• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.63 no.4
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• pp.451-455
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• 2020

Testosterone deficiency syndrome (TDS), also known as late-onset hypogonadism, is a clinical and biochemical syndrome associated with advanced age and characterized by deficient serum testosterone levels. The Elaeagnus multiflora fruit (EMF) and Cynanchum wilfordii (CW) have been used in traditional herbal medicine. This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effects of EMF and CW mixtures (at the ratios of 3:7, 5:5, and 7:3) on TDS using TM3 cells and aging male rats. EMF, and mixtures of EMF and CW (at the ratios of 3:7, 5:5, and 7:3) significantly increased testosterone levels in TM3 cells (p <0.05). The rats were orally administered EMCW (EMF and CW mixed at the ratio of 3:7 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg/day) for 4 weeks consecutively. After 4 weeks of EMCW administration, latency time on the rotarod test, and serum testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate levels were significantly increased (p <0.05 and p <0.01). Moreover, the levels of globulin-bound sex hormones were decreased in the EMCW-fed groups. However, prostate-specific antigen levels did not differ among the groups. These results suggest that EMCW can be effectively used to alleviate TDS.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.49-54
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• 2017

Vitamin D3 is a fat-soluble secosteroid responsible for enhancing intestinal absorption of calcium, iron, and other materials. Vitamin D3 deficiency, therefore, can cause health problems such as metabolic diseases, and bone disorder. Female sex hormones including estrogen and progesterone are biosynthesized mainly in the granulosa cells of ovary. In this study, we isolated granulosa cells from porcine ovary and cultured for the experiments. In order to examine the effect of vitamin D3 on the ovarian granulosa cells, the mRNA and protein levels of genes were analyzed by real-time PCR and Western blot assay. The production of estrogen from the granulosa cells was also measured by the ELISA assay. Genes associated with follicle growth were not significantly altered by vitamin D3. However, it increases expression of genes involved in the estrogen-biosynthesis. Further, estrogen concentrations in porcine granulosa cell-cultured media increased in response to vitamin D3. These results showed that vitamin D3 is a powerful regulator of sex steroid hormone production in porcine granulosa cells, suggesting that vitamin D deficiency may result in inappropriate sexual development of industrial animals and eventually economic loss.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.73-79
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• 2001

Recently many studies have reported that total and bioavailable androgens reduced in male and female athletes and that physical exercise reduces the body weight and increases the reproductive abnormalities such as oligomenorrhea, anovulation, inadequate luteal phase, and delayed puberty in women by the inhibition of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis . In addition, high mileage endurance 겨nning, psychological stress, and military endurance training in men also reduce the secretion of reproductive hormones. To investigate the efffcts of physical endurance exercise on the secretion of reproductive hormones in men, androgenic hormones from adrenal glands and testis were measured in serum by the conventional radioimmunoassays after long-term (more than3 months), short-term (1 week), and acute (1${sim}$2 hours) physical exercises. Androgenic hormones from adrenal glands and testis such as total testosterone (TT), free testosterone (fT), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and androstenedione (A) decreased after thesestrenuous endurance trainings, whereas ACTH, cortisol, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfetes (DHEAS) increased. Conadotropins (LH and FSH) were not idluenced by the physical exercises. Based upon the present results, we assume that the decrease in adrenal and testicular androgens by physical endurance exercises might be associated with the reproductive abnormalities in athletes by unknown factor(s) in addition to the HPG axis disturbance.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.21-21
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• 1995

The effects of plant hormones (NAA, $GA_3$ and BA) and light qualities (white, red, green and blue light) on the changes of reducing sugar contents and invertase isozyme activities in leaves of maize (Zea mars L.) and mung bean (Phseolw radiatus L.) seedlings were investigated. NAA accelerated the increase of reducing sugar contents and invertase isozyme activities, on the contrary, $GA_3$ had little effect in the accumulation of reducing sugar and in the increase of enzyme activities from the leaves of maize and mung bean seedlings. On the other hand, BA accelerated an increase in the activities of the invertase isozyme from the leaves of mung bean seedlings whereas it had little effect in the increase of the enzyme activities from those of maize seedlings. The accumulation of reducing sugar in leaves of both seedlings was promoted by red light irradiation compared to white light irradiation, while the activities of the enzyme were little affected by various light Qualities. In the simultaneous applications of plant hormone and light quality, NAA with white light was very effective in the increase of reducing sugar contents and the enzyme activities from the leaves of mung bean seedlings, whereas NAA application with blue light showed a prominent enhancement in the reducing sugar contents and the enzyme activities from those of maize seedlings. These results suggest that plant hormone, particularly NAA, may be a more important factor than various light Qualities in the stimulation of invertase activity.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.323-333
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• 1995

The effects of plant hormones (NAA, $GA_3$ and BA) and light qualities (white, red, green and blue light) on the changes of reducing sugar contents and invertase isozyme activities in leaves of maize (Zea mars L.) and mung bean (Phseolw radiatus L.) seedlings were investigated. NAA accelerated the increase of reducing sugar contents and invertase isozyme activities, on the contrary, $GA_3$ had little effect in the accumulation of reducing sugar and in the increase of enzyme activities from the leaves of maize and mung bean seedlings. On the other hand, BA accelerated an increase in the activities of the invertase isozyme from the leaves of mung bean seedlings whereas it had little effect in the increase of the enzyme activities from those of maize seedlings. The accumulation of reducing sugar in leaves of both seedlings was promoted by red light irradiation compared to white light irradiation, while the activities of the enzyme were little affected by various light Qualities. In the simultaneous applications of plant hormone and light quality, NAA with white light was very effective in the increase of reducing sugar contents and the enzyme activities from the leaves of mung bean seedlings, whereas NAA application with blue light showed a prominent enhancement in the reducing sugar contents and the enzyme activities from those of maize seedlings. These results suggest that plant hormone, particularly NAA, may be a more important factor than various light Qualities in the stimulation of invertase activity.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.1180-1186
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• 1999

A wide ranges of chemicals released into the environment have potential to interfere with physiological and development process by disrupting endocrine pathways. Endocrine system embraces a multitude of mechanisms of action, including effect on growth, behavior, reproduction and immune function. These environmental endocrine disruptors are present in environment and pose potential health consequences to human and wildlife. The best known form in endocrine distruptors involves substances which mimic or block the action of natural hormone in the body. Endocrine disruptor have been variously defined as exogenous agents that interfere with the synthesis, secretion, transport, metabolism, binding action or elimination of the natural hormones in the body which are responsible for the maintenance of homeostasis, reproduction developmental and/or behavior. Many compounds polluted into the environment by human activity are capable of disrupting the endocrine system of animals, including fish, wildlife, and humans. Among these chemicals are pesticides, industrial chemicals, and other anthropogenic products. It has been alleged that several adverse effects on human health are linked with exposure to chemicals which are claimed to be endocrine disrupters, that is, increased incidence of testicular, prostate and female breast cancer, time dependent reductions in sperm quality and quantity, increased incidence of cryptorchidism (undescended testicles) and hypospadias(malformation of the penis), altered physical and mental de velopment in children. This observation is currently the only example of chemically mediated endocrine disruption which has resulted in a clear effect at the population level.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.6-12
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• 2006

Background: The Hypothalamo-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis is an important regulator for the body's stress response. As a primary stress responsive system, HPA-axis secretes various neurotransmitters, hormones, and cytokines, which regulates the immune system. Natural killer (NK) cell which is plays an important role in the innate immune response, is specially decreased their numbers and loose cytolytic activity in response to stress. However, the effect of HPA-axis secreted proteins on NK cell activity has not been defined. Herein, we studied the effect of adrenal secreted adiponectin on NK cell cytotoxicity. Adiponectin which is well-known metabolic control protein, plays important roles in various diseases, including hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, inflammatory disorders, and cancer. Methods: Signal sequence trap was used to find stress novel secretory protein from HP A-axis. Selected adiponectin was treated mouse mature primary NK cells and then examined the effect of adiponectin to NK cell cytotoxicity and cytokine expression level. Results: We found that adiponectin which is secreted from adrenal gland, suppress IL-2 induced NK cell cytotoxicity. And also investigated cytolytic cytokines are suppressed by adiponectin. Conclusion: These data suggest that adiponectin inhibites NK cell cytotoxicity via suppression of cytotoxicity related target gene.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.10
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• pp.1159-1163
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• 2019

Although there is a growing interest in male menopause, a phenomenon associated with male hormone depletion, current kits using antibodies to quantify male hormones are expensive. In this study, we constructed an in vitro system for verifying the activity or concentration of male steroid hormones using a transcriptional activity test. A reporter plasmid, pGL2-Neo-ARE-AdE1BTATA, which reacts to testosterone, was constructed. In this plasmid, the ARE-AdE1bTATA sequences can be bounded by the testosterone - androgen receptor complex to express luciferase as a reporter. Then, a stable transfection was performed on the human prostate cancer cell line, LNcap-LN3. The constructed LNcap-LN3/pGL2-Neo-ARE-AdE1BTATA testosterone compound detection (TCD) system showed quantitatively proportional luciferase activities to concentrations of $10^{-13}$ to $10^{-8}M$ of standard testosterone. The established in vitro TCD system will contribute to the development of materials for health/functional foods and drugs as it will be possible to search en masse for testosterone-like or testosterone-inhibiting substances derived from natural materials.

• International Journal of Costume and Fashion
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.35-47
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• 2013

We know that humans are able to live comfortably when there is a balance between the living environment that surrounds us and us. Clothing, one of the necessities of life, serves a dual purpose of functioning as protection for the body as well as providing visual satisfaction, and so is the most effective bonding mechanism. A different type of comfort that has been provided through industrialization and advancements in technology has resulted in pollution problems in the environment, and it has reached a point of seriously thinking about its effects. The biggest problems in environmental pollution are air pollution and waste disposal, and something that cannot be ignored is that environmental hormones and harmful heavy metals have been discovered in the synthetic dyes used in the clothing product, and not only are they harmful to the body, but they also have adverse effects on skin allergies such as atopic dermatitis. Its effects on clothing, especially underwear and baby products, can become a serious issue. The use of natural vegetable dye can be considered the basis for the traditional Korean dyeing process, however not all natural dyeing process can be thought of as traditional Korean dyeing. This is because natural dyeing used to be the most common method of dyeing before synthetic dyes came along and became the dye of choice for most clothing. Natural dyes are beneficial to the body, and the nature colors, achieved from the natural materials, relieve eye strains as well as have a healing effect for people who are suffering from psychological instability such as stress. However, the use of mordant in order to increase the fastness and get better color effects can lead to even more damage to the environment, and it cannot be a dyeing method that is good for the body. Traditional natural dyeing is different from regular natural dyeing because it uses colors that the Korean people can identify with and applies specific methods in order to achieve those colors. Even though experimental study with dyestuff and practical use of the dyeing methods for traditional Korean dyeing has been started(Soh, H., 1983) and has been ongoing, it is still not easy for regular people to use the method on their own. At the present time, natural dye materials are getting made and sold more than ever, but there is a lot of confusion among consumers regarding the difference between traditional Korean dyeing and natural dyeing, as companies are using the two terms interchangeably to market their natural dye products. So getting a better understanding of the characteristics of traditional Korean dyeing and traditional colors should be considered first priority at this time. The purpose of this thesis is to study the traditional Korean view of color, which developed the culture of traditional dyeing in Korea, and the characteristics of traditional Korean dyeing, a method that pursued achieving Korea's color through natural dyeing.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.427-436
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• 2012

Targeted therapy has been a very promising strategy of drug development research. Many molecular mechanims of diseases have been known to be regulated by abundance of proteins, such as receptors and hormones. Chemoprevention for treatment and prevention of diseases are continuously developed. Pre-clinical and clinical studies in chemoprevention field yielded many valuable data in preventing the onset of disease and suppressing the progress of their growth, making chemoprevention a challenging and a very rational strategy in future researches. Natural products being rich of flavonoids are those fruits belong to the genus citrus. Ethanolic extract of Citrus reticulata and Citrus aurantiifolia peels showed anticarcinogenic, antiproliferative, co-chemotherapeutic and estrogenic effects. Several examples of citrus flavonoids that are potential as chemotherapeutic agents are tangeretin, nobiletin, hesperetin, hesperidin, naringenin, and naringin. Those flavonoids have been shown to possess inhibition activity on certain cancer cells' growth through various mechanisms. Moreover, citrus flavonoids also perform promising effect in combination with several chemotherapeutic agents against the growth of cancer cells. Some mechanisms involved in those activities are through cell cycle modulation, antiangiogenic effect, and apoptosis induction.Previous studies showed that tangeretin suppressed the growth of T47D breast cancer cells by inhibiting ERK phosphorylation. While in combination with tamoxifen, doxorubicin, and 5-FU, respectively, it was proven to be synergist on several cancer cells. Hesperidin and naringenin increased cytotoxicitity of doxorubicin on MCF-7 cells and HeLa cells. Besides, citrus flavonoids also performed estrogenic effect in vivo. One example is hesperidin having the ability to decrease the concentration of serum and hepatic lipid and reduce osteoporosis of ovariectomized rats. Those studies showed the great potential of citrus fruits as natural product to be developed as not only the source of co-chemotherapeutic agents, but also phyto-estrogens. Therefore, further study needs to be conducted to explore the potential of citrus fruits in overcoming cancer.