• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.7
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• pp.878-885
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• 2009

Serum ferritin levels are elevated in subjects with acute lung injury (ALI), and abnormalities in plasma and lung iron chemistry have also been demonstrated in ALI and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Stress-inducible heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), as well as ferritin, had shown anti-inflammatory actions. Biomarkers for early detection in patients who are likely to develop ARDS would give several therapeutic chances to the patients. In order to verify the predictability in severe hemorrhage-induced ALI in rats, we measured serum ferritin and HO-1 concentrations before and after hemorrhage. Severe hemorrhages significantly increased the number of leukocytes in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and lung tissue myeloperoxidase activity. Both serum ferritin and HO-1 levels increased following hemorrhage, but ferritin levels were elevated earlier than HO-1. In BAL cell immunohistochemical studies, ferritin and HO-1 expressions increased after hemorrhage and localized in the cytoplasm of leukocytes. These findings suggest that inflammatory leukocytes in BAL fluid can secrete ferritin and HO-1, and serum ferritin levels might be more valid factor in predicting ARDS than HO-1 levels in hemorrhage-induced ALI.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.18 no.E2
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• pp.121-128
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• 2002

This study was carried out to investigate if nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitors modulate airway inflammation induced by diesel exhaust particles (DEP). N$\^$G/-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), a potent constitutive NOS (cNOS) inhibitor, and aminoguanidine (AG), a selective inducible NOS (iNOS) inhibitor, were administered to mice in their drinking water for 7 weeks. Airway inflammation was elicited by the repeated intratracheal administration of DEP. The results showed that macrophages, inflammatory eosinophils and neutrophils in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluids by intratracheal DEP instillation were significantly suppressed in the mice treated with two NOS inhibitors toghther with DEP. The suppression of these cells was more effective in AG treated groups than in L -NAME treated groups. NOS inhibitor treatment also reduced interleukin -5 (IL-5 in the BAL fluids and lung homogenates. Additionally, it was found that eosinophil peroxidase (EPO) activity in the BAL fluids was also decreased by NOS inhibitor treatment. These results suggest that nitric oxide (NO) is produced in airway inflammation by repeated DEP instillation, and that iNOS inhibition as well as cNOS inhibition can play a modulating role in this airway inflammation by DEP.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.74 no.2
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• pp.74-78
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• 2013

A 61-year-old woman came to the hospital with dyspnea and pleural effusion on chest radiography. She underwent repeated thoracentesis, transbronchial lung biopsy, bronchoalveolar lavage, and thoracoscopic pleural biopsy with talc pleurodesis, but diagnosis of her was uncertain. Positron emission tomography showed multiple lymphadenopathies, so she underwent endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration of mediastinal lymph nodes. Here, we report a case of malignant pleural mesothelioma that was eventually diagnosed by endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration. This is an unusual and first case in Korea.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.146-153
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• 2017

In this study, we isolated ginseng crude saponin (GCS) from Korean red ginseng (KRG) and determined the ginsenoside content in it to investigate the physiological and pathological effects of GCS on acute pulmonary inflammation induced by intratracheal instillation of cigarette smoke condensates (CSC) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) solution in BALB/c mice. GCS was orally administered at doses of 10 mg/kg and 25 mg/kg for 3 weeks. The recovery rate of GCS from KRG was 6.5 % and total ginsenosides from GCS was 1.13 %, and the content of Rb1 was the highest among them. Total inflammatory cells in the lung homogenates and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) increased following intratracheal administration of CSC and LPS. However, GCS administration impaired this increase. Furthermore, it inhibited the increase in leukocytes in the blood, considerably decreased neutrophils in BALF, and declined infiltration of inflammatory cells and deposition of collagen in the tracheal and alveolar tissue. In this study, GCS was found to have a protective effect against acute pulmonary inflammation and it may be beneficial in preventing various respiratory diseases.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.303-313
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• 2006

Two kinds of sepiolite (sepiolite 1, sepiolite 2), a $500^{\circ}C$ heat treated sepiolite (sepiolite 500), and a $700^{\circ}C$ heat treated sepiolite (sepiolite 700) were analyzed for their physicochemical properties. After these sepiolites were instilled into rat lungs, the effects of these substances on lung function and biochemical changes were evaluated. In addition, the fibers in the lungs were counted and characterized after the lungs were treated for electron microscopical analysis. The lungs instilled with sepiolites increased their weight and tidal volume statistically significantly compared with the unexposed control. The numbers of lymphocytes and polymorphonuclear cells (PMN) in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid also increased compared with the control, indicating the sepiolite induced inflammation. The heat treated sepiolites, however, did not show any toxicological differences from the untreated sepiolites. Although sepiolite showed less change in fiber atomic % compositions ( sepiolite 500, Si 0.9%, p <0.01 ; sepiolite 700, Si 3.7%, p<0.05) than chrysotile (Si 9.7%, p<0.01), the durability of the fibers in the lungs could not be determined in this subchronic experiment.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.58 no.3
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• pp.153-158
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• 2018

Althaea rosea has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat numerous diseases, but no studies have investigated its anti-influenza properties to date. In this study, we investigated the anti-influenza effects of Althaea rosea. BALB/c mice orally pretreated with Althaea rosea ($200{\mu}L$, 0.1 mg/mL concentration in phosphate-buffered saline) and followed by infection of influenza A virus nasally showed higher survivability and lower lung virus titer against divergent subtypes of influenza A virus infection. We also found that oral administration of Althaea rosea elicited antiviral innate immune responses in serum, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, small intestinal fluid, and the lungs. Taken together, these findings suggest that aqueous extracts of Althaea rosea are a potential candidate for use as an anti-influenza drug.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.286-294
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• 2008

We have studied the possible mechanism of anti-asthmatic action of ethanolic extracts of dried seeds of Lepidium sativum (EXLS, 400 mg/kg) using various experimental models. EXLS produced an increase in the Pre-Convulsion Dyspnoea time induced by histamine and acetylcholine aerosol, a significant reduction in the elevated leucocyte counts in the Broncho-Alveolar Lavage fluid of sensitized guinea-pigs and reduction in the paw edema volume as compared to the control rats. Treatment with EXLS also produced decrease in the elevated histamine release from the sensitized guinea-pig lungs. The anti-asthmatic anti-inflammatory responses of EXLS was supported by improvement in microscopic changes like infiltration of inflammatory cells, submucosal edema, epithelial desquamation and reduced lumen size of the bronchi. The $pD_2$ values of histamine in tracheal chain and taenia-coli were significantly greater and that in lung strip was lower in the sensitized animals as compared to control. Treatment of sensitized guinea pigs with EXLS significantly decreased $pD_2$ values of histamine in all three preparations. Our data suggest the prevention of hyper-responsiveness in bronchial smooth muscles and inhibition of the immediate hypersensitive reaction, histamine release in the lungs and the infiltration of various inflammatory cells as the possible mechanisms of anti-asthmatic activity of EXLS.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.78 no.3
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• pp.276-280
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• 2015

Cryptococcal pneumonia usually occurs in immunocompromised patients with malignancy, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, organ transplantations, immunosuppressive chemotherapies, catheter insertion, or dialysis. It can be diagnosed by gaining tissues in lung parenchyma or detecting antigen in blood or bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Here we report an immunocompetent 32-year-old male patient with diabetes mellitus diagnosed with cryptococcal pneumonia after a ultrasound-guided percutaneous supraclavicular lymph node core needle biopsy. We treated him with fluconazole at 400 mg/day for 9 months according to the guideline. This is the first case that cryptococcal pneumonia was diagnosed from a percutaneous lymph node biopsy in South Korea.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.249-254
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• 2014

Allergic asthma is a chronic pulmonary inflammatory disease characterized by reversible airway obstruction, hyperresponsiveness and eosinophils infiltration. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) signaling are closely associated with asthma and have emerged as a novel therapeutic target in allergic disease. The functions of TLR3 and TLR4 in allergic airway inflammation have been studied; however, the precise role of TIR-domain-containing adapter-inducing interferon-${\beta}$ (TRIF), the adaptor molecule for both TLR3 and TLR4, is not yet fully understood. To investigate this, we developed a mouse model of OVA-induced allergic airway inflammation and compared the severity of allergic airway inflammation in WT and $TRIF^-/^-$ mice. Histopathological assessment revealed that the severity of inflammation in airway inflammation in TRIF-deficient mice was comparable to that in WT mice. The total number of cells recovered from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid did not differ between WT and TRIF-deficient mice. Moreover, TRIF deficiency did not affect Th1 and Th2 cytokine production in lung tissue nor the level of serum OVA-specific IgE, $IgG_1$ and $IgG_{2c}$. These findings suggest that TRIF-mediated signaling may not be critical for the development of allergic airway inflammation.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.107-117
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• 2007

Objective : Kumsoouyukkun-joen extract(KSE) has been used treating asthma for a long time in korea. In the present study, I examined the effects of KSE on the ovalbumin(OVA)-induced airway hyper-reactivity(AHR). Methods : To examine the effects of KSE on asthma, mice were sensitized with $100{\mu}g$ of OVA and 1 mg of aluminum potassium sulfate(Alum; Sigma)intraperitoneally on day 0 and 7. On day 14, mice were challenged on 3 consecutive days with 5% OVA and AHR was assessed 24 hrs after the last challenge. To examine severity of AHR, I examined eosinophil population and cytokine production in bronchoaveloar lavage fluid(BALF) and stained with hematoxylin and eosin in lung and also measured enhanced pause(Penh) in AHR from mice. Results and Conclusion : KSE potently inhibited the development of Penh and also reduced the number of eosinophil during OVA-induced AHR. KSE also inhibited cytokines production such as IL-4, IL-5 in BALF. Furthermore, KSE inhibited percentage of eosinophil in BALF. These results suggest that KSE may be beneficial oriental medicine for AHR.