• 대한치과교정학회지
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• 제49권4호
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• pp.222-234
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• 2019

Objective: To investigate the three-dimensional lip vermilion changes after extraction and non-extraction orthodontic treatment in female adult patients and explore the correlation between lip vermilion changes and incisor changes. Methods: Forty-seven young female adult patients were enrolled in this study (skeletal Class III patients were excluded), including 34 lip-protruding patients treated by extraction of four first premolars (18 patients requiring mini-implants for maximum anchorage control and 16 patients without mini-implants) and 13 patients requiring non-extraction treatment. Nine angles, seven distances, and the surface area of the lip vermilion were measured by using pre- and post-treatment three-dimensional facial scans. Linear and angular measurements of incisors were performed on lateral cephalograms. Results: There were no significant changes in the vermilion measurements in the non-extraction group. The vermilion angle, vermilion height, central bow angle, height/width ratio, and vermilion surface area decreased significantly after the orthodontic treatment in the extraction groups, but the upper/lower vermilion proportion remained unchanged. Significant correlations were found between the changes in incisor position and those in vermilion angles, vermilion height, and surface area. Conclusions: Extraction of the four first premolars probably produced an aesthetic improvement in lip vermilion morphology. However, the upper/lower vermilion proportion remained unchanged. The variations in the vermilion were closely related to incisor changes, especially the upper incisor inclination changes.

• 디지털융복합연구
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• 제17권8호
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• pp.271-282
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• 2019

이번 연구의 목적은 MRSA에 대하여 삼신환(三神丸)의 항균효과와 기존 항생제인 Oxacillin과 Ciprofloxacin과의 synergy effect를 확인하고 그 기전을 밝히는 것이다. 이에 삼신환(三神丸)의 Disc 확산 실험 및 최소억제농도(MIC)를 측정하여 MARA에 대한 항균 활성 및 활성농도를 검증하고, 항생제와 삼신환(三神丸) 에탄올 추출물을 병행 처리하여 병용 효과를 확인하고, 시간에 따른 생장 억제 효과를 확인하는 절차와 방법을 통해 삼신환(三神丸)이 MARA에 대한 항균 활성으로 oxacillin 또는 ciprofloxacin과 결합 되었을 때, 시너지 및 부분 시너지 효과를 보임으로써 in vitro에서 우수한 항균물질임이 연구 결과로 나타났음을 시사하는 바이다. 아울러 MARA 내성의 제어를 위한 신약 개발에 본 연구가 의미있는 자료가 되기를 기대할 뿐 아니라, 내성 균주를 극복하기 위한 항생물질의 연구와 개발에 더욱 박차를 가하는 계기가 되기를 바란다.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제43권4호
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• pp.539-549
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• 2019

Background: 20(S)-Protopanaxadiol (PPD), the aglycone part of 20(S)-protopanaxadiol ginsenosides, possesses antidepressant activity among many other pharmacological activities. It is currently undergoing clinical trial in China as an antidepressant. Methods: In this study, an ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole time-of-flight mass tandem mass spectrometry method was established to identify the metabolites of PPD in human plasma and urine following oral administration in phase IIa clinical trial. Results: A total of 40 metabolites in human plasma and urine were identified using this method. Four metabolites identified were isolated from rat feces, and two of them were analyzed by NMR to elucidate the exact structures. The structures of isolated compounds were confirmed as (20S,24S)-epoxydammarane-12,23,25-triol-3-one and (20S,24S)-epoxydammarane-3,12,23,25-tetrol. Both compounds were found as metabolites in human for the first time. Upon comparing our findings with the findings of the in vitro study of PPD metabolism in human liver microsomes and human hepatocytes, metabolites with m/z 475.3783 and phase II metabolites were not found in our study whereas metabolites with m/z 505.3530, 523.3641, and 525.3788 were exclusively detected in our experiments. Conclusion: The metabolites identified using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry in our study were mostly hydroxylated metabolites. This indicated that PPD was metabolized in human body mainly through phase I hepatic metabolism. The main metabolites are in 20,24-oxide form with multiple hydroxylation sites. Finally, the metabolic pathways of PPD in vivo (human) were proposed based on structural analysis.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제25권2호
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• pp.131-137
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• 2021

Aging is the process spontaneously occurred in living organisms. Cardiac fibrosis is a pathophysiological process of cardiac aging. Mangiferin is a well-known C-glucoside xanthone in mango leaves with lots of beneficial properties. In this study, rat model of cardiac fibrosis was induced by injected with 150 mg/kg/d D-galactose for 8 weeks. The age-related cardiac decline was estimated by detecting the relative weight of heart, the serum levels of cardiac injury indicators and the expression of hypertrophic biomakers. Cardiac oxidative stress and local inflammation were measured by detecting the levels of malondialdehyde, enzymatic antioxidant status and proinflammatory cytokines. Cardiac fibrosis was evaluated by observing collagen deposition via masson and sirius red staining, as well as by examining the expression of extracellular matrix proteins via Western blot analysis. The cardiac activity of profibrotic TGF-β1/p38/MK2 signaling pathway was assessed by measuring the expression of TGF-β1 and the phosphorylation levels of p38 and MK2. It was observed that mangiferin ameliorated D-galactose-induced cardiac aging, attenuated cardiac oxidative stress, inflammation and fibrosis, as well as inhibited the activation of TGF-β1/p38/MK2 signaling pathway. These results showed that mangiferin could ameliorate cardiac fibrosis in D-galactose-induced aging rats possibly via inhibiting TGF-β/p38/MK2 signaling pathway.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• 제45권4호
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• pp.179-189
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• 2020

Green tea polyphenol (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) is a potent antioxidant with protective effects against neurotoxicity. However, it is currently unclear whether EGCG protects neuronal cells against radiation-induced damage. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the effects of EGCG on ultraviolet (UV)-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis in PC12 cells. The effects of UV irradiation included apoptotic cell death, which was associated with DNA fragmentation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, enhanced caspase-3 and caspase-9 activity, and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage. UV irradiation also increased the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and mitochondrial pathway-associated cytochrome c expression. However, pretreatment with EGCG before UV exposure markedly decreased UV-induced DNA fragmentation and ROS production. Furthermore, the UV irradiation-induced increase in Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, cytochrome c upregulation, and caspase-3 and caspase-9 activation were each ameliorated by EGCG pretreatment. Additionally, EGCG suppressed UV-induced phosphorylation of p38 and rescued UV-downregulated phosphorylation of ERK. Taken together, these results suggest that EGCG prevents UV irradiation-induced apoptosis in PC12 cells by scavenging ROS and inhibiting the mitochondrial pathways known to play a crucial role in apoptosis. In addition, EGCG inhibits UV-induced apoptosis via JNK inactivation and ERK activation in PC12 cells. Thus, EGCG represents a potential neuroprotective agent that could be applied to prevent neuronal cell death induced by UV irradiation.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제54권7호
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• pp.2427-2434
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• 2022

Series of unequal quantity Nd/Ce co-doped ceramic nuclear waste forms, (Gd, Nd)₂(Zr, Ce)₂O₇, were prepared to tailor its ordered pyrochlore or disordered fluorite structure. The phase transition, microtopography, and elemental composition of the ceramic samples were systematically investigated, especially the effect of order-disorder structure on the chemical stability. It was confirmed that unequal quantity of Nd/Ce could synchronously replace the Gd/Zr-sites of Gd₂Zr₂O₇. And the phase transition of order-disorder structure could be successfully tailored by regulating the average cationic radius ratio of (Gd, Nd)₂(Zr, Ce)₂O₇ series. The elements of Gd, Nd, Zr, and Ce are uniformly distributed in the ordered or disordered structures. The MCC-1 leaching results showed that (Gd, Nd)₂(Zr, Ce)₂O₇ pyrochlore ceramic nuclear waste forms had excellent chemical stability, whose elements' normalized leaching rates were as low as 10^-4-10^-7 g·m^-2·d^-1 after 7 days. In particular, the chemical stability of disordered structure was superior to that of ordered structure. It was proposed that the force constant and the closest packing were changed with the structure transformation resulting the chemical stability difference.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제46권1호
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• pp.39-53
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• 2022

Ginsenoside Rb₁ (Rb₁), one of the most important ingredients in Panax ginseng Meyer, has been confirmed to have favorable activities, including reducing antioxidative stress, inhibiting inflammation, regulating cell autophagy and apoptosis, affecting sugar and lipid metabolism, and regulating various cytokines. This study reviewed the recent progress on the pharmacological effects and mechanisms of Rb₁ against cardiovascular and nervous system diseases, diabetes, and their complications, especially those related to neurodegenerative diseases, myocardial ischemia, hypoxia injury, and traumatic brain injury. This review retrieved articles from PubMed and Web of Science that were published from 2015 to 2020. The molecular targets or pathways of the effects of Rb₁ on these diseases are referring to HMGB1, GLUT4, 11β-HSD1, ERK, Akt, Notch, NF-κB, MAPK, PPAR-γ, TGF-β1/Smad pathway, PI3K/mTOR pathway, Nrf2/HO-1 pathway, Nrf2/ARE pathway, and MAPK/NF-κB pathway. The potential effects of Rb₁ and its possible mechanisms against diseases were further predicted via Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway and disease ontology semantic and enrichment (DOSE) analyses with the reported targets. This study provides insights into the therapeutic effects of Rb₁ and its mechanisms against diseases, which is expected to help in promoting the drug development of Rb₁ and its clinical applications.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제26권2호
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• pp.87-94
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• 2022

Myocardial infarction promotes cardiac remodeling and myocardial fibrosis, thus leading to cardiac dysfunction or heart failure. Peiminine has been regarded as a traditional anti-fibrotic Chinese medicine in pulmonary fibrosis. However, the role of peiminine in myocardial infarction-induced myocardial injury and fibrosis remained elusive. Firstly, rat model of myocardial infarction was established using ligation of the left coronary artery, which were then intraperitoneally injected with 2 or 5 mg/kg peiminine once a day for 4 weeks. Echocardiography and haemodynamic evaluation results showed that peiminine treatment reduced left ventricular end-diastolic pressure, and enhanced maximum rate of increase/decrease of left ventricle pressure (± dP/dt max) and left ventricular systolic pressure, which ameliorate the cardiac function. Secondly, myocardial infarction-induced myocardial injury and infarct size were also attenuated by peiminine. Moreover, peiminine inhibited myocardial infarction-induced increase of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α production, as well as the myocardial cell apoptosis, in the rats. Thirdly, peiminine also decreased the myocardial fibrosis related protein expression including collagen I and collagen III. Lastly, peiminine reduced the expression of p38 and phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 in rat model of myocardial infarction. In conclusion, peiminine has a cardioprotective effect against myocardial infarction-induced myocardial injury and fibrosis, which can be attributed to the inactivation of mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제33권5호
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• pp.600-606
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• 2023

Dengue virus (DENV) is a widespread arbovirus. To efficiently establish infection, DENV evolves multiple strategies to hijack the host innate immune response. Herein, we examined the inhibitory effects of DENV serotype 2 (DENV2) nonstructural proteins on RIG-I-directed antiviral immune response. We found that DENV2 NS2A, NS2B, NS4A, and NS4B significantly inhibited RIG-I-mediated IFN-β promoter activation. The roles of NS2B in RIG-I-directed antiviral immune response are unknown. Our study further showed that NS2B could dose-dependently suppress RIG-I/MAVS-induced activation of IFN-β promoter. Consistently, NS2B significantly decreased RIG-I- and MAVS-induced transcription of IFNB1, ISG15, and ISG56. Mechanistically, NS2B was found to interact with MAVS and IKKε to impair RIG-I-directed antiviral response. Our findings demonstrated a previously uncharacterized function of NS2B in RIG-I-mediated antiviral response, making it a promising drug target for anti-DENV treatments.

• 한국자원식물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국자원식물학회 2020년도 춘계학술대회
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• pp.76-76
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• 2020

Stachys sieboldii Miq. (chinese artichoke), which has been extensively used in oriental traditional medicine to treat of ischemic stroke; however, the role of Stachys sieboldii Miq. (SSM) in cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is not yet fully understood. In the current study, the neuroblastoma cell line (SH-SY5Y) were subjected to oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion (OGD/R) to simulate I/R injury in vitro model. The results showed that SSM improved OGD/R-induced inhibitory effect on cell viability of SH-SY5Y Cells. SSM displayed anti-oxidative activity as proved by the decreased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA), and increased activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in OGD/R-induced SH-SY5Y Cells. In addition, cell apoptosis was markedly decreased after SSM treatment in OGD/R-induced SH-SY5Y Cells. The up-regulation of Bcl-2 and down-regulation of Bax, thus reducing the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio that in turn protected the activation of caspase-9 and -3, and inhibition of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage, which was associated with the blocking of cytochrome c release to the cytoplasm. Collectively, SSM protected human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells from OGD/R-induced injury via preventing mitochondrial-dependent pathway through scavenging excessive ROS, suggesting that SSM might be a potential agent for the ischemic stroke therapy.