• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.23-30
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• 2021

Hemistepta lyrata Bunge (HL) has been used as a folk remedy to treat cancer, inflammation, bleeding, hemorrhoids and fever, and leaves and young shoots have been used as famine food. Nevertheless, the biological activities and underlying mechanisms of the anti-inflammatory effects remain unclear. In this study, it was undertaken to explore the functions of the aerial part of HL as a suppressor of inflammation by using RAW 264.7 cells. As immune response parameters, the productions of as nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), cytokines such tumor necrotic factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6 were evaluated. Although the release of TNF-α remained unchanged in HL-treated RAW 264.7 cells, the productions of NO, PGE2 and IL-6 were significantly increased at concentrations with no cytotoxicity. Furthermore, HL significantly attenuated the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) pathway including decreasing the phosphorylation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases. Collectively, this study provides evidence that HL inhibits the production of major pro-inflammatory molecules in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells via suppression of ERK and P38 MAPK signaling pathways. These findings suggest that the beneficial therapeutic effects of HL may be attributed partly to its ability to modulate immune functions in macrophages.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.565-573
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• 2022

Gingival inflammation is one of the main causes that can be related to various periodontal diseases. Human gingival fibroblast (HGF) is the major constituent in periodontal connective tissue and secretes various inflammatory mediators, such as nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂), upon lipopolysaccharide stimulation. This study is aimed at investigating the anti-inflammatory and antioxidative activities of Lotus Root extract (LRE) in Porphyromonas gingivalis derived lipopolysaccharide (LPS-PG)-stimulated HGF-1 cells. The concentration of NO and PGE₂, as well as their responsible enzymes, inducible NO synthase (iNOS), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), was analyzed by Griess reaction, ELISA, and western blot analysis. LPS-PG sharply elevated the production and protein expression of inflammatory mediators, which were significantly attenuated by LRE treatment in a dose-dependent manner. LRE treatment also suppressed activation of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88 (MyD88) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) in LPS-PG-stimulated HGF-1 cells. In addition, one of phase II enzyme, NAD(P)H quinone dehydrogenase (NQO)-1, and its transcription factor, Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), were significantly induced by LRE treatment. Consequently, these results suggest that LRE ameliorates LPS-PG-induced inflammatory responses by attenuating TLR4/MyD88-mediated NF-κB, and activating NQO-1/Nrf2 antioxidant response element signaling pathways in HGF-1 cells.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.12
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• pp.1110-1119
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the inflammatory response in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated RAW 264.7 macrophages could be promoted by particulate matter 2.5 (PM_2.5) stimulation. To this end, the levels of inflammatory parameters, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inflammation-regulating genes were investigated in RAW 264.7 cells treated with PM_2.5 in the presence or absence of LPS. Our results showed that the production levels of pro-inflammatory mediators (nitric oxide and prostaglandin E₂) and cytokines (interleukin-6 and -1β) were significantly increased by PM_2.5 stimulation in LPS-treated RAW 264.7 cells, which was correlated with increased expression genes involved in their production. In addition, when LPS-treated RAW 264.7 cells were exposed to PM_2.5, nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) expression was further increased in the nucleus, and the expression of inhibitor of NF-κB as well as NF-κB in the cytoplasm was decreased. These results suggest that the co-treatment of PM_2.5 and LPS further increases the activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway compared to each treatment alone, thereby contributing to the promotion of transcriptional activity of inflammatory genes. Furthermore, although the generation of ROS was greatly increased by PM_2.5 in LPS-treated RAW 264.7 cells, the NF-κB inhibitor did not reduce the generation of ROS. In addition, when the generation of ROS was artificially suppressed, the production of inflammatory mediators and the activation of NF-κB were both abolished. Therefore, our results suggest that the increase in the NF-κB-mediated inflammatory response induced by PM_2.5 in LPS-treated RAW 264.7 macrophages was a ROS generation-dependent phenomenon.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.115-122
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• 2012

Objectives : This study evaluated activities and ingredient contents concerning extracts according to extraction solvents of Insampaedok-san (IS, Renshen bai du-san). Methods : The herbal constituents of IS were extracted with water and 70% ethanol at $100^{\circ}C$ for 2 hr. Using the HPLC system, the six ingredient contents of different solvent extracts of IS were analyzed. The nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin $E_2$ ($PGE_2$) production and proinflammatory cytokines were measured in RAW264.7 cells stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The macrophage-derived chemokine (MDC/CCL22) and regulated on activation normal T-cell expression and secreted (RANTES/CCL5) production were measured in HaCaT and BEAS-2B cells stimulated tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ (TNF-${\alpha}$) and interferon-${\gamma}$ (IFN-${\gamma}$). The activities of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) and leptin level were measured in 3T3-L1 cells. Results : The calibration curves showed good linearity ($r^2$=1.0000) for different concentration ranges. The contents of liquiritin, naringin, hesperidin, neohesperirin and glycyrrizin in 70% ethanol extracts of IS were relatively higher than that of water extract, however the content of ferulic acid in 70% ethanol and water extract of IS were similar. The extraction solvents of water and 70% ethanol were evaluated inhibitory effect on the production of NO, $PGE_2$, TNF-${\alpha}$ and IL-6 in RAW 264.7 cells. Their extractions were inhibitory effect on production of MDC/CCL22 and RANTES/CCL5 in HaCaT cell and BEAS-2B cell, respectively. In addition, evaluated reduced on GPDH activity and leptin level in 3T3-L1 preadipocyte cell. Conclusions : Our results suggest that IS extracts were inhibitory effects of disease such as inflammation, allergies and obesity.

• Journal of the Korean Burn Society
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.21-29
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• 2021

Purpose: Frostbite is a hazard to people exposed to cold environments. With the progression of modern industrial development and change of leisure behavior encountering cold environments, frequent accidental exposure to frostbite injury during work and human behavior is increasing, and the predisposing factors of frostbite were greatly changed than before. The purpose of this study was to make epidemiological analysis, and to review the treatment outcomes of frostbite. Methods: From March 2010 to February 2021, this study has included 27 patients with second- to third-degree frostbite injuries in Advanced Burn Reconstruction Center, Bundang Jesaeng Hosptial. A retrospective study was made about the distribution of age, gender, predisposing factors, prevalent area, type of managements, and the length of treatment period. Results: In our institution, acute management of frostbite patients has included rewarming, anticoagulation therapy (acetylsalicylic acid), and agents to improve vascular perfusion (lipo-prostaglandin E1 [Eglandin^®]). The 25 frostbite patients with second-degree frostbite (92.6%) were successfully managed by the conservative treatment alone with a mean of 20.3 days healing time. Two patients with third-degree frostbite (7.4%) also showed good outcomes after surgical reconstruction with a mean of 59 days healing time. In our clinical experiences of third-degree frostbite, definitive surgical reconstruction should be recommended to wait for more than 4~6 weeks for identification of clear demarcation of necrotic tissue caused by frostbite. In this study, 43 frostbite injuries site in 27 frostbite patients occurred. Among them, 15 patients (55.6%) had multiple-site frostbite injury. The most common predisposing cause of frostbite was refrigerant gas accidents (44.4%), followed by outdoor activity in cold environments (40.8%), misapplying ice pack for treatment purposes (7.4%), barefoot walking on the cold ground (3.7%), and loss of consciousness in cold grounds (3.7%). The most prevalent sites of frostbite injuries revealed as the hand (58.1%), followed by the foot (32.6%), face (7.0%), and abdomen (2.3%). And in the winter season from the November to March, the incidence rate of frostbite injuries was high at 74.1%. Conclusion: This study included 27 frostbite patients with 43 frostbite sites since last decade in a single institution at the community hospital. The frostbite patients with second-degree frostbite (92.6%) were successfully healed by the conservative treatment alone with a mean of 20.3 days healing time. The most common predisposing cause of frostbite was refrigerant gas accidents (44.4%), followed by outdoor activity in cold environments, etc. The most prevalent site of frostbite injuries was the hand (58.1%). And the most prevalent seasonal incidence of frostbite was from November to March (74.1%).

• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.299-311
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• 1995

Platelets resemble monoaminergic neurons in several respects, i.e. the uptake of 5-HT and its inhibition, the subcellular storage and release of 5-HT, and the metabolism of aromatic amines brought about by monoamine oxidase. And the 5-HT content of rabbit platelets is well known to be about 40 times higher than that of human platelets. Therefore, this study was carried out to investigate the influences of amitriptyline (AMT) and sertraline (SRT) on the aggregation, contents of signaling second messengers, and protein phosphorylations of rabbit platelets in response to thrombin, 0.25 unit/ml, comparing with those of chlorpromazine (CPZ). Thrombin-induced aggregation was inhibited by SRT $(IC50:4.37{\times}10^{-5}\;M)$, CPZ $(IC50:5.76{\times}10^{-5}\;M)$, and AMT $(IC50:1.15{\times}10^{-4}\;M)$, respectively, and the aggregation by A23187 $(1.0\;{\mu}M)$ or PMA (320 nM) was also inhibited by SRT, CPZ, and AMT. AMT, SRT, and CPZ had little affects on basal contents of platelet $TXB_2$ and $PGE_2$, but all of them inhibited the thrombin-induced increase of $TXB_2$. Thrombin did not change the platelet contents of cAMP and cGMP. CPZ, AMT, and SRT produced the slight decrease of basal cAMP content, and their effects were not affected by thrombin-treatment. But SRT and AMT moderately increased the basal cGMP content, and the cGMP content of thrombin-stimulated platelets was gradually increased by the pretreatment with SRT, AMT, and CPZ. Particularly, the SRT-dependent increase of the cGMP content was notable. Platelet $Ins(1,4,5)P_3$ content was rapidly increased up to a plateau within 10 sec after thrombin-stimulation, AMT, SRT, and CPZ increased the basal $Ins(1,4,5)P_3$ content, and the thrombin-dependent increase was enhanced by pretreatment with CPZ and AMT, but was blunted by SRT. Platelet $[Ca^{2+}]_i$, was rapidly increased up to a peak level within 20 sec after thrombin-stimulation. The increase of $[Ca^{2+}]_i$ was sisnificantly inhibited by AMT, SRT, and CPZ. Thrombin- or PMA-induced phosphorylations of platelet $41{\sim}43\;kDa$ and 20 kDa proteins were significantly inhibited by AMT, SRT, and CPZ. These results suggest that the antiplatelet activities of AMT and CPZ may be considerably attributed to the inhibition of protein kinase C activity, and the activity of SRT may be associated with the inhibitory effect on the thrombin-induced increase of $Ins(1,4,5)P_3$ and the increasing effect on the cGMP content of ptatelets. Therefore, it seems to be evident that AMT and SRT may produce their antidepressant activity, at least, partly through the inhibition of protein kinase C activity or the increase of resting $Ins(1,4,5)P_3$, content and in case of SRT, to a lesser extent, via the increase of cGMP in the brain.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.631-640
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• 2014

The inhibitory effects of Boswellia serrata (BW) extracts on degenerative osteoarthritis were investigated in primary-cultured rat cartilage cells and a monosodium-iodoacetate (MIA)-induced osteoarthritis rat model. To identify the protective effects of BW extract against $H_2O_2$ ($800{\mu}M$, 2 hr) in vitro, cell survival was measured by MTT assay. Cell survival after $H_2O_2$ treatment was elevated by BW extract at a concentration of $20{\mu}g/mL$. In addition, BW extract treatment significantly reduced and normalized the productions of pro-inflammatory factors, nuclear transcription factor ${\kappa}B$, cyclooxygenase-2, tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$, and interleukin-6 at a concentration of $20{\mu}g/mL$. Treatment of chondrocytes with BW extract significantly reduced 5-lipoxygenase activity and production of prostaglandin E2, especially at a concentration of $10{\sim}20{\mu}g/mL$. For the in vivo animal study, osteoarthritis was induced by intra-articular injection of MIA into knee joints of rats. Consumption of a diet containing BW extract (100 and 200 mg/kg) for 35 days significantly inhibited the development and severity of osteoarthritis in rats. To determine the genetic expression of arthritic factors in articular cartilage, real-time PCR was applied to measure matrix metalloproteinases (MMP-3, MMP-9, and MMP-13), collagen type I, collagen type II, and aggrecan, and BW extract had protective effects at a concentration of 200 mg/kg. In conclusion, BW extract was able to inhibit articular cartilage degeneration by preventing extracellular matrix degradation and chondrocyte injury. One can consider that BW extract may be a potential therapeutic treatment for degenerative osteoarthritis.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.44 no.10
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• pp.1439-1449
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• 2015

Prunus persica Flos (PPF) were investigated for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities to find a natural functional food resource preventing degenerative diseases associated with excessive oxidative stress and chronic inflammation. PPF was extracted using ethanol (EtOH) and then sequentially fractioned by hexane (Hx), dichloromethane (DM), ethyl acetate (EA), n-butanol (BtOH), and water (DW). Contents of total phenolics and flavonoids, as well as 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging activities were measured. Anti-inflammatory effects in terms of nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin (PG) E2, and pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-${\alpha}$ production were also measured using LPS-treated RAW 264.7 macrophages. EtOH extract showed relatively high antioxidant activity with high total phenolic (78.1 mg tannic acid/g) and flavonoid contents (55.3 mg rutin/g). EA fraction contained the highest total phenolic and flavonoid contents (394.6 mg tannic acid/g, 253.7 mg rutin/g), followed by BtOH (128.3 mg tannic acid/g, 93.1 mg rutin/g). EA and BtOH fractions and EtOH extract showed higher DPPH radical and ABTS radical scavenging activities than the others (P<0.05). In LPS-treated RAW 264.7 macrophages, EtOH extract ($200{\mu}g/mL$) showed significantly reduced (P<0.05) NO, PGE2, and TNF-${\alpha}$ production levels to 38.5%, 32.3%, and 48.9% of the control, respectively, as well as reduced iNOS and COX-2 protein expression. DM fraction ($50{\mu}g/mL$) showed significantly reduced (P<0.05) NO, PGE2, IL-6, and TNF-${\alpha}$ production levels to 43.5%, 13.3%, 38.7%, and 41.3% of the control, respectively, and EA fraction ($50{\mu}g/mL$) showed significantly reduced NO, PGE2, IL-6, and TNF-${\alpha}$ production levels to 44.8%, 22.4%, 45.7%, and 62.0% of the control, respectively. Taken together, EtOH extract of PPF showed potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, and EA and BtOH fractions showed comparatively stronger antioxidant activities while DM and EA fractions showed stronger anti-inflammatory activities. It can be concluded that EtOH extract of PPF and its fractions are good candidates as natural resources for the development of anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory functional food products.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.187-208
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• 2000

By the activation of ovary hormone, many morphological changes occur in the epithelial cell lines and muscle cells in rat uterus. These two cells in uterus are important to the implantation of embryo, maintaining pregnancy and starting parturition. One important change associated with the morphological change of these two cells in uterus is the change on prostaglandin(PG) metabolism. Its presence and synthesis in endometriurn and myometrium in uterus affects estrous cycle and the start of embryo implantation in uterus. It also performs as an important modulator in parturition. So the abnormally weak expression of PG causes difficulty during labor and over-expression causes pre-term labor. PG biosynthesis starts from either free or liberated arachidonic acids from membrane phospholipid by phospholipase. Such arachidonic acids are converted into PG catalyzed by Cyclooxygenase. Under normal physiological condition, Cyclooxygenase-1(COX-1) having 602 units of amino acids controls the synthesis of PG. It acts as a local hormone regulating vasomodulation of blood flow, flexible muscle movement, increasing the blood permeability and contributing the protective role in preserving integrity of the stomach lining and Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is induced by the inflammation, pregnancy and increased its expression until parturition. Lipid metabolite like PG is located in uterine and expression of COX-2 increased with pregnancy. Increased expression of COX proteins in epithelial cells and myometrial cells are told to increase the muscle contractility in uterus but decreased right after the labor in rat. It is a good sign indicating that COX proteins are deeply related to the start of labor. Currently, Several studies report the use of PG and COX-2 inhibitor as medication for controlled abortion or to prevent pre-term labor but they entail various side-effects. Our study proposed to suggest use of acupuncture as an another mediator to control abortion or pre-term labor without causing unnecessary side-effects by those medicines. Two acupuncture sites, LI-4 & SP-6 were selected due to their known efficacy. From the immunohistochemical staining of COX-2, normal expression of COX-2 protein in nonpregnant SD rat's uterus revealed that COX-2 protein was primarily detected in the lumina epithelial lining and in the epithelial cell lining contacting the stromal cells. High resolution optical microscopic scanning revealed distinguishable staining in the myometrial mucosa. LI-4 acupuncture administered nonpregnant rat's uterus showed strong expression for COX-2 in endometrium contacted with lumina epithelial lining of rat uterus and in myometrial mucosa. Stromal cells showed more staining than untreated nonpregnant rat's uterus and stronger staining in stromal cells contacting myometrial layer compared to untreated nonpregnant rat's uterus. SP-6 acupuncture administered nonpregnant rat's uterus showed weak expression for COX-2 in myometrial layers and stromal cells but no staining was visible in lumina epitheliai and glandular epithelial cells. Few stromal cells and myometrial mucosa were positively stained for COX-2. Pregnant SD rat's uterus was also immunostained for COX-2 expression after 18 days of pregnancy. Unlike to untreated nonpregnant rat's uterus, luminal epithelial cells were not positively stained for COX-2 but stronger staining for COX-2 was revealed in stromal cells. LI-4 acupunctured SD rat's uterus had very strong expression of COX-2 in luminal epithelial lining. Few stromal cells showed stronger positive COX-2 staining and myometrial layers also showed more expression than untreated pregnant rat. SP-6 acupuncture administered pregnant SD rat's uterus showed positive expression of COX-2 in epithelial cells of luminal mucosa layer but weaker than that of LI-4 acupuncture treatment's case. However, strong positive staining was revealed in stromal mucosa and myometrial layers. Virgin SD rat's uterus motility index during LI-4 acupuncture was 66.52 % (Prob〉T = 0.0197) compared to its motility before the acupuncture treatment but the motility index was slighdy elevated up to 79.58 % (Prob〉T = 0.1175) after the acupuncture. During the SP-6 acupuncture treatment for 30 minutes, uterus motility index was 90.52 % (Prob〉T = 0.1832) showing lesser decrement but consequently reached similar motility index decreasal to 79.95 % (Prob〉T = 0.0215) after the acupuncture treatment as LI-4 showed. LI-4 acupuncture tend to be a quick treatment to reducing the uterus motility in a virgin rat but eventually both two acupuncture administration created very similar reduction of uterus motility seeing the index after the both acupunctures. The uterus movement monitored during the LI-4 acupuncture administered for 30 minutes, Pregnant SD rat showed decreased motility down to 77.90 % (Prob〉 T = 0.0076) compared to uterus motility before the acupuncture and it continuously decreased down to 71.81 %(Prob〉T = 0.0214) after the removal of needle. The statistical analysis using paired t-test showed significance difference for both two motility indexs at =0.05. SP-6 acupuncture administered to pregnant SD rat also had similar pattern of decreasing uterus motility index down to 74.70 % (Prob〉T = 0.1730) during the initial 30 minutes acupuncture administration and it was continuously lowered to 71.52 % (Prob〉T = 0.0155) after the acupuncture. The paired t-test resuit for SP-6 suggest prompt response of uterus motility index to the SP-6 acupuncture treatment but consequently reached same level of inducing the motility reduction as LI-4 at =0.05 level.