• 대한한의학회지
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• 제25권3호
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• pp.123-136
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• 2004

Objectives : The purpose of this investigation is to evaluate the effects of Woohwangcheongsim-won (WC) on the in vitro neuronal development and alteration in gene expression in a hypoxia model using cultured rat cortical cells. Methods : E/sub 18/ rat cortical cells were grown in a neurobasal medium containing B27 supplement and various concentration of WC. Initial development of growth cone was investigated by phase-contrast microscopy, while dendritic spine formation and synaptogenesis were investigated by immunocytochemistry with SynGAPα(a postsynaptic marker) and synaptophysin (presynaptic marker) antibodies. Alteration in gene expression was analyses by microarray using rat 5K-TwinChips. Results : WC suppressed the development of growth cones and WC increased the number of dendritic spines at 20 and 50㎍/mL concentration but there was no statistical significance. Instead, it significantly decreased the number at 100㎍/mL. The expression of anti-apoptosis gene Bcl2-like 1 (Bcl211) increased (Global M=0.46), while Akt1 decreased. Proapoptosis genes Bad and PDCD2 increased. The expression of hemoglobin alpha 1 (probably neuroglobin) increased (Global M=0.93). The expression of antioxidants such as catalase, heme oxygenase (HO), and PRKAG2 gene increased. The expression PKC gene increased. The expression of retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARα) increased significantly (Global M=1.0). Conclusions : These data suggest that WC trends to suppress cellular activity slightly in normoxia and increases the expression of apoptosis-, antioxidation-, oxygen capture-related genes in hypoxia, but increases Bcl111 that anti-apoptosis gene, on the other hand increases Bad, PDCD2 that pro-apoptosis genes, too..

• BMB Reports
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• 제43권5호
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• pp.344-348
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• 2010

Messenger ribonucleoprotein particles (mRNPs) are used to transport mRNAs along neuronal dendrites to their site of translation. Staufen2 is an mRNA-binding protein expressed in the cell bodies and cellular processes of different brain cells. It is notably involved in the transport of dendritic mRNAs along microtubules. Its knockdown expression was shown to change spine morphology and impair synaptic functions. However, the identity of Staufen2-bound mRNAs in brain cells is still completely unknown. As a mean to identify these mRNAs, we immunoprecipitated Staufen2-containing mRNPs from embryonic rat brains and used a genome wide approach to identify Staufen2-associated mRNAs. The genome wide approach identified 1780 mRNAs in Staufen2-containing mRNPs that code for proteins involved in cellular processes such as post-translational protein modifications, RNA metabolism, intracellular transport and translation. These results represent an additional and important step in the characterization of Staufen2- mediated neuronal functions in rat brains.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• 제54권6호
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• pp.241-245
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• 2011

Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a genetic multisystem disorder that results from mutations in the TSC1 or TSC2 genes, and is associated with hamartomas in several organs, including subependymal giant cell tumors. The neurological manifestations of TSC are particularly challenging and include infantile spasms, intractable epilepsy, cognitive disabilities, and autism. The TSC1- and TSC2-encoded proteins modulate cell function via the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling cascade, and are key factors in the regulation of cell growth and proliferation. The mTOR pathway provides an intersection for an intricate network of protein cascades that respond to cellular nutrition, energy levels, and growth factor stimulation. In the brain, TSC1 and TSC2 have been implicated in cell body size, dendritic arborization, axonal outgrowth and targeting, neuronal migration, cortical lamination, and spine formation. The mTOR pathway represents a logical candidate for drug targeting, because mTOR regulates multiple cellular functions that may contribute to epileptogenesis, including protein synthesis, cell growth and proliferation, and synaptic plasticity. Antagonism of the mTOR pathway with rapamycin and related compounds may provide new therapeutic options for TSC patients.

• Applied Microscopy
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• 제27권4호
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• pp.347-355
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• 1997

These studies were performed to observe the morphological changes of synapses in the visual cortex of rat during early postnatal development. Specimens of the visual cortex were taken from rats (Sprague Dawley) at 1, 3, 7, 14 and 21 days of age, and prepared for silver impregnation and electron microscopy. The number of synapse and the length of postsynaptic thickening were increased progressively with age, especially 14 and 21 days. The number of dendritic spine was increased conspicuously on postnatal days 14-21. And asymmetic, curved and axo-spinous synapses were increased markedly at the same ages. The present findings suggest that spurt of synaptogenesis in the rat visual cortex occurs during early postnatal development, especially in second to 3rd week period and asymmetric and/or curved axo-spinous synapse is a matured form of synapse with advanced age.

• Applied Microscopy
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• 제41권1호
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• pp.69-73
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• 2011

High-voltage electron microscope (HVEM) has higher resolution and penetration power than conventional transmission electron microscope that could be load thick specimen. Some researchers have taken this advantage of HVEM to explore 3-dimensional configuration of the biological structures including tissue and cells. Whole mount preparations has been employed to study some cell lines and primary culture cells. In this study, we would like to introduce useful whole mount preparation method for neuronal studies. The plastic coverslips were punched, covered by formvar membrane and coated with carbon. The neurons obtained embryonic 18 rat hippocampus were seeded on the prepared cover slip. The coverslips were fixed, dried in freeze drier and kept in a descicator until HVEM observation. We could observe detailed neuronal structures such as soma, dendrite and spine under HVEM without conventional thin section and heavy metal stain. The anaglyphic image based on stereo paired image ($-8^{\circ},+8^{\circ}$) provides three dimensional perception of the neuronal dendrites and their spines. This method could be applied to sophisticated analysis of dendritic spine under the various experimental conditions.

• 한국시뮬레이션학회논문지
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• 제17권4호
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• pp.167-174
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• 2008

공초점 현미경(confocal microscopy) 기술의 적용은 살아있는 세포를 고배율로 관찰하는 것을 가능하게 하였다. 알츠하이머나 파킨슨 질환 같은 퇴행성 뇌질환의 경우 뇌세포의 수상돌기의 형태학적 변화가 연관되어 있음이 알려져 있다. 따라서 공초점 현미경 영상으로부터 이러한 정보를 추출하는 방법에 대한 연구가 필요하다. 그러나 공초점 현미경 영상은 명암도 분포가 고르지 않고, 구조의 경계 부분의 번짐 현상 등으로 인해 구조 추출에 어려움을 겪고 있는 실정이다. 따라서 이러한 문제를 극복하고 관심 구조에 대한 특성을 추출할 수 있는 영상처리 기법이 필요하다. 본 논문에서는 뇌세포의 수상돌기 공초점 현미경 사진으로부터 구조정보를 추출하는 새로운 방법을 제안한다. 첫째, 미세 분기 구조의 경계를 향상시키는 비선형 확산 필터링을 적용한다. 둘째, 관심구조를 반복적 역치 선택 방법을 이용해 분할한다. 셋째, 분할된 구조의 분석을 위해 구조의 중심축과 경계선을 추출하기 위한 패스트 마칭 방법(Fast Marching Method)에 기반을 둔 골격화를 수행한다. 본 논문에서 제안된 방법은 기존의 방법들과는 달리 주변 잡음에 덜 민감하였으며 거친 경계선에 영향을 훨씬 적게 받음으로써 보다 정확하고 사실적인 중심축 추출 결과를 보였다.

• BMB Reports
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• 제51권8호
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• pp.369-370
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• 2018

In previous studies, memory storage was localized to engram cells distributed across the brain. While these studies have provided an individual cellular profile of engram cells, their synaptic connectivity, or whether they follow Hebbian mechanisms, remains uncertain. Therefore, our recent study investigated whether synapses between engram cells exhibit selectively enhanced structural and functional properties following memory formation. This was accomplished using a newly developed technique called "dual-eGRASP". We found that the number and size of spines on CA1 engram cells that receive inputs from CA3 engram cells were larger than at other synapses. We further observed that this enhanced connectivity correlated with induced memory strength. CA3 engram synapses exhibited increased release probability, while CA1 engram synapses produced enhanced postsynaptic responses. CA3 engram to CA1 engram projections showed strong occlusion of long-term potentiation. We demonstrated that the synaptic connectivity of CA3 to CA1 engram cells was strengthened following memory formation. Our results suggest that Hebbian plasticity occurs during memory formation among engram cells at the synapse level.

• BMB Reports
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• 제49권9호
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• pp.457-458
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• 2016

Recent studies have strongly implicated postsynaptic scaffolding proteins such as SAPAP3 or Shank3 in the pathogenesis of various mood disorders, including autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder (BD), and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Neural Abelson-related gene-binding protein 2 (nArgBP2) was originally identified as a protein that interacts with SAPAP3 and Shank3. Recent study shows that the genetic deletion of nArgBP2 in mice leads to manic/bipolar-like behavior resembling symptoms of BD. However, the function of nArgBP2 at synapse, or its connection with the synaptic dysfunctions, is completely unknown. This study provides compelling evidence that nArgBP2 regulates the spine morphogenesis through the activation of Rac1/WAVE/PAK/cofilin pathway, and that its ablation causes a robust and selective inhibition of excitatory synapse formation, by controlling actin dynamics. Our results revealed the underlying mechanism for the synaptic dysfunction caused by nArgBP2 downregulation that associates with analogous human BD. Moreover, since nArgBP2 interacts with key proteins involved in various neuropsychiatric disorders, our finding implies that nArgBP2 could function as a hub linking various etiological factors of different mood disorders.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• 제15권4호
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• pp.281-301
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• 1993

단일축삭내 HRP 주입기법에 의해 서순응형 치근막 기계적자극수용기에서 오는 일차구심성 신경섬유증 무수축삭에 의해 연결되어 있는 종말지의 시냅양상 및 미세구조에 대한 연구결과는 다음과 같았다. 1. 표식된 stem collateral은 첫 bouton을 형성할 때까지는 수질을 함유하고 있었으며, 그 직경은 약 $0.81-1.38{\mu}m$이었고, 각 terminal bouton은 특징적으로 모두가 무수축삭에 의해 연결되어 있었다. 2. 대부분의 표식 bouton은 dome형태를 나타내었으며, 때때로 길쭉한 모양 혹은 둥근모양의 bouton도 다소 관찰되었으나 scalloped 형태 혹은 glomerulus 형태의 bouton은 전혀 나타나지 않았으며 각 표식 bouton은 균일한 형태 및 크기(직경 $47.60{\pm}3.58{\mu}m$)를 가진 밝은 타원 및 원형의 소포들을 함유하고 있었다. 3. 표식 bouton은 평균직경 $1.15{\pm}0.24{\mu}m$로서 비교적 작았고 평균 $1.11{\pm}0.31$개의 다른 neuronal propile과 시냅스를 이루었는데 그중 단 1개의 neuronal propile과 시냅스를 이루는 것이 89.4%, 2개의 neuronal propile과 시냅스를 이루는 것이 10.6%로서 대단히 단순한 형태의 시냅스를 이루는 것이 특징적으로 나타났으며, 그중 대부분(80.03%)이 dendritic shaft 혹은 spine과만 시냅스를 이루었으며 p-ending과 시냅스를 이루는 것은 6.1%였고 synaptic triad는 전혀 관찰되지 않았다.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제17권12호
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• pp.2033-2041
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• 2007

For many years, it has been demonstrated that neurotrophins regulate the adult nervous system, implicating their potential as therapeutic agents for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. We generated adenoviral vectors encoding brain-derived neutotrophin factor (BDNF) and neurotrophin-3 (NT3) and tested either separately or together for the ability to induce differentiation of neuronal precursor cells with two different origins. Separate transduction of adenovirus delivering BDNF (BDNF-Ad) or NT3 (NT3-Ad) induced the neuronal differentiation in hippocampal and cortical precursor cells. NT3-Ad infected cells extended short neurites, whereas BDNF-Ad infected cells had longer neurites. In the early differentiation of hippocampal precursor cells, simultaneous infection of BDNF-Ad and NT3-Ad promoted further differentiation and neurite elongation compared with the separate infection of each virus. In contrast, simultaneous infection did not show the synergistic effect in the cortical precursor cells, suggesting that the neurotrophins play distinct roles in different regions of the brain. However, the numbers of neurites and spines per differentiated cells were markedly increased in cortical as well as hippocampal precursor cells, indicating the promotion of efficient neurite elongation and formation of dendritic spine, when BDNF-Ad and NT3-Ad were co-infected. These results suggest more studies in the effect of a combinatorial use of neurotrophins on different sites of brain need to be carried out to develop gene therapy protocols for neurodegenerative diseases.