-à-go-go-related gene (hERG) potassium channel-related cardiotoxicity to predict the risk of cardiac arrhythmia in thirteen herbal medicines known to have cardiac toxicity. Methods: We measured the inhibition rate of hERG potassium channel activity of 13 medicinal herbal extracts in hERG-expressing HEK 293 cells using an automated patch-clamping system. Quinidine was used as a positive control for inhibition of hERG activity. Results: Extracts of Evodiae Fructus, Strychni Semen, and Corydalis Tuber potently inhibited the activity of hERG, and IC₅₀ values were 3.158, 19.87, and 41.26 ㎍/mL, respectively. Cnidi Fructus, Ephedra Herba, Lithospermi Radix, Polygoni Multiflori Radix, Visci Ramulus et Folium, Asiasari Radix et Rhizoma, and Scolopendra weakly inhibited hERG activity, and the IC₅₀ value for each herbal medicine was more than 400 ㎍/mL. Aconiti Kusnezoffii Tuber and two types of Aconiti Lateralis Radix Preparata (Po and Yeom) had weak inhibitory activity against hERG, and the IC₅₀ values were more than 700 ㎍/mL. The IC₅₀ value of quinidine against hERG was 1.021 𝜇M. Conclusion: Evodiae Fructus, Strychni Semen, and Corydalis Tuber acted as potent inhibitors against hERG. These herbal medicines may cause cardiac arrhythmia through QT prolongation, so care should be taken when taking them.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.525-534
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• 2021

Objective: To assess the effect of left atrial appendage (LAA) isolation on LAA emptying and left atrial (LA) function using cardiac MRI in patients who underwent successful catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF). Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included 84 patients (mean age, 59 ± 10 years; 67 males) who underwent cardiac MRI after successful catheter ablation of AF. According to the electrical activity of LAA after catheter ablation, patients showed either LAA isolation or LAA normal activity. The LAA emptying phase (LAA-EP, in the systolic phase [SP] or diastolic phase), LAA emptying flux (LAA-EF, mL/s), and LA ejection fraction (LAEF, %) were evaluated by cardiac MRI. Results: Of the 84 patients, 61 (73%) and 23 (27%) patients showed LAA normal activity and LAA isolation, respectively. Incidence of LAA emptying in SP was significantly higher in LAA isolation (91% vs. 0%, p < 0.001) than in LAA normal activation. LAA-EF was significantly lower in LAA isolation (40.1 ± 16.2 mL/s vs. 80.2 ± 25.1 mL/s, p < 0.001) than in LAA normal activity. Furthermore, LAEF was significantly lower in LAA isolation (23.7% ± 11.2% vs. 31.1% ± 16.6%, p = 0.04) than in LAA normal activity. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the LAA-EP was independent from LAEF (p = 0.01). Conclusion: LAA emptying in SP may be a critical characteristic of LAA isolation, and it may adversely affect the LAEF after catheter ablation of AF.

• BMB Reports
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• v.54 no.9
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• pp.464-469
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• 2021

Cardiomyocyte differentiation occurs through complex and finely regulated processes including cardiac lineage commitment and maturation from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs). To gain some insight into the genome-wide characteristics of cardiac lineage commitment, we performed transcriptome analysis on both mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) and human induced PSCs (hiPSCs) at specific stages of cardiomyocyte differentiation. Specifically, the gene expression profiles and the protein-protein interaction networks of the mESC-derived platelet-derived growth factor receptor-alpha (PDGFRα)⁺ cardiac lineage-committed cells (CLCs) and hiPSC-derived kinase insert domain receptor (KDR)⁺ and PDGFRα⁺ cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs) at cardiac lineage commitment were compared with those of mesodermal cells and differentiated cardiomyocytes. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analyses revealed that the genes significantly upregulated at cardiac lineage commitment were associated with responses to organic substances and external stimuli, extracellular and myocardial contractile components, receptor binding, gated channel activity, PI3K-AKT signaling, and cardiac hypertrophy and dilation pathways. Protein-protein interaction network analysis revealed that the expression levels of genes that regulate cardiac maturation, heart contraction, and calcium handling showed a consistent increase during cardiac differentiation; however, the expression levels of genes that regulate cell differentiation and multicellular organism development decreased at the cardiac maturation stage following lineage commitment. Additionally, we identified for the first time the protein-protein interaction network connecting cardiac development, the immune system, and metabolism during cardiac lineage commitment in both mESC-derived PDGFRα⁺ CLCs and hiPSC-derived KDR⁺PDGFRα⁺ CPCs. These findings shed light on the regulation of cardiac lineage commitment and the pathogenesis of cardiometabolic diseases.