• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.61-68
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• 2003

Background: Fibroblast functions both as a structural element and as a vital immunoregulatory cell. Fibroblasts regulate inflammation through governing of chemokine expression. In order to elucidate the mechanisms by which the expressions of chemokines were regulated, the co-stimulatory effects of Th1 and proinflammatory cytokines were compared using nasal mucosal fibroblasts. Methods: Human nasal mucosa was obtained from surgery for septal deviation and the growth of fibroblasts was established. Fibroblasts from 4th to 6th passage were stimulated with various combinations of cytokines. To inhibit selected signaling pathways, fibroblasts were pretreated with cyclosporin A, wortmannin, staurosporine, and dexamethasone prior to the stimulation with cytokines. The supernatants were collected and chemokines were detected with a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: $TNF-{\alpha}/IFN-{\gamma}$-induced production of RANTES was inhibited by all inhibitors used. MCP-1 was produced constitutively and $TNF-{\alpha}$-induced or $TNF-{\alpha}/IFN-{\gamma}$-induced production of MCP-1 was not inhibited by cyclosporin A or wortmannin, but by stauroporine or dexamethasone. All inhibitors used in this experiment inhibited $TNF-{\alpha}/IFN-{\gamma}$-induced or $IL-1{\beta}/IFN-{\gamma}$-induced production of MCP-2 in nasal mucosal fibroblasts. Although staurosporine or dexamethasone showed strong inhibitory effects, cyclosporin A or wortmannin did not inhibit the production of MCP-3 by $IL-1{\beta}/IFN-{\gamma}$ treatment. Conclusion: Chemokines were strongly induced by stimulation of cytokines in combination and showed different pattern of inhibition by the inhibitors. Therefore, it was assumed that cytokines acted on multiple pathways or on unknown pathways which converged to gene-specific transcription factors.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.609-619
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• 2000

Cyclosporin A(CsA) is now widely used to treat organ transplant recipients. But CsA has various short-and long-term side effects. Especially, gingival hyperplasia is not easy to resolve since its nature is still unknown. This study discusses the pathogenesis of CsA-induced gingival hyperplasia on the basis of data obtained from light and electron microscopic studies of biopsis from patients on CsA treatment after kidney transplantation. Light microscopically, the multilayered squamous epithelium showed an irregular surface of parakeratosis and deep invaginations in the subepithelial tissue. At lamina propria, we observed bundles of irregularly arranged collagen fiber, some fibroblasts, numerous capillary vessels and a large diffuse infiltration of plasma cells. Ultrastructurally, many fibroblasts, collagen fibers, collagen fibrils were present in lamina propria. On the basis of the data collected, we propose that the morphological features of the dimensional increase in gingival tissue associated with CsA treatment in kidney transplant patients may be considered proliferative fibroblasts, collagen fibers, collagen fibrils in lamina propria.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.462-467
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• 2009

Cyclosporin A (CyA) produced by Tolypocladium inflatum is a promising drug owing to its immunosuppressive and antifungal activities. From an industrial point of view, the necessity to obtain a suitable and economic medium for higher production of CyA was the aim of this work. The present study evaluated the effect of different fermentation parameters in solid state fermentation, such as selection of solid substrate, hydrolysis of substrates, initial moisture content, supplementation of salts, additional carbon, and nitrogen sources, as well as the inoculum age and size, on production of CyA by Tolypocladium inflatum MTCC 557. The fermentation was carried out at $25{\pm}2^{\circ}C$ for 9 days. A combination of hydrolyzed wheat bran flour and coconut oil cake (1:1) at 70% initial moisture content supported a maximum production of $3,872{\pm}156\;mg$ CyA/kg substrate as compared with $792{\pm}33\;mg/kg$ substrate before optimization. Furthermore, supplementation of salts, glycerol (1% w/w), and ammonium sulfate (1% w/w) increased the production of CyA to $5,454{\pm}75\;mg/kg$ substrate. Inoculation of 5 g of solid substrate with 6 ml of 72-h-old seed culture resulted in a maximum production of $6,480{\pm}95\;mg$ CyA/kg substrate.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.10
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• pp.1634-1639
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• 2015

Cytochrome P450 hydroxylase (CYP) in actinomycetes plays an important role in the biosynthesis and bioconversion of various secondary metabolites. Two unique CYPs named CYP-sb21 and CYP-pa1, which were identified from Sebekia benihana and Pseudonocardia autotrophica, respectively, were proven to transfer a hydroxyl group at the 4^th or 9^th N-methyl leucine position of immunosuppressive agent cyclosporin A (CsA). Interestingly, these two homologous CYPs showed different CsA regio-selectivities. CYP-sb21 exhibited preferential hydroxylation activity at the 4^th position over the 9^th position, whereas CYP-pa1 showed the opposite preference. To narrow down the CYP domain critical for CsA regio-selectivity, each CYP was divided into four domains, and each domain was swapped with its counterpart from the other CYP. A total of 18 hybrid CYPs were then individually tested for CsA regio-selectivity. Although most of the hybrid CYPs failed to exhibit a significant change in regio-selectivity in the context of CsA hydroxylation, hybrid CYP-pa1 swapped with the second domain of CYP-sb21 showed a higher preference for the 9^th position. Moreover, hybrid CYPsb21 containing seven amino acids from the 2nd domain of CYP-pa1 showed higher preference for the 4^th position. These results imply that the 2nd domain of CsA-specific CYP plays a critical role in CsA regio-selectivity, thereby setting the stage for biotechnological application of CsA regio-selective hydroxylation.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.329-335
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• 2006

Echinostoma hortense (E. hortense) is an intestinal trematode with the highest infection rate in South Korea. However, the immune response against E. hortense infection has not been explained well. In the present study, we investigated the effect of treatment with cyclosporin A (CsA) and histamine receptor antagonists on the cytokine expression and mucosal goblet cells in E. hortense-infected C3H/HeN mice. The alteration of cytokine mRNA expression ($TNF-{\alpha},\;IL-l{\beta},\;IL-4\;and\;IL-5$), intestinal worm recovery rate and goblet cell responses were measured weekly from 0 to 5 weeks post-infection (P.I.) in the control and the following three drug-treated groups: CsA, hydroxyzine and cimetidine. Compared with the control group, the expression of $TNF-{\alpha}$, IL-4 and IL-5 mRNAs decreased in the CsA- and hydroxyzine-treated groups, but only IL-4 mRNA expression did in the cimetidine-treated group. Worm recovery rate was significantly increased in the drug-treated groups. Mucosal goblet cells and their mucin response significantly decreased in the CsA-treated group (P<0.01), but significantly increased in the cimetidine- (P<0.05) and hydroxyzine- (P<0.01) treated groups. These data suggest that CsA treatment inhibits production of Th1- and Th2-type cytokines which are necessary for the worm expulsion. Histamine receptor increases goblet cells and their mucin activation, although it remains to be elucidated whether it directly affects the worm expulsion period of E. hortense in C3H/HeN mice.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.265-269
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• 1999

Taurine is a major $\beta$-amino acid in various tissues. Taurine transporter (TAUT) is responsible for the transportation of taurine in the cell. The transporter is affected by various stimuli to maintain its cell volume. Macrophage cell volume varies in its activated states. In our experiment, it was found that the murine macrophage cell line, RAW264.7, expressed TAUT protein in its membrane. Its transportation activities could be blocked by a $\beta$-amino acid such as $\beta$-alanine, but not by $\alpha$-amino acids in this cell line. When assessed in RAW264.7 under the influence of immunosuppressive reagents, the activity of the TAUT was decreased by the treatment of rapamycin (RM) or cyclosporin A (CsA). However when ionomycin (IM) was added to this system, TAUT activity was recovered only in CsA-treated cells in a concentration-dependent manner. In order to inhibit the voltage gated {TEX}$Ca^{+2}${/TEX} channel, calmidazolium was added to the RAW264.7 cell line. Treatment of the cell with calmidazolium completely blocked TAUT. Furthermore, addition of IM to this system recovered the activity of TAUT again. When we added phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) to the cell line, secretion of nitric oxide (NO) was increased 4-fold and the TAUT activity was decreased 5-fold. However, the addition of N-nitro L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), an inducible NO synthase (iNOS) inhibitor, to the PMA-treated cells, resulted in the recovery of TAUT activity. These results showed that the activity of TAUT was sensitive to the intracellular concentrations of both {TEX}$Ca^{+2}${/TEX} and NO.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.128-134
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• 2008

The kinetics of cell growth and Cyclosporin A (Cyc A) production by Tolypocladium inflatum were studied in shake flasks and bioreactors under controlled and uncontrolled pH conditions. In the case of the shake flask, the production time was extended to 226 h and the maximal antibiotic concentration was 76 mg/l. When scaling up the cultivation process to a bioreactor level, the production time was reduced to only 70h with a significant increase in both the cell growth and the antibiotic production. The maximal dry cell weights in the case of the controlled pH and uncontrolled pH cultures in the bioreactor were 22.4g/l and 14.2g/l, respectively. The corresponding maximal dry cell weight values did not exceed 7.25g/l with the shake flask cultures. The maximal values for Cyc A production were 144.72 and 131.4 mg/l for the controlled and uncontrolled pH cultures, respectively. It is also worth noting that a significant reduction was observed in both the dry cell mass and the antibiotic concentration after the Cyc A production phase, whereas the highest rate of antibiotic degradation was observed in the stirred tank bioreactor with an uncontrolled pH. Morphological characterization of the micromorphological cell growth (mycelial/pellet forms) was also performed during cultivation in the bioreactor.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.81-87
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• 2003

The effects of anti-allergic drugs on intestinal mastocytosis and the expulsion of Neodiplostomum seoulense were observed in Sprague-Dawley rats, after oral infection with 500 metacercariae. The drugs used were hydroxyzine (a histamine receptor H$_1$ blocker), cimetidine (a H$_2$ blocker), cyclosporin-A (a helper T-cell suppressant), and prednisolone (a T- and B-cell suppressant). Infected, but untreated controls, and uninfected controls, were prepared. Worm recovery rate and intestinal mastocytosis were measured on weeks 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 post-infection. Compared with the infected controls, worm expulsion was significantly (P < 0.05) delayed in hydroxyzine- and cimetidine-treated rats, despite mastocytosis being equally marked in the duodenum of all three groups. In the cyclosporin-A- and prednisolone-treated groups, mastocytosis was suppressed, but worm expulsion was only slightly delayed, without statistical significance. Our results suggest that binding of histamine to its receptors on intestinal smooth muscles is more important in terms of the expulsion of N. seoulense from rats than the levels of histamine alone, or mastocytosis.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.71-86
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• 1998

The purpose of this study was to evaluate clinically and histopathologically the effects to the periodontal tissue in rats after Cyclosporin A (CsA) administration and to determine whether there is a relationship between dosage of CsA or blood CsA level and the seventy of gingival overgrowth in rats. Twenty 6-week-old Sprauge-Dawley Fats were randomized into 4groups. The control group received olive oil only and the test group received daily CsA in olive oil via gastric feeding for 6weeks at a 3,10, and 30mg/kg. Rats were weighed to evaluate the systemic effect of drug and stone models were made from alginate impressions of upper and lover anterior region at 2 week interval. On completion of offal CsA administration, blood were collected and blood CsA levels were quantitated by TDxFLx analyzer. Rats were sacrificed an6 their upper and lower jaws were removed together with the surrounding gingiva and soft tissue for light microscopic examination. The results were as follows : 1. The weight gain of GsA-treated rats was much less than of the control group and central incisors were gradually displaced and separated in the test groups. 2. The extensive fibrovascular proliferation and scattered inflammatoy infiltrates in an edematous stroma were observed in enlarged gingiva of CsA-treated rats. 3. The increase in buccolingual, mesiodistal dimension of the anterior teeth and vertical height of the interdental papilla showed dose-dependent manner in CsA-treated rats. 4. Significant positive correlation exists between blood CsA level and the severity of gingival overgrowth in anterior teeth. This result indicates that the severity of gingival enlargement in CsA treated rats is correlated with dosage of CsA administration and blood CsA level.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.15-22
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• 2007

An oil-in-water solvent evaporation method was used to prepare the cyclosporin A (CyA)-loaded nanoparticles varying in poly (D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) polymer (RG 502H, RG 503H) and the amount of additive ethyl myristate (EM) or chitosan (CS). The particles were characterized for drug loading and entrapment efficiency by HPLC, surface morphology by scanning electron microscopy, particle size by dynamic light scattering and surface charge by Zetapotential. The results showed drug loadings ranging from 10.9% to 15.8% with high encapsulation efficiency (82.0-97.8%). SEM and DLS studies showed discrete and spherical particles with smooth surfaces and mean size ranging 257.6-721.7 nm. The additive EM or CS did not change the mean sizes of the nanoparticles, whereas by the coating effect of CS, the Zetapotential values of the CS-added nanoparticles were moved to the more positive direction as the amount of CS was increased. From the pharmacokinetic analysis, the nanoparticles formulations showed the higher bioavailability and MRT than $Neoral^{\circledR}$ While little adding effect of EM or CS was detected in pharmacokinetic profile when RG 503H was used as polymer carrier, more noticeable different pharmacokinetic behaviors could be observed in case of RC 502H. EM incorporation was found to elevate the $K_{el}$, whereas CS coating resulted in the decrease of F and $K_{el}$, which seems to be due to the function of CS as a barrier and a mucoadhesive coating.