• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.463-472
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• 2015

Adrenomedullin (AM) is a peptide expressed in all body tissues, and its related receptors are increased in liver fibrosis. In this study, we evaluated the effect of AM deficiency on liver fibrogenesis induced by $CCl_4$ using AM heterozygous (HT) mice. The animals received a single injection of $CCl_4$ or olive oil for the acute experiment, and received $CCl_4$ or olive oil three times a week for 6 weeks for the chronic experiment. Fibrosis was accessed using histopathological analysis and the western blot. The AM HT mice showed mild pericentrilobular degeneration when compared to the AM wild type (WT) mice. In the acute experiment, there was no significant difference between the AM WT and AM HT mice. However, in the chronic experiment, the $CCl_4$-treated AM HT mice showed more severe liver fibrosis than that of the CCl₄-treated AM WT mice. The AST and ALT levels of the AM HT $CCl_4$ group were higher than those of the AM WT CCl₄ group. Additionally, the collagen deposition, $\alpha$- SMA protein and TGF-$\beta$ protein were increased in the AM HT $CCl_4$ group when compared to the AM WT $CCl_4$ group. The AM HT mice also exhibited severe lipid peroxidation through the GSH decrement. Taken together, our data suggest that AM deficiency increases the susceptibility to liver fibrosis induced by $CCl_4$, indicating a novel therapeutic target for patients with liver fibrosis.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.22 no.12
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• pp.1658-1664
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• 2012

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) exhibits several beneficial biological activities including anticarcinogenesis and body-fat reduction. Now, we report that CLA ameliorated the oxidative stress in rat cardiomyoblast cells, H9c2, treated with hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$). Cells were cultured in DMEM/F-12 media at $37^{\circ}C$ with humidified atmosphere of 5% $CO_2$. The cells, cultured for 48 hrs, were seeded at a density $3.5{\times}10^3$ cell/well in a 24 well-plate and incubated for 24 hr. Using these cells, two experiments were performed: the cytotoxicity test of CLA (10, 20, 30, 40, and $50{\mu}Ms$), and the oxidative stress amelioration test of CLA (20 and $50{\mu}Ms$) against cells treated with $H_2O_2$ (10 and 50 ${\mu}Ms$) for 1 and 2 hrs. CLA enhanced the growth of H9c2 cells at any concentrations of CLA and at any incubation times (up to 6 days), indicating that CLA acts as a growth stimulant. No protective effect of CLA (20 and $50{\mu}Ms$) was seen in cells treated $50{\mu}M$ $H_2O_2$ for 1 and 2 hr, but these CLA concentrations ameliorated (p<0.05) the adverse effect of $10{\mu}M$ $H_2O_2$ in cells treated for 1 hr. These CLA concentrations significantly (p<0.05) reduced the proportion of apoptotic cells, relative to control cells. These results suggest that CLA protected H9c2 cells from the oxidative stress of $H_2O_2$ through the suppression of cell apoptosis and could be a useful compound for the prevention of cardiac diseases caused by oxidative stress.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.1078-1085
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• 2010

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCBs) are bioaccumulative chemicals that are considered to be toxic contaminants based on several epidemiological studies. These chemicals in colostrum were investigated and estimated for their residual consistencies by maternal characteristics like parity and maternal ages. Test subjects were healthy primipara and multipara mothers with a mean age of 31.5 (S.D=3.6) in 2007. Seven isomers of PCDDs, 10 of PCDFs, 4 of non-orthopolychlorinated biphenyls(non-ortho PCBs) and 8 of mono-orthochlorinated polychlorinated biphenyls (mono-ortho PCBs) were analyzed by HRGC/HRMS. From the analyzed data, the mean level of total WHO-TEQs was 9.41 pg TEQ/g lipid, which is significantly lower than the level found in individuals from other countries. The main contributors to the total WHO-TEQs with increasing percentages were 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF, 1,2,3,7,8-PeCDD and 3,3',4,4',5-PCB (#126), and they accounted for more than 60% of the total WHO-TEQs. PCDFs concentrations and total WHO-TEQs were negatively associated with parity (p<0.05), and maternal age was positively associated with total WHO-TEQs (p<0.01). However, the associations with body mass index (BMI) and fish intake during pregnancy were not significant. These results were suggested that parity and maternal age are an important factor affecting the concentrations of PCDD/DFs and dl-PCBs in these specimens.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.225-230
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• 2008

Diabetes mellitus is the fifth leading cause of death among Koreans. Control of hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia is strongly correlated with decrease in risks for cardiovascular diseases, the most common and fatal diabetic complication. The effects of chronic feeding of a mixture of Chinese herbs on blood lipid profile were measured in an animal model of type 2 diabetes mellitus, db/db mice (C57BL/Ks). The Chinese herb mixture was composed of Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer,Astragalus membranaceus, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Lycium chinense, Morus, Pueraria thunbergiana, Prunella vulgaris var. lilacina, Acanthopanax sessiliflorus, Schizandra chinensis, Scutellaria baicalensis, Dioscorea batatas, Polygonatum doratumvar. pluriflorum, Paeonia lactiflora, and Rehmannia glutinosa in a ratio of 1 : 0.7 : 0.4 : 0.7 :0.4 : 0.7 : 1.1 : 0.9 : 0.4 : 0.4 : 0.7 :0.7 : 0.9 : 0.9. Methanol extract of the Chinese herb mixture was tested for the inhibitory activity against yeast ${\alpha}$-glucosidase in vitro. The Chinese herb mixture extract inhibited ${\alpha}$-glucosidase by 25.2% at the concentration of 0.5mg/mL. Four weekold male db/db mice (n = 14) were fed AIN-93G semipurified diet or diet containing 10% powder of the Chinese herb mixture for 6 weeks after 1 week of adaptation period. Body weight (39.5 ${\pm}$ 1.6 g) and food intake (4.3 ${\pm}$ 0.6 g/day) of the Chinese herb group were not significantly different from those of the control group (40.4 ${\pm}$ 2.6 g and 4.5 ${\pm}$ 0.6 g/day). Consumption of Chinese herb mixture significantly decreased plasma glucose level (442.5 ${\pm}$ 36.0mg/dL) compared with the control group (489.8 ${\pm}$ 34.6 mg/dL, p < 0.05). Plasma cholesterol level (159.2 ${\pm}$ 18.4 mg/dL) of the Chinese herb group was significantly lower than that of the control group (185.4 ${\pm}$ 13.7 mg/dL, p < 0.05). Blood glycated hemoglobin (6.3 ${\pm}$ 0.8%) and plasma triglyceride levels (99.4 ${\pm}$ 15.0mg/dL) of the Chinese herb group were not significantly different from those of the control group (6.7 ${\pm}$ 0.7% and 108.8 ${\pm}$ 11.0mg/dL). Thus, the Chinese herb mixture could be useful in the treatment of diabetes and cardiovascular complications of diabetes.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.45 no.11
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• pp.1589-1594
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• 2016

Piperine [(E,E)-5-(3,4-methtylenedioxyphenyl)-2,4-pentadienolypiperidide] is a principal of Piperaceae, including Piper nigrum L. and Piper longum Linn., which has been used as a spice and traditional medicine. In this study, we investigated whether or not piperine has anti-cancer effects on AGS human gastric cancer cells. The results demonstrated that piperine not only inhibited proliferation using MTT assay but also induced apoptotic bodies using DAPI assay in a dose-dependent manner in response to piperine. Expression levels of p53, Bax (pro-apoptotic), cleaved caspase-9, and cleaved-PARP increased, whereas expression levels of Bcl-2, XIAP (anti-apoptotic), and Akt decreased in a dose-dependent manner compared with the control by western blotting analysis. To identify the connection between phospo-Akt and Bcl-2 family in response to piperine, LY249002 (Akt inhibitor) was treated with piperine ($150{\mu}M$). The results were shown that expression of phospo-Akt was reduced whereas expression of Bax and cleaved-PARP increased in a dose-dependent manner. These results indicate that piperine induced apoptosis in AGS cells and may serve as a chemopreventive or therapeutic agent for human gastric cancer.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.143-151
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• 1999

Purpose: Dermatolymphangioadenitis (DLA) is a common and serious complication of lymphedema which deteriorates lymphatic function. The purpose of this study was to assess the risk of DLA by lymphos-cintigraphy in patients with lower extremity lymphedema. Materials and Methods: The subjects were 59 edematous lower extremities of 50 patients without previous episode of DLA and 12 lower extremities of 6 controls. Whole body images were acquired 1 min and 2 hr after subcutaneous injection of 37 MBq of Tc-99m-antimony sulfide colloid into interdigital spaces of both feet before therapy for lymphedema. The lymphosintigraphic and clinical variables were compared between groups with or without occurrence of DLA during clinical follow up. Results: There were 20 episodes of DLA in 12 extremities during clinical follow-up (19 :6 months). On univariate analysis, there were significant differences in ilioinguinal lymph node uptake, uptake pattern of main lymphatic vessel, clinical stage and therapy compliance between the two groups. After multivariate analysis, only the uptake pattern of main lymphatic vessel and therapy compliance fore confirmed to be independent variables. In other words, non-visualized main lymphatic vessel and poor compliance to therapy were more frequent in extremities with subsequent occurrence of DLA. Conclusion: Lymphoscintigraphy can be used to predict the risk of DLA and may thus be helpful for determining the initial therapeutic plan in patients with lower extremity lymphedema.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.553-560
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• 2007

Purpose: We evaluated the standard uptake value (SUV) of F-18 FDG at PET/CT for differentiation of benign from malignant tumor in primary musculoskeletal tumors. Materials and Methods: Forty-six tumors (11 benign and 12 malignant soft tissue tumors, 9 benign and 14 malignant bone tumors) were examined with F-18 FDG PET/CT (Discovery ST, GE) prior to tissue diagnosis. The maxSUV(maximum value of SUV) were calculated and compared between benign and malignant lesions. The lesion analysis was based on the transverse whole body image. The maxSUV with cutoff of 4.1 was used in distinguishing benign from malignant soft tissue tumor and 3.05 was used in bone tumor by ROC curve. Results: There was a statistically significant difference in maxSUV between benign (n=11; maxSUV $3.4{\pm}3.2$) and malignant (n=12; maxSUV $14.8{\pm}12.2$) lesions in soft tissue tumor (p=0.001). Between benign bone tumor (n=9; maxSUV $5.4{\pm}4.0$) and malignant bone tumor (n=14; maxSUV $7.3{\pm}3.2$), there was not a significant difference in maxSUV. The sensitivity and specificity for differentiating malignant from benign soft tissue tumor was 83% and 91%, respectively. There were four false positive malignant bone tumor cases to include fibrous dysplasia, Langerhans-cell histiocytosis (n=2) and osteoid osteoma. Also, one false positive case of malignant soft tissue tumor was nodular fasciitis. Conclusion: The maxSUV was useful for differentiation of benign from malignant lesion in primary soft tissue tumors. In bone tumor, the low maxSUV correlated well with benign lesions but high maxSUV did not always mean malignancy.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.163-167
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• 2014

This study aimed to investigate the anti-obesity effects of Enterococcus faecalis MD366, isolated from raw milk, in diet-induced obese mice. To examine the effect, male C57BL/6J mice were fed for six weeks on three different diets, i.e., a normal diet and orally administrated saline solution (ND), a high-fat diet and orally administrated saline solution (HFD), and a high-fat diet and orally administrated E. faecalis MD366 ($10^9CFU/day$) in saline solution (HFD+MD366). After six weeks, the rate of increase in body weight was 18.1% lower in the HFD+MD366 group compared to that in the HFD group. In addition, the weight of epididymal fat pad in the HFD+MD366 group was lower than that in the HFD group. The average levels of triglycerides, total cholesterol (TC), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were slightly reduced in the HFD+MD366 group compared to those in the HFD group. However, there were no significant differences between the groups. Measuring the adipocytes revealed that the percentage of adipocytes with a size of $2,000{\mu}m^2$ was higher than the percentages of other size classes in ND and HFD+MD366 groups, while the percentage of adipocytes larger than $5,000{\mu}m^2$ was highest in the HFD group. The mean adipocyte size in the HFD+MD366 group was smaller than that in the HFD group.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.5
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• pp.7-21
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• 1964

가잠(家蠶)(Bombyx mori)의 잠체(蠶體), 용체 및 견사선(絹絲腺)(후부(後部))에서 phenol법(法)으로 RNA를 추출(抽出)하여 RNA의 nucleotide 조성(組成)(mole ratio)을 살피는 한편, 견사선(絹絲腺)(후부(後部))에서 초원심법(超遠沈法)으로 r-RNA, s-RNA를 분리(分離)하여 이에 대(對)한 nucleotide조성(組成)을 조사(調査)하고 또 가잠견사선(家蠶絹絲腺)과 비교(比較)할 목적(目的)으로 거미 방적선(紡績腺)의 t-RNA를 분리(分離)하여 nucleotide성분(成分)을 측정(測定)하여 다음과 같은 결과(結果)를 얻었다. 1) 잠란(蠶卵)에 있어서 이것을 마수(磨粹), 탈지(脫脂) 후(後) lysozyme을 작용(作用)시키고 10% NaCl용액(溶液)으로 가열(加熱) 추출(抽出)하는 새방법(方法)을 고찰(考察)하여 RNA의 추출(抽出)이 극난(極難)한 잠란(蠶卵)에서 RNA를 분리(分離)하는데 성공(成功)하였다. 2) 가잠란(家蠶卵), 잠체(蠶體), 용체 및 견사선(絹絲腺)(후부(後部))의 t-RNA nucleotide 조성(組成)은 다음과 같다. 시료(試料) $\frac{G+C}{A+U}$ $\frac{G+U}{A+C}$ $\frac{Pu}{Py}$ 가잠란(家蠶卵)의 RNA 1.14 1.24 0.99 가잠체(家蠶體)의 RNA 1.40 1.36 0.80 용체의 RNA 1.40 1.33 1.35 후부견사선(後部絹絲腺)의 RNA 1.05 1.32 1.15 이로서 잠체(蠶體). 용체 및 견사선(絹絲腺)의 Pu/Py는 각각(各各) 차이(差異)가 있으나 G+U/A+C는 3자간(者間)에 1.3의 거이 동일(同一)한 수치(數値)를 보여주고 있다. G+C/A+U는 잠체(蠶體)와 용체에 있어서 동일(同一)하나 견사선(絹絲腺)의 그것과는 차이(差異)가 있다. 한편 잠란(蠶卵)에 있어서는 Pu/Py, G+C/A+U, G+U/A+C가 각각(各各) 잠체(蠶體), 용체 및 견사선(絹絲腺)에 있어서와 현저(顯著)한 차이(差異)를 보여주고 있다. G+C/A+U가 1.3이나 되는 RNA의 base ratio를 가진 생물(生物)에 관(關)해서는 아직 보고(報告)된 바 없고 다만 본논문(本論文)의 가잠(家蠶)에 관(關)한 RNA와 속편(續編)인 각종(各種) 패류(貝類) RNA의 nucleotide 조성(組成)에서 모두 1.3에 가까운 수치(數値)를 보여주고 있다. 3) 견사선(絹絲腺)(후부(後部)) t-RNA와 거미 방적선(紡績腺)의 t-RNA의 nucleotide molar ratio 및 견사선(絹絲腺)의 r-RNA, s-RNA nucleotide 조성(組成)은 다음과 같다. 재료(材料) $\frac{G+C}{A+U}$ $\frac{G+U}{A+C}$ $\frac{Pu}{Py}$ 가잠견사선(家蠶絹絲腺)(후부(後部)의 t-RNA 1.05 1.32 1.15의 r-RNA 1.12 1.30 1.20의 s-RNA 1.55 1.33 0.65 지주방적선(蜘蛛紡績腺)의 t-RNA 1.35 1.24 1.16 즉(卽) 가잠견사선(家蠶絹絲腺)(후부(後部))과 거미방적선(紡績腺)의 t-RNA nucleotide 조성(組成)은 Pu/Py가 1.15와 1.16으로서 거이 동일(同一)하지만 G+C/A+U, G+U/A+C에 차이(差異)가 있음을 보았다. 한편 가잠견사선(家蠶絹絲腺)(후부(後部)) r-RNA와 s-RNA의 Pu/Py와 G+C/A+U는 현저(顯著)한 차이(差異)가 있고, G+U/A+C에 있어서는 1.3으로서 거이 동일(同一)한 수치(數値)를 보여주고 있다. 4. 이상(以上)과 같이 잠체(蠶體)에 관(關)한 RNA의 nucleotide 조성(組成)은 소위(所謂) GC-type로서, 현재(現在)까지 문헌(文獻)에 보고(報告)된 각종(各種) 생물(生物)의 RNA의 base ratio에 관(關)하여 비교(比較) 검토(檢討)하였으며, RNA의 nucleotide ratio의 차이(差異)의 의의(意義)에 대(對)하여 고찰(考察)하였다.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.123-134
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• 1975

Out of 96 yeast strains isolated from various natural habitats, five strains were screened based on their ability to ferment agricultural biproducts such as rice-, barley-and wheat-bran, and sawdust. These were identified as Hansenula anomala var anomala, Candide utilis, C. pelliculosa, Debaryomyces hansenii, and Irpex lacteus. Using these yeasts the above mentioned agricultural biproducts were fermented in various combinations. The fermented product was fed to 180 male Starcroses for eight weeks and obtained a body weight increase of 15.1g a day, while the unfermented control feed increased 10.5g a day.