• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.1179-1185
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• 2004

The Korean traditional medicine, Seonghyangjeonggisan (SHJGS) has long been used for acute cerebral infarction (Cl). However, scientific investigation has been carried out a little. Cytokines, involved in the regulation of inflammatory reactions and immune responses, may play an important role in the pathogenesis of Cl. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of SHJGS on the production of various cytokines in the patients with acute Cl. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) obtained from the patients with acute Cl were cultured for 24hr in the presence or absence of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and phytohaemagglutinin (PHA). The amount of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-8, in PBMC culture supernatant, was significantly increased in the LPS and PHA treated cells, compared with unstimulated cells (P<0.05). This study showed that increased TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-8 level stimulated by LPS and PHA was inhibited by SHJGS (0.01-1 ㎎/㎖) in a dose-dependent manner but IL-8 level was not inhibited significantly at 1㎎/㎖ (P>0.05). The maximal inhibition rate of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-8 by SHJGS (1㎎/㎖) was 68% (P<0.05), 53.9% (P<0.05), 45.5% (P<0.05), 46.7% (P>0.05) respectively. These results suggest that SHJGS might have anti-inflammatory effects through cytokine modulation. which might explain its beneficial effects in the treatment of acute Cl.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.233-241
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• 2005

Plants have considerable advantages for the production of antigenic proteins because they provide an inexpensive source of protein and an easy administration of vaccine. Since a publication describing edible plant vaccine of HBsAg in 1992, a number of laboratories around the world have studied the use of plants as the bioreactor to produce antigenic proteins of human or animal pathogens. Over the last ten years, these works have been mainly focused on three major strategies for the production of antigenic proteins in plants: stable genetic transformation of either the nuclear or plastid genome, or transient expression in plants using viral vectors. As many antigenic proteins have been expressed in tobacco, also several laboratories have succeeded to express genes encoding antigenic proteins in other crop plants: potato, tomato, maize, carrot, soybean and spinach. At present many works for the production of edible plant vaccine against bacteria-mediated diseases have mostly performed the studies of enterotoxins and adhesion proteins. Also the development of new-type antigens (pili, flagella, surface protein, other enterotoxin and exotoxin etc.) is required for various targets and more efficacy to immunize against microorganism pathogens. Many works mostly studied in experimental animals had good results, and phase I clinical trial of LTB clearly indicated its immunogenic ability. On the other hand, edible plant vaccines have still problems remained to be solved. In addition to the accumulation of sufficient antigen in plants, human health, environment and agriculture regulation should be proven. Also oral tolerance, the physiological response to food antigens and commensal flora is the induction of a state of specific immunological unresponsiveness, needs to be addressed before plant-derived vaccine becomes a therapeutic option.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.122-128
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• 2016

Objectives: Cornu cervi pantotrichum (CCP) has been widely used in Korean and China, as an anti-fatigue, anti-aging, and tonic agent to enhance the functions of the reproductive and the immune systems. Because CCP has various growth factors that play important roles in the development of hair follicles, we examined whether CCP pharmacopuncture solution (CCPPS) was capable of promoting hair growth in an animal model. Methods: One day after hair depilation, CCPPS were topically applied to the dorsal skin of C57BL/6 mice once a day for 15 days. Hair growth activity was evaluated by using macro- and microscopic observations. Dorsal skin tissues were stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Expressions of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU), proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), and fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-7 were examined by using immunohistochemical staining. A reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis was also conducted to measure the messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of FGF-7. Results: CCPPS induced more active hair growth than normal saline. Histologic analysis showed enlargement of the dermal papilla, elongation of the hair shaft, and expansion of hair thickness in CCPPS treated mice, indicating that CCPPS effectively induced the development of anagen. CCPPS treatment markedly increased the expressions of BrdU and PCNA in the hair follicles of C57BL/6 mice. In addition, CCPPS up regulated the expression of FGF-7, which plays an important role in the development of hair follicles. Conclusion: These results reveal that CCPPS facilitates hair re-growth by proliferation of hair follicular cells and up-regulation of FGF-7 and suggest that CCPPS can potentially be applied as an alternative treatment for patients with alopecia.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.223-251
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• 2017

Objectives : A lot of experiment results of Yugmijihwangtang(YM) are reported in various kinds of journals. Many of them report on the new effects that are not recorded in the traditional medical texts. So it is necessary to take it into consideration that newly reported effects could be of help to clinical practice, because this process of comparison of Donguibogam and scientific experiment results will have basis to lead into the evidence based medicine. Methods : We compared the effects of in Donguibogam and the experiment results of YM. Results : The effects of YM in Donguibogam are to replenish essence and marrow, and to treat red wen, fatigue, treat hypouresis, urinary sediment, urinary urgency, hematuria, hydrocephalus, speech and movement retardation, yin-deficiency, diabetes mellitus, nonalcoholic fatty liver, melanoma, disability to see near and far sight, tinnitus, hearing loss, alopecia, angiogenesis, cough, cough at night, trachyphonia, and, infantile convulsion. The experiment results of YM since 2000 in both Korea and China are to inhibit atopic dermatitis, renal interstitial fibrosis, anti-oxidant, emphysema, stress, glomerulosclerosis, diabetic nephropathy, chronic glomerulonephritis, hemorrhage, plantar sweating, dermal aging, kidney aging, bone loss, breast cancer, pathological myocardial cell, primary liver cancer, thrombosis, osteoporosis, intrauterine growth retardation, chronic renal failure, IgA nepropathy, slow cerebral development, and hippocampal tissue lesions on the one hand, and to help bone formation, renin-angiotensin- aldosterone system, cerebral recovery, cognitive function and expression, osteoblast proliferation and differentiation, learning and memory, cold-tolerance and oxygen deficit-tolerance and anti-fatigue, endometrial formation, humoral and cell-mediated immunity, immune regulation effect, Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Ovary Axis, and spermatogenesis, on the other hand. Conclusion : When we compared the effects of YM with the experiment results of YM, there existed a considerable gap between them. So, from now on, it is expected that a great effort and consideration are needed to solve these gaps from an academic and clinical point of view.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.61-69
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• 2011

Gene and promoter structures of metallothionein(MT) from Miho spine loach (Cobitis choii; Cypriniformes) were characterized, and the transcriptional responses to experimental exposures to heavy metals and heat stress were examined. The C. choii metallothionein displayed well-conserved features of teleostean metallothioneins at gDNA, mRNA and amino acid levels. Bioinformatic analysis predicted that the C. choii MT regulatory region potentially possessed various motifs or elements targeted by various transcription factors associated with metal-coordinating regulation (e.g., metal transcription factor-1), immune responses (e.g., nuclear factor kappa B), and thermal modulations (e.g., heat shock factor). Acute heavy-metal exposures to 0.5 or $1.0\;{\mu}M$ of cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni) or zinc (Zn) showed that MT transcription was significantly stimulated by Cd (9.6-fold relative to non-exposed control) and Cu (10.4-fold), only moderately by Mn (2.4-fold), but hardly by Ni and Zn. Elevation of water temperature from $25^{\circ}C$ to $31^{\circ}C$ caused a rapid modulation of MT mRNAs toward upregulation to 9.5-fold; however, afterward the elevated mRNA level slightly decreased during further incubation at $31^{\circ}C$ for 6 h. Results from this study suggest that MT-based expression assay could be a useful basis for better understanding the metal- and/or heat-caused stresses in this endangered fish species.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.10-20
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• 2011

Genetic determinant for metallothionein (MT), a cysteine-rich protein playing essential roles in metal detoxification and homeostasis, was characterized in the Korean bitterling (Acheilognathus signifer, Cyprinidae), an endemic fish species. The full-length A. signifer MT (AsMT) cDNA (551 bp) is composed of a single open-reading frame (ORF) to encode a polypeptide of 60 amino acids containing 20 cysteine residues whose positions are conserved in most cypriniform MTs. At the genomic level, the AsMT (2,593 bp spanning the 5'-flanking region to the 3'-untranslated region) represented a conserved tripartite (three exons interrupted by two introns) structure with AT-rich introns. The upstream regulatory region (-1,914 bp from the ATG initiation codon) of AsMT displayed various sites and motifs for transcription factors involved in the metal-mediated regulation and stress/immune responses. The AsMT transcript was ubiquitously detected in various organs with variable expression levels, where the ovary and intestine showed the highest expression, while the heart and skeletal muscle represented the lowest level. During an exposure to copper (immersion in $0.5\;{\mu}M$ Cu for 48 h), the levels of AsMT transcripts were significantly elevated in the liver (more than 3.5-fold), moderately in the gill, kidney, and spleen (ranging from 1.5- to 2.5-fold), and barely in the brain and intestine. Results of this study could form a useful basis to explore the metal-related stress physiology of this endangered fish species.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society of Poultry Science Conference
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.74-75
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• 2005

In order to evaluate dietary brown seaweed and vancomycin on the performance, layers(Isa brown) were fed on basal diet and diets containing 2.0% of brown seaweed or 10ppm vancomycin. Brown seaweed diet significantly increased(p<0.01) nitrogen balance in layer, while excretion of uric acid nitrogen and metabolizable energy utilization were not different among diets. Layer consumed more the brown seaweed diet(p<0.05). Egg production were significantly different by diets but reduced(p<0.0001) with the experimental period passed. Layer fed brown seaweed diet gave thicker shell eggs, higher Haugh unit and higher egg white CuZnSOD activity compared with those in basal diet. Also, Brown seaweed diet increased MnSOD activity in erythrocyte cytosol and peroxidase in plasma, but decreased peroxide level in plasma, and increased proliferation of PBMC stimulated with PHA-P The result indicated that brown seaweed 2.0% diet in layer improved egg quality and performance due to increased protein synthesis which were related to regulation of antioxidant system and immune cell function in blood.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.1023-1029
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• 2016

Probiotic functional foods are known to have various functional effects such as intestinal regulation, modulation of immune system, reduction of allergies, and lowering of cholesterol. The purpose of this study was to select probiotic strain that is most suitable for freeze-dried coffee for the development of functional coffee products. The survival rate of probiotics, at drinking condition of coffee, at acid, at bile and after freeze-dried in coffee were measured on 1 strain isolated from commercial freeze-dried coffee, 8 strains used as fermented milk starter, 1 Bifidobacterium and 1 Bacillus coagulans. Bacillus coagulans showed the highest survival rate from $2.4{\times}10^7cfu/g$ to $2.0{\times}10^7cfu/g$ especially after freeze-drying. The results at drinking condition of coffee, at acid tolerance, at bile tolerance and at storage test showed significantly better survival rate of Bacillus coagulans than that of control (Lactobacillus casei). Especially, Bacillus coagulans showed 3.8-fold higher survival rate at acid tolerance (pH 1, 120 minutes) than control. Thus, the lactic acid-producing Bacillus coagulans is characterized as a probiotic strain suitable for functional coffee formulation and commercialization.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.8
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• pp.1089-1095
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• 2012

Neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) gene encodes a receptor that binds the Fc region of monomeric immunoglobulin G (IgG) and is responsible for IgG transport and stabilization. In this report, the 8,900 bp porcine FcRn genomic DNA structure was identified and putative FcRn protein included 356 amino acids. Alignment and phylogenetic analysis of the porcine FcRn amino acid sequences with their homologies of other species showed high identity. Tissues expression of FcRn mRNA was detected by real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR), the results revealed FcRn expressed widely in ten analyzed tissues. One single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) (HQ026019:g.8526 C>T) in exon6 region of porcine FcRn gene was demonstrated by DNA sequencing analysis. A further analysis of SNP genotypes associated with serum Classical Swine Fever Virus antibody (anti-CSFV) concentration was performed in three pig populations including Large White, Landrace and Songliao Black pig (a Chinese indigenous breed). Our results of statistical analysis showed that the SNP had a highly significant association with the level of anti-CSFV antibody (At d 20; At d 35) in serum (p = 0.008; p = 0.0001). Investigation of expression and polymorphisms of the porcine FcRn gene will help us in further understanding the molecular basis of the antibody regulation pathway in the porcine immune response. All these results indicate that FcRn gene might be regarded as a molecular marker for genetic selection of anti-CSFV antibody level in pig disease resistance breeding programmes.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.27-32
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• 2006

Background: Chronic inflammation in the brain has known to be associated with the development of a various neurological diseases including dementia. In general, the characteristic of neuro-inflammation is the activated microglia over the brain where the pathogenesis occurs. Pro-inflammatory repertoires, interleukin-1${\beta}$ (IL-1${\beta}$) and nitric oxide (NO), are the main causes of neuro-degenerative disease, particularly in Alzheimer's disease (AD) which is caused by neuronal destruction. Those pro-inflammatory repertoires may lead the brain to chronic inflammatory status, and thus we hypothesized that chronic inflammation would be inhibited when pro-inflammatory repertoires are to be well controlled by inactivating the signal transduction associated with inflammation. Methods: In the present study, we examined whether biphenyl dimethyl dicarboxylate (DDB), an active compound from Schizandra chinensis Baillon, inhibits the NO production by a direct method using Griess reagent and by RT-PCR in the gene expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and IL-1${\beta}$. Western blots were also used for the analysis of NF-${\kappa}B$ and I${\kappa}B$. Results: In the study, we found that DDB effectively inhibited IL-1${\beta}$ as well as NO production in BV-2 microglial cell, and the translocation of NF-${\kappa}B$ was comparably inhibited in the presence of DDB comparing those to the positive control, lipopolysaccharide. Conclusion: The data suggested that the DDB from Schizandra chinensis Baillon may play an effective role in inhibiting the pro-inflammatory repertoires which may cause neurodegeneration and the results imply that the compound suppresses a cue signal of the microglial activation which can induce the brain pathogenesis such as Alzheimer's disease.