• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.167-173
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• 2007

Purpose: Mistletoe (Viscum album L.) extract is one of the most widely used agents in alternative cancer therapeutic regimens in Europe. This study was conducted to determine the effect of mistletoe extract on immune function in gastric cancer patients. Materials and Methods: Ten patients that had undergone a curative gastrectomy were enrolled in the prospective study. ABNOBAviscum $Q^{(R)}$ was injected subcutaneously three times a week from postoperative-day 7 to week 16 with an increasing dose. All of the patients simultaneously received chemotheraphy with mitomycin, oral 5-FU and a cisplatin regimen. The WBC count, differential count, lymphocyte/WBC ratio and the level of cytokines (IL-$1{\beta}$, IL-2, IL-6, IFN-$\gamma$, TNF-$\alpha$) were checked in the peripheral blood preoperatively, at postoperative week 8 and at postoperative week 16. Results: The WBC and neutrophil counts significantly decreased after treatment on week 8 and week 16 (P=0.001), but the total eosinophil count was slightly increased (P=0.15). The total lymphocyte count also decreased during treatment but the lymphocyte/WBC ratio was slightly increased without statistical significance (P=0.91). The cytokine levels did not significantly change during treatment. Conclusion: It is somewhat difficult to determine the direct effect of mistletoe therapy on immune function as the effect may be compromised by the concurrent chemotherapy. It can be assumed that the slightly increased lymphocyte/WBC ratio and eosinophil count may be a result of the immunomodulatory effect of the mistletoe extract.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.210-220
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• 1996

Background : Neutrophils or monocytes separated in vitro by the adherence to plastic surface are known to be activated by surface adherence itself and subsequent experimental data might be altered by surface adherence. In the process of surface adherence, adhesion molecules have a clear role in intracellular signal pathway of cellular activation. Human alveolar macrophages(HAM) are frequently purified by the adherence procedure after bronchoalveolar lavage. But the experimental data of many reports about alveolar macrophages have ignored the possibility of adhesion-induced cellular activation. Method : Bronchoalveolar lavage was performed in the person whose lung of either side was confirmed to be normal by chest CT. With the measurement of hydrogen peroxide release from adherent HAM to plastic surface and non-adherent HAM with or without additional stimulation of phorbol myristate acetate(PMA) or N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP), we observed the effect of the adherence to plastic surface. We also evaluated the effect of various biological surfaces on adhesion-induced activation of HAM. Then, to define the intracellular pathway of signal transduction, pretreatment with cycloheximide, pertussis toxin and anti-CD11/CD18 monoclonal antibody was done and we measured hydrogen peroxide in the culture supernatant of HAM. Results : 1) The adherence itself to plastic surface directly stimulated hydrogen peroxide release from human alveolar macrophages and chemical stimuli such as phorbol myristate acetate(PMA) or N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine(fMLP) colud not increase hydrogen peroxide release in these adherent macrophages which is already activated. 2) PMA activated human alveolar macrophages irrespective of the state of adhesion. However, fMLP stimulated the release of hydrogen peroxide from the adherent macrophages, but not from the non-adherent macrophages. 3) HAM adherent to A549 cell(type II alveolar epithelium-like human cell line) monolayer released more hydrogen peroxide in response to both PMA and fMLP. This adherence-dependent effect of fMLP was blocked by pretreatment of macrophages with cycloheximide, pertussis toxin and anti-CD18 monoclonal antibody, Conclusion : These results suggest that the stimulatory effect of PMA and fMLP can not be found in adherent macrophage because of the activation of human alveolar macrophage by the adherence to plastic surface and the cells adhered to biologic surface such as alveolar epithelial cells are appropriately responsive to these stimuli. It is also likely that the effect of fMLP on the adherent macrophage requires new protein synthesis via G protein pathway and is dependent on the adhesion between alveolar macrophages and alveolar epithelial cells by virtue of CD11/CD18 adhesion molecules.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.681-685
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• 2009

L-carnitine promotes mitochondrial ${\beta}$-oxidation of long chain fatty acids and their subsequent transport across the inner mitochondrial membrane. Although the role of L-carnitine in fatty acid metabolism has been extensively studied, its role in live performance and carcass responses of commercial broilers is less understood. The objective of this research was to determine if Lcarnitine fed at various levels in diets differing in CP and amino acids impacted on live performance and carcass characteristics of commercial broilers. Two floor pen experiments were conducted to assess the effect of dietary L-carnitine in grower diets. In Exp. 1, Ross${\times}$Hubbard Ultra Yield broilers were placed in 48 floor pens (12 birds/pen) and fed common diets to d 14. A two (0 or 50 ppm Lcarnitine) by three (173, 187, and 202 g/kg CP) factorial arrangement of treatments was employed from 15 to 35 d of age (8 replications/treatment). An interaction (p<0.05) in carcass yield indicated that increasing CP (187 g/kg) resulted in improved yield in the presence of L-carnitine. Increasing CP from 173 to 202 g/kg increased (p<0.05) BW gain and decreased (p<0.05) feed conversion and percentage abdominal fat. Feeding dietary L-carnitine increased back-half carcass yield which was attributable to an increase (p<0.05) in thigh, but not drumstick, yield relative to carcass. In Exp. 2, $Ross{\times}Ross$ 708 broilers were fed common diets until 29 d. From 30 to 42 d of age, birds were fed one of seven diets: i) 200 g/kg CP, 0 ppm L-carnitine; ii) 200 g/kg CP, 40 ppm L-carnitine; iii) 180 g/kg CP, 0 ppm L-carnitine; iv) 180 g/kg CP, 10 ppm L-carnitine; v) 180 g/kg CP, 20 ppm L-carnitine; vi) 180 g/kg CP, 30 ppm L-carnitine; and vii) 180 g/kg CP, 40 ppm L-carnitine (6 replications of 12 birds each). BW gain, feed conversion, mortality (30 to 42 d), and carcass traits (42 d) were measured on all birds by pen. There were no treatment differences (p<0.05). However, the addition of 40 ppm L-carnitine in the 200 g CP/kg diet increased (p = 0.06) thigh yields relative to BW in comparison to birds fed diets without L-carnitine, which was further confirmed via a contrast analysis (0 vs. 40 ppm L-carnitine in the 200 and 180 g CP/kg diets; p<0.05). These results indicated that dietary L-carnitine may heighten metabolism in dark meat of commercial broilers resulting in increased relative thigh tissue accretion without compromising breast accretion.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.55-62
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• 2015

Objectives Social workers can suffer from occupational stress resulting from dealing with clients, which might lead to metal health problems. We aimed to investigate the association of duty-related traumatic experiences and stress coping strategies with post-traumatic stress symptoms among social workers in public sector. Methods A total of 110 social workers in public sector (men 30.9%, $36.5{\pm}7.6$ yrs) participated in this study. All subjects were evaluated the frequency and the impact of duty-related traumatic events. Additionally, they completed questionnaires including the Impact of Event Scale-Revised for post-traumatic stress symptoms, the Beck Depression Inventory-II for depressive symptoms, the Scale for Suicidal Ideation for suicide symptoms and the Ways of Coping Checklist for stress coping strategies. Results The most frequent traumatic events were "Violent or abusive language from a client" (95.0%) and "Client made a fuss" (94.5%). The most distressing traumatic event was "Seeing a dead body on duty" (7.6 out of 10), which predicted post-traumatic stress symptoms (odds ratio 4.04 ; 95% confidence interval, 1.79-9.11). Among 4 types of stress coping strategies, the emotion-focused coping was positively correlated with post-traumatic stress symptoms after controlling age and sex (${\beta}$ = 0.50, p < 0.001). Conclusions Social workers in public sector showed high level of post-traumatic stress symptoms. Duty-related traumatic events and the emotional-focused coping strategies were associated with the severity of post-traumatic stress symptoms. The modification of stress coping strategies would alleviate post-traumatic stress symptoms in social workers in public sector.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.237-242
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• 2004

A system for the production of transgenic plants has been developed for tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of mature seed-derived embryogenic callus. Seed-derived calli were infected and co-cultured with Agrobacterium EHA101 carrying standard binary vector pIG121Hm encoding the hygromycin phosphotransferase (HPT), neomycin phosphotransferase II (NPTII) and intron-containing $\beta$-glucuronidase (intron-GUS) genes in the T-DNA region. The effects of several factors on transformation and the expression of the GUS gene were investigated. Inclusion of $200\mu\textrm{M}$ acetosyringone (AS) in inoculation and co-culture media lead to a increase in stable transformation efficiency. Transformation efficiency was increased when embryogenic calli were co-cultured for 5 days on the co-culture medium. The highest transformation efficiency was obtained when embryogenic calli were inoculated with Agyobacterium in the presence of 0.1% Tween20 and $200\mu\textrm{M}$ AS. Hygromycin resistant calli were developed into complete plants via somatic embryogenesis. GUS histochemical assay and Southern blot analysis of transgenic plants demonstrated that transgenes were successfully integrated into the genome of tall fescue.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.76-91
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• 2002

The lipid lowering and antioxidant effects of Gansoo(BL18), Pungji(GB20) and Eumnungcheun(SP9) acupuncture in rats fed high fat diet were analyzed in biochemical and molecular biological aspects. The results obtained from this study are as follows : 1. In the body weight reduction, all acupuncture groups showed a high reduction compared to those of control group and in acupuncture groups, Gansoo(BL18) and Pungji(GB20) acupuncture groups showed a high reduction. 2. The concentration of plasma triglyceride, total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol with acupuncture groups showed a little decrease and in acupuncture groups, Gansoo(BL18) and Pungji(GB20) groups showed a low values compared to those of other acupuncture groups. However, the tendency of HDL-cholesterol concentration showed no significant different. 3. The concentration of plasma ${\beta}-lipoprotein$ and free fatty acids showed a lowest values in the Gansoo(BL18) and Pungji(GB20) acupuncture groups and the glucose concentration showed to decrease in all treated acupuncture groups. 4. The concentration of liver total cholesterol and triglyceride in Gansoo(BL18) and Pungji(GB20) acupuncture groups showed a lower values than those of control group. 5. In all the acupuncture groups, the plasma glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase(GOT) activity showed a little decrease. In the glutamic pyruvate activity(GPT), Gansoo(BL18) and Pungji(GB20) acupuncture groups showed a lower values than those of control groups. However the values of eumneungcheun acupuncture only group showed no significant difference to those of control group. 6. The plasma and liver Thiobabituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) concentration in Gansoo(BL18) and Pungji(GB20) acupuncture groups were a lower than those of control group. However the values of eumneungcheun acupuncture group showed no significant difference to control group. 7. The superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in Gansoo(BL18) acupuncture group and Glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity in Gansoo(BL18) and Pungji(GB20) acupuncture groups showed a high values. The catalase (CAT) activity in all the acupuncture groups showed a higher values than those of control group. 8. In acupuncture groups, DNA expression of Apo-B and Apo-E showed a tendency to decrease, however DNA expression of leptin showed no significant difference in all treatment groups. DNA expression of $TNF-{\alpha}$ showed a increase in acupuncture groups. These results indicate that Gansoo(BL18) and Pungji(GB20) (especially Gansoo(BL18)) acupuncture affect the lipid metabolism and showed possibility of lowering adipose tissue mass and lipid peroxidation.

• BMB Reports
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.304-313
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• 2004

Three-dimensional (3D) models for the 65-kDa activated Cry4A and Cry4B $\delta$-endotoxins from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis that are specifically toxic to mosquito-larvae were constructed by homology modeling, based on atomic coordinates of the Cry1Aa and Cry3Aa crystal structures. They were structurally similar to the known structures, both derived 3D models displayed a three-domain organization: the N-terminal domain (I) is a seven-helix bundle, while the middle and C-terminal domains are primarily comprise of anti-parallel $\beta$-sheets. Circular dichroism spectroscopy confirmed the secondary structural contents of the two homology-based Cry4 structures. A structural analysis of both Cry4 models revealed the following: (a) Residues Arg-235 and Arg-203 are located in the interhelical 5/6 loop within the domain I of Cry4A and Cry4B, respectively. Both are solvent exposed. This suggests that they are susceptible to tryptic cleavage. (b) The unique disulphide bond, together with a proline-rich region within the long loop connecting ${\alpha}4$ and ${\alpha}5$ of Cry4A, were identified. This implies their functional significance for membrane insertion. (c) Significant structural differences between both models were found within domain II that may reflect their different activity spectra. Structural insights from this molecular modeling study would therefore increase our understanding of the mechanic aspects of these two closely related mosquito-larvicidal proteins.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.661-670
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• 2018

Fimasartan, a new angiotensin II receptor antagonist, reduces myocyte damage and stabilizes atherosclerotic plaque through its anti-inflammatory effect in animal studies. We investigated the protective effects of pretreatment with fimasartan on ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) in a mouse model of ischemic renal damage. C57BL/6 mice were pretreated with or without 5 (IR-F5) or 10 (IR-F10) mg/kg/day fimasartan for 3 days. Renal ischemia was induced by clamping bilateral renal vascular pedicles for 30 min. Histology, pro-inflammatory cytokines, and apoptosis assays were evaluated 24 h after IRI. Compared to the untreated group, blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine levels were significantly lower in the IR-F10 group. IR-F10 kidneys showed less tubular necrosis and interstitial fibrosis than untreated kidneys. The expression of F4/80, a macrophage infiltration marker, and tumor necrosis factor $(TNF)-{\alpha}$, decreased in the IR-F10 group. High-dose fimasartan treatment attenuated the upregulation of $TNF-{\alpha}$, interleukin $(IL)-1{\beta}$, and IL-6 in ischemic kidneys. Fewer TUNEL positive cells were observed in IR-F10 compared to control mice. Fimasartan caused a significant decrease in caspase-3 activity and the level of Bax, and increased the Bcl-2 level. Fimasartan preserved renal function and tubular architecture from IRI in a mouse ischemic renal injury model. Fimasartan also attenuated upregulation of inflammatory cytokines and decreased apoptosis of renal tubular cells. Our results suggest that fimasartan inhibited the process of tubular injury by preventing apoptosis induced by the inflammatory pathway.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.606-612
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• 2018

The enzyme xylose isomerase (E.C. 5.3.1.5, XI) is responsible for the conversion of an aldose to ketose, especially xylose to xylulose. Owing to the ability of XI to isomerize glucose to fructose, this enzyme is used in the food industry to prepare high-fructose corn syrup. Therefore, we studied the characteristics of XI from Anoxybacillus kamchatkensis G10, a thermophilic bacterium. First, the gene coding for XI (xylA) was inserted into the pET-21a(+) expression vector and the construct was transformed into the Escherichia coli competent cell BL21 (DE3). The expression of recombinant XI was induced in the absence of isopropyl-thio-${\beta}$-galactopyranoside and purified using Ni-NTA affinity chromatography. The optimum temperature of recombinant XI was $80^{\circ}C$ and measurement of the heat stability indicated that 55% of residual activity was maintained after 2 h incubation at $60^{\circ}C$. The optimum pH was found to be 7.5 in sodium phosphate buffer. Magnesium, manganese, and cobalt ions were found to increase the enzyme activity; manganese was the most effective. Additionally, recombinant XI was resistant to the presence of $Ca^{2+}$ and $Zn^{2+}$ ions. The kinetic properties, $K_m$ and $V_{max}$, were calculated as 81.44 mM and $2.237{\mu}mol/min/mg$, respectively. Through redundancy analysis, XI of A. kamchatkensis G10 was classified into a family containing type II XIs produced by the genera Geobacillus, Bacillus, and Thermotoga. These results suggested that the thermostable nature of XI of A. kamchatkensis G10 may be advantageous in industrial applications and food processing.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.33 no.9
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• pp.1507-1519
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• 2020

Objective: The current research was aimed to profile the transcriptomic picture of the peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) associated with immunity in Chinese Holsteins supplemented orally with coated folic acid during the periparturient period. Methods: The total of 123 perinatal cows were selected for this study and divided into three groups; group A (n = 41, 240 mg/500 kg cow/d), group B (n = 40, 120 mg/500 kg cow/d) and group C (n = 42, 0 mg/cow/d) based on the quantity of folic acid fed. Three samples of PBLs were selected from each folic acid treated group (high, low, and control) and RNA sequencing method was carried out for transcriptomic analysis. Results: The analysis revealed that a higher number of genes and pathways were regulated in response to high and low folic acid supplementation compared to the controls. We reported the novel pathways tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling, antigen processing and presentation, Staphylococcus aureus infection and nuclear factor (NF)-kappa B signaling pathways) and the key genes (e.g. C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 10, TNF receptor superfamily member 1A, cluster difference 4, major histocompatibility complex, class II, DQ beta, NF-kappa-B inhibitor alpha, and TNF superfamily 13) having great importance in immunity and anti-inflammation in the periparturient cows in response to coated folic acid treatment. Conclusion: Collectively, our study profiled first-time transcriptomic analysis of bovine lymphocytes and compared the involved cytokines, genes, and pathways between high vs control and low vs control. Our data suggest that the low folic acid supplementation (120 mg/500 kg) could be a good choice to boost appropriate immunity and anti-inflammation as well as might being applied to the health improvement of perinatal dairy cows.