• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.125-131
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• 2017

Status epilepticus is the most common serious neurological condition triggered by abnormal electrical activity, leading to severe and widespread cell loss in the brain. Lithium has been one of the main drugs used for the treatment of bipolar disorder for decades, and its anticonvulsant and neuroprotective properties have been described in several neurological disease models. However, the therapeutic mechanisms underlying lithium's actions remain poorly understood. The muscarinic receptor agonist pilocarpine is used to induce status epilepticus, which is followed by hippocampal damage. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of lithium post-treatment on seizure susceptibility and hippocampal neuropathological changes following pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus. Status epilepticus was induced by administration of pilocarpine hydrochloride (320 mg/kg, i.p.) in C57BL/6 mice at 8 weeks of age. Lithium (80 mg/kg, i.p.) was administered 15 minutes after the pilocarpine injection. After the lithium injection, status epilepticus onset time and mortality were recorded. Lithium significantly delayed the onset time of status epilepticus and reduced mortality compared to the vehicle-treated group. Moreover, lithium effectively blocked pilocarpine-induced neuronal death in the hippocampus as estimated by cresyl violet and Fluoro-Jade B staining. However, lithium did not reduce glial activation following pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus. These results suggest that lithium has a neuroprotective effect and would be useful in the treatment of neurological disorders, in particular status epilepticus.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.289-295
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• 2013

Different functions have been attributed to $CD4^+CD25^+Foxp3^+$ regulatory T-cells (Tregs) during malaria infection. Herein, we describe the disparity in Treg response and pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines during infection with Plasmodium berghei ANKA between young (3-week-old) and middle-aged (8-month-old) C57BL/6 mice. Young mice were susceptible to cerebral malaria (CM), while the middle-aged mice were resistant to CM and succumbed to hyperparasitemia and severe anemia. The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as TNF-${\alpha}$, in young CM-susceptible mice were markedly higher than in middle-aged CM-resistant mice. An increased absolute number of Tregs 3-5 days post-inoculation, co-occurring with elevated IL-10 levels, was observed in middle-aged CM-resistant mice but not in young CM-susceptible mice. Our findings suggest that Treg proliferation might be associated with the suppression of excessive pro-inflammatory Th1 response during early malaria infection, leading to resistance to CM in the middle-aged mice, possibly in an IL-10-dependent manner.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.31-41
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• 2001

The intestinal histopathology and in situ postures of Gymnophalloides seoi (Digenea: Gymnophallidae) were studied using C3H/HeN and C57BL/6 mice as experimental hosts; the effects of immunosuppression were also observed. The metacercariae isolated from naturally infected oysters, 300 or 1,000 in number, were infected orally to each mouse, and the mice were killed at days 3-21 post-infection (PI). In immunocompetent (IC) mice, only a small number of flukes were found in the mucosa of the duodenum and jejunum during days 3-7 PI, with their large oral suckers pinching and sucking the root of villi. The intestinal mucosa showed mild villous atrophy crypt hyperplasia, and inflammations in the villous stroma and crypt, with remarkable goblet cell hyperplasia. These mucosal changes were almost restored after days 14-21 PI. In immunosuppressed (IS) mice. displacement as well as complete loss of villi adjacent to the flukes was frequently encountered, otherwise the histopathology was generally mild, with minimal goblet cell hyperplasia. In these mice, numerous flukes were found, and it seemed that they were actively moving and rotating in situ. Several flukes were found to have invaded into the submucosa, almost facing the serosa. These results indicate that in IC mice the intestinal histopathology caused by G. seoi is generally mild, and the flukes do not penetrate beyond the mucosa, however, in IS mice. the flukes can cause severe destruction of neighboring villi. and some of them invade into the submucosa.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.185-196
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• 2006

Newcastle disease (ND) is a highly contagious disease of poultry that can cause severe economic losses throughout the world. Vaccination has been used for a long time and proved as one of the most effective method to reduce the economic loss due to ND virus infection, The measurement of antibody titer such as hamagglutination-inhibition (Hl) test with sera has been used as a useful method to evaluate the immunity leve of host. However, Hl test is gradually being replaced by the enzyme linked-immunosorbent assay (ELISA), To evaluate the efficacy of ELISA in the chickens vaccinated with different procedure, present study has been performed. After SPF chicks and commercial broilers were vaccinated with different kinds of live vaccines such as V4, VG/GA and/or Bl at various time, the antibody level has been measured using both HI test and ELISA. Challenge test with velogenic viscerotropic NDV was also performed to measure the protective level of antibody. In the SPF chickens, the mean ELISA titer after vaccination and survival rate after challenge was increased and correlated with days post inoculation. More than 80% of chickens with higher than 1,000 ELISA titer after vaccination were survived after challenge with velogenic ND virus and had good correlation between survival rate and antibody titier. In commercial broiler chickens, most of them at market age had low level of ELISA titer regardless of the number of vaccination, and had a low correlation between survival rate and ELISA titer. However, the ELISA titer of remaining birds after challenge was increased. This result indicated that ELISA titer had good response against velogenic NOV infection compared to Hl titer.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.177-188
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• 2017

Background: Radiation-induced pneumonitis and pulmonary fibrosis are common dose-limiting complications in patients receiving radiotherapy for lung, breast, and lymphoid cancers. In this study, we investigated the characteristics of effective immune cells related to pneumonitis and fibrosis after irradiation. Materials and Methods: After anesthesia, the whole thorax of C57BL/6 mice was irradiated at 14 Gy. The lung tissue and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were collected at defined time points post-irradiation for the determination of histological and immunohistochemical analysis and inflammatory cell population infiltrated into the lung. Results and Discussion: Whole thoracic irradiation increased the deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM), lung weight, and pleural effusions, which started to die from 4 months later. At 4 months after irradiation, the numbers of macrophages and lymphocytes as well as neutrophils were increased dramatically in the lung. Interestingly, the macrophages that were recruited into the lung after irradiation had an enlarged foamy morphology. In addition, the expressions of chemokines (CCL-2, CCL-3, CXCL-10) for the attraction of macrophages and T cells were higher in the lung of irradiated mice. The high expressions of these chemokines were sustained up to 6 months following irradiation. In thoracic irradiated mice, infiltrated macrophages into the lung had the high levels of Mac-3 antigens on their surface and upregulated the hallmarks of alternatively activated macrophages such as arginase-1 and CD206. Furthermore, the levels of IL-4 and IL-13 were higher in a BAL fluid of irradiated mice. Conclusion: All results show that thoracic irradiation induces to infiltrate various inflammation-related immune cells, especially alternatively activated macrophages, through enhancing the expression of chemokines, suggesting that alternatively activated macrophages are most likely important for leading to pulmonary fibrosis.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.15-34
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• 2007

This study was designed to collect a precise information concerning to the preference and evaluations after usage of pregnant Korean woman for the maternity wear bysurvey and wear tests. Through the survey, 212 respondents were asked to answer what type of maternity wear they prefer and what requirements for maternity wear design are important. According to the results of survey, the mostly preferred maternity wear items were pants and one-piece dress. Korean customers for maternity wear usually pay more for the one-piece dress than other items and they also usually put on medium price pants and low-price blouse. Concerning to the purchase criteria, it may be said that design and movability, fit factors are the buying decision criteria of great weight for Korean pregnant women. Special function most desired was thermal insulation, followed by buffer action, electromagnetic shield and quickly water-absorbent and dry property. Preferred maternity wear design details were flat collar, slightly fitted waist and empire style, gather skirt, rubber band waist. Wear test was performed for two kinds of blouse (BL) and one-piece dress (OP), and threekinds of pants (PT), which have different design details respectively. According to the wear test for ready-to-wear maternity garments, the garment which considers well the characteristics of Korean pregnant women body shape earned much higher score no matter of brands or prices. Generally, high-priced national brands received an excellent evaluation in design aspect, but not satisfied with comfort to move.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.541-553
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• 2023

Retinal prostheses have shown some clinical success in restoring vision in patients with retinitis pigmentosa. However, the post-implantation visual acuity does not exceed that of legal blindness. The reason for the poor visual acuity might be that (1) degenerate retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are less responsive to electrical stimulation than normal RGCs, and (2) electrically-evoked RGC spikes show a more widespread not focal response. The single-biphasic pulse electrical stimulation, commonly used in artificial vision, has limitations in addressing these issues. In this study, we propose the benefit of multiple consecutive-biphasic pulse stimulation. We used C57BL/6J mice and C3H/HeJ (rd1) mice for the normal retina and retinal degeneration model. An 8 × 8 multi-electrode array was used to record electrically-evoked RGC spikes. We compared RGC responses when increasing the amplitude of a single biphasic pulse versus increasing the number of consecutive biphasic pulses at the same stimulus charge. Increasing the amplitude of a single biphasic pulse induced more RGC spike firing while the spatial resolution of RGC populations decreased. For multiple consecutive-biphasic pulse stimulation, RGC firing increased as the number of pulses increased, and the spatial resolution of RGC populations was well preserved even up to 5 pulses. Multiple consecutive-biphasic pulse stimulation using two or three pulses in degenerate retinas induced as much RGC spike firing as in normal retinas. These findings suggest that the newly proposed multiple consecutive-biphasic pulse stimulation can improve the visual acuity in prosthesis-implanted patients.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.93-98
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• 2011

We induced the activation of melanocytes in the epidermis of C57BL/6 mice by ultraviolet-B (UV-B) irradiation, and observed the effect of an herbal preparation (HemoHIM, HH) on the formation, and decrease of UV-B-induced epidermal melanocytes. C57BL/6 mice were irradiated by UV-B $80\;mJ{\cdot}cm^{-2}$ ($0.5\;mW{\cdot}sec^{-1}$) daily for 7 days, and HH was intraperitoneally, orally or topically applied pre- or post-irradiation. For the estimation of change of epidermal melanocytes, light microscopic observation with dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) stain was performed. Split epidermal sheets prepared from the ear of untreated mice exhibited 13~15 melanocytes${\cdot}mm^{-2}$, and one week after UV irradiation, the applied areas showed an increased number of strongly DOPA-positive melanocytes with stout dendrites. But intraperitoneal, oral or topical treatment with HH before each irradiation interrupted UV-B-induced pigmentation and resulted in a marked reduction in the number of epidermal melanocytes as compared to the number found in UV-B-irradiated, untreated control skin. The number and size of DOPA-positive epidermal melanocytes were also significantly decreased in intraperitoneally injected or topically applicated group after irradiation with HH at 3rd and 6th weeks after irradiation. The present study suggests the HH as inhibitor of UV-B-induced pigmentation, and depigmenting agent.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.265-274
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• 2009

Objective: MicroRNAs (miR) are known to repress target genes at post-transcriptional level and play important roles in development and maturation of cell. However, the expression profiles of miR during ovarian follicle maturation have not been fully elucidated. Here, we designed this study to investigate the expression profiles of miR in oocytes and granulose cells (G-cells) after in vitro culture according to gonadotropins and adding hCG. Methods: Ovaries from 12-day-old mice (C57BL6) were removed and preantral follicles were isolated and cultured in $20\;{\mu}L$-drop of culture media with supplementation of either rFSH, rLH, or rFSH+rLH. After their full maturation, follicles were incubated with rhCG and rEGF. RNA was isolated from oocytes and G-cells, and real-time PCR were performed with primers of miR known to be expressed in the mouse ovary (mmu-miR-16, -miR-27a, -miR-126, -miR-721). Results: FSH+LH group showed the highest ovulation and MII rates among gonadotropin groups. The profiles of miRs in oocytes and G-cells differed according to gonadotropin groups and adding hCG. The profiles of miRs showed divergent changes between oocytes and G-cells. Conclusion: miR expression profiles are altered by gonadotropins and supplementation of hCG during in vitro maturation of murine follicles. Target gene study must be necessary to validate these findings.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.10
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• pp.1529-1536
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• 2006

We cloned a gene of ompH(D:4) from pigs infected with P. multocida D:4 in Korea [16]. The gene is composed of 1,026 nucleotides coding 342 amino acids (aa) with a signal peptide of 20 aa (GenBank accession number AY603962). In this study, we analyzed the ability of the ompH(D:4) to induce protective immunity against a wild-type challenge in mice. To determine appropriate epitope(s) of the gene, one full and three different types of truncated genes of the ompH(D:4) were constructed by PCR using pET32a or pRSET B as vectors. They were named ompH(D:4)-F (1,026 bp [1-1026] encoding 342 aa), ompH(D:4)-t1 (693 bp [55-747] encoding 231 aa), ompH(D:4)-t2 (561 bp [187-747] encoding 187 aa), and ompH(D:4)-t3 (540 bp [487-1026] encoding 180 aa), respectively. The genes were successfully expressed in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3). Their gene products, polypeptides, OmpH(D:4)-F, -t1, -t2, and -t3, were purified individually using nickel-nitrilotriacetic acid (Ni-NTA) affinity column chromatography. Their $M_rs$ were determined to be 54.6, 29, 24, and 23.2 kDa, respectively, using SDS-PAGE. Antisera against the four kinds of polypeptides were generated in mice for protective immunity analyses. Some $50{\mu}g$ of the four kinds of polypeptides were individually provided intraperitoneally with mice (n=20) as immunogens. The titer of post-immunized antiserum revealed that it grew remarkably compared with pre-antiserum. The lethal dose of the wild-type pathogen was determined at $10{\mu}l$ of live P. multocida D:4 through direct intraperitoneal (IP) injection, into post-immune mice (n=5, three times). Some thirty days later, the lethal dose ($10{\mu}l$) of live pathogen was challenged into the immunized mouse groups [OmpH(D:4)-F, -t1, -t2, and -t3; n=20 each, two times] as well as positive and negative control groups. As compared within samples, the OmpH(D:4)-F-immunized groups showed lower immune ability than the OmpH(D:4)-t1, -t2, and -t3. The results show that the truncated-OmpH(D:4)-t1, -t2, and -t3 can be used for an effective vaccine candidate against swine atrophic rhinitis caused by pathogenic P. multocida (D:4) isolated in Korea.