• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.845-855
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• 2000

As high as 50% of pregnancies are known to fail and the majority of such losses occur during the peri-implantation period. For the establishment of pregnancy in mammalian species, therefore, implantation of the conceptus to the maternal endometrium must be completed successfully. Physiological events associated with implantation differ among mammals. In ruminant ungulates, an elongation of the trophohlast in early conceptus development is required before the attachment of the conceptus to the uterine endometrium. Moreover, implantation sites are restricted to each uterine caruncula where tissue remodeling, feto-maternal cell fusion and placentation take place in a coordinated manner. These unique events occur under strict conditions and are regulated by numerous factors from the uterine endometrium and trophoblast in a spatial manner. Interferon-tau (IFN-${\tau}$), a conceptus-derived anti-Iuteolytic factor, which rescues corpus luteum from its regression in ruminants, is particularly apt to play an important role as a local regulator in coordination with other factors, such as TGF-${\beta}$, Cox-2 and MMPs at the attachment and placentation sites.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.12-21
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• 2018

Photorhabdus temperata (PT), a gram-negative bacterium, lives symbiotically within entomopathogenic nematodes. The insecticidal compounds derived from Photorhabdus are used as biopesticides in agriculture. However, the physiological properties are not well characterized. In the course of our screening for neuroprotective and anti-neuroinflammatory substances from natural products, the culture broth of PT showed considerable activities. By activity-guided purification, five anthraquinones, namely, 3-methoxychrysazine (1), 1,3-dimethoxy-8-hydroxy-9,10-anthraquinone (2), 1,3,8-trihydroxy-9,10-anthraquinone (3), 3,8-dihydroxy-1-methoxy-9,10-anthraquinone (4), and 1,3,4-trimethoxy-8-hydroxy-9,10-anthraquinone (5), were isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction of the PT culture broth. Among the isolated compounds, $75{\mu}M$ 3 significantly protected mouse hippocampal neuronal cells (HT22) against 5 mM glutamate-induced cell death via the inhibition of reactive oxygen species production, $Ca^{2+}$ influx, and lipid peroxidation. Additionally, 3 and 4 effectively suppressed the interferon-${\gamma}$-induced neuroinflammation of mouse-derived microglial cells (BV2) at 10 ng/ml, via the reduction of nitric oxide, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$. Anthraquinones 3 and 4 derived from the PT culture broth are a potential starting point to discover neuroprotective and anti-neuroinflammatory drug leads. The novel compound 5 is reported for the first time in this study.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.1919-1924
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• 2015

Polymorphisms in the region of the interleukin IL-28 gene on chromosome 19 have been related with clearance of hepatitis C virus (HCV), a major human pathogen responsible for chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. About 3% of the world's population is infected with HCV. The long-term response to therapy is influenced by many host and viral factors, and recent evidence has indicated that some host genetic polymorphisms related to IL-28 are the most powerful predictors of virological response in patients with HCV. This study assessed frequency of the IL-28 polymorphism (rs8099917) in 50 patients (39 men and 11 women) with chronic hepatitis C using ZNA probe real time PCR new method. All patients were tested for genotype of HCV and the HCV viral load. In parallel, the levels of SGOT, SGPT and ALK enzymes were assessed. Treatment using Peg-interferon alpha with ribavirin was conducted for patients and subsequently samples were collected to detect any change in viral load or liver enzyme rates. The overall frequency of the TT allele is 74%, TG allele 20% and GG allele 6% and the percent of patients who had T allele was 84%. Clear reduction in viral load and liver enzymes was reported in patients with the T allele. Especially for genotype 1 which is relatively resistant to treatment, these alleles may have a role in this decline. In conclusion, we showed that IL-28 polymorphism rs8099917 strongly predicts virological response in HCV infection and that real-time PCR with Zip nucleic acid probes is a sensitive, specific and rapid detection method for detection of SNPs which will be essential for monitoring patients undergoing antiviral therapy.

• BMB Reports
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.172-177
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• 2015

Upregulation of pro-inflammatory mediators contributes to ${\beta}$-cell destruction and enhanced infiltration of immune cells into pancreatic islets during development of type 1 diabetes mellitus. In this study, we examined the regulatory effects and the mechanisms of action of celastrol against cytotoxicity and pro-inflammatory immune responses in the RINm5F rat pancreatic ${\beta}$-cell line stimulated with a combination of interleukin-1 beta, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and interferon-${\gamma}$. Celastrol significantly restored cytokine-induced cell death and significantly inhibited cytokine-induced nitric oxide production. In addition, the protective effect of celastrol was correlated with a reduction in pro-inflammatory mediators, such as inducible nitric oxide synthase, cyclooxygenase-2, and CC chemokine ligand 2. Furthermore, celastrol significantly suppressed cytokine-induced signaling cascades leading to nuclear factor kappa B (NF-${\kappa}B$) activation, including $I{\kappa}B$-kinase (IKK) activation, $I{\kappa}B$ degradation, p65 phosphorylation, and p65 DNA binding activity. These results suggest that celastrol may exert its cytoprotective activity by suppressing cytokine-induced expression of pro-inflammatory mediators by inhibiting activation of NF-${\kappa}B$ in RINm5F cells.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.109-114
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• 2016

Allergic skin inflammation such as atopic dermatitis is characterized by skin barrier dysfunction, edema, and infiltration with various inflammatory cells. The anti-inflammatory effects of Apo-9'-fucoxanthinone, isolated from Sargassum muticum, have been described in many diseases, but the mechanism by which it modulates the immune system is poorly understood. In this study, the ability of Apo-9'-fucoxanthinone to suppress allergic reactions was investigated using a mouse model of atopic dermatitis. The Apo-9'-fucoxanthinone-treated group showed significantly decreased immunoglobulin E in serum. Also, Apo-9'-fucoxanthinone treatment resulted in a smaller lymph node size with reduced the thickness and length compared to the induction group. In addition, Apo-9'-fucoxanthinone inhibited the expression of interleukin-4, interferon-gamma and tumor necrosis factor-alpha by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate and ionomycin-stimulated lymphocytes. These results suggest that Apo-9'-fucoxanthinone may be a useful therapeutic strategy for treating chronic inflammatory diseases.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.1333-1340
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• 2016

The main objective of this study was to investigate whether Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) ameliorated the effects of Citrobactor rodentium infection in Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) knockout (KO) and TLR4 KO mice, as well as in wild-type C57BL/6 (B6) mice. TLR2 KO, TLR4 KO, and B6 mice were divided into three groups per each strain. Each group had an uninfected control group (n = 5), C. rodentium-infected group (n = 8), and LGG-pretreated C. rodentium-infected group (n = 8). The survival rate of B6 mice infected with C. rodentium was higher when pretreated with LGG. Pretreatment with LGG ameliorated C. rodentium-induced mucosal hyperplasia in B6 and TLR4 KO mice. However, in C-rodentium-infected TLR2 KO mice, mucosal hyperplasia persisted, regardless of pretreatment with LGG. In addition, LGG-pretreated B6 and TLR4 KO mice showed a decrease in spleen weight and downregulation of tumor necrosis factor alpha, interferon gamma, and monocyte chemotactic protein 1 mRNA expression compared with the non-pretreated group. In contrast, such changes were not observed in TLR2 KO mice, regardless of pretreatment with LGG. From the above results, we conclude that pretreatment with LGG ameliorates C. rodentium-induced colitis in B6 and TLR4 KO mice, but not in TLR2 KO mice. Therefore, LGG protects mice from C. rodentium-induced colitis in a TLR2-dependent manner.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2018.10a
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• pp.128-128
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• 2018

Nypa fruticans wurmb (NF) has been used as traditional medicinal food in Asian countries. Especially, NF has been used for conventional medicine to treat inflammatory periodontal diseases. Previous studies have been shown that NF has large amount of useful constituents such as phenolic acids, polyphenols and flavonoids. Also, NF is known as having medicinal effects such as anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and cholesterol-lowering effects. NF has recently been attracted to use complementary medicinal food on inflammatory diseases in Korea. However, there are no obvious effects in inflammatory and metabolic diseases also mechanisms has been studied yet. The purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of NF and steamed-NF (SNF), which recently has been used as health food, using Human keratinocyte cell line (HaCaT) and Human mast cell line (HMC-1). The cytotoxicities of NF and SNF were measured by using MTT assays in HaCaT cells and HMC-1 cell. To evaluate anti-inflammatory effects of NF and SNF, HaCaT cells were stimulated with tumor necrosis factor $(TNF)-{\alpha}$ and Interferon $(IFN)-{\gamma}$. Also, HMC-1 cells were stimulated with phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) and A23187 calcium ionophore (A23187) to induce allergic inflammation. Inflammatory cytokine were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In this result, the extract of NF and SNF (0.01 - 1mg/ml) did not show cytotoxicity in HaCaT cells and HMC-1 cells. In addition, the NF and SNF suppressed the production of interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 in HaCaT cells at highest concentration. Furthermore, the treatment of SNF significantly inhibited the secretion level of IL-8 in PMA plus A23187-stimulated HMC-1 cells compared with NF treatment group. These results suggest that the extract of NF and SNF may serve as a potential therapy for skin inflammatory diseases.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.11
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• pp.3307-3312
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• 2014

The anti-inflammatory effect of a tubulin inhibitor, N-(5-benzyl-1,3-thiazol-2-yl)-3-(furan-2-yl)prop-2-enamide (1), on innate immune responses remains unclear. Thus, we investigated the effect of 1 on the immune responses mediated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The in vitro addition of 1 to dendritic cells and macrophages dose-dependently reduced tumor necrosis factor alpha production elicited by LPS stimulation. Additionally, the stimulation of natural killer (NK) and natural killer T (NKT) cells with 1 resulted in the decrease of interferon gamma ($IFN{\gamma}$) induced by LPS treatment. Moreover, 1 substantially reduced interleukin 12 in dendritic cells (DC) as well as $IFN{\gamma}$ in NKDCs induced by LPS in vitro. Furthermore, the in vivo administration of 1 ameliorated LPS/D-galactosamine-induced endotoxic lethality in mice. Taken together, our results demonstrate for the first time that 1 possesses anti-inflammatory properties, most notably by modulating LPS-induced innate immune responses. Therefore, 1 might have therapeutic potential for the treatment of inflammation-mediated diseases such as sepsis.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.136-142
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• 2006

New herbal formula (NHF) is the ethanol extract mixture of Puerariae radix, Artemisia capillaries and Perilla frutescens. We have Investigated the effects on anti-inflammation by NHF and attempted acetic acid induced writhing to verify the analgesic effect. Macrophages and chondrocytes were obtained from mouse and rabbit. Inflammation was induced bγ interleukin-1, tumor necrosis $factor-{\alpha}$, $interferon-{\gamma}$, and lipopolysaccharide. NHF showed strong inhibitory efficacy against cytokine-induced proteoglycan degradation, $PGE_2$ production, NO production, and MMP-9 expression in rabbit articular chondrocyte. In the writhing test, NHF exhibited a dose-dependent inhibition of writhing. Futhermore, NHF increased the activity of SOD. NHF have anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities, and could be a good herbal medicine candidate for curing of osteoarthritis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.9
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• pp.4415-4420
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• 2016

We aimed to investigate any association between hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) in the view of cytokines that control inflammation/angiogenesis and their correlation with certain CD markers. NHL patients with or without HCV infection were studied. CD5, CD30, CD3, CD20 and CD45 were immunohistochemically evaluated. Plasma levels of vascular endothelial and platelet derived growth factors (VEGF, and PDGF), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-${\alpha}$), transforming growth factor (TGF-${\beta}$), interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-8, IL-4, IL-12 and interferon gamma (IFN-${\gamma}$) were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). HCV+ve NHL patients showed a significant reduction in VEGF, PDGF, IFN-${\gamma}$, CD5 and CD45 and a significant increase in IL-12 and IL-8. In conclusion, there was a significant change in cytokine secretion and expression of CD markers in HCV+ve NHL patients. Based on our results, HCV infection in NHL patients requires more in-depth investigations to explore any role in lymphoma progression.