• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.627-636
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• 2018

Endometriosis (EM) is one of the most common gynaecological disorder affecting women in their reproductive age. Mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of EM remains poorly understood, however inflammatory responses have been reported to be significantly involved. The efficacy of 6-shogaol on proliferation of endometriotic lesions and inflammatory pathways in experimentally-induced EM model was explored in this study. EM was stimulated in Sprague-Dawley rats by implantation of autologous endometrium onto the peritoneum abdominal wall. Separate groups were treated with 6-shogaol (50, 100 or 150 mg/kg b.wt/day) via oral gavage for one month period. Gestrinone (GTN) group received GTN (0.5 mg/kg/day) as positive control. Five weeks after implantation, the spherical volume of ecto-uterine tissues was determined. Treatment with 6-shogaol significantly reduced the implant size. Histological analysis reported atrophy and regression of the lesions. 6-shogaol administration effectively down-regulated $NF-{\kappa}B$ signaling, VEGF and VEGFR-2 (Flk-1) expression in the endometriotic lesions. Excess production of $IL-1{\beta}$ and IL-6 (pro-inflammatory cytokines), PGE2 and nitric oxide (NO) were reduced. Overall, the results of the study reveal the efficacy of 6-shogaol against endometriosis via effectively suppressing proliferation of the lesions and modulating angiogenesis and $COX-2/NF-{\kappa}B$-mediated inflammatory cascades.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.34 no.s02
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• pp.96-114
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• 1989

There are several meterorolgical stresses in the winter cereal crops. Among these stresses, cold injury is one of the most important stresses for wheat and barley production in Korea. The reduction in grain yield of the wheat and barley due to cold injury has occurred almost every year in Korea. The objective of the study was to get the basic information in relation to the cold injury and to detect the method minimizing the damage of cold injury. When the air temperature was the ranges of -13$^{\circ}C$ to -15$^{\circ}C$, the soil temperature at the crown part of the plant was very stable, whereas in the ranges of -2$^{\circ}C$ to -3$^{\circ}C$ the soil surface temperature was more unstable and cold than air and subterranean temperatures. The different parts of the plant in wheat and barley possess the different levels of cold hardiness. In comparison to the cold hardiness of plant parts, the leaf and crown are the less sensitive to cold injury than root and vascular transitional zone. The type and extent of stress is determined by the redistribution pattern of water during freezing. These types from freezing processes were three types: a) Equilibrium freezing pattern b) Non -equilibrium freezing pattern, c) Non-equilibrium freezing pattern typical of tender tissues. Cold hardiness in wheat plants were more harder than barley plants at vegitative stage, but inverted at the reproductive stage. Injuries by low temperature during the seasons of barley cultivation in Korea were occured mainly in four stage; in the first and third stage, frost injury occurs, the second stage, freezing injury, and the fourth stage, chilling injury.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.333-344
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• 2019

In vertebrate reproductive system, estrogen receptor (ER) plays a pivotal role in mediation of estrogenic signaling pathways. In the present study, we report the cDNA cloning, expression analysis, and transcriptional activity of ERβ1 subtype from medaka Oryzias dancena. The deduced O. dancena ERβ1 (odERβ1; 519 amino acids) contained six characteristic A/B to E/F domains with very short activation function 2 region (called AF2). A phylogenetic analysis indicated that odERβ1 was highly conserved among teleost ERβ1 subgroup. A conventional RT-PCR revealed that the odERβ1 transcripts were widely distributed in the multiple tissues, the ovary, brain, gill, intestine, kidney, and muscle. Further, the relatively higher odERβ1 expressions in the ovary and brain were clearly reproduced in RT-qPCR assay. When HA-fused odERβ1 expression vector was transfected into HEK293 cells, an immunoreactivity for odERβ1 was mainly detected in the nucleus part. Finally, an estrogen responsive element driven luciferase reporter assays demonstrated that the transcriptional activity of odERβ1 significantly increased by estradiol-17β (E2) in a dose dependent manner (p<0.05). However, fold-activation of odERβ1 in the presence of E2 was markedly weak, when it compared with those of O. latipes ERβ1. Taken together, these data suggest that odERβ1 represents a functional variant of teleost ERβ subtype and provides a basic tool allowing future studies examining the function of F domain of ERβ1 subtype and expanding our knowledge of ERβ evolution.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.265-272
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• 2010

Follicular cystic ovary (FCO) is one of the most frequently diagnosed ovarian diseases and is a major cause of reproductive failure in mammalian species. However, the mechanism by which FCO is induced remains unclear. Genetic alterations which affect the functioning of many kinds of cells and/or tissues could be present in cystic ovaries. In this study, we performed a comparison analysis of gene expression in order to identify new molecules useful in discrimination of bovine FCO with follicular cystic follicles (FCFs). Normal follicles and FCFs were classified based on their sizes (5 to 10 mm and $\geq25mm$). These follicles had granulosa cell layer and theca interna and the hormone $17{\beta}$-estradiol ($E_2$)/ progesterone ($P_4$) ratio in follicles was greater than one. Perifollicular regions including follicles were used for the preparation of RNA or protein. Differentially expressed genes (DEG) that showed greater than a 2-fold change in expression were screened by the annealing control primer (ACP)-based PCR method using $GeneFishing^{TM}$ DEG kits in bovine normal follicles and FCFs. We identified two DEGs in the FCFs: ribosomal protein L15 (RPL15) and microtubule-associated protein 1B (MAP1B) based on BLAST searches of the NCBI GenBank. Consistent with the ACP analysis, semi-quantitative PCR data and Western blot analyses revealed an up-regulation of RPL15 and a down-regulation of MAP1B in FCFs. These results suggest that RPL15 and MAP1B may be involved in the regulation of pathological processes in bovine FCOs and may help to establish a bovine gene data-base for the discrimination of FCOs from normal ovaries.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.259-268
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• 2004

Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV-2) has been associated with various disease in pigs worldwide including postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS) and porcine dermatitis and nephropathy syndrome (PDNS). In this study, monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against PCV were produced, characterized and applications of MAbs as diagnostic reagents were described. Spleen or lymph node cells from BALB/c mouse immunized respectively with PCV-1, PCV-2 or expressed PCV-2/ORF2 proteins in baculovirus were fused with SP2/0 myeloma cells using polyethylene glycol (PEG) and hybridoma cells producing PCV-1 or PCV-2-specific antibody were screened by an indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) test. A total of fifteen MAbs were produced against PCV. Six MAbs were PCV-1-specific and nine were PCV-2-specific. All PCV-1-specific MAbs reacted with only PCV-1 and all PCV-2-specific MAbs were reactive with only PCV-2 by IIF test. None of the MAbs was reactive with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), porcine parvovirus (PPV), porcine rotavirus (PRV), and transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV). Some PCV-2-specific MAbs recognized the PCV-2 infected porcine tissues by IIF or immunohistochemistry (IHC) assay. From this experiment, it was confirmed that MAbs produced in this study were PCV-specific and could be used as reliable diagnostic reagents for PCV-1/PCV-2 detection and differentiation.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.209-215
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• 2015

Red spotted grouper, Epinephelus akaara is a popular aquaculture species in many Asian countries. This species is a protogynous hermaphrodite that first differentiates into female and changes to male later. Due to this reproductive characteristic, stable supply of male and female gametes is a key to the success of seed production in this species. Thus, understanding early gonadal differentiation is required to develop effective sex control techniques. Red spotted grouper were reared in indoor tanks and sampled every 5 days from 40 days post-hatch (DPH) to 130 DPH. Changes of gonadal tissues were examined and analyzed by means of histology. A pair of gonadal primordium has already existed underneath the kidney in the posterior part of the body cavity at 38 DPH when this study began. Gonadal primordia of 38, 40 DPH consisted of germ cells surrounded by a few somatic cells. The blood vessel was observed in the gonadal primordium at 45 DPH. The number of somatic cells and size of gonadal primordium increased age-dependently up to 60 DPH. Formation of ovarian cavity was obvious by two protuberant aggregations of somatic cells at 65 DPH. Completed ovarian cavity and oogonia were first observed in the gonad of one fish sample at 105 DPH. Based on these histological observations, it can be suggested that induction of primary male differentiation could be more successfully applied at around 60 DPH in this species.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.17-25
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• 2009

This study investigated that exposure of male mice to estrogen receptor $\alpha$-selective agonist, 4,4',4"-(4-propyl-[1H]-pyrazole-1,3,5-triyl)tris-phenol (PPT) induce morphological changes of accessory genital glands. The male reproductive organs were fixed and processed for light microscopy. The PPT induced decreases of ventral prostates, seminal vesicles and preputial glands weights with experimental time. The glandular lumen of ventral prostate was atrophied compared with control group. Type of epithelial tissues in the prostate was changed from simple columnar epithelium to stratified cuboidal or squamous epithelium. Treated group with the agonist showed that increased connective tissue underlying epithelium in the prostate and seminal vesicle. Especially, the glandular lumen of the seminal vesicle was contracted when PPT-treated animals were compared with control group. Secretion cells of preputial gland were smaller than that of control group. On week 8, PPT treatment caused decrease of epithelial cell height lining the lumen of preputial gland. These results provide information useful in researching the physiological function of estrogen mediated by estrogen receptor $\alpha$ in male accessory genital gland.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.95-101
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• 2010

Decorin (DCN) is a member of small leucine-rich proteoglycans which are ubiquitous components of the extracellular matrix. It regulates many physiological processes, such as matrix formation, collagen fibrillogenesis, angiogenesis, cancer growth, and cardiovascular diseases. It has been shown that DCN is expressed in the uterus during pregnancy and modulates implantation and decidualization for the establishment and maintenance of pregnancy in mice and humans. Expression of DCN in the uterine endometrium during pregnancy has not been investigated in pigs. Thus, this study investigated expression of DCN in the uterine endometrium during the estrous cycle and pregnancy in pigs. Uterine endometrial tissues were from day (D) 12 and 15 of the estrous cycle and D12, D15, D30, D60, D90, and D114 of pregnancy. Northern blot and real-time RT-PCR analyses showed that expression of DCN mRNA was detected throughout the estrous cycle and pregnancy with the highest levels during mid pregnancy. In situ hybridization analysis showed that DCN mRNA was localized to both luminal and glandular epithelia during the estrous cycle and pregnancy and also to chorionic membrane during mid pregnancy in pigs. To determine whether endometrial expression of DCN was affected by the somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) procedure, DCN mRNA levels in the uterine endometrium from gilts with SCNT embryos on D30 of pregnancy were compared with those from gilts with normal embryos using real-time RT-PCR analysis. The result showed that DCN mRNA levels in the uterine endometrium were not significantly different between gilts with normal embryos and SCNT embryos. These results suggest that DCN may play an important role for endometrial tissue remodeling during mid pregnancy, and DCN expression is not affected by the SCNT procedure at the early stage of pregnancy in pigs.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.409-415
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• 2002

A certain group of phytochemicals such as isoflavone have been proven to act as a phytoestrogen. After thorough the study of different bibliographic herbs excluding soybeans, dates, pomegranates, and other publicized plants, three different edible herbs by Korean Food Regulation were extracted for the animal study on the effect of estrogen replacement. The herbal extract(FGF271) has been orally administered into 51 weeks old partial ovariectomized rats for 5 weeks with the different dosages of 100 and 1,000 mg/kg, respectively. It was observed that 1) serum estrogen level was increased in both 100 and 1,000 mg/kg group, 2) the distension of uterus was made dose dependently and significantly different in 1,000 mg/kg group (p.0.05) from control in the gross findings, 3) the weight of uterus was increased in 1,000 mg/kg group, and 4) the action on reproductive tissues was clear in the microscopic findings in terms of hyperplasia of endometrial epithelial cell, cystic change of submucosa, dilatation of uterus (significantly increased in 1,000 kg/mg), and follicular cystic changes in ovary. As a result, FGF271 seemed to act as a phytoestrogen by inducing the change in ovary and uterus and by increasing the serum estrogen concentration.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.133-138
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• 2011

The prevention of porcine respiratory disease complex (PRDC) is very important because of its high infection-rates in the swine farms and the economic impact in swne industry in Korea. To control the prevalence of PRDC, it is important to know about infection patterns of it. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the infection patterns of PRDC in the northern area of Gyeongsangnam-do. To this end, the infection of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2), Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (APP), Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (MH), and Swine influenza virus (SIV) were examined using 120 pig lung tissues by PCR analysis. As a result, single pathogen positive specimens were 25.0% and the others (75.0%) were turned out to be PRDC with at least two pathogens. Among PRDCs, 50 specimens (41.7%) was infected with PRRSV, PCV2, MH and SIV. Ten specimens (8.3%) showed triple infections of PRRSV, PCV2 and MH. Double infected specimens for PRRSV and PCV2 were 10 (8.3%), and for PCV2 and APP were 20 (16.7%).