• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.66
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• pp.29-38
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• 2023

Recent studies have highlighted the link between diseases and inflammation across our lifespan. Our sedentary lifestyle, high-calorie diet, chronic stress, chronic infections, and exposure to pollutants and xenobiotics, collectively intensify the course and recurrence of infections and inflammation in our bodies, promoting the prevalence of chronic diseases and aging. Given such phenomena and considering additional factors such as the frequency of prescription, and easy access to over-the-counter drugs, the need for anti-inflammatory therapeutics is ever-increasing. However, the readily available anti-inflammatory treatment option comes with a greater risk of side effects or high cost (biologics). Therefore in this growing competition of discovering and developing new potent anti-inflammatory drugs, we focused on utilizing the established knowledge of traditional medicine to find lead compounds. Since lead optimization is an indispensable step toward drug development, we applied this concept for the production of potent anti-inflammatory compounds achieved by structural modification of flavonoids. The derivative obtained through acetylation of myricetin, 3,3',4',5,5',7-hexaacetate myricetin, showed a greater inhibitory effect in the production of pro-inflammatory mediators such as nitric oxide, Prostaglandin E₂, and pro-inflammatory cytokines like interleukin-6, interleukin1β, in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW264.7 mouse macrophage cells compared to myricetin. The increased potency of inhibition was in conjunction with an increased inhibitory effect on inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 proteins. Through such measures, this study supports lead optimization for well-established lead compounds from traditional medicine using a simpler and greener chemistry approach for the purpose of designing and developing potent anti-inflammatory therapeutics with possibly fewer side effects and increased bioavailability.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.83 no.1
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• pp.178-183
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• 2022

Polycythemia vera (PV) is a rare myeloproliferative disease that causes elevated absolute red blood cell (RBC) mass due to uncontrolled RBC production. Moreover, this condition has been associated with a high risk of ischemic stroke and large vessel stenosis or occlusion, with many studies reporting cerebral infarction in PV patients. Despite these findings, there have been no reports on the vessel wall MRI (VW-MRI) findings of the narrowed vessels in PV-associated ischemic stroke patients. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report in English regarding the carotid VW-MRI findings of a 30-year-old male diagnosed with PV after being hospitalized due to stroke.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.64 no.2
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• pp.10.1-10.9
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• 2024

Hyperthyroidism, characterized by elevated thyroid hormone levels and thyroid gland hyperplasia or adenoma, is a prevalent endocrinopathy in older cats. Treatment options include antithyroid drugs, surgical thyroidectomy, and radioiodine therapy (RAIT), which is non-invasive treatment option that can achieve complete remission. However, efficacy and safety of RAIT in hyperthyroid cats have not been investigated in South Korea. This study includes 10 hyperthyroid cats with RAIT. Initial assessments comprised history, physical examination, blood analysis, and serum total T4 (tT4) concentration. Thyroid scintigraphy revealed hyperactivity and enlargement of thyroid gland at 24 hours before the RAIT. Radioiodine (RAI) was injected subcutaneously with 2 to 6 mCi, determined by the fixed dose or the scoring system based on severity of clinical signs, tT4 concentration, and thyroid size individually. After RAIT, the concentration of serum tT4 and liver enzymes were significantly decreased at discharge. However, no significant differences were noted in blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, symmetric dimethylarginine, hematocrits, and white blood cell counts pre- and post-treatment. Although 4 cats received RAI twice, clinical signs disappeared and tT4 levels decreased following the RAIT. All 10 cats achieved complete remission after 6 months without critical adverse effect. The safety and the effectiveness of RAIT was confirmed based on protocols reported other countries. Therefore, RAIT could be considered the treatment option and prevent adverse effects from medication or surgery. This preliminary study presents the first evaluation of RAIT for hyperthyroid cats using locally produced RAI in South Korea and provide valuable insight for clinicians and further studies.

• Anatomy and Cell Biology
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.288-293
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• 2024

The temporal fascia is a double lamina sandwiching a thick fat layer above the zygomatic bony arch. To characterize each lamina, their developmental processes were examined in fetuses. We observed histological sections from 22 half-heads of 10 mid-term fetuses at 14-18 weeks (crown-rump length, 95-150 mm) and 12 near-term fetuses at 26-40 weeks (crown-rump length, 215-334 mm). The superficial lamina of the temporal fascia was not evident at mid-term. Instead, a loose subcutaneous tissue was attached to the thin, deep lamina of the temporal fascia covering the temporalis muscle. At near-term, the deep lamina became thick, while the superficial lamina appeared and exhibited several variations: i) a mono-layered thick membrane (5 specimens); ii) a multi-layered membranous structure (6) and; iii) a cluster of independent thick fasciae each of which were separated by fatty tissues (1). In the second and third patterns, fatty tissue between the two laminae was likely to contain longitudinal fibrous bands in parallel with the deep lamina. Varying proportions of the multi-layered superficial lamina were not attached to the zygomatic arch, but extended below the bony arch. Whether or not lobulation or septation of fatty tissues was evident was not dependent on age. The deep lamina seemed to develop from the temporalis muscle depending on the muscle contraction. In contrast, the superficial lamina developed from subcutaneous collagenous bundles continuous to the cheek. Therein, a difference in development was clearly seen between two categories of the fasciae.

• Anatomy and Cell Biology
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.278-287
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• 2024

Striated muscle insertions into the skin and mucosa are present in the head, neck, and pelvic floor. We reexamined the histology of these tissues to elucidate their role in transmission of the force. We examined histological sections of 25 human fetuses (gestational ages of ~11-19 weeks and ~26-40 weeks) and 6 cadavers of elderly individuals. Facial muscle insertion or terminal almost always formed as an interdigitation with another muscle or as a circular arrangement in which muscle fiber insertions were sandwiched and mechanically supported by other muscle fibers (like an in-series muscle). Our examination of the face revealed some limited exceptions in which muscle fibers that approached the dermis were always in the nasalis and mentalis muscles, and often in the levator labii superioris alaeque nasi muscle. The buccinator muscle was consistently inserted into the basement membrane of the oral mucosa. Parts of the uvulae muscle in the soft palate and of the intrinsic vertical muscle of the tongue were likely to direct toward the mucosa. In contrast, the pelvic floor did not contain striated muscle fibers that were directed toward the skin or mucosa. Although 'cutaneous muscle' is a common term, the actual insertion of a muscle into the skin or mucosa seemed to be very rare. Instead, superficial muscle insertion often consisted of interdigitated muscle bundles that had different functional vectors. In this case, the terminal of one muscle bundle was sandwiched and fixed mechanically by other bundles.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.1265-1276
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• 1998

Background : Nitric oxide(NO) is an endogenously produced free radical that plays an important role in regulating vascular tone, inhibition of platelet aggregation and white blood cell adhesion to endothelial cells, and host defense against infection. The highly reactive nature of NO with oxygen radicals suggests that it may either promote or reduce oxidant-induced cell injury in several biological pathways. Oxidant injury and interactions between pulmonary vascular endothelium and leukocytes are important in the pathogenesis of acute lung injury, including acute respiratory distress syndrome(ARDS). In ARDS, therapeutic administration of NO is a clinical condition providing exogenous NO in oxidant-induced endothelial injury. The role of exogenous NO from NO donor or the suppression of endogenous NO production was evaluated in oxidant-induced endothelial injury. Method : The oxidant injury in cultured rat lung microvascular endothelial cells(RLMVC) was induced by hydrogen peroxide generated from glucose oxidase(GO). Cell injury was evaluated by $^{51}$chromium($^{51}Cr$) release technique. NO donor, such as S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine(SNAP) or sodium nitroprusside(SNP), was added to the endothelial cells as a source of exogenous NO. Endogenous production of NO was suppressed with N-monomethyl-L-arginine(L-NMMA) which is an NO synthase inhibitor. L-NMMA was also used in increased endogenous NO production induced by combined stimulation with interferon-$\gamma$(INF-$\gamma$), tumor necrosis factor-$\alpha$(TNF-$\alpha$), and lipopolysaccharide(LPS). NO generation from NO donor or from the endothelial cells was evaluated by measuring nitrite concentration. Result : $^{51}Cr$ release was $8.7{\pm}0.5%$ in GO 5 mU/ml, $14.4{\pm}2.9%$ in GO 10 mU/ml, $32.3{\pm}2.9%$ in GO 15 mU/ml, $55.5{\pm}0.3%$ in GO 20 mU/ml and $67.8{\pm}0.9%$ in GO 30 mU/ml ; it was significantly increased in GO 15 mU/ml or higher concentrations when compared with $9.6{\pm}0.7%$ in control(p < 0.05; n=6). L-NMMA(0.5 mM) did not affect the $^{51}Cr$ release by GO. Nitrite concentration was increased to $3.9{\pm}0.3\;{\mu}M$ in culture media of RLMVC treated with INF-$\gamma$ (500 U/ml), TNF-$\alpha$(150 U/ml) and LPS($1\;{\mu}g/ml$) for 24 hours ; it was significantly suppressed by the addition of L-NMMA. The presence of L-NMMA did not affect $^{51}Cr$ release induced by GO in RLMVC pretreated with INF-$\gamma$, TNF-$\alpha$ and LPS. The increase of $^{51}Cr$ release with GO(20 mU/ml) was prevented completely by adding 100 ${\mu}M$ SNAP. But the add of SNP, potassium ferrocyanate or potassium ferricyanate did not protect the oxidant injury. Nitrite accumulation was $23{\pm}1.0\;{\mu}M$ from 100 ${\mu}M$ SNAP at 4 hours in phenol red free Hanks' balanced salt solution. But nitrite was not detectable from SNP upto 1 mM The presence of SNAP did not affect the time dependent generation of hydrogen peroxide by GO in phenol red free Hanks' balanced salt solution. Conclusion : Hydrogen peroxide generated by GO causes oxidant injury in RLMVC. Exogenous NO from NO donor prevents oxidant injury, and the protective effect may be related to the ability to release NO. These results suggest that the exogenous NO may be protective on oxidant injury to the endothelium.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.37 no.10
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• pp.1312-1317
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• 2008

Physicochemical changes were investigated for the shelf-life extension of cultured wild-ginseng roots during storage with various pre-treatments with blanching, CAMICA-SD and DF-100 and treatments with citric acid and vitamin C. The pH of cultured wild-ginseng roots showed the range of $6.06{\sim}6.42$ at $10^{\circ}C$, but showed higher ranges of $6.08{\sim}6.91$ and $6.08{\sim}8.68$ at 20 and $30^{\circ}C$, respectively. Browning index (a/b) was increased with increasing storage temperature, and the index at 10 and $30^{\circ}C$ were 0.405 and 0.469 after 2 weeks, respectively. Browning index and viable cell number of CAMICA-SD pre-treatment showed little changes compared to pre-teatment with blanching or DF-100. When the cultured wild-ginseng roots were treated with 1.0% citric acid and 0.2% DF-100 after pre-treatments with CAMICA-SD, viable cell number was slightly increased to $4.9{\times}10^2CFU/g$ for 3 weeks storage at $10^{\circ}C$. The mixture of citric acid and DF-100 was also used to prevent the growth of microbiology and to reduce browning reaction, especially enzymatic browning reaction. The mixture might effectively extend shelf life of the cultured wild-ginseng roots.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.210-220
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• 2015

Athletic performance is an important criteria used for the selection of superior horses. However, little is known about exercise-related epigenetic processes in the horse. DNA methylation is a key mechanism for regulating gene expression in response to environmental changes. We carried out comparative genomic analysis of genome-wide DNA methylation profiles in the blood samples of two different thoroughbred horses before and after exercise by methylated-DNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (MeDIP-Seq). Differentially methylated regions (DMRs) in the pre-and post-exercise blood samples of superior and inferior horses were identified. Exercise altered the methylation patterns. After 30 min of exercise, 596 genes were hypomethy-lated and 715 genes were hypermethylated in the superior horse, whereas in the inferior horse, 868 genes were hypomethylated and 794 genes were hypermethylated. These genes were analyzed based on gene ontology (GO) annotations and the exercise-related pathway patterns in the two horses were compared. After exercise, gene regions related to cell division and adhesion were hypermethylated in the superior horse, whereas regions related to cell signaling and transport were hypermethylated in the inferior horse. Analysis of the distribution of methylated CpG islands confirmed the hypomethylation in the gene-body methylation regions after exercise. The methylation patterns of transposable elements also changed after exercise. Long interspersed nuclear elements (LINEs) showed abundance of DMRs. Collectively, our results serve as a basis to study exercise-based reprogramming of epigenetic traits.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.327-334
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• 2013

For the development of hardy kiwi wine, we arranged for the post-maturity of hardy kiwi fruit, treated them with calcium carbonate and a pectinase enzyme complex, investigated the resulting physicochemical properties and conducted a sensory evaluation. The period determined for creating post-maturity in the hardy kiwi fruit was determined as 5 days storage at room temperature following maturity. During this time the yield of fruit juice was increased from 22.1% to 53.5% using 0.1% (v/v) cytolase PCL5 for 2 h at room temperature. 0.1% (w/v) calcium carbonate was also added during the process of aging, for the reduction of the sour taste. The fermentation trial of the hardy kiwi wine was prepared using water (25% or 50%), sugar ($24^{\circ}brix$), 0.1% (w/v) $CaCO_3$, 0.1% (v/v) cytolase PCL5, $K_2S_2O_5$ (200 ppm), and yeast ($1.5{\times}10^7$ cell/ml). Fermentation then occurred for 2 weeks at $20^{\circ}C$. The pH value, total acidity, alcohol, and reducing sugar content of the resulting hardy kiwi wines of 25% (v/w) and 50% (v/w) water, were in a range of pH 3.4-3.7, 1.12-1.21%, 14.3-14.4%, and 15-16 g/l, respectively. Citric acid and fructose constituted the major organic acids and the free sugar of the 25% and 50% hardy kiwi wine, respectively. Volatile flavor components, including 10 kinds of esters, 8 kinds of alcohols, 5 kinds of acids, 3 kinds of others and aldehydes, were determined by GC analysis. The results of sensory evaluation demonstrated that 50% hardy kiwi wine is more palatable than 25% hardy kiwi wine.

• Journal of Mushroom
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.99-106
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• 2013

This study was initiated to investigate the skin whitening activities of methanol extracts from fruiting bodies of I. obliquus. The total polyphenols and flavonoids contents of I. obliquus methanol extracts were 31.85 mg/g and 28.33 mg/g, respectively. The methanol extract of the mushroom treated on B16/F10 melanoma and NIH3T3 cell lines did not show cytotoxic activity. 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl(DPPH) free radical scavenging activity and chelating activity on ferrous ions of I. obliquus methanol extract were lower than those of positive control, tocopherol and BHT. The tyrosinase and L-DOPA inhibitory activities of the extract were lower than those of positive control, kojic acid and ascorbic acid. The tyrosinase and melanin synthesis inhibitory activities of the melanoma cells treated with the extract were comparable with positive control, arbutin. The experimental results suggested that methanol extract of I. obliquus contained inhibitory activities of tyrosinase and melanin synthesis in the B16/F10 melanoma cells by dose dependent manner. High ultra-violet absorption spectra in the range of 280-350 nm showed that I. obliquus extract could protect skin from UV radiation damage. Therefore, fruiting bodies of I. obliquus can be used for developing skin whitening, anti-UV and skin care agents.