• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.49-55
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• 1981

Recent studies have demonstrated that histamine could have a modulatory influence on the immune response in vitro and in vivo. However, the effect of histamine on immune response in mice has not been extensivley analyzed. In the present study the regulatory effects of cimetidine, a histamine-2-receptor antagonist(H2 blocker) and histamine on the immune response to sheep red blood cells(SRBC) were evaluated in mice. Mice pretreated with daily intraperitoneal injection of varying concentrations of cimetidine for 14 days were immunized intraperitoneally with various concentrations of SRBC($10^6,\;10^7,\;and\;10^8$ cells) and challenged 4 days post immunization. The cellular immune response was determined by measuring the footpad swelling reaction. Footpad swelling reaction of each mouse was measured at 3hr(Arthus) reaction) and 24 or 48 hr(delayed reactions) after challenge. The humoral immune response was determined by measuring hemagglutinins to SRBC. Histamine in varying concentrations($10^{-1},\;10^{-3}\;and\;10^{-5}M$(was added in SRBC suspension at the time of antigen challenge into footpad, and 24-hr delayed type hypersensitivity(DTH) was measured. Cimetidine in varying concentrations(10, 50, 250, 1250 and 6250${\mu}g$) enhanced 24-hr DTH and this enhancement of DTH was more pronounced at 250${\mu}g$ of cimetidine. However, there were no significant differences between the cimetidine-pretreated groups and controls in Arthus reaction and hemagglutinin titers. Histamine suppressed the DTH in the dose-dependent fashion. This suppression was more pronounced at lower concentration of immunizing antigen($10^7\;and\;10^6$ SRBC). However, histamine did not diminish the DTH at higher concentration of antigen($10^8$ SRBC). These results present the evidences which strongly suggest that cimetidine enhances the cell-mediated immune response but not significantlly influences the humoral immune response and that exogenous and endogenous histamine is involved in the modulation of cellular immune response as well as immediate hypersensitivity.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.1214-1222
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• 1998

Background : The intrapleural hypofibrinolysis is caused by mainly excessive concentration of pleural plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 antigen(PAI-1 Ag), which binds tissue type plasminogen activator. In pleural inflammation induced by sclerosing agents for pleurodesis, levels of pleural PAI-1 antigen increase in relation to decreasing D-dimer levels. It has been known that the pleural mesothelial cells have the capability of secreting PAI-1 Ag in response to inflammation in vivo. Therefore, we estimated whether pleural inflammation changes the balance between fibrinolytic and coagulative properties in exudative pleural effusions. Method : The thirty cases was included in our study. We determined the pleural levels of glucose, lactic dehydrogenase(LDH), pH and the counts of white blood cell(WBC), polymorpho leukocyte(PMN), lymphocyte as the parameters of pleural inflammation and cellular components of pleural fluid. The plasma level of fibrinogen in fluid and the neutrophil count in blood were determined. The levels of D-dimer, PAI-1 Ag and thrombinantithrombin III complex(TAT) were determined by ELISA(Behring, Marburg, Germany). Result : The causes of pleural effusion were as following : tuberculous in 14 cases, malignant in 10 cases and parapneumonic in 6 cases. The levels of pleural D-dimer, PAI-1 Ag and TAT was significantly higher than that of plasma(p<0..001). The severity of pleural inflammation did not correlated with pleural D-dimer, PAI-1 Ag, TAT and their plasma levels. But the level of pleural TAT correlated with pleural WBC and lymphocyte count. Conclusion : We found that the severity of pleural inflammations did not correlated with pleural D-dimer, PAI-1 Ag, TAT and the possibility of local production of PAI-1 antigen is present.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.99-106
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• 2001

Pathologic changes and distribution of viral antigen as determined by immunohistochemistry were compared among 4-wk-old specific-pathogen free (SPF) chickens inoculated intratracheally with velogenic vis-cerotropic Newcastle disease virus isolated in Korea. Although the pattern of organ involvement and severity of lesion was different among chickens infected with different velogenic viscerotropic Newcastle disease (VVND) viruses, the pathological types of lesion was similar among the chickens. Severe lymphocytic necrosis and depletion were main histologic lesions in the immune related organs such as thymus, Fabricius bursa and spleen. The frequency of IP positive staining was variable depends on the types of tissues but not types of the kinds of VVND viruses infected. Brain, Fabricius bursa, thymus, cecal tonsil and trachea were IP positive with fairly high frequency and spleen, lung, proventriculus, intestine, pancreas, liver, kidney, heart and Harderian gland were with relatively low frequency. These results suggest that histologic evaluation and viral antigen specific immunohistochemical staining methods to determine virus distribution will be useful for pathogenic study of velogenic viscerotropic Newcastle disease virus infection in chicken.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Bioinformatics Conference
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• 2005.09a
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• pp.344-347
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• 2005

Helper T(Th) cells regulate immune response by producing various kinds of cytokines in response to antigen stimulation. The regulatory functions of Th cells are promoted by their differentiation into two distinct subsets, Th1 and Th2 cells. Th1 cells are involved in inducing cellular immune response by activating cytotoxic T cells. Th2 cells trigger B cells to produce antibodies, protective proteins used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign substances. Because cellular and humoral immune responses have quite different roles in protecting the host from foreign substances, Th cell differentiation is a crucial event in the immune response. The destiny of a naive Th cell is mainly controlled by cytokines such as IL-4, IL-12, and IFN-${\gamma}$. To understand the mechanism of Th cell differentiation, many mathematical models have been proposed. One of the most difficult problems in mathematical modeling is to find appropriate kinetic parameters needed to complete a model. However, it is relatively easy to get qualitative or linguistic knowledge of a model dynamics. To incorporate such knowledge into a model, we propose a novel approach, fuzzy continuous Petri nets extending traditional continuous Petri net by adding new types of places and transitions called fuzzy places and fuzzy transitions. This extension makes it possible to perform fuzzy inference with fuzzy places and fuzzy transitions acting as kinetic parameters and fuzzy inference systems between input and output places, respectively.

• BMB Reports
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.403-409
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• 1997

Studies were undertaken to develop a competitive radioimmunoassay (RIA) and indirect antigen capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the determination of 5'-deoxy-5'-methylthioadenosine (MTA), which is formed from decarboxylated S-adenosylmethionine by spermidine and spermine synthase. Specific antiserum against MTA was raised in rabbits by immunization with MTA-BSA which was prepared by coupling BSA to oxidized MTA with periodate. Since MTA is oxidized easily to the sulfoxide, the sulfhydryl reagent, DTT. was added to the immunogen. For RIA, immunocomplexes were separated from free MTA by using ammonium sulfate precipitation. The antiserum showed almost no cross-reactivity with a variety of other nucleotides and riboses. But, the level of cross-reactivity of 5'-isobutylthioadenosine (SIBA) was high. These results showed the importance of hydrophobicity adjacent to the 5'-OH for determining antigenicity. The lower limit of detection by this assay was 100 fmol of MTA per tube. Using this assay. MTA levels were more easily and precisely determined in biological samples when compared with HPLC analysis. The RIA procedure is less time consuming. More than 24 analyses can be carried out in 2 h and required only a very small amount of sample ($20{\mu}l$ serum). In ELISA, biotin conjugated MTA-BSA was used as the labelled MTA. The sensitivity limit of this assay was lower than 100 pmol.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.509-514
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• 2004

Six new serovarieties of B. thuringiensis carrying specific H-antigen have minor differences in biochemical characteristics and morphological characteristics of crystals, which are commonly resistant against four antibiotics. The B. thuringiensis serovar. coreanensis is nontoxic to silkworm larvae, but it is moderately toxic against the Culex pipiens larvae. The B. thuringiensis serovar. konkukian and leesis are nontoxic against mosquitos larvae, but are toxic against silkworm larvae. The B. thuringiensis serovar. seoulensis, sooncheon, and yosoo are highly toxic to B. mori larvae and moderately toxic to C. pipiens larvae. The six serovarieties harbor different plasmid DNA patterns. A 102-kDa protein is a major crystal protein in the four serovarieties and a 86-kDa protein is in one serovariety.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.269-276
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• 2018

Rabies virus (RABV)-specific antibodies in animals and humans are measured using standard methods such as fluorescent antibody virus neutralization (FAVN) tests and rapid fluorescent focus inhibition tests, which are based on cell culture systems. An alternative assay that is safe and easy to perform is required for rapid sero-surveillance following mass vaccination of animals. Two purified monoclonal antibodies (4G36 and B2H17) against RABV were selected as capture and detection antibodies, respectively. A genetically modified RABV, the ERAGS strain, was propagated and concentrated by polyethylene glycol precipitation. Optimal conditions for the RABV antigen, antibodies, and serum dilution for a blocking enzymelinked immune sorbent assay (B-ELISA) were established. We evaluated the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the B-ELISA using serum samples from 138 dogs, 71 raccoon dogs, and 25 cats. The B-ELISA showed a diagnostic sensitivity of 95.8-96.3%, specificity of 91.3-100%, and accuracy of 96.0-97.2% compared to the FAVN test. These results suggest that the B-ELISA is useful for sero-surveillance of RABV in dogs, raccoon dogs, and cats.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.59 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2015

Cordyceps militaris has shown to have various pharmacological activities including an immune-modulatory effect. Previously, we reported that anti-influenza effect of C. militaris in DBA/2 mice was mediated by increased IL-12 and the activation of NK cells. In this study, we investigated the effect of C. militaris on adaptive immune responses using DBA2 mice immunized with influenza vaccine. To determine the effect of C. militaris on antigen presentation capability, we treated RAW 264.7 cells with various concentrations of ethanol extract of C. militaris, which showed a significant upregulation of CD86 (B7.2), CD284 (TLR4), CD40, H-2k (MHC I) and I-Ad (MHC II). To examine the direct effect of C. militaris on adaptive immune responses, we immunized DBA2 mice with influenza vaccine in presence or absence of C. militaris. After 2 or 4 weeks, influenza-specific T cell proliferation, HAI titers and IFN-${\gamma}$ production were measured in plasma or PBMCs isolated from animals. Influenza-specific T cell proliferation and HAI titers were not considerably increased in immunized mice in presence of C. militaris. However, the production of IFN-${\gamma}$ was much greater in immunized mice with C. militaris as adjuvant than only immunized mice.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.126-134
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• 2010

Background: $CD8^+$ T cells contribute to the clearance of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and an insufficient $CD8^+$ T cell response may be one of the major factors leading to chronic HBV infection. Since the HBx antigen of HBV can up-regulate cellular expression of several immunomodulatory molecules, we hypothesized that HBx expression in hepatocytes might affect $CD8^+$ T cell activity. Methods: We analyzed the activation and apoptosis of $CD8^+$ T cells co-cultured with primary hepatocytes rendered capable of expressing HBx by recombinant baculovirus infection. Results: Expression of HBx in hepatocytes induced low production of $interferon-{\gamma}$ and apoptosis of CD8+ T cells, with no effect on CD8 T cell proliferation. However, transcriptional levels of H-2K, ICAM-1 and PD-1 ligand did not correlate with HBx expression in hepatocytes. Conclusion: Our results suggest that HBx may inhibit $CD8^+$ T cell response by regulation of $interferon-{\gamma}$ production and apoptosis.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.443-450
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• 2006

To demonstrate their possibilities as an enhanced vaccine delivery system, protein-loaded Poly lactide glycolide copolymer (PLGA) microspheres were prepared with different physical characteristics. Ethyl acetate (EA) solvent extraction process was employed to prepare microspheres and the effects of process parameters on drug release properties were evaluated. The biodeuadability of microspheres was also evaluated by the pH change and GPC (Gel permeation chromatography). Primary IgG antibody responses in BALB/c mice were compared with protein saline solutions as negative controls and adsorbed alum suspensions as positive controls after single subcutaneous injection for in vivo studies. The microspheres showed a erosion with a highly porous structure and did not keep their spherical shape at 45 days and this result could be confirmed by GPC. In vitro release of proteinous drug showed initial burst effect in all batches of microspheres, followed by gradual release over the next 4 weeks. PLGA microspheres were degraded until 45 days and the secondary structure of OVA was not affected by the preparation method. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays demonstrated that the single subcutaneous administrations of OVA-loaded PLGA microspheres induced enhanced serum IgG antibody response in comparison to negative and positive controls. These results demonstrated that microspheres providing the controlled release of antigens might be useful in advanced vaccine formulations for the parenteral carrier system.