• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.53-68
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• 2010

Objectives : We investigated the effects of Sopungsungj-won(Shufengshunqjvuan) (SSEx1, SSEx2) on the metabolic syndrome in high-fat diet induced obese mice. Methods: 8 weeks old, high fat diet induced obese male mice were divided into 4 groups: C57BL/6 lean control, obese vehicle control, SSEx1, SSEx2. After mice were treated with SSExl, SSEx2 for 12 weeks, we measured body weight gain, food intake, feeding efficiency ratio, fat weight, plasma leptin, insulin, glucose and lipid levels. We also observe the morphology and count for the numbers of Adipocyte and evaluate the weight of organs and it's function. Results: 1. Compared to Obese Control Group, SSEx1 gained significantly lower body weight and showed lower Feeding Efficiency Ratio. 2. Compared to Obese Control Group, SSEx1 showed lower weights of epididymal adipose tissue, troperitoneal adipose tissue, inguinal adipose tissue, brown adipose tissue. SSEx2 showed higher weights of epididymal adipose tissue, troperitoneal adipose tissue, inguinal adipose tissue, brown adipose tissue. 3. Compared to Obese Control Group, the size of adipocytes was significantly decreased by SSEx1, whereas the number of adipocites per unit was significantly increased. Hepatic lipid accumulation was decreased significantly by SSEx1. 4. Concerning the weights of Liver, Heart, Spleen, Kidney and Pancreas, SSEx1, SSEx2 showed little differences with those of Lean Control, Obese Control. 5. Compared to Obese Control Group, SSEX1, SSEx2 showed lower level of plasma triglyceride, but SSEx1 had significance only. SSEx1, SSEx2 showed little lower level of plasma HDL-cholesterol. LDL-cholesterol, total cholesterol, but had no significances. 6. Concerning the levels of plasma glucose, insulin and leptin, SSEx1 and SSEx2 showed littele changes with those of Lean Control, Obese Control. 7. The leves of Plasma AST, AST, ALT, free fatty acid, BUN, creatinine were in the physiological range at 4 groups all: Lean Control, Obese Control, SSEx1, SSEx2. Conclusions : These results showed SSEx1 can be used as therapeutic agent for Obesity and metabolic syndrome caused by long-period high fat diet.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.140-146
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• 2000

Recently, we reported that immunostimulation of primary rat cortical astrocyte caused stimulation of glucose deprivation induced apoptotic cell death. To enhance the understanding of the mechanism of the potentiated cell death of clucose-deprived astrocyte by immunostimulation, we investigated the effect of immunostimulation on the glucose deprivation induced cell death of rat C6 glioma cells. Co-treatment of C6 glioma cells with lipopolysaccharide (LPS, $1\;{\mu}\textrm{g}/ml$) and interferon ${\gamma}(IFN{\gamma},\;100U/ml)$ is serum free condition caused marked elevationo f nitric oxide production ($>50\;{\mu}M$). In this condition, glucose deprivation caused significant release of lactate dehdrogenase (LDH) from C6 glioma cells while control cells did not show LDH release. To investigate whether elevated level of nitric oxide is responsible for the enhanced LDH release in glucose-deprived condition, C6 glioma cells were treated with 3-morphorinosydnonimine (SIN-1) and it was observed that SIN-1 caused increase in LDH release from glucose-deprived C6 glioma cells. Treatment of C6 glioma cells with $25\;{\mu}M$ of pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate (PDTC) which inhibit Nuclear factor kB (NF-kB) activation, caused complete inhibition of nitric oxide production. Treatment of C6 glioma cells with NO synthase inhibitors, $N^{G}$-nitro-L-arginine (NNA) or L-$N{\omega}$-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), caused inhibition of nitric oxide production and also glucose deprivation induced cell death of cytokine-stimulated C6 glioma cells. In addition, diaminohydroxypyrimidine (DAHP, 5 mM) which inhibits the synthesis of tetrahydrobiopterine (BH4), one of essential cofactors for iNOS activity, caused complete inhibition of NO production from immunostimulated C6 glioma cells. The results from the present study suggest that immunostimulation causes potentiation of glucose deprivation induced death of C6 glioma cells which is mediated at least in part by the increased production of nitric oxide. The vulnerability of immunostimulated C6 glioma cells to hypoglycemic insults may implicate that the elevated level of cytokines in various ischemic and neurodegenerative diseases may play a role in their pathogenesis.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.354-360
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• 2020

The hair cycle (anagen, catagen, and telogen) is regulated by the interaction between mesenchymal cells and epithelial cells in the hair follicles. The proliferation of dermal papilla cells (DPCs), mesenchymal-derived fibroblasts, has emerged as a target for the regulation of the hair cycle. Here, we show that vanillic acid, a phenolic acid from wheat bran, promotes the proliferation of DPCs via a PI3K/Akt/Wnt/β-catenin dependent mechanism. Vanillic acid promoted the proliferation of DPCs, accompanied by increased levels of cell-cycle proteins cyclin D1, CDK6, and Cdc2 p34. Vanillic acid also increased the levels of phospho(ser473)-Akt, phospho(ser780)-pRB, and phospho(thr37/46)-4EBP1 in a time-dependent manner. Wortmannin, an inhibitor of the PI3K/Akt pathway, attenuated the vanillic acid-mediated proliferation of DPCs. Vanillic acid-induced progression of the cell-cycle was also suppressed by wortmannin. Moreover, vanillic acid increased the levels of Wnt/β-catenin proteins, such as phospho(ser9)-glycogen synthase kinase-3β, phospho(ser552)-β-catenin, and phospho(ser675)-β-catenin. We found that vanillic acid increased the levels of cyclin D1 and Cox-2, which are target genes of β-catenin, and these changes were inhibited by wortmannin. To investigate whether vanillic acid affects the downregulation of β-catenin by dihydrotestosterone (DHT), implicated in the development of androgenetic alopecia, DPCs were stimulated with DHT in the presence and absence of vanillic acid for 24 h. Western blotting and confocal microscopy analyses showed that the decreased level of β-catenin after the incubation with DHT was reversed by vanillic acid. These results suggest that vanillic acid could stimulate anagen and alleviate hair loss by activating the PI3K/Akt and Wnt/β-catenin pathways in DPCs.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.62-68
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• 2011

Calmodulin (CaM), a $Ca^{2+}$ binding protein in eukaryotes, mediates cellular $Ca^{2+}$ signals in response to a variety of biotic and abiotic external stimuli. The $Ca^{2+}$-bound CaM transduces signals by modulating the activities of numerous CaM-binding proteins. As a CaM binding protein, AtCBP63 ($\b{A}$rabidopsis thaliana $\b{C}$aM-binding protein $\underline{63}$ kD) has been known to be positively involved in plant defense signaling pathway. To investigate the pathogen resistance function of AtCBP63 in potato, we constructed transgenic potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) plants constitutively overexpressing AtCBP63 under the control of cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter. The overexpression of the AtCBP63 in potato plants resulted in the high level induction of pathogenesis-related (PR) genes such as PR-2, PR-3 and PR-5. In addition, the AtCBP63 transgenic potato showed significantly enhanced resistance against a pathogen causing bacterial soft rot, Erwinia carotovora ssp. Carotovora (ECC). These results suggest that a CaM binding protein from Arabidopsis, AtCBP63, plays a positive role in pathogen resistance in potato.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.76-82
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• 2000

Objectives : We attempted to assess He accuracy of ICD codes for cerebrovascular diseases in medical insurance claims (ICMIC) and to investigate the reasons for error. This study was designed as a preliminary study to establish a nationwide surveillance system. Methods : A total of 626 patients with medical insurance claims who indicated a diagnosis of cerebrovascular diseases during the period from 1993 to 1997 was selected from the Korea Medical Insurance Corporation cohort (KMIC cohort: 115,600 persons). The KMIC cohort was 10% of those insured who had taken health examinations in 1990 and 1992 consecutively. The registered medical record administrators were trained in the survey technique and gathered data from March to May 1999. The definition of cerebrovascular diseases in this study included cases which met ore of two criteria (Minnesota, WHO) or 'definite stroke' in CT/MRI finding. We questioned the medical record administrators to explain the error if the final diagnoses were not coded as stroke. Results : The accuracy rate of the ICMIC was 83.0% (425 cases) Medical records were not available for 8.2% (51 cases) due to the closing of hospitals, the absence of a computer system or omission of medical record, etc. Sixty-three cases (10.0%) were classified as impossible to interpret due to insufficient records in 'major clinical symptoms' or 'neurological deficits'. The most common reason was 'to meet review criteria of medical insurance benefits (52.9%)'. The department where errors in the ICMIC occurred most frequently was the department for medical insurance claims in the hospital. Conclusion : The accuracy rate of the ICMIC was 83.0%.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.798-806
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• 2013

Precise, fast, and cost-effective identification of crop cultivars is essential for plant breeder's rights. Traditional methods for identification of persimmon cultivars are based on the evaluation of sets of morphological characteristics. However, it is difficult to distinguish closely related cultivars using only morphological traits. This study was conducted to develop DNA markers for identification of the 32 persimmon cultivars in Korea and Japan. A total of 309 randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers were identified using 40 different random primers. Various number of polymorphic bands ranged from 4 (OPP-08) to 14 (UBC159) were detected with an average of 7.7. Resulting 57 RAPD fragments were selected, and their sequences were determined for developing sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) markers. As a result, 15 of 57 RAPD fragments were successfully converted to SCAR markers. Single polymorphic bands of the same size as or smaller than the RAPD fragments were amplified depending on SCAR markers. Among these markers, a combination of eight SCAR markers (PS225_200, PSN05_420, PSF13_523, PSN11_540, PS372_567, PS485_569, PSP08_635, and PS631_735) provided sufficient polymorphisms to identify 32 persimmon cultivars. These newly developed markers will be a fast and reliable tool to identify persimmon cultivars.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.739-745
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• 1999

This study was carried out to investigate the oligosaccharide and amino acid utilization by mixed cultures during soy yogurt fermentation. Three types soy yogurt were prepared by fermenting with Lactobacillus acidophilus and Streptococcus thermophilus, Streptococcus thermophilus and Saccharomyces uvarum, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Saccharomyces uvarum. The utilized amount of oligosaccharide and amino acid was determined by HPLC during the fermentation period. The oligosaccharide and amino acid utilization efficiency of S. thermophilus and Sac. uvarum was greater than the other mixed cultures. It was found that Sac. uvarum produced enzymes which can convert oligosaccharide and common sugars in soy milk into glucose, galactose and fructose which can be fermented by L. acidophilus and S. thermophilus, and in turn stimulated acid production and amino acid utilization of the latter.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.251-257
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• 1984

Low birth weight baby, defined as the baby born with less than or equal to 2,500g of body weight by WHO has been a great concern in the fold of maternal and child health since the low birth weight is a major cause of high perinatal mortality. Any measure to prevent the low birth weight baby is most desirable not only for saving the life of a baby but also for levelling up the health of the whole society. The authors attempted to figure out how some known maternal risk factors are related to the low birth weight and to measure their strengh of associations in terms of relative risk using hospital birth records. For this study, hospital birth records of 66 low birth weight cases and sex-parity matched 198 normal controls were chosen from Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital, Catholic Medical Center, and the data were analyzed in regards to several maternal factors. The risk factors studied were mother's age, mother's ABO blood type, previous histories of abortion, low birth weight baby, fetal wastage, and maternal diseases represented by anemia, hypertension, proteinuria, and glucosuria. The results obtained in this study were as follows: 1. The mean body weight of the cases and controls were 1,955g and 3,251g, respectively, and the heights were 41cm for cases and 50cm for controls. Mean gestation periods of cases and controls were 34 weeks and 39 weeks, respectively. 2. Young mother(less than or equal to 20 years of age) or old mother(more than or equal to 30 years of age) experienced more frequently the delivery of low birth weight babies than mothers in between 21 and 29 years of age. But the difference was not statistically significant. 3. Mothers whose blood type was O tended to have slighty higher frequency of low birth weight babies while B mothers have lower frequency. But the difference was not statistically significant too. 4. Those mothers who had experienced low birth weight baby in the past tended to give more births of low birth weight babies. This factor is even statistically significant and the relative risk of the prior experience of low birth weight was 6.7. 5. Mothers with experience of fetal losses and mothers of more than two pregnancies had higher frequency of low birth weight than the mothers with no fatal losses and of first pregnancy, but the difference was not statistically significant. 6. Statistically significant higher frequency of low birth weight were found in mothers with hypertension(odds ratio=4.07), anemia(odds ratio=22,33), and proteinuria(odds ratio=2.79). In summary, these study results strongly suggest that in order to prevent the low birth weight, special care should be made when the mother is too young or too old, and when the mother has experienced deliveries of low birth weight and fetal deaths. Medical control for the maternal diseases such as anemia and hypertension is also needed before or during the pregnency.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.105-109
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• 1995

L-3-[$^{123}I$]iodo-${\alpha}$-methyltyrosine([$^{123}I$] IMT) was synthesized by electrophilic radio-iodination using chloramine-T and Iodobead in phosphate buffered solution. And the biodistribution was examined in 9L glioma bearing rats. The radiosynthesis of [$^{123}I$]IMT with iodobead was simpler and higher in radiochemical yield(88%) than the method using chloramine-T(83%) as radioiodinating reagent. The highest yield was obtained from the reaction using 1 piece of Iodobead, $200{\mu}g$ ${\alpha}$-methyltyrosine in $100{\mu}l$ phosphate-buffered solution(pH 5.5) and the reaction was completed in 7min. 24 hours after the injection, the biodistribution in 9L glioma transplanted rats revealed the in vivo deiodination, the excretion via kidney, and 3 times higher uptake in the tumor than normal brain. These results suggest the promising clinical use of [$^{123}I$] IMT in the various malignancies.

• Journal of Mushroom
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.194-200
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• 2013

Polyporus umbellatus (Syn. Grifola umbellata) is a sclerotium forming mushroom belongs to family Polyporaceae of Polyphorales, Basidiomycota. The sclerotia of P. umbellatus have long been used for traditional medicines in China, Korea and Japan. This study was initiated to obtain the basic data for artificial sclerotial production of P. umbellatus. Here, we investigated the favorable conditions for mycelial growth of P. umbellatus and its symbiotic fungus Armillaria mellea. We also evaluate the favorable carbon and nitrogen sources for sclerotial formation in dual culture between P. umbellatus and A. mellea. The favorable conditions for mycelial growth of P. umbellatus were $20^{\circ}C$ and pH 4, while optimal conditions for mycelial growth of A. mellea were $25^{\circ}C$ and pH 6. The carbon sources for optimal mycelial growth of P. umbellatus were fructose and glucose, while carbon sources for favorable mycelial growth of A. mellea were also fructose and glucose. The nitrogen sources for favorable mycelial growth P. umbellatus were peptone and yeast extract, while optimal mycelial growth of A. mellea were obtained in peptone and yeast extract. When P. umbellatus and A. mellea were dual cultured on carbon sources, sclerotia were induced on basal media supplemented with glucose, fructose and maltose at pH 4~6, while nitrogen sources inducing sclerotia were basal media supplemented with peptone and yeast extract for 60 days at $20^{\circ}C$ under dark condition.