• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제23권3호
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• pp.296-300
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• 2015

${\beta}$-Lapachone has drawn increasing attention as an anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer drug. However, its oral bioavailability has not been yet assessed, which might be useful to develop efficient dosage forms possibly required for non-clinical and clinical studies and future market. The aim of the present study was thus to investigate pharmacokinetic properties of ${\beta}$-lapachone as well as its first-pass metabolism in the liver, and small and large intestines after oral administration to measure the absolute bioavailability in rats. A sensitive HPLC method was developed to evaluate levels of ${\beta}$-lapachone in plasma and organ homogenates. The drug degradation profiles were examined in plasma to assess the stability of the drug and in liver and intestinal homogenates to evaluate first-pass metabolism. Pharmacokinetic profiles were obtained after oral and intravenous administration of ${\beta}$-lapachone at doses of 40 mg/kg and 1.5 mg/kg, respectively. The measured oral bioavailability of ${\beta}$-lapachone was 15.5%. The considerable degradation of ${\beta}$-lapachone was seen in the organ homogenates but the drug was quite stable in plasma. In conclusion, we suggest that the fairly low oral bioavailability of ${\beta}$-lapachone may be resulted from the first-pass metabolic degradation of ${\beta}$-lapachone in the liver, small and large intestinal tracts and its low aqueous solubility.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제14권4호
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• pp.2487-2490
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• 2013

In Thai traditional medicine, Plumbago indica or Jetamul-Pleung-Dang in Thai is known to have health benefit especially for anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antitumor activities. However, the mechanisms of its action are still uncertain. One of which might be genotoxic effects. In the present study, we investigated the genotoxicity of an ethanolic extract of Plumbago indica root (EEPIR) by sister chromatid exchange (SCE) assay in human lymphocytes. Results have shown that all treatments with EEPIR ($12.5-100{\mu}g/ml$) could induce cell cycle delay as shown by significant increase in the number of metaphase cells in the first cell cycle but neither in the second nor the third cell cycle. Only at concentrations of 25, 50, and $100{\mu}g/ml$ were SCE levels significantly increased above that of the control (p<0.05). EEPIR at a concentration of $500{\mu}g/ml$ induced cell death as few mitotic cells were shown. Accordingly, EEPIR ($25-100{\mu}g/ml$) is genotoxic in human lymphocytes and cytotoxic at concentrations of ${\geq}500{\mu}g/ml$ in vitro. Therefore, these activities of the EEPIR could serve its potential therapeutic effects, especially as an anticancer agent. Further study of EEPIR in vivo is now needed to support this in vitro evidence.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• 제15권2호
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• pp.83-90
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• 2015

Evaluation and screening of vaccines against tuberculosis depends on development of proper cost effective disease models along with identification of different immune markers that can be used as surrogate endpoints of protection in preclinical and clinical studies. The objective of the present study was therefore evaluation of subcutaneous model of M.tuberculosis infection along with investigation of different immune biomarkers of tuberculosis infection in BALB/c mice. Groups of mice were infected subcutaneously with two different doses : high ($2{\times}10^6CFU$) and low doses ($2{\times}10^2CFU$) of M.tuberculosis and immune markers including humoral and cellular markers were evaluated 30 days post M.tuberculosis infections. Based on results, we found that high dose of subcutaneous infection produced chronic disease with significant (p<0.001) production of immune markers of infection like $IFN{\gamma}$, heat shock antigens (65, 71) and antibody titres against panel of M.tuberculosis antigens (ESAT-6, CFP-10, Ag85B, 45kDa, GroES, Hsp-16) all of which correlated with high bacterial burden in lungs and spleen. To conclude high dose of subcutaneous infection produces chronic TB infection in mice and can be used as convenient alternative to aerosol models in resource limited settings. Moreover assessment of immune markers namely mycobacterial antigens and antibodies can provide us valuable insights on modulation of immune response post infection. However further investigations along with optimization of study protocols are needed to justify the outcome of present study and establish such markers as surrogate endpoints of vaccine protection in preclinical and clinical studies in future.

• 한국임상보건과학회지
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• 제5권2호
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• pp.850-863
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• 2017

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to investigate effects of preclinical OSCE(Objective Structured Clinical Evaluation) on knowledge, confidence in their Core fundamental nursing skills and self-efficacy in nursing students. Method. The research design was a one group pretest-posttest design and it was done to assess changes in knowledge, confidence in core fundamental nursing skills and self-efficacy from pre to the post-test which was given after the OSCE. Data were collected from March 5 to April 7, 2016 from 37 nursing students who were taking the 15-hours using OSCE learning module at one Gyeongbuk-do, P-city. This practicum was composed of 4 core fundamental nursing skills and 5 other fundamental nursing skills. The knowledge consisted of a 10-item by researchers and the confidence of core fundamental nursing skills consisted of an 9-item NRS and the self-efficacy consisted of a 17-item 5-point scale and measured in both the pretest and posttest. The collected data were analyzed with SPSS IBM 20.0 program for the frequency, percentage, x2-test, and paired t-test. Rusult. The results showed that although scores of knowledge of OSCE learning module were significanlty increased from 5.22 to 7.03(t=5.30, p<.001). There were significantly increased in scores of confidence in core fundamental nursing skills from 5.13 to 7.27(t=10.01, p<.001), In the sub-scales of each core fundamental nursing skills was scored the highest. otherwise, there was no significant difference in self-efficacy(t=1.42, p=.161). Conclusions. Based on the results, this study suggests that OSCE module development activities for nursing students in nursing education-learning in order to improve nursing skills.

• 의학교육논단
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• 제19권2호
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• pp.90-100
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• 2017

The necessity of embracing selective courses in medical curriculum is increasing due to the expansion of medical knowledge and changes in the health care environment. In contrast to the abundant evidence regarding elective or selective courses during the clinical phase, articles focusing on the preclinical period are relatively scarce. This study aims to explore the development, implementation, and evaluation of newly-adopted selective courses in the first-year medical curriculum in a medical school which recently underwent a major curricular revision. First of all, the Curriculum Committee established goals and operating principles of the courses, and then the committee encouraged all participating professors to attend a related faculty development workshop after finalizing the list of courses. A survey was conducted at the end of each course for evaluation. Of the 36 courses opened in 2016, the overall satisfaction of students was $4.98{\pm}1.06$ (out of 6) and showed a strong correlation with students' previous expectations, reasoning- and participation-oriented teaching, and outcome of the courses including increased motivation. In the open-ended responses, students and professors described not only intended outcomes such as acquisition of medical knowledge and increased interest in new topics, but also unintended outcomes including positive impression for selective courses and even high satisfaction and rewarding experiences, especially from the teachers' perspective. Although long-term outcomes remain to be seen, the results of this study show the feasibility and impact of selective courses and will contribute to effective implementation in other medical schools.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• 제61권4호
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• pp.434-440
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• 2018

Objective : The purpose of this study was to find an optimal delivery route for clinical trials of intrathecal cell therapy for spinal cord injury in preclinical stage. Methods : We compared in vivo distribution of Cy5.5 fluorescent dye in the spinal cord region at various time points utilizing in vivo optical imaging techniques, which was injected into the lateral ventricle (LV) or cisterna magna (CM) of rats. Results : Although CM locates nearer to the spinal cord than the LV, significantly higher signal of Cy5.5 was detected in the thoracic and lumbar spinal cord region at all time points tested when Cy5.5 was injected into the LV. In the LV injection Cy5.5 signal in the thoracic and lumbar spinal cord was observed within 12 hours after injection, which was maintained until 72 hours after injection. In contrast, Cy5.5 signal was concentrated at the injection site in the CM injection at all time points. Conclusion : These data suggested that the LV might be suitable for preclinical injection route of therapeutics targeting the spinal cord to test their treatment efficacy and biosafety for spinal cord diseases in small animal models.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권22호
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• pp.9939-9943
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• 2014

Lobaplatin, one of the third - generation platinum compounds, has shown encouraging anticancer activity in a variety of tumor types. However, the efficacy of lobaplatin in ovarian cancer has not been systemically evaluated. In this study, lobaplatin as a single agent and in combination with taxanes was investigated in - vitro and in an in vitro model of ovarian carcinoma. Using the sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay, the cytotoxic effects of lobaplatin alone and in combination with taxanes were compared with cisplatin and carboplatin in seven ovarian cancer cell lines. In addition, in - vitro antitumor activities were evaluated with cisplatin - sensitive and cisplatin - resistant human ovarian cancer xenografts in nude mice. The cytotoxicity of lobaplatin was similar to or higher than that of cisplatin and carboplatin, with $IC_{50}$ values from 0.9 to $13.8{\mu}mol/L$ in a variety of ovarian cancer cells. The combination of lobaplatin with docetaxel yielded enhanced cytotoxic activity in vitro. In addition, in platinum - sensitive ovarian cancer xenografts, lobaplatin alone showed similar antitumor activity to cisplatin and carboplatin. Furthermore, lobaplatin alone or in combination with docetaxel exhibited significant activity in platinum - resistant ovarian cancer xenografts. These results indicate that the use of lobaplatin alone or in combination with docetaxel might be a rational and novel therapeutic strategy for ovarian cancer. Further clinical development of lobaplatin is clearly warranted.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권22호
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• pp.9693-9698
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• 2014

Background: Associations between the 8473T>C polymorphism (rs5275) in the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) gene and breast cancer (BC) risk are still inconclusive and ambiguous. The aim of this meta-analysis was to comprehensively estimate the genetic risk of 8473T>C polymorphism in the COX-2 gene for BC. Materials and Methods: We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Medline, Chinese biomedical (CBM), Weipu, China national knowledge infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang databases, covering all publications (last search was updated on Aug 17, 2014). Statistical analyses were performed using Revman 5.3 and STATA 10.0 software. Results: A total of 6,720 cases and 9,794 controls in 12 studies were included in this study. The results indicated no significant associations between the 8473T>C polymorphism of the COX-2 gene and BC risk for the CC+TC vs TT model (pooled odds ratio (OR)=0.97, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.90-1.03, and p=0.29). On subgroup analysis, we also found that subdivision on ethnicity among Caucasians, Asians and others also revealed no relationship with BC susceptibility. With the study design (CC+TC vs TT), no significant associations were found in either population-based case-control studies (PCC), or hospital-based case-control studies (HCC). Conclusions: This present meta-analysis suggests that the 8473T>C polymorphism in the COX-2 gene is not a conspicuous low-penetrant risk factor for developing BC.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• 제61권5호
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• pp.539-547
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• 2018

Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) research has recently focused on the use of rat and mouse models for in vivo SCI experiments. Such small rodent SCI models are invaluable for the field, and much has been discovered about the biologic and physiologic aspects of SCI from these models. It has been difficult, however, to reproduce the efficacy of treatments found to produce neurologic benefits in rodent SCI models when these treatments are tested in human clinical trials. A large animal model may have advantages for translational research where anatomical, physiological, or genetic similarities to humans may be more relevant for pre-clinically evaluating novel therapies. Here, we review the work carried out at the University of British Columbia (UBC) on a large animal model of SCI that utilizes Yucatan miniature pigs. The UBC porcine model of SCI may be a useful intermediary in the pre-clinical testing of novel pharmacological treatments, cell-based therapies, and the "bedside back to bench" translation of human clinical observations, which require preclinical testing in an applicable animal model.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제17권3호
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• pp.1141-1148
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• 2016

Background: A large number of studies have been published to investigate the association between the null genotype of glutathione S-transferase T1 (GSTT1) with gastric cancer. However, the results were inconsistent and conflicting. The aim of this study was to estimate the relationship between this polymorphism in the GSTT1 gene and gastric cancer risk in Asian populations by meta-analysis. Materials and Methods: A literature search was performed in PubMed, Embase, Chinese Biomedical database (CBM), Weipu database, Wanfang database, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure database (CNKI). Statistical analysis was conducted by using Review Manager 5.3. Results: Thirty-nine studies with a total of 7,737 gastric cancer cases and 10,823 controls were included in this meta-analysis. The meta-analysis of total studies showed that the null genotype in GSTT1 was associated with increased risk of gastric cancer in Asians (OR=1.19, 95% CI=1.08-1.31, p=0.0002). Subgroup analysis showed a significant relationship between GSTT1 null genotype and gastric cancer in East-Asians, as well as in subgroup analysis of hospital-based design. On subgroup analysis by smoking status, alcohol status, Helicobacter pylori infection status, and histology type, no significant association of this polymorphism with susceptibility to gastric cancer was found. Conclusions: In conclusion, the results showed that the null genotype of GSTT1 is significantly associated with an increased risk in gastric cancer in Asian populations.