• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.273-276
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• 1989

The isolate SPO 3, an oligosporogenous and crystalliferous mutant, which was isolated from Bacillus thuringiensig subsp, israelensis by heat treatment at 42$^{\circ}C$ for 24 hit. The $\delta$-endotoxin of the mutant had a relatively low hemolytic activity on human red blood cells; the $\delta$-endotoxin of the mutant had 25 times less hemolytic activity compared to that of wild strain. The loss of 28 KDa hemolytic protein subunit in $\delta$-endotoxin of the mutant was confirmed by means of double immunodiffusiori, immunoelectrophoresis, and SDS-PAGE.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.405-415
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• 2014

Objectives: The aim of this study is to comprehensively summarize endotoxin levels reported in operations using metalworking fluids(MWFs). Methods: An extensive literature review was conducted of studies reporting endotoxin levels in processes using metalworking fluids. Keyword search terms included 'metalworking fluids', 'machining fluids', 'metalworking operation', 'machining operation' and 'endotoxin', which were used in combination. Results: A total of ten manuscripts were found to report on airborne endotoxin levels from metalworking operations in the automobile industry. Polycarbonate(PC), polyvinyl chloride(PVC) and mixed cellulose ester(MCE) were used to collect airborne endotoxin. Limulus Amebocyte Lysate was mainly used to quantify endotoxin amount. The levels of airborne endotoxin reviewed varied considerably, ranging from < $4EU/m^3$ to $790EU/m^3$, which was found to be far lower than those from cotton and potato processing plants, sawmills, and poultry farms. Several studies assumed that exposure to endotoxin could be a causative agent of respiratory diseases. Conclusions: Inhalation endotoxin exposure levels reported from metalworking operations were found to be lower than those from industries handling organic materials, even though it could be considered as a possible cause for several respiratory diseases.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.265-278
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• 2014

Microbes such as bacteria, fungi, archaea, protists, and viruses are ubiquitous and people are exposed to them continuously. Endotoxin is a component of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria and a potent proinflammaotry substance. When a person is exposed to environmental endotoxin, an innate immune response is initiated upon the initial recognition and this response produces various inflammatory mediators and recruits inflammatory cells to the exposed tissues. A purified chemical form of endotoxin is called lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and the lipid A portion of the molecule is a biologically active moiety. Exposure to endotoxin may result in various complex health effects depending on time, route, and dose of exposure, as well as host susceptibility. Gene-environment interactions play important roles in health effects of endotoxin exposure, e.g. development or aggravation of asthma. To accurately assess exposure to endotoxin in environmental or epidemiologic studies, methods of sampling, extraction, and analysis must be carefully selected since the selected methods may substantially affect analytical results and there is no internationally-agreed standard method to date. The lack of a standardized method hampers the establishment of exposure-response relationships. While an internationally-agreed health-based exposure limit does not exist, the Dutch Expert Committee on Occupational Safety recently recommended $90EU/m^3$ as a health-based occupational exposure limit. The current article reviews various scientific issues on how we measure environmental endotoxin and the health effects of endotoxin exposure.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.69-73
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• 1997

Endotoxin from the cell wall of marine V. vujnificus was .extracted using the hot phenol-water method, injected endotoxin into rat, and tested the toxic effect of endotoxin on the blood component In rat blood. The results showed that blood glucose, blood urea nitrogen, white blood cell, and reticulocyte were Increased and red blood cell was the same as the number of control group(normal blood), but platelet was decreased. Above results suggested that endotoxin induced a malfunction of liver and that the Increase of white blood cell was for the removal of foreign toxic substance.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.359-363
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• 1999

To prevent appearance of resistant mosquitoes against $\delta$-endotoxin of bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis (Bti) in field, a mosquitocidal Bacillus thuringiensis strain 21-2(Bt21-2) producing a new type of $\delta$-endotoxin was isolated. The strain Bt 21-2 belongs to H serotype 43, B. thuringiensis subsp. guiyangiensis (Btg). The $\delta$-endotoxins from the strain Bt 21-2 and the strain Bti were a cuboid shape morphologically, but the $\delta$-endotoxin of the strain Bt 21-2 was composed of 150, 90 and 70kDa proteins on SDS-PAGE, and the antigenicity of $\delta$-endotoxin of the strain Bt 21-2 was different from that of the strain Bti on immunoblot. The $\delta$-endotoxin gene of the strain Bt 21-2 was not amplified with specific primers of $\delta$-endotoxin gene (cry4A and cry4B) of the strain Bti on PCR.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.338-348
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• 1997

Background : Endotoxin, the component of outermembrane of gram negative organism, plays an important role in the initiation and amplification of inflammatory reaction by its effects on inflammatory cells. Until recently, there have been continuing efforts to delinate the mechanisms of the signal trasduction pathway of endotoxin stimuli on inflammatory cells. By uncovering the mechanisms of signal transduction pathway of endotoxin stimuli, we can expect to have tools to control the excessive inflammatory responses which sometimes may be fatal to the involved host. It was generally accepted that endotoxin exerts its inflammatory effects through inflammatory cytokines that are produced by endotoxin-stimulated inflammatory cells and there were some reports on the importance of protein kinase C and protein tyrosine kinase activation in the production of inflammatory cytokines by endotoxin So we evaluated the effect of pretreatment of protein kinase C inhibitors (H7, Staurosporin) and protein tyrosine kinase inhibitors(Herbimycin, Genistein) on the endotoxin-stimulated cytokines(IL-8 & TNF-$\alpha$) mRNA expression. Method : Peripheral blood monocytes were isolated from healthy volunteers by Ficoll-Hypaque density gradient method and purified by adhesion to 60mm Petri dishes. Endotoxin(LPS 100ng/ml) was added to each dishes except one control dish, and each endotoxin-stimulated dishes was preincubated with H7, Staurosporin(protein kinase C inhibitor), Herbimycin or Genistein(protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor) respectively except one dish. Four hours later the endotoxin stimulation, total RNA was extracted and Northern blot analysis for IL-8 mRNA and TNF-$\alpha$ mRNA was done. Result : Endotoxin stimulation increased the expression of IL-8 mRNA and TNF-$\alpha$ mRNA expression in human peripheral blood monocyte as expected and the stimulatory effect of endotoxin on TNF-$\alpha$ mRNA expression was inhibited by protein kinase C inhibitors(H7, Staurosporin) and protein tyrosine kinase inhibitors (Herbimycin, Genistein). The inhibitory effect of each drugs was increased with increasing concentration. The stimulatory effect of endotoxin on IL-8 mRNA was also inhibited by H7 and protein tyrosine kinase inhibitors (Herbimycin, Genistein) dose-dependently but not by Staurosporin. Conclusion : Protein kinase C and protein tyrosine kinase are involved in the endotoxin induced signal transduction pathway in human peripheral blood monocyte.

• Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.89-96
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• 1994

This report was investigate the biological characteristic of $\delta$-endotoxin of product by TH109 strain, one strain TH109 which has toxicity on Cockroach is isolate and identification. Generally the $\delta$-endotoxin of product by 3. thuringiensis strain was easily soluble in acid, alkaline and organic solvents but $\delta$-endotoxin of product by TH109 strain are insoluble in HCI, NaOH Thiol- reagent(25mM Dithiotheritol, 25mM Dithioeryritol, 25mM Nathioglycolate, 0.2M ESCN, 2% v/v $\beta$-mecaptethanol), organic solvents( acetone, $CCI_{4}$, ether, dioxin MeOH chloroforrh xylene ), Protease. Through this study of $\delta$-endotoxin produced by TH109 strain is insoluble in acid, alkaline, organic solvents and pretense etc. In the point of view, it is greater possibility that $\delta$-endotoxin will be transform into toxin by the reducible materials instead of the reaction of protease in the intestine.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.181-188
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• 1988

This study was carried out to investigate whether the use of the high endotoxin-sensitive or the low endotoxin-sensitive rabbits (New Zealand White strain) are more suited for the pyrogen test regulated by the Korean Pharmacopeia and United State Pharmacopeia. The results obtained were as follows. 1. The ferbrile responese were increased according to increased endotoxin doses used (i.e., 0.1, 1, 5, 10ng/kg) and the febrile responses reached to its maximum between 90 mins and 120 mins after the intravenous injection of endotoxin.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.393-401
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• 2013

Objectives: Endotoxins in dust generated in occupational settings is known to contribute to the occurrence of respiratory illness among workers. The relationship between the level of endotoxins in total dust or respirable particulates collected from swine farms and immunological markers related with respiratory allergy was evaluated among swine husbandry workers. Materials and Methods: Peripheral blood samples were collected from ten workers at ten swine farms at Gyeonggi province, Korea. Peripheral mononuclear cells were stimulated with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate and ionomycin for 48 hours. The levels of various cytokines produced at culture supernatants were determined using a commercially available ELISA kit. The concentration of particulate matter($PM_{10}$) in the indoor air of the swine farms was evaluated using a PVC membrane filter and mini volume air sampler, and endotoxin levels in the dust were measured by Limulus Amebocyte Lysate Kinetic QCL method. Results: Levels of endotoxins in the total dust were categorized into high(geometric mean: $109.35EU/m^3$) and low concentrations (geometric mean: $0.95EU/m^3$) for five swine farms. Interleukin-4 levels were higher in the high endotoxin group than in the low endotoxin group, while interferon-${\gamma}$ levels were lower in the high endotoxin group than in the low endotoxin group. The ratio (interferon-${\gamma}$ to interleukin-4), indicating immunologic skewedness against allergic reactivities, was lower in the high endotoxin group($1.15{\pm}0.60$) than the low endotoxin group($3.09{\pm}2.38$). In addition, the level of interleukin-13, another cytokine contributing to the occurrence of allergic responses, was significantly higher in the at the high endotoxin group($1.12{\pm}0.37ng/m{\ell}$) than in the low endotoxin group($0.37{\pm}0.04ng/m{\ell}$). Hematologic assessment showed significantly lower cellularity in the number of total leukocytes, neutrophils, and eosinophils in the high endotoxin group than in the low endotoxin group. Conclusions: Even though a sufficient number of swine workers and farms were not investigated, this study generlly suggests that the immunological function of swine farm workers exposed to high levels of endotoxin could be modulated toward allergic reactivities.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.310-320
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• 2014

Backgrounds: Endotoxin, which found in the outer membrane of the gram-negative bacteria cell wall, makes up almost all of the lipopolysaccharide(LPS). When people are exposed to endotoxin,it can result in diverse health effects such as an airway irritation and inflammation, fever, malaise, bronchitis, allergic asthma, toxic pneumonitis, hypersensitivity lung disease. Cases among the elderly, children or pregnant can occur more frequently than a healthy adult if they are repeatedly exposed to the existing endotoxin. Therefore, we investigated and assessed the environmental characteristics associated with the airborne endotoxin concentration level in six hospital lobbies. Method: Endotoxin from indoor air in six hospital lobbies was measured by an area sampling method and analyzed according to American Society for Testing and Materials International(ASTM international) E2144-01. Total suspended particulate(TSP), carbon dioxide($CO_2$), temperature and humidity were also measured by using direct reading measurements or airborne sampling equipment at the same time. Environmental characteristics were appropriately divided into two or three groups for a statistics analysis. One-way analysis variable(one-way ANOVA) was used to examine a difference of the endotoxin concentration, depending on the environmental characteristics. In addition, only variables with p-value(p<0.25) were eventually designed to the best model by using multiple regression analysis. Results: The correlation analysis result indicated that TSP(p=0.003) and $CO_2$(p<0.0001) levels were significantly associated with endotoxin concentration levels. In contrast, temperature(p<0.068) and humidity(p<0.365) were not associated with endotoxin concentration. Levels of endotoxin concentration were statistically different among the environmental characteristics of Service time(p=0.01), Establishment of hospital(p<0.001), Scale of hospital(p=0.01), Day average people using hospital(p=0.03), Cleaning time of lobby(p=0.05), Season(p<0.001), and Cleaning of ventilation system(p<0.001) according to ANOVA. Finally, the best model(Adjusted R-square=72%) that we designed through a multiple regression test included environmental characteristics related to Service time, Area of lobby, Season, Cleaning of ventilation system, and Temperature. Conclusions: According to this study, our result showed a normal level of endotoxin concentration in the hospital lobbies and found environmental management methods to reduce the level of endotoxin concentration to a minimum. Consequently, this study recognized to be requirement for the management of ventilation systems and an indoor temperature in order to reduce the level of endotoxin concentration in the hospital lobbies.