• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.510-521
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• 2003

Background : The surfactant specific proteins, SP-B and SP-C are believed to be important regulators of the surfactant function and homeostasis. Since acute respiratory distress syndrome(ARDS) is usually viewed as the functional and morphological expression of a similar underlying lung injury caused by a variety of insults, and since abnormalities in the surfactant function have been described in ARDS, the authors investigated the different effects of endotoxin and thiourea on the accumulation of mRNA encoding SP-B and SP-C. Methods : Sprague-Dawley rats were given 5 mg/kg of an intraperitoneal endotoxin from Salmonella enteritidis and 3.5 mg/kg intraperitoneal thiourea and were sacrificed at different time periods. Results : 1. The SP-B mRNA levels 6 and 24 hours after the 5 mg/kg endotoxin treatment was significantly reduced by 26.1% and 50%, respectively(P<0.01, P<0.001). 2. The SP-B mRNA levels 24 hours after the 3.5 mg/kg thiourea treatment was reduced by 9.8% and 12.5%, respectively. 3. The SP-C mRNA levels 6 and 24 hours after the 5 mg/kg endotoxin treatment was significantly reduced by 38.7% and 53.6%, respectively(P<0.01, P<0.001). 4. The SP-C mRNA level 6 hours after the 3.5 mg/kg thiourea treatment was reduced by 22.8%(P<0.05). Conclusion : These results indicate that the differential regulation of the hydrophobic surfactant proteins in vivo is evident, and suggest that the hydrophobic surfactant proteins might be differentially regulated during lung injury at different time periods without altering the lung wet to dry ratios. The mechanism of these alternations at the different time periods and the different kinds of etiology remain to be determined.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.159-168
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• 2004

Background : In recent years, numerous human tumor specific antigens such as melanoma antigen gene(MAGE) that is recognized by autologous cytotoxic T lymphocytes have been identified. MAGE is expressed in many human malignancies in various organs, such as lung, breast, stomach, esophagus and leukemia. Therefore MAGE has been studied widely for tumor diagnosis and immunotherapy. But, so far there were no clinical studies evaluating the role of MAGE in pleural effusion. We investigated the expression of MAGE in the patients with exudative pleural effusion for it's diagnostic utility and the results were compared with those of cytologic examinations. Methods : Diagnostic thoracentesis was performed in 44 consecutive patients with exudative pleural effusion during 6 months. We examined the expression of MAGE and cytology with the obtained pleural effusion. Expression of MAGE was interpreted by means of a commercial kit using RT-PCR method. Enrolled patients were divided into two groups such as malignant and benign and we analyzed its' sensitivity and specificity. Results : There were no significant differences between two groups in age, sex, white blood cell counts in pleural fluid, pleural fluid/serum protein ratio and pleural fluid/serum LDH ratio. The sensitivity and specificity of MAGE were 72.2% and 96.2% respectively and the positive predictive value and negative predictive value of MAGE were also 92.9% and 83.3% respectively. The sensitivity and negative predictive value of cytologic examinations were 66.7% and 81.3% respectively. There were no significant differences between sensitivities of MAGE and cytologic examinations but false positive result of MAGE was found in 1 case of tuberculous pleurisy. Conclusion : MAGE is a sensitive and specific marker for the differential diagnosis between benign and malignant effusion in patients with exudative pleural effusion. And MAGE would provide the equal sensitivity compared with that of cytologic examination in patients with malignant pleural effusion if 5mL of the pleural fluid is examined.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
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• v.23 no.2 s.41
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• pp.229-248
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• 1993

[ $Interferon-\gamma$ ] has been suggested as a cytokine of connective tissue stabilizer. In addition, it has also been demonstrated that this cytokine inhibited bone remodeling activities of the bone derived cells. In order to illuminate the effects of this cytokine in orthodontic force induced bone remodeling, it was administered to primary cultured periodontal ligament cells which have been known to have some osteoblast like characteristics. $Interferon-\gamma$ slightly decreased $[^3H]thymidine$ incorporation rate without a significant change in the total cellular DNA content up to 1000 U/ml, which meant these doses were not cytotoxic to the cell. Total protein synthesis was not influenced by various concentration of interferon-y whether it was determined by the $[^3H]proline$ incorporation rate or by the Lowry smethod. The effect of $interferon-\gamma$ on the individual protein was, however, differential, ie, it increased $[^3H]proline$ incorporation into the noncollagenous protein marginally, while it decreased $[^3H]proline$ incorporation into the collagen, so that it caused dose-dependent suppression of the relative collagen synthesis. On the contrary, the fibronectin synthesis determined by the ELISA was increased by 1000 U/ml of $interferon-\gamma$. The differential effects of the interferon-y on the collagen and fibronectin synthesis exhibited not only their protein level but also the steady state mRNA level. $Interferon-\gamma$ decreased steady state level of ${\alpha}1(I)$ procollagen mRNA significantly, while showing no significant changes in the fibronectin mRNA level. In addition to this, it was also found that indomethacin did not affect on the $interferon-\gamma$ induced collagen decrease in this cell, which meant prostaglandins were not involed in the process of $interferon-\gamma$ induced collagen decrease. So it can be concluded that the incubation of periodontal ligament cells with 1000 U/ml of $interferon-\gamma$ for 24 hr showed differential effects on the type I collagen and fibronectin gene expression. The decrease in relative collagen synthesis in the protein level was related with decrease in the steady state level of mRNA, while the increase in the fibronectin synthesis in the protein level was not correlated with the mRNA level.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.77-86
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• 2008

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) on the derivation of mouse ES cells from isolated blastomeres. Two-cell stage mouse embryos were obtained from superovulated BDF1 female mice. Collected embryos were cultured to blastocyst stage in culture medium supplemented with 0, 1,000, 2,500 or 5,000 U/mL of LIF. Cultured blastocysts were examined by counting the number of cells in the inner cell mass (ICM) and trophectoderm (TE) using differential staining method. When 2-cell embryos were cultured with 2,500 U/ml of LIF, the cell numbers of ICM significantly increased in comparing with those of the control($21.0{\pm}4.0$ vs. $15.9{\pm}5.0$, P<0.01) and 1,000 U/mL of LIF-containing group ($21.0{\pm}4.0$ vs. $16.6{\pm}4.9$, P<0.05). We used an ES cell establishment medium with 20% Knockout Serum Replacement and 0.01 mg/mL ACTH instead of fetal bovine serum. Establishing efficacy of ES cell lines were the highest in 2,500 U/mL of LIF-containing group as 36.7% (11/30). This culture medium was applied to the culture of isolated blastomeres and to derivate ES cell lines. Three ES cell lines (21.4%) from isolated blastomeres of 2-cell stage embryos were established. In further experiments, we could establish one ES cell line (4.0%) from single blastomere of 4-cell stage embryo. The subcultured ES cells and their embryoid bodies were characterized by analyzing gene expression for undifferentiation and differentiation marker gene using immunocytochemistry and RT-PCR. In conclusion, LIF supplementation in culture medium could increase the cell number in ICM of blastocysts and support derivation of ES cell lines from isolated blastomeres.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.211-216
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• 2008

This study was carried out to investigate inflammation-related gene expression altered in ovary and endometrium of Korean cattle with reproductive disorders using microarray. In the present study, nine inflammation-related differential1y expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in the cystic ovary and endometrium with endometritis. In the follicular cyst, eotaxin and alpha-2-HS-glycoprotein (AHSG) were up-regulated, whereas complement component 3 (C3) and oxidised low density lipoprotein (lectin-like) receptor 1 (OLR1) were down-regulated. Complement component 4A (C4A) was up-regulated in luteal cyst. In the endometritis, chemokine 1igand l and 2 (CXCL1 and CXCL2), protein C (inactivator of coagulation factors Va and VIIIa), and complement component C5 were up-regulated, whereas kininogen was down-regulated. Of these genes, we focused on eotaxin and kininogen, which were highly regulated in the follicular cyst and endometritis, respectively and on C3 commonly regulated in both reproductive disorders. The microarray data of eotaxin, kininogen, and C3 were validated by semi-quantitative PCR. Consistent with microarray data, eotaxin was up-regulated by 4-fold in the follicular cyst, while kininogen was down-regulated by 5-fold in the endometritis. C3 was down-regulated in the both follicular cyst and endometritis. Our results suggest that these inflammation-related genes could be useful markers for diagnosis of cystic ovary and endometritis of Korean cattle.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.303-309
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• 2014

The fruit of Gleditsia sinensis has been extensively used as a key ingredient of an herbal remedy for the treatment of various inflammatory diseases in traditional Korean Medicine. However, the reason of using the fruit of G. sinensis for the remedy is unclear. Since Nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2) is a key anti-inflammatory transcription factor, which is activated by the fruit of G. sinesis, we examined whether other plant parts of G. sinensis are also capable of suppressing inflammatory responses by activating Nrf2. Water extracts of various parts of G. sinensis were prepared and tested for Nrf2 activation by reporter assay and western blot analysis. Our results show that the hull of G. sinensis is the most potent in activating Nrf2. Sequential organic solvent extraction of the hull show that all the fractions had a higher potency in activating Nrf2 than the water extract, albeit differential degrees. The hull originated from Korea in general activated Nrf2 strongly compared to that of China. Chloroform fraction of the hull was further examined, showing that the fraction induced nuclear localization of Nrf2, indicative of activated Nrf2, and Nrf2-dependent gene expression including NAD(P)H dehydrogenase quinone 1 (NQO-1), glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (GCLC), and heme oxygenase - 1 (HO-1). Therefore, our results show that, among other plant parts examined in this study, the hull of G. sinensis is the most potent, providing the experimental basis for the use of the hull of G. sinensis as an active ingredient for an anti-inflammatory remedy.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.71-77
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• 2010

The time, yield, and related genes expression of PHB accumulation of Acidiphilium cryptum DX1-1 were investigated under four different initial C/N ratios, 1.2, 2.4, 7.5, and 24. The results of time and yield of poly-$\beta$-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) accumulation show that the initial C/N ratio of 2.4 was optimum for strain DX1-1 to accumulate PHB, but both higher and lower initial C/N ratios did not favor that process. Based on the genome of Acidiphilium cryptum JF-5, 13 PHB accumulation related genes in strain JF-5 were chosen and successfully cloned from strain DX1-1. The differential expressions of the 13 functional genes, in different C/N ratios as cited above, were then studied by real-time PCR. The results show that all the 13 genes were most upregulated when the initial C/N ratio was 2.4, and among which the gene Acry_3030 encoding poly-$\beta$-hydroxybutyrate polymerase and Aery_0626 encoding acetyl-CoA synthetase were much more upregulated than the other genes, which proved that they play the most important role for PHB accumulation, and acetate is the main initial substance for PHB accumulation for strain DX1-1. Potential regulatory motifs analysis showed that the genes related to PHB accumulation are regulated by different promoters and that the motif had weak similarity to the model promoters, suggesting that PHB metabolism in Acidiphilium cryptum may be mediated by a different mechanism.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.23 no.12
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• pp.1566-1577
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• 2010

Nandrolone, 19-nortestosterone, is a synthetic androgenic-anabolic steroid promoting muscle growth. Nandrolone is also present in pig meat and sera at non-negligible levels. A number of scientific reports have suggested a positive relationship between incidence of infertility and increased meat consumption in humans. The present study was designed to determine out the effect of feeding nandrolone on the testis of the male reproductive tract. Mixtures of food and nandrolone at different concentrations (0.005 ppm and 0.5 ppm) were supplied to pubertal male rats for 6 weeks. Body weight was recorded every week during the entire experimental period. At the end of the treatment, the testis, epididymis, and epididymal fat were collected and weighted. Sperm numbers in the caudal epididymis were counted. Differential gene or protein expression of steroidogenic enzymes in the testes among experimental groups was determined by semi-quantitative real-time PCR or western blotting analysis, respectively. Histological changes of the testis induced by nandrolone treatment were examined by hematoxylin and eosin staining. Immunohistochemical analysis was employed to detect changes in the localization of steroidogenic enzymes in the testes among experimental animals. There were no significant changes on body, testis, epididymis, and epididymal fat weights among experimental groups. A significant increase of caudal sperm number was found in the 0.5 ppm nandrolone-treated group. Histological examination of the testes noted a high frequency of germ cell sloughing in seminiferous tubules of 0.5 ppm nandrolone-treated rats. Even though transcript levels of $3{\beta}$-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (HSD) I, $17{\beta}$-HSD4, and $17{\alpha}$-hydroxylase were influenced by nandrolone treatments, protein levels of all molecules examined in the present study were not significantly affected. Immunohistochemical analysis showed no visible changes in the localization of steroidogenic enzymes in the testes among experimental groups. The current study showed that oral intake of nandrolone in male rats for 6 weeks did not cause significant damage to the testis. It is considered that a feeding effect of nandrolone on male fertility would not be remarkable.

• Journal of Biomedical and Translational Research
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.116-124
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• 2018

Korean Native Pig (KNP) has a uniform black coat color, excellent meat quality, white colored fat, solid fat structure and good marbling. However, its growth performance is low, while the western origin Yorkshire pig has high growth performance. To take advantage of the unique performance of the two pig breeds, we raised crossbreeds (KNP ${\times}$ Yorkshire to make use of the heterotic effect. We then analyzed the liver transcriptome as it plays an important role in fat metabolism. We sampled at two stages: 10 weeks and at 26 weeks. The stages were chosen to correspond to the change in feeding system. A total of 16 pigs (8 from each stage) were sampled and RNA sequencing was performed. The reads were mapped to the reference genome and differential expression analysis was performed with edgeR package. A total of 324 genes were found to be significantly differentially expressed (${\left|log2FC\right|}$ > 1 & q < 0.01), out of which 180 genes were up-regulated and 144 genes were down-regulated. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) showed that the samples clustered according to stages. Functional annotation of significant DEGs (differentially expressed genes) showed that GO terms such as DNA replication, cell division, protein phosphorylation, regulation of signal transduction by p53 class mediator, ribosome, focal adhesion, DNA helicase activity, protein kinase activity etc. were enriched. KEGG pathway analysis showed that the DEGs functioned in cell cycle, Ras signaling pathway, p53 signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway etc. Twenty-nine transcripts were also part of the DEGs, these were predominantly Cys2His2-like fold group (C2H2) family of zinc fingers. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis showed that there were three highly interconnected clusters, suggesting an enrichment of genes with similar biological function. This study presents the first report of liver tissue specific gene regulation in a cross-bred Korean pig.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.97-105
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• 2023

Background: Hyperactivated airway mucosa cells overproduce mucin and cause severe breathing complications. Here, we aimed to identify the effects of saponins derived from Panax ginseng on inflammation and mucin overproduction. Methods: NCI-H292 cells were pre-incubated with 16 saponins derived from P. ginseng, and mucin overproduction was induced by treatment with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA). Mucin protein MUC5AC was quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and mRNA levels were analyzed using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Moreover, we performed a transcriptome analysis of PMA-treated NCI-H292 cells in the absence or presence of Rg5, and differential gene expression was confirmed using qPCR. Phosphorylation levels of signaling molecules, and the abundance of lipid droplets, were measured by western blotting, flow cytometry, and confocal microscopy. Results: Ginsenoside Rg5 effectively reduced MUC5AC secretion and decreased MUC5AC mRNA levels. A systematic functional network analysis revealed that Rg5 upregulated cholesterol and glycerolipid metabolism, resulting in the production of lipid droplets to clear reactive oxygen species (ROS), and modulated the mitogen-activated protein kinase and nuclear factor (NF)-kB signaling pathways to regulate inflammatory responses. Rg5 induced the accumulation of lipid droplets and decreased cellular ROS levels, and N-acetyl-ⳑ-cysteine, a ROS inhibitor, reduced MUC5AC secretion via Rg5. Furthermore, Rg5 hampered the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase and p38 proteins, affecting the NF-kB signaling pathway and pro-inflammatory responses. Conclusion: Rg5 alleviated inflammatory responses by reducing mucin secretion and promoting lipid droplet-mediated ROS clearance. Therefore, Rg5 may have potential as a therapeutic agent to alleviate respiratory disorders caused by hyperactivation of mucosa cells.