• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.47 no.2
• /
• pp.100030.1-100030.14
• /
• 2024

Both brown and white adipose tissues (BAT/WAT) are innervated by the peripheral nervous system, including efferent sympathetic nerves that communicate from the brain/central nervous system out to the tissue, and afferent sensory nerves that communicate from the tissue back to the brain and locally release neuropeptides to the tissue upon stimulation. This bidirectional neural communication is important for energy balance and metabolic control, as well as maintaining adipose tissue health through processes like browning (development of metabolically healthy brown adipocytes in WAT), thermogenesis, lipolysis, and adipogenesis. Decades of sensory nerve denervation studies have demonstrated the particular importance of adipose sensory nerves for brown adipose tissue and WAT functions, but far less is known about the tissue's sensory innervation compared to the better-studied sympathetic nerves and their neurotransmitter norepinephrine. In this review, we cover what is known and not yet known about sensory nerve activities in adipose, focusing on their effector neuropeptide actions in the tissue.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.307-313
• /
• 1994

We have previously shown that crude water extract of Euonymus alatus (EA) had strong prophylactic effect against chemically induced-and tumor cell implanted-cancer, and that the mechanisms responsible for its antitumor effects were due to nonspecific enhancement of the NK cell activities and the cell mediated immunity. However, it was unknown that any components of crude extract did work so, since it consisted of several components. In this paper, we fractionated the crude watar EA-extract into several fraction such as hexane-, ethylether-, ethyl acetate-, n-butanol- and water soluble-fraction, and screened the immune regulating activities of each fraction by the evaluation of lymphokine production and activated lymphocyte proliferation. As a result of the component fraction of EA-extract, it was found that n-butanol fraction was a potent immunostimulator, and the remained water soluble fraction also contained some stimulator, But, other fraction did not showed any remarkable effect. It is therefore suggested that EA-glycosides in n-butanol fraction may be new one of the potent biological response modifiers. The present study was also undertaken in an efforts to investigate the effects of elm-bark(EB, Ulmus clavidiana var japonica), which has been used for curing ulcer and inflammation as a folk medicine without any kind of experimental evidence to support this, on the cellular- and humoral-immune responses, lymphocyte function and NK cell activities in mice. Regardless of time and duration of EB-treatment, Arthus reaction and antibody response to SRBC were not modified by EB, but delayed hypersensitivity to SRBC was significantly enhanced only when EB was treated prior to SRBC-sensitization. EB slightly inhibited the proliferation responses of splenocytes to PHA-stimulation, but it significantly augmented the responses of these cells to S aureus Cowan 1 and Con A-activation, and these effects were manifested only when EB was added at culture initiation. EB did not influence Ig secretion of spleen cells but it significantly augmented the Con A-induced 1L 2 and MIF production of splenocytes. NK cell activities of splenocytes were markedly riled when effector cells were pretreated with EB and this augmentation was dine to the increase of binding affinity of effector cells to target cells and the target cell lytic activities of effector cells. These results led to the conclusion that EB triggers increase of cellular immune responses, such as delayed hypersensitivitiy, lymphokine production and NK cell activities. Also these results suggested that EB contains potent immune stimulants, which may provide the rational basis for their therapeutic use as one of the new biological response modifiers.

• Journal of the Korea Computer Graphics Society
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.11-22
• /
• 2017

This study proposes IMToon(IMage-based carToon) which is an image-based cartoon authoring system using an image processing algorithm. The proposed IMToon allows general users to easily and efficiently produce frames comprising cartoons based on image. The authoring system is designed largely with two functions: cartoon effector and interactive story editor. Cartoon effector automatically converts input images into a cartoon-style image, which consists of image-based cartoon shading and outline drawing steps. Image-based cartoon shading is to receive images of the desired scenes from users, separate brightness information from the color model of the input images, simplify them to a shading range of desired steps, and recreate them as cartoon-style images. Then, the final cartoon style images are created through the outline drawing step in which the outlines of the shaded images are applied through edge detection. Interactive story editor is used to enter text balloons and subtitles in a dialog structure to create one scene of the completed cartoon that delivers a story such as web-toon or comic book. In addition, the cartoon effector, which converts images into cartoon style, is expanded to videos so that it can be applied to videos as well as still images. Finally, various experiments are conducted to verify the possibility of easy and efficient production of cartoons that users want based on images with the proposed IMToon system.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.49 no.3
• /
• pp.221-227
• /
• 2013

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV) cause viral infections that lead to chronic diseases. When they invade human body, virus specific T cells play an important role in antiviral effector functions including killing virus-infected cells and helping B cells to produce specific antibodies against viral proteins. The antiviral activity of T cells is usually affected by immune-regulatory factors that express on surface of T cells. Recently, many researchers have investigated the relationship between effector functions of virus specific T cells and characteristics of immune regulatory factors (e.g., CD28, CD25, CD45RO, FoxP3, PD-1, CTLA-4). In particular, Immune inhibitory molecules such as forkhead box P3 (FoxP3), programmed death-1 (PD-1), and cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) are associated with T-cell dysfunction. They are shown to be up-regulated in chronic viral diseases such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C or human immunodeficiency virus infection. Therefore, the positive correlation between viral persistence and expression of immune regulatory factors (FoxP3, PD-1, and CTLA-4) has been suggested. In this review, the roles of immune regulatory factors FoxP3, PD-1, and CTLA-4 were discussed in chronic viral diseases such as HIV, HBV, or HCV.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
• /
• v.7 no.4
• /
• pp.156-162
• /
• 2019

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disorder characterized by progressive joint deterioration; Furthermore, RA can also affect body tissues, including the skin, eyes, lungs, heart and blood vessels. The early stages of RA can be difficult to diagnose because the signs and symptoms mimic those of many other diseases. It is not known exactly what triggers the onset of RA and how to cure the disease. But recent discoveries indicate that remission of symptoms is more likely when treatment begins early with strong medications known as disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors are typical examples of biotherapies that have been developed for RA. The substances may occur naturally in the body or may be made in the laboratory. Other biological therapies care biological response modifiers (BRMs)such as monoclonal antibodies, interferon, interleukin-2 (IL-2) and a protein binder using repeat units. These substances play significant anti-inflammatory roles. Proteins with recurrent, conserved amino acid stretches mediate interactions among proteins for essential biological functions; for example, ankyrin (ANK), Heat repeat protein (HEAT), armadillo repeat protein (ARM) and tetratricopeptide repeats (TPR). Here, we describe Leucine rich repeats (LRR) that ideally fold together to form a solenoid protein domain and is more applicable to our current study than the previously mentioned examples. Although BRMs have limitations in terms of immunogenicity and effector functions, among other factors, in the context therapeutic use and for proteomics research, We has become clear that repeat-unit-derived binding proteins will increasingly be used in biotechnology and medicine.

• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
• /
• v.13 no.3
• /
• pp.164-173
• /
• 2018

This paper proposes functional test methods of first-aid gadgets which are special end-effectors, for relief robot. In recent years, researches have been actively conducted on robots that can perform rescue operations on behalf of rescue workers in dangerous areas such as disasters and wars. These special robots mainly perform the task of finding or transporting injured people. However, it is sometimes they necessary to provide first aid in the field. Among the various first-aid operations, gadgets are being developed for oxygen supply, injection, and hemostasis operations that can be used in a defense/civilian area by using robot technology. Previous studies have proposed first-aid gadgets that are suitable for onsite situations and enable robots to perform the given task quickly and accurately. In this paper, we design a test procedure suitable for the functions of first-aid gadgets, summarize the results, and introduce future research directions.

• International Journal of Control, Automation, and Systems
• /
• v.3 no.3
• /
• pp.461-468
• /
• 2005

This paper proposes a wheel-assembly automation system, which assembles a wheel into a hub of a vehicle hung to a moving hanger in a car manufacturing line. A macro-micro manipulator control strategy is introduced to increase the system bandwidth and tracking accuracy to ensure insertion tolerance. A camera is equipped at the newly designed wheel gripper, which is attached at the center of the end-effector of the macro-micro manipulator and is used to measure position error of the hub of the vehicle in real time. The redundancy problem in the macro-micro manipulator is solved without complicated calculation by assigning proper functions to each part so that the macro part tracks the velocity error while the micro part regulates the fine position error. Experimental results indicate that tracking error satisfies the insertion tolerance of assembly $({\pm}1mm)$, and thus it is verified that the proposed system can be applied to the wheel assembly task on a moving hanger in the manufacturing line.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• v.38 no.2
• /
• pp.103-106
• /
• 2000

It is well known that the cysteine proteases in excretory-secretory product (ESP) of Paragonimus westermani newly excysted metacercariae (PwNEM) are capable of degrading IgG in vitro. Recent evidence suggests that the IgG-coated surface, such as found on parasites, is one of the most effective physiologic stimuli for granulocyte activation. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate the effect of excretory-secretory product (ESP) of PwNEM on superoxide production of granulocytes stimulated with IgG The 96-well plates were coated with human IgG (0, 10, 30, $100{\;}\mu\textrm{g}/ml$) in the absence or presence of ESP. When granulocytes were incubated in the wells coated with human IgG in the presence of ESP, the level of superoxide production of granulocytes was reduced to about 90% when compared to the cells incubated in the wells coated with IgG alone. This inhibitory effect of the ESP on IgG-induced superoxide production of granulocytes was concentration-dependent. These results suggest that ESP secreted by PwNEM may be important in the control of effector functions of granulocytes stimulated with IgG in human paragonimiasis.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.49 no.3
• /
• pp.159-166
• /
• 2016

Several members of tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) superfamily that these members activate caspase-8 from death-inducing signaling complex (DISC) in TNF ligand-receptor signal transduction have been identified. In the extrinsic pathway, apoptotic signal transduction is induced in death domain (DD) superfamily; it consists of a hexahelical bundle that contains 80 amino acids. The DD superfamily includes about 100 members that belong to four subfamilies: death domain (DD), caspase recruitment domain (CARD), pyrin domain (PYD), and death effector domain (DED). This superfamily contains key building blocks: with these blocks, multimeric complexes are formed through homotypic interactions. Furthermore, each DD-binding event occurs exclusively. The DD superfamily regulates the balance between death and survival of cells. In this study, the structures, functions, and unique features of DD superfamily members are compared with their complexes. By elucidating structural insights of DD superfamily members, we investigate the interaction mechanisms of DD domains; these domains are involved in TNF ligand-receptor signaling. These DD superfamily members play a pivotal role in the development of more specific treatments of cancer.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.155-160
• /
• 2009

Mast cells and basophils perform important functions as pivotal effector cells in IgE-mediated allergic reactions. KU812F cells, a human basophilic cell line isolated originally from chronic myelocytic leukemia, express a high affinity receptor of IgE, $Fc{\varepsilon}RI$. Kaempferol was extracted and isolated from a methanolic extract of flavonoid-rich Nelumbo nucifera stamens. In the present study, the inhibitory effects of kaempferol on $Fc{\varepsilon}RI$ expression in human basophilic KU812F cells was examined. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that $Fc{\varepsilon}RI$ expression on the cell surface was suppressed in a concentration-dependent manner when the cells were cultured with kaempferol. Moreover, RT-PCR analysis showed that the mRNA levels for $Fc{\varepsilon}RI$ ${\alpha}-\;and\;{\gamma}$-chains were reduced as the result of kaempferol treatment in a concentration-dependent manner. Kaempferol showed its suppressive effects on intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ concentration and histamine release from anti-$Fc{\varepsilon}RI$ ${\alpha}$-chain antibody-stimulated cells in a concentration-dependent manner. These observations indicate that kaempferol may exert antiallergic effect via down regulation of $Fc{\varepsilon}RI$ expression and degranulation.