• Toxicological Research
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.27-32
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• 2014

Probiotics are live microorganisms that confer a health benefit on the host. Duolac-Gold is a mixture of seven probiotic bacteria containing three species of Bifidobacteria, two species of Lactobacillus, and Streptococcus thermophilus. The aim of this study was to assess the anti-inflammatory effects of Duolac-Gold in an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) mouse model. IBD was induced by administering 1.5% dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) for 10 days. After induction of DSS-induced colitis, Duolac-Gold was orally administered at three different concentrations. Interestingly, Duolac-Gold treatment accelerated IBD healing, and anti-inflammatory activity was assessed by weight loss, length of the colon, and a microscopic damage score by histology. The expression of inflammatory related cytokines was measured in colon tissues and serum. Of these cytokines, the expression of interleukin-6 decreased remarkably after Duolac-Gold treatment. Taken together, these results suggest that Duolac-Gold treatment is effective in IBD healing by regulating IL-6.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.944-954
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• 2017

Objectives: This study investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of Jageum-jung extract on Dextran sulfate sodium (DSS-induced) ulcerative colitis in mice. Methods: Ulcerative colitis was induced by DSS in Balb/C male mice. Ten mice were assigned to each of four groups: Ctrl (control), UE (ulcerative colitis-induced), PT (treated with pentasaccharide after induction of ulcerative colitis), and JT (treated with Jageum-jung extract after induction of ulcerative colitis). The effects of Jageum-jung extract were measured by restoration of the length of the intestine, degree of mucosal damage as seen with histochemistry, and changes of p-IkB, iNOS, COX-2, and caspase-3 determined by immunohistochemistry. Results: The recovered intestinal length of the JT group was longer than that of the UE group. In the colon mucosa of JT group, hemorrhagic lesions were reduced, and the mucus barrier was recovered. This group also showed inhibited production of inflammatory enzymes (iNOS, COX-2) through regulation of proinflammatory enzyme (NF-kB, p65) activity in the colon. In addition, caspase 3 activation induced apoptosis. By GC/MS analysis, azetidine was identified. Conclusions: This study confirmed the anti-inflammatory effects of jageum-jung extract, and suggests the possibility of using Jageum-jung extract to treat ulcerative colitis. Further experiments and research on the mechanism of Jageum-jung effects are needed.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.1800-1805
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• 2018

Inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis (UC), is a chronically relapsing inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract. Intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) constitute barrier surfaces and play a critical role in maintaining gut health. Dysregulated immune responses and destruction of IECs disrupt intestinal balance. Dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) is the most widely used chemical for inducing colitis in animals, and its treatment induces colonic inflammation, acute diarrhea, and shortening of the intestine, with clinical and histological similarity to human UC. Current treatments for this inflammatory disorder have poor tolerability and insufficient therapeutic efficacy, and thus, alternative therapeutic approaches are required. Recently, dietary supplements with probiotics have emerged as promising interventions by alleviating disturbances in the indigenous microflora in UC. Thus, we hypothesized that the probiotic Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis strain BB12 could protect against the development of colitis in a DSS-induced mouse model of UC. In the present study, oral administration of BB12 markedly ameliorated DSS-induced colitis, accompanied by reduced tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$-mediated IEC apoptosis. These findings indicate that the probiotic strain BB12 can alleviate DSS-induced colitis and suggest a novel mechanism of communication between probiotic microorganisms and intestinal epithelia, which increases intestinal cell survival by modulating pro-apoptotic cytokine expression.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.50-62
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• 2008

Objectives: This study was aimed to find the effect of Samiunkyungtang on inflammation and microflora in an ulcerative colitis animal model. Methods: We established four groups of normal, control, test 1, and test 2 and assigned 6 rats toeach group. The normal group was not treated by any process and fed by normal saline. The control & test groups were provided with 4% dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) treatment for 7 days. Samiunkyungtang extract was orally administered to test groups (test 1=25mg/kg, test 2 100mg/kg) 3 days after DSS treatment for 10 days. After DSS treatment finished, we sacrificed the mice and measured colon length and enzyme activities such as myeloperoxidase (MPO), alkine phosphatase (ALP), ${\beta}$-glucuronidase, ${\beta}$-glucosidase, chondroitinase, and tryptophanase. Results: The colon lengths of test 1 and 2 groups were longer than the control group (p<0.05). Histologically, the crypts and superficial epitheliums of test 1 and 2 groups were regenerated. Goblet cells from all test groups were retrieved. The inflammatory biochemical marker, MPO and ALP activities in all test groups were highly reduced (p<0.01) compared to the control group. The activities of fecal bacterial enzymes in test groups such as ${\beta}$-glucuronidase, ${\beta}$-glucosidase, chondroitinase, and tryptophanase were reduced compared to the control group (p<0.01). Conclusions: As a result of this experiment, Samiunkyungtang is considered to have an inhibitory effect on inflammation and fecal enzyme activity in DSS-induced colitis animal model. Our results indicate that Samiunkyungtang may possess therapeutic effect on the development of DSS-induced colitis.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.149-155
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• 2017

The effects of Korean solar salt on an azoxymethane (AOM)/dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colon cancer C57BL/6 mouse model were studied. Korean solar salt samples (SS-S, solar salt from S salt field; SS-Yb, solar salt from Yb salt field), nine-time-baked bamboo salt (BS-9x, made from SS-Yb), purified salt (PS), and SS-G (solar salt from $Gu\acute{e}rande$, France) were orally administered at a concentration of 1% during AOM/DSS colon cancer induction, and compared for their protective effects during colon carcinogenesis in C57BL/6 mice. SS-S and SS-Yb suppressed colon length shortening and tumor counts in mouse colons. Histological evaluation by hematoxylin and eosin staining also revealed suppression of tumorigenesis by SS-S. Conversely, PS and SS-G did not show a similar suppressive efficacy as Korean solar salt. SS-S and SS-Yb promoted colon mRNA expression of an apoptosis-related factor and cell-cycle-related gene and suppressed pro-inflammatory factor. SS-Yb baked into BS-9x further promoted these anti-carcinogenic efficacies. Taken together, the results indicate that Korean solar salt, especially SS-S and SS-Yb, exhibited anti-cancer activity by modulating apoptosis- and inflammation-related gene expression during colon carcinogenesis in mice, and bamboo salt baked from SS-Yb showed enhanced anti-cancer functionality.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.135-141
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• 2015

Dysfunction of gut immune regulation is involved in mucosal damage in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, there is still no efficacious immune-regulator for the treatment of IBD. Alloferon is a novel immune-modulatory peptide that was originally isolated from infected insects. It shows anti-inflammatory effects by the regulation of cytokine production by immune cells and their activities. Therefore, we investigated the effect of alloferon in a mouse model of colitis using dextran sulfate sodium (DSS). Colitis was induced by administration of DSS in drinking water for 7 consecutive days. It was confirmed by the presence of weight loss, diarrhea, hematochezia, and colon contraction. Alloferon was injected 4 days after DSS administration. We found that alloferon improved the pathogenesis of IBD based on the reduced disease activity index (DAI) and colon contraction. Edema, epithelial erosion, and immune cell infiltration were found in mice administered DSS, but the phenomena were reduced following alloferon treatment. The plasma level of IL-6, a classical pro-inflammatory cytokine in colitis, was also decreased by alloferon. Moreover, alloferon inhibited the TNF-${\alpha}$-induced degradation and phosphorylation of $I{\kappa}B$ in Colo205 colon cancer cells. Taken together, these results show that alloferon has anti-inflammatory effects and attenuates DSS-induced colitis.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.385-390
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• 2012

In order to know the effect of pre-existing Trichinella spiralis infection on experimentally induced intestinal inflammation and immune responses, we induced colitis in T. spiralis-infected mice and observed the severity of colitis and the levels of Th1, Th2, and regulatory cytokines and recruitment of $CD4^+CD25^+Foxp3^+$ T (regulatory T; $T_{reg}$) cells. Female C57BL/6 mice were infected with 250 muscle larvae; after 4 weeks, induction of experimental colitis was performed using 3% dextran sulfate sodium (DSS). During the induction period, we observed severity of colitis, including weight loss and status of stool, and evaluated the disease activity index (DAI). A significantly low DAI and degree of weight loss were observed in infected mice, compared with uninfected mice. In addition, colon length in infected mice was not contracted, compared with uninfected mice. We also observed a significant increase in production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, IL-6 and IFN-${\gamma}$, in spleen lymphocytes treated with DSS; however, such an increase was not observed in infected mice treated with DSS. Of particular interest, production of regulatory cytokines, IL-10 and transforming growth factor (TGF)-${\beta}$, in spleen lymphocytes showed a significant increase in mice infected with T. spiralis. A similar result was observed in mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN). Subsets of the population of $T_{reg}$ cells in MLN and spleen showed significant increases in mice infected with T. spiralis. In conclusion, T. spiralis infection can inhibit the DSS-induced colitis in mice by enhancing the regulatory cytokine and $T_{reg}$ cells recruitment.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.338-346
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• 2016

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is associated with various human diseases, such as cancer, auto-immune disease, and intestinal inflammation. The limited and inadequate effect of standard approaches for treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has prompted to develop alternative anti-colitis agents through inhibition of STAT3. Here, we show that gallic acid (GA), a 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic acid, markedly reduced phosphorylation of STAT3. Among the derivatives of benzoic acids, GA showed significant inhibition on STAT3 phosphorylation. In addition, GA ameliorated the dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced acute colitis as determined by the measurement of symptomatic and histological indices. The suppression of DSS-induced acute colitis by GA treatment may be related to the regulation of cytokines and growth factors. Furthermore, GA inhibited phosphorylation of STAT3 in the colon tissue of DSS-treated mice. These findings may be useful in comprehending the molecular action of GA on STAT3 phosphorylation and provide novel insights into the potential application of GA in the treatment of STAT3-related inflammatory disease, such as IBD.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.115-124
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• 2012

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the leading causes of cancer death in western countries or in the developed countries. Zinc intake has been associated with decreased risk of CRC. We investigated the effect of zinc on the formation of colonic aberrant crypt foci (ACF) induced by azoxymethane followed by dextran sodium sulfate in mice. Five-week old ICR mice were fed with the different zinc levels (0.01, 0.1, 1 ppm) for 12 weeks. The numbers of ACF were measured in the colonic mucosa. The ACF number of HZn group was significantly low compared with LZn group or MZn group. Cytosolic superoxide dismutase activity was the highest in HZn group, while thiobarbituric acid reactive substance level for lipid peroxidation was the highest in LZn group. There was no difference in number of PCNA-positive proliferative cells among the groups. TUNEL-positive apoptotic cells were increased in HZn group compared with LZn group. The HZn group exhibited a decrease of ${\beta}$-catenin immunostaining areas compared with the LZn or MZn group. These findings indicate that dietary zinc might exert a protecting effect against colon carcinogenesis by inhibiting the development of ACF in the mice.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.829-835
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• 2014

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is caused by dysregulation of colon mucosal immunity and mucosal epithelial barrier function. Recent studies have reported that lipoteichoic acid (LTA) from Lactobacillus plantarum K8 reduces excessive production of pro-inflammatory cytokine. In this study, we investigated the preventive effects of lysate of Lb. plantarum K8 in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were orally pretreated with lysate of Lb. plantarum K8 (low dose or high dose) or live Lb. plantarum K8 prior to the induction of colitis using 4% DSS. Disease progression was monitored by assessment of disease activity index (DAI). Histological changes of colonic tissues were evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-${\alpha}$), interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The colon mRNA expressions of TNF-${\alpha}$, IL-6, and toll like receptor-2 (TLR-2) were examined by quantitative real-time-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Lysate of Lb. plantarum K8 suppressed colon shortening, edema, mucosal damage, and the loss of DSS-induced crypts. The groups that received lysate of Lb. plantarum K8 exhibited significantly decreased levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-${\alpha}$ and IL-6 in the colon. Interestingly, colonic expression of toll like receptor-2 mRNA in the high-dose lysate of Lb. plantarum K8 group increased significantly. Our study demonstrates the protective effects of oral lysate of Lb. plantarum K8 administration on DSS-induced colitis via the modulation of pro-inflammatory mediators of the mucosal immune system.