• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.92-99
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• 1990

Effects of the methanol extract of Bupleuri Radix on primary cultured chicken embryonic brain cells, dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and rat hepatocytes were studied. The methanol extract of Bupleuri Radix at the concentration ranging from $10{\;}{\mu}g/ml\;to\;100{\;}{\mu}g/ml$ significantly recovered the cytotoxicity of rat hepatocytes induced by the treatment of galactosamine; at the concentration of $100\;{\mu}g/ml$, values of GOT and GPT in the culture medium were reduced by the 60% and 75%, respectively of those in the absence of the methanol extract of Bupleuri Radix. The addition of the methanol extract of Bupleuri Radix. into chicken embryonic brain cells which were cultured with a deficient medium significantly increased the number of cells promoting the neurite outgrowth. However, the methanol extract of Bupleuri Radix showed no effect on the activities of PDHC and acetylcholinesterase in primary cultured brain cells.

• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.399-406
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• 1996

Thioacetamide is a non-genotoxic carcinogen, a protein modifying agent. It causes nucleolar hypertrophy in short term treatment. In the present work, thioacetamide treated hepatocytes were observed in vivo and in vitro conditions. After 7 day treatment of rat liver with thioacetamide, the hepatocyte nucleoli were enlarged and their signalling molecules such as B23 and p38 MAPK were increased. When these hepatocytes were released by collagenases and were grown under the conditions of gene therapy grade tissue culture system, the enlarged nucleoli were further enlarged. The B23 content was again increased under in vitro conditions. From these experiments, it is clear that the hepatocytes possess approximately 100 fold flexibility of nucleolar capacity. It is suggested that thioacetamide enhances the ribosome genesis and exaggerates the nucleologenesis ability.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.341-347
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• 1990

The anti-hepatotoxic activity of Panax ginseng was studied using galactosamine (GalN)-induced cytotoxicity in primary cultured rat hepatocytes. Panax ginseng was fractionated into dammarane glycosides and protein fractions. The dammarane glycosides was further fractionated into panaxadiol and panaxatriol glycosides fractions. The protein fraction was further fractionated into four groups according to the molecular weight; larger than 10,000 dalton, between 5,000 and 10,000 dalton, between 1,000 and 5,000 dalton and between 500 and 1,000 dalton. A significant lowering action on the elevated glutamicpyruvic transaminase (GPT) activity in the culture medium of hepatocytes treated with 1.5 mM GalN was noticed with all four protein fractions studied at the concentration of both $50\;{\mu}g/ml$ and $100\;{\mu}g/ml$. However, the effect of dammarane glycosides fractions was not significant. It was noted that the addition of $100\;{\mu}g/ml$ of protein fractions smaller than 5,000 dalton significantly enhanced the syntheses of protein and RNA in the damaged hepatocytes induced by the treatment of 1.5 mM GalN. Dammarane glycosides fractions significantly enhanced protein synthesis at the concentration of $100\;{\mu}g/ml$ in the damaged hepatocytes by treatment of 1.5 mM GalN.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.67-72
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• 2003

Cholestatic liver injury results from the accumulation of toxic bile salts within the liver. The aim of the present study is to elucidate the changes in expression and cellular localization of apoptosis related proteins in the liver of bile duct-ligated (BDL) rat. Extrahepatic cholestasis was induced by double ligation of the common bile duct and cut between the ligatures. Animals were sacrificed at day 3 and at week 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 after BDL. The number of TUNEL positive cells was increased significantly after 3 days of BDL, decreased over 2 weeks and remained constant thereafter. Fas expression was not changed and activation of caspase 8 did not occur. Fas immunoreactivity was exclusively observed in the cytoplasm of hepatocytes, indicating that Fas expressed in rat hepatocytes is a soluble form. Hepatocyte apoptosis was associated with Bax expression, which showed a peak at day 3 and decreased over time gradually. Immnunostaining of Bax was observed in hepatocytes and bile duct epithelial cells (BEC) of control and BDL rats. Bcl-2 was increased over time in BDL rats. These results suggest that apoptosis of hepatocytes in BDL rats is independent of Fas and controlled by Bax expression.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.80-86
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• 1992

Streptozotocin (STZ) is a naturally occurring nitrosoamide used extensively to produce diabetes in experimental animals. Our previous study has demonstrated that i.v. administraton of streptozotocin induces significant red blood cell hemolmysis in rats. Since it has been reported that the highest concentration of STZ is found in the liver, the effect of STZ in freshly isolated rat hepatocytes has been investigated. STZ treatment (10 mM) did not cause significant loss of viability throughout 4 hour incubation, while high dose of STZ (300 mM) to hepatocytes resulted in complete cell death within 3 hours. Addition of 40 mM glucose to incubation medium did not potentiate STZ-induced hepatotoxicity, suggesting that STZ-induced hyperglycemia in vivo did not affect its hepatotoxicity. To investigate the mechanixm of the toxicity, intracellular total glutathione level was determined. Tratment with 10 mM STZ which was not toxic to hepatocytes led to complete depletion of intracellular glutathione level within 1 hour incubation. These results suggest that STZ-induced hepatotoxicity may be independent on the intracellular glutathione depletion.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Pathology
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.33-39
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• 1997

We investigated metabolism and carcinogenesis in livers of Sprague-Dawley rats fed juices and pelleted diets containing Korean native plants petasites japonicus Maxim by evaluating cell localization and expression of cytochrome P450s and GST-P. Anti-cytochrome P450s application in liver sections revealed three to four times increased expression of cytochrome P450E1 immunoreactivity in degenerative hepatocytes when compared to histologically normal hepatocytes. Anti-GST-P in showed positive pren plastic foci as well as in individual hepatocytes randomly scattered throughout all liver sections examined. Additionally GST-P was evident in proliferative endothelial cells and biliary epithelial cells in exposed rat livers. These results suggested that the increased level of cytochrome P4502E1 in affected hepatocytes was a direct consequence of Petasites japonicus toxicity. Further immunoreactivity to anti-GST-P in hepatocytes endothelial cells and biliary epithelial cells indicated a possible preneoplastic effects of Petasites japonicus in Sprague-Dawley rat.

• Proceedings of the Korea Environmental Mutagen Society Conference
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.104-104
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• 2004

• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.271.2-271.2
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• 2002

To analyze vasopressin-induced Ca$\sub$2＋/ influx in liver cells, rat hepatocytes were isolated and attached to collagen-coated cover slips. Using fura-2, a Ca$\sub$2＋/-sensing dye, changes in intracellular Ca$\sub$2＋/ concentration by vasopressin were monitored. Results in this communication suggested that vasopressin-induced Ca$\sub$2＋/ influx consists of two distinguishable components. One was present for a short time and the other was for a long time until it happened. (omitted)

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.338-343
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• 2003

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the bidirectional transport of 1-anilino-8-naphthalene sulfonate (ANS) using isolated rat hepatocytes. The initial uptake rate of ANS by isolated hepatocytes was determined. The uptake process of ANS was saturable, with a $K_m of 29.1\pm3.2 \mu M and V_{max} of 2.9\pm0.1$ mmol/min/mg protein. Subsequently, the initial efflux rate of ANS from isolated hepatocytes was determined by resuspending preloaded cells to 3.0% (w/v) BSA buffer. The efflux process for total ANS revealed a little saturability. The mean value of the efflux clearance was $2.2\pm0.1 \mu$ L/min/mg protein. The efflux rate of ANS from hepatocytes was markedly decreased at $4^{\circ}C$, indicating that the apparent efflux of ANS might not be attributed to the release of ANS bound to the cell surface, but to the efflux of ANS from intracellular space. The efflux clearance was furthermore corrected for the unbound intracellular ANS concentration on the basis of its binding parameters to cytosol. The relation between efflux rate and unbound ANS concentration was fitted well to the Michaelis-Menten equation with a saturable and a nonsaturable components. The $V_{max} and K_m$ values were 0.54 mmol/min/mg protein, and 10.0 $\mu$ M, respectively. Based on the comparison of the ratios of $V_{max} to K_m (V_{max}/K_m)$ corresponding to the transport clearance, the influx clearance was two times higher than the efflux clearance. Together with our preliminary studies that ATP suppression in hepatocytes substantially inhibited ANS influx rate, we concluded that the hepatic uptake of ANS is actively taken up into hepatocytes via the carrier mediated transport system.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.43-50
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• 1991

The hepatic uptake of an anionic fluorescence probe, l-anilino-8-naphthalene sulfonate (ANS) was characterized using isolated rat hepatocytes. The initial uptake rate of ANS by isolated hepatocytes was determined. The uptake process of ANS was fitted well to the Michaelis-Menten equation with a saturable component. The $V_{max}$ and $K_m$ values were $2.9{\pm}0.1\;nmol/min/mg$ protein and $29.1{\pm}3.2\;{\mu}M$, respectively. The uptake clearance $(CL_{up})$ based on the ratio of $V_{max}$ to $K_m$ was 11.7 ml/min/g liver, revealing the good coincidence with that assessed from the analysis of the plasma disappearance curve in previous report. Furthermore, the effect of serum protein on the hepatic uptake of ANS into isolated hepatocytes was investigated. The permeability clearances $(PS_{inf})$ of ANS uptake were much higher than those predicted based on the unbound fractions in the presence of serum. These suggested that the hepatic uptake of extensively serum protein-bound ANS is mediated not only by the unbound form of ligand but also by the serum protein-mediated uptake mechanism.