• The Journal of Dong Guk Oriental Medicine
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• v.1
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• pp.209-236
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• 1992

The microculture XTT antiviral assay method is used to quantitate HIV-1 induced cytopathic effects as modulated by test substances. This relatively simple assay facilitated the safe and rapid determination of in vitro antiviral activity of selected chemicals as well as direct cytotoxicity. This experiment also confirmed that this system measures infection and subsequent viral replication in target cells and XTT formazan formations correlated with the accumulation of extracellular virions, as measured by quantitative HIV-1 induced syncytium foramtion. The present results with Glycyrrhizin using this in vitro culture system demonstrated that effective dose, EC50(the concentration at which increases XTT formazan production in infected cultures to 50% of that in untreated, uninfected controls) was 250ml. As comparison, AZT was included in this experiment and demonstrated that EC50 AZT of was 0.05g/ml, approximately 5,000 times more potent than Glycyrrhizin based on EC50 ratio's alone. However, this potency is limited by severe cytotoxicity of AZT, while Glycyrrhizin is approximately 16 times less toxic(IC50 of Glycyrrhizin 800 and AZT 51 g/ml). While AZT's anti-HIV-1 viral activity is mediated by inhibition of reverse transcriptase of the virus, Glycyrrhizin faild to demonstrate any inhibitory activity against reverse transcriptase. Further study is necessary in order to understand the precise mechanisms of Glycyrrhizin action against HIV-1 viruses. Althouth Glycyrrhizin is less effective antiviral agent than AZT, much less toxicity of Glycyrrhizin is desirable in terms of chronic treatment. Combination treatment of AZT and Glycyrrhizin may be therapeutically beneficial. Clinical effectiveness of two drug combination therapy for AIDS patient is unknown at this time. However, this experimental investigation presents the scientific rational basis for such therapeutic approach.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.122-129
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• 2015

DBM-2198, a six-membered azasugar nucleotide (6-AZN)-containing phosphorothioate (P = S) oligonucleotide (AZPSON), was described in our previous publication [Lee et al. (2005)] with regard to its antiviral activity against a broad spectrum of HIV-1 variants. This report describes the mechanisms underlying the anti-HIV-1 properties of DBM-2198. The LTR-mediated reporter assay indicated that the anti-HIV-1 activity of DBM-2198 is attributed to an extracellular mode of action rather than intracellular sequence-specific antisense activity. Nevertheless, the antiviral properties of DBM-2198 and other AZPSONs were highly restricted to HIV-1. Unlike other P = S oligonucleotides, DBM-2198 caused no host cell activation upon administration to cultures. HIV-1 that was pre-incubated with DBM-2198 did not show any infectivity towards host cells whereas host cells pre-incubated with DBM-2198 remained susceptible to HIV-1 infection, suggesting that DBM-2198 acts on the virus particle rather than cell surface molecules in the inhibition of HIV-1 infection. Competition assays for binding to HIV-1 envelope protein with anti-gp120 and anti-V3 antibodies revealed that DBM-2198 acts on the viral attachment site of HIV-1 gp120, but not on the V3 region. This report provides a better understanding of the antiviral mechanism of DBM-2198 and may contribute to the development of a potential therapeutic drug against a broad spectrum of HIV-1 variants.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.849-859
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• 2018

Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection has been a public health concern worldwide. It is the leading cause of genital herpes and a contributing factor to cervical cancer and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. No vaccine is available yet for the treatment of HSV-2 infection, and routinely used synthetic nucleoside analogs have led to the emergence of drug resistance. The small molecule $Retro-2^{cycl}$ has been reported to be active against several pathogens by acting on intracellular vesicle transport, which also participates in the HSV-2 lifecycle. Here, we showed that Retro-2.1, which is an optimized, more potent derivative of $Retro-2^{cycl}$, could inhibit HSV-2 infection, with 50% inhibitory concentrations of $5.58{\mu}M$ and $6.35{\mu}M$ in cytopathic effect inhibition and plaque reduction assays, respectively. The cytotoxicity of Retro-2.1 was relatively low, with a 50% cytotoxicity concentration of $116.5{\mu}M$. We also preliminarily identified that Retro-2.1 exerted the antiviral effect against HSV-2 by a dual mechanism of action on virus entry and late stages of infection. Therefore, our study for the first time demonstrated Retro-2.1 as an effective antiviral agent against HSV-2 in vitro with targets distinct from those of nucleoside analogs.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.29-36
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• 2017

Objectives: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). People with AIDS are much more vulnerable to infections, including opportunistic infections and tumors, than people with a healthy immune system. The objective of this study was to correlate oral lesions associated with HIV/AIDS and immunosuppression levels by measuring clusters of differentiation 4 (CD4) cell counts among patients living in the middle western regions of Ghana. Materials and Methods: A total of 120 patients who visited the HIV clinic at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and the Regional Hospital Sunyani of Ghana were consecutively enrolled in this prospective and cross-sectional study. Referred patients' baseline CD4 counts were obtained from medical records and each patient received an initial physician assessment. Intraoral diagnoses were based on the classification and diagnostic criteria of the EEC Clearinghouse, 1993. After the initial assessment, extra- and intraoral tissues from each enrolled patient were examined. Data analyses were carried out using simple proportions, frequencies and chi-square tests of significance. Results: Our study included 120 patients, and was comprised of 42 (35.0%) males and 78 (65.0%) females, ranging in age from 21 to 67 years with sex-specific mean ages of 39.31 years (males) and 39.28 years (females). Patient CD4 count values ranged from 3 to 985 cells/mL with a mean baseline CD4 count of 291.29 cells/mL for males and 325.92 cells/mL for females. The mean baseline CD4 count for the entire sample was 313.80 cells/mL. Of the 120 patients we examined, 99 (82.5%) were observed to have at least one HIV-associated intraoral lesion while 21 (17.5%) had no intraoral lesions. Oral candidiasis, periodontitis, melanotic hyperpigmentation, gingivitis and xerostomia were the most common oral lesions. Conclusion: From a total of nine oral lesions, six lesions that included oral candidiasis, periodontitis, melanotic hyperpigmentation, gingivitis, xerostomia and oral hairy leukoplakia were significantly correlated with declining CD4 counts.

• The Journal of Korean Society of Virology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.31-38
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• 1998

In Korea, all domestic made test systems for detecting antibodies in HIV-1 contain the antigens from human immunodeficiency type 1 (HIV-1) subtype B. However, because HIV-1 subtype O is significantly different in amino acid sequences from all other subtypes of HIV-1, there has been a need for developing a test for detecting antibodies in subtype O. For this purpose, the entire nucleotide sequence corresponding to the extracellular domain of the transmembrane glycoprotein of HIV-1 subtype O was synthesized with consideration of Escherichia coli condon usage. Various regions of the extracellular domain were cloned into E. coli expression vectors and tested for levels of protein production. The nucleotide sequence, named ECTM, that can encode a 129 amino acid-long peptide, was found to be expressed at a high level in E. coli. The protein of approximately 17 kDa specifically reacted with sera from individuals infected with HIV-1 subtype O. The ECTM protein was purified to near homogeneity by the CM-T gel chromatography, using concentrated, denatured inclusion bodies. In Western blot analysis, the purified viral antigen reacted with sera from individuals infected with subtype O more efficiently than subtype B. The enzyme linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA) system was developed using the subtype O viral protein and compared with the commercially available kit lacking the antigens from subtype O. The ELISA kit containing the subtype O antigen ECTM alone efficiently reacted with sera from individuals infected with subtype O. The subtype O antigen-containing kit produced a positive absorbence even when sera were diluted 512-fold, suggesting a high sensitivity. The commercially available kit also reacted with subtype O sera, but produced a negative result at a dilution of 8-fold. Our results suggest that the currently available kit may not be able to efficiently detect subtype O sera and that the viral protein developed in this study may be added to the current system to maximize the detection of sera from individuals infected with subtype O.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.1129-1133
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• 2004

For the purpose of developing new anti-HIV agents from natural sources, the extracts of Kalopanax pictus were tested for their inhibitory effects on HIV-1 replication and its essential enzymes as the reverse transcriptase (RT). protease and α-glucosidase. In the assay of HIV-1-infected human T-cell line, water extracts of stem and leafstalk inhibited the HIV-1-induced cytopathic effects with Ie (inhibitory concentration) of 25 and 50㎍/㎖, respectively. Moreover water extracts (100㎍/㎖) of stem and leafstalk showed strong activity of 80% and 90% on anti-HIV-1 RT using Enzyme Linked Oligonucleotide Sorbent Assay (ELOSA) method. In the HIV-1 protease inhibition assay, aqueous stem extract inhibited the activity of the enzyme to cleave an oligopeptide, resembling one of the cleavage sites in the viral polyprotein which can only be processed by HIV-1 protease with 58%, but no glucosidase inhibitory activities. We found out this result, for these samples it is possible that the inhibition of the viral replication in vitro is due to the inhibition at least one of RT and protease. It would be of great interest to identify the compounds which are responsible for this inhibition, since all therapeutically useful agent up to date are RT, PR and α-glucosidase inhibitors.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.154-161
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• 2007

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infections are responsible for a substantial number of deaths annually and represent a significant threat to public health. According to the latest study, the Tat (Transactivator of transcription) protein is essential in transcription and replication of viral genes, and is among the early expression genes involved in the life cycle of HIV. The virion NC (nucleocapsid) plays an important role in early mRNA expression and contributes to the rapid viral replication that occurs during HIV-1 infection. Therefore, we attempted to elucidate the relationship between the Tat protein and nucleocapsid protein. In a comparison of two independently prepared and hybridized samples, flag NC overexpressed HEK 293T cells and pTat overexpressed HEK 293T cells, and hybridization showed the differences in expression in each case. Among the microarray results confirmed with real-time reverse transcriptase assay, twelve genes were identified to be involved according to their gene expression profiles. Of approximately 8,208 human genes that were analyzed, we monitored candidate genes that might have been related to NC and Tat genes from gene expression profiles. Additionally, the pathways could be viewed and analyzed through the use of Pathway Studio software. The pathways from the gene list were built and paths were found among the molecules/cell objects/processes by the curation method.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.235-241
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• 2003

We have previously demonstrated that intracellular expression of an RNA aptamer termed RRE40, which was selected in vitro to bind HIV Rev 10-fold much tighter than wild-type RRE, efficiently protected human CD4+ T cell line, CEM, from HIV-1. In this study, to evaluate the efficacy of the RRE40 RNA in clinical settings, polyclonal CD4+ peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) were transduced with retroviral vectors expressing RRE40 decoy RNA and then challenged with clinical isolates of HIV-1. In contrast to the control cells transduced with vectors expressing control tRNA, intracellular expression of RRE40 RNA more effectively inhibited HIV-1 replication in CD4+ PBLs. However, transient and diminished inhibition, rather than complete inhibition, of HIV-1 replication in PBLs expressing RRE40 decoys have been observed. These results suggest that RRE40 decoy RNA would be useful to inhibit HIV-1 replication in cells. However, development of more efficient gene transfer protocols and/or more effective decoy RNAs would be needed to apply RNA decoy to modulate HIV-1 patient.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.169-175
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• 2012

For the elucidation of action mechanism on anti-HIV of natural resources, the extracts of $Campsis$ $grandiflora$ were tested for their inhibitory effects on HIV-1 replication and its essential enzymes as the reverse transcriptase (RT), protease and ${\alpha}$-glucosidase. In the assay of HIV-1-infected human T-cell line, water extracts of stem inhibited the HIV-1-induced cytopathic effects with IC (inhibitory concentration) of 100 ${\mu}g$/ml. Moreover water extracts (100 ${\mu}g$/ml) of stem showed strong activity of 37.9% on anti-HIV-1 RT using Enzyme Linked Oligonucleotide Sorbent Assay (ELOSA) method. In the HIV-1 protease inhibition assay, methanol extracts of stem and leaf extract showed 33.6% and 31.5% inhibition of the enzyme activity to cleave an oligopeptide resembling one of the cleavage sites in the viral polyprotein which can only be processed by HIV-1 protease, but did not exhibited glucosidase inhibitory activities. From these results, it is suggested that the inhibition of the viral replication $in$ $vitro$ is due to the inhibition of reverse transcriptase by water extracts of stem of $Campsis$ $grandiflora$.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.109-117
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• 2020

An edutainment system aims to help learners to recognize problems effectively, grasp and classify important information needed to solve the problems and convey the contents of what they have learned. Edutainment contents can be usefully applied to education and training in the both scientific and industrial areas. Our present work proposes an edutainment system that can be applied to a drug discovery process including virtual screening by using intuitive multi-modal interfaces. In this system, a stereoscopic monitor is used to make three-dimensional (3D) macro-molecular images, with supporting multi-modal interfaces to manipulate 3D models of molecular structures effectively. In this paper, our system can easily solve a docking simulation function, which is one of important virtual drug screening methods, by applying gaming factors. The level-up concept is implemented to realize a bio-game approach, in which the gaming factor depends on number of objects and users. The quality of the proposed system is evaluated with performance comparison in terms of a finishing time of a drug docking process to screen new inhibitors against target proteins of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in an e-drug discovery process.