• 대한한의학방제학회지
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• 제30권2호
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• pp.85-93
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• 2022

Objectives : This study investigated anti-inflammatory effects of Nardotidis seu Sulculii Concha water extract (NSCE) against restraint-induced stress. Methods : In vivo, NSCE was orally administered to male white mice at concentrations of 250 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg for 3 days, and then restraint-induced stress was induced for 6 hours. The level of liver damage was measured by serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). The stress-related hormones such as cortisol and corticosterone were measured by ELISA assay. Also, western blot analysis was performed to detect expression of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) proteins. Pathological changes were observed by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining of the liver tissue, and Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining was performed to examine liver inflammation through macrophage infiltration. Results : The AST, ALT, LDH and the stress related hormones such as cortisol and corticosterone were significantly decreased in the NSCE treated group compared with stress group. In histological analysis, H&E staining of liver tissues did not detect the hepatic injury or damage in all groups. As a result of IHC staining, it was confirmed that infiltration of macrophages was increased in the stress-induced group, but decreased in the group treated with NSCE. The COX-2 and MAPK proteins expression was significantly increased by restraint-induced stress, but these proteins were decreased in the NSCE treated group. Conclusions : These results suggest that NSCE has the anti-inflammatory activity in restraint-induced stress model, and it is believed that NSCE can be used for the prevention of liver inflammation.

• 대한본초학회지
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• 제34권3호
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• pp.45-53
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• 2019

Objectives : In present study, we investigated a therapeutic effect of Astragali Radix on hypothyroidism rat model induced by 6-Propyl-2-thiouracil (PTU). Methods : Six-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups : Group one included the normal mice. Group two was administrated PTU. Group three and four were administrated the aqueous extract of Astragali Radix 150 and 300 mg/kg before start of PTU treatment. Group five (Positive control) was administrated with levothyroxine 0.5 mg/kg. During this moment the body weight, liver $H_2O_2$ and catalase (CAT) amount, serum thyroid hormone, serum asparte aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT), gland weights were measured with histopathological changes of thyroid glands. These results were compared with levothyroxine 0.5 mg/kg treated rats. Results : The PTU treatment lead to marked decreases of body weight, level of thyroid hormone in serum and liver CAT activation. Also, PTU treatment increased thyroid gland weight, thyroid gland hormone TSH, liver $H_2O_2$ amount and level of AST in serum. On the other hands, the administration of Astragali Radix extract increased body weight gains and ameliorated histopathological changes of thyroid such as hyperplasia of follicular cells with of follicular colloid contents and sizes. In addition, the administration of Astragali Radix extract increased level of $T_4$ in serum, CAT activation in liver. Moreover, the administration of Astragali Radix extract decreased levels of TSH and AST in serum and $H_2O_2$ amount in liver Conclusions : This study suggests that Astragali Radix extract has therapeutic effects on hypothyroidism via promoting thyroid hormone production.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• 제40권3호
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• pp.90-98
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• 2023

Objectives : Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder worldwide and is characterized by the loss of the dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra (SN). In a previous in vitro study, we demonstrated that Sihogyeji-tang (SG), Sihosogan-tang (SS), and Sihocheonggan-tang (SC) have the potential to be candidate medicines for PD. This study aimed to compare the neuroprotective effect of SG, SS, and SC using 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydrophridine (MPTP)-induced PD mouse model. Methods : Eight-week-old male C57BL/6 mice were intraperitoneally administered with 30 mg/kg of MPTP for 5 days and orally administered SG, SS and SC for 12 days from the first MPTP injection. Motor function was assessed using the pole test and the rotarod test. Dopaminergic neuronal survival in the SN and striatum was evaluated through tyrosine-hydroxylase immunohistochemistry. Results : MPTP administration resulted in behavioral impairment and dopaminergic neuronal death in the SN and striatum. In the pole test, treatment with SG, SS, and SC alleviated the MPTP-induced motor dysfunction on day 5 and 12. In the rotarod test, SS and SG alleviated the MPTP-induced motor dysfunction on day 5, while only SS showed improvement on day 12. SS and SG significantly protected dopaminergic neurons in the SN from MPTP toxicity, and all three compounds (SG, SS, and SC) showed significant protection in the striatum. Notably, SS demonstrated superior efficacy in suppressing MPTP-induced motor dysfunction and dopaminergic neuronal death compared to SG and SC. Conclusions : These findings suggest that SS is the most effective formula among SG, SS, and SC for PD, indicating its potential role in the treatment of PD.

• 한국체육학회지인문사회과학편
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• 제55권3호
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• pp.649-658
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• 2016

본 연구는 지구성 트레이닝과 thiamine(thiamine tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide: TTFD)의 투여가 골격근 내 글리코겐과 PDH(Pyruvate dehydrogenase), 그리고 PDH 활성에 관여하는 효소의 단백질인 PDK4(Pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4)와 PDP1(PDH phosphatase 1)의 발현에 어떠한 영향을 미치는지 알아보는 것을 목적으로 하였다. 6주령의 ICR 마우스를 대상으로 비운동집단(Sedentary; CON, TH), 운동집단(Exercise; EX, THEX)으로 나누어 4주간의 지구성 트레이닝과 체중 kg 당 50 mg의 thiamine을 경구투여 하였다. 4주간의 지구성 트레이닝은 간과 근육 내 glycogen의 저장량에 유의한 증가가 나타났지만 thiamine 투여에 따르는 차이는 나타나지 않았다. 마찬가지로 골격근 내 PDH와 PDH 조절에 관련한 PDK4, PDP1의 단백질 발현을 측정한 결과 4주간의 지구성 트레이닝에 따르는 효과는 관찰되었지만, thiamine 투여에 집단간 유의한 효과는 나타나지 않았다. 이러한 결과는 장기간 지구성 트레이닝에 따른 골격근의 적응으로 인하여 thiamine 투여에 따른 시너지 효과가 나타나지 않은 것으로 보인다. 따라서 추후 연구에서는 지구성 트레이닝의 기간을 고려한 thiamine의 섭취 타이밍 그리고 탄수화물의 복합투여에 따른 PDH와 관련 단백질의 분석이 필요할 것으로 보인다.

• 한방재활의학과학회지
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• 제33권3호
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• pp.1-15
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• 2023

Objectives We aimed to find out the improvement effect of Baekhogainsam-tang (Baihu Jia Renshen-tang, BIT) on metabolic syndrome and alteration of microbiota and gene expression. Methods We used male C57BI/6 mice and randomly assigned them into three groups. Normal control group was fed 10% kcal% fat diet, high-fat diet (HFD) group was fed 45% kcal% fat diet and 10% fructose water. BIT group was fed same diet as HFD group and treated by BIT for once daily, 6 days per week, total 8 weeks. We measured their body weight and food intake every week and performed oral glucose tolerance test 1 week before the end of the study. Then we collected the blood sample to measure triglyceride, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, insulin, and hemoglobin A1c. We harvested tissue of liver, muscle, fat, and large intestine for quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and histopathological examination. Fresh fecal samples were collected from each animal to verify alterations of gut microbiota and we used RNA from liver tissue for microarray analysis. Results The body weight and fat weight of BIT group were reduced compared to HFD group. The qPCR markers usually up-regulated in metabolic syndrome were decreased in BIT group. Bacteroides were higher in BIT group than other groups. There were also differences in gene expressions between two groups such as Cyp3a11 and Scd1. Conclusions We could find out BIT can ameliorate metabolic syndrome and suggest its effect is related to gut microbiota composition and gene expression pattern.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• 제17권4호
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• pp.670-681
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• 2023

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Oxidative stress is caused by reactive oxygen species and free radicals that accelerate inflammatory responses and exacerbate fatigue. Tormentic acid (TA) has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Thus, the aim of present study is to determine the fatigue-regulatory effects of TA in H₂O₂-stimulated myoblast cell line, C2C12 cells and treadmill stress test (TST) and forced swimming test (FST) animal models. MATERIALS/METHODS: In the in vitro study, C2C12 cells were pretreated with TA before stimulation with H₂O₂. Then, malondialdehyde (MDA), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CK) activity, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glycogen, and cell viability were analyzed. In the in vivo study, the ICR male mice were administered TA or distilled water orally daily for 28 days. FST and TST were then performed on the last day. In addition, biochemical analysis of the serum, muscle, and liver was performed. RESULTS: TA dose-dependently alleviated the levels of MDA, LDH, CK activity, TNF-α, and IL-6 in H₂O₂-stimulated C2C12 cells without affecting the cytotoxicity. TA increased the SOD and CAT activities and the glycogen levels in H₂O₂-stimulated C2C12 cells. In TST and FST animal models, TA decreased the FST immobility time significantly while increasing the TST exhaustion time without weight fluctuations. The in vivo studies showed that the levels of SOD, CAT, citrate synthase, glycogen, and free fatty acid were increased by TA administration, whereas TA significantly reduced the levels of glucose, MDA, LDH, lactate, CK, inflammatory cytokines, alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, blood urea nitrogen, and cortisol compared to the control group. CONCLUSIONS: TA improves fatigue by modulating oxidative stress and energy metabolism in C2C12 cells and animal models. Therefore, we suggest that TA can be a powerful substance in healthy functional foods and therapeutics to improve fatigue.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• 제21권6호
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• pp.726-735
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• 2020

Objective: Recent innovations in biology are boosting gene and cell therapy, but monitoring the response to these treatments is difficult. The purpose of this study was to find an MRI-reporter gene that can be used to monitor gene or cell therapy and that can be delivered without a viral vector, as viral vector delivery methods can result in long-term complications. Materials and Methods: CMV promoter-human organic anion transporting polypeptide 1B3 (CMV-hOATP1B3) cDNA or CMV-blank DNA (control) was transfected into HEK293 cells using Lipofectamine. OATP1B3 expression was confirmed by western blotting and confocal microscopy. In vitro cell phantoms were made using transfected HEK293 cells cultured in various concentrations of gadoxetic acid for 24 hours, and images of the phantoms were made with a 9.4T micro-MRI. In vivo xenograft tumors were made by implanting HEK293 cells transfected with CMV-hOATP1B3 (n = 4) or CMV-blank (n = 4) in 8-week-old male nude mice, and MRI was performed before and after intravenous injection of gadoxetic acid (1.2 µL/g). Results: Western blot and confocal microscopy after immunofluorescence staining revealed that only CMV-hOATP1B3-transfected HEK293 cells produced abundant OATP1B3, which localized at the cell membrane. OATP1B3 expression levels remained high through the 25th subculture cycle, but decreased substantially by the 50th subculture cycle. MRI of cell phantoms showed that only the CMV-hOATP1B3-transfected cells produced a significant contrast enhancement effect. In vivo MRI of xenograft tumors revealed that only CMV-hOATP1B3-transfected HEK293 tumors demonstrated a T1 contrast effect, which lasted for at least 5 hours. Conclusion: The human endogenous OATP1B3 gene can be non-virally delivered into cells to induce transient OATP1B3 expression, leading to gadoxetic acid-mediated enhancement on MRI. These results indicate that hOATP1B3 can serve as an MRI-reporter gene while minimizing the risk of long-term complications.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• 제67권3호
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• pp.333-344
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• 2024

Objective : Markers of neuroinflammation during ischemic stroke are well characterized, but additional markers of neural damage are lacking. The study identified associations of behavioral disorders after stroke with histologic neural damage and molecular biological change. Methods : Eight-week-old, 25 g male mice of the C57BL/6J strain were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) to induce ischemic stroke. The control group was a healthy wild type (WT), and the experimental group were designed as a low severity MCAO1 and a high severity MCAO2 based on post-stroke neurological scoring. All groups underwent behavioral tests, realtime polymerase chain reaction, triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining and Hematoxylin and Eosin staining. One-way analysis of variance was used to analyze statistical significance between groups. Results : In TTC staining, MCAO1 showed 29.02% and MCAO2 showed 38.94% infarct volume (p<0.0001). The pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-1β was most highly expressed in MCAO2 (WT 0.44 vs. MCAO1 2.69 vs. MCAO2 5.02, p<0.0001). From the distance to target in the Barnes maze test, WT had a distance of 178 cm, MCAO1 had a distance of 276 cm, and MCAO2 had a distance of 1051 (p=0.0015). The latency to target was 13.3 seconds for WT, 27.9 seconds for MCAO1, and 87.9 seconds for MCAO2 (p=0.0007). Prospero homeobox 1 (Prox1) was most highly expressed in MCAO2 (p=0.0004). Doublecortin (Dcx) was most highly expressed in MCAO2 (p<0.0001). Conclusion : The study demonstrated that histological damage to neural cells and changes in brain mRNA expression were associated with behavioral impairment after ischemic stroke. Prox1 and Dcx may be biomarkers of neural damage associated with long-term cognitive decline, and increased expression at the mRNA level was consistent with neural damage and long-term cognitive dysfunction.

• International Journal of Stem Cells
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• 제16권2호
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• pp.123-134
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• 2023

Objective: The heart contains a pool of c-kit⁺ progenitor cells which is believed to be able to regenerate. The differentiation of these progenitor cells is reliant on different physiological cues. Unraveling the underlying signals to direct differentiation of progenitor cells will be beneficial in controlling progenitor cell fate. In this regard, the role of the mitochondria in mediating cardiac progenitor cell fate remains unclear. Specifically, the association between changes in mitochondrial morphology with the differentiation status of c-kit⁺ CPCs remains elusive. In this study, we investigated the relationship between mitochondrial morphology and the differentiation status of c-kit⁺ progenitor cells. Methods and Results: c-kit⁺ CPCs were isolated from 2-month-old male wild-type FVB mice. To activate differentiation, CPCs were incubated in α-minimal essential medium containing 10 nM dexamethasone for up to 7 days. To inhibit Drp1-mediated mitochondrial fragmentation, either 10 μM or 50 μM mdivi-1 was administered once at Day 0 and again at Day 2 of differentiation. To inhibit calcineurin, either 1 μM or 5 μM ciclosporin-A (CsA) was administered once at Day 0 and again at Day 2 of differentiation. Dexamethasone-induced differentiation of c-kit⁺ progenitor cells is aligned with fragmentation of the mitochondria via a calcineurin-Drp1 pathway. Pharmacologically inhibiting mitochondrial fragmentation retains the undifferentiated state of the c-kit⁺ progenitor cells. Conclusions: The findings from this study provide an alternative view of the role of mitochondrial fusion-fission in the differentiation of cardiac progenitor cells and the potential of pharmacologically manipulating the mitochondria to direct progenitor cell fate.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제28권7호
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• pp.819-826
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• 2018

와송(둥근바위솔, Orostachys japonicus, OJ)은 면역조절, 항노화, 항산화, 독성제거 등의 치료적 효과를 가진 약용식물로 알려져 있는데, 본 연구에서는 인체대장암세포에 대한 재배 와송의 항암효과를 규명하고자 하였다. 인체대장암세포주 SW480에 와송열수추출물을 72시간 동안 처리한 결과, 대장암세포의 생존율은 농도-의존적으로 유의하게 감소하였다. 또한, 와송은 SW480 세포의 증식과 이주를 억제하는 것으로 나타났는데, 대조군의 스크래치 gap은 24시간부터 유의하게 감소하는 반면, 와송열수추출물을 처리한 실험군 I과 II의 스크래치 gap은 48시간부터 감소하기 시작하였다. 특히 실험군 I의 스크래치 gap은 72시간까지 유의하게 유지되었다. 와송이 생체 내에서 종양의 형성에 어떠한 영향을 미치는지 알아보기 위하여 대장암세포 주사 전, 31일 동안 수컷 C57BL/6 마우스(4주령)에게 와송열수추출물을 경구로 자유 섭취하게 하였다. 이후 SW480 세포($1{\times}10^7cells/100{\mu}l$)를 피하로 주입한 후 7일, 14일 그리고 28일에서 종양의 형성을 관찰하였고, 각 실험동물을 희생하여 종양의 무게와 부피($mm^3$)를 측정하여 비교 분석하였다. 와송열수추출물을 섭취하는 동안 실험군 I, II의 체중은 대조군에 비해 지속적으로 유의하게 증가하였다. SW480 세포 주입 이후 모든 실험군의 체중은 감소하였으나, 세포 주입 후 14일부터 와송 섭취 실험군의 체중은 유의하게 증가하는 것으로 나타났다. 대장암세포 주입 후 7일과 14일에서 와송을 섭취한 실험군의 종양 무게와 부피는 대조군보다 높았으나, 28일에서는 대조군보다 낮게 나타났고, 특히 실험군 II에서 종양 무게와 부피는 유의하게 감소하는 것으로 확인되었다. 이상의 결과를 통해 와송이 인체 대장암세포의 성장, 증식 및 이주를 억제하며, 생체 내 종양형성(tumorigenesis)을 예방적으로 억제함을 알 수 있었다. 따라서, 재배 와송은 천연 항암제 소재로서 활용될 가능성을 가지는 것으로 보이며, 이에 대한 심층적인 연구가 필요할 것으로 사료된다.