• Imaging Science in Dentistry
• /
• 제35권3호
• /
• pp.127-131
• /
• 2005

Purpose : We performed the present study to investigate whether osteotropic hormomes play roles on the nitric oxide (NO) production in culture of ROS 17/12.8 osteoblastic cells. Materials and Methods : The osteoblastic cell line ROS17/2.8 cells were cultured In F12 medium supplemented with $5\%$ fetal bovine serum (FBS) at $37^{\circ}C$ in a humidified atmosphere of $5\%\;CO_2$ in air. ROS17/2.8 cells were plated in 96-well plates at a density of $2-3\times10^3cells/well$ and grown to confluence. Then the cells were pretreated with osteotropic hormones (parathyroid hormone (PTH) 20-500 ng/mL, 1, 25-dihydroxycholecalciferol $(1,\;25[OH]_2D_3)$ 1-100 nM; prostaglandin $E_2 (PGE_2)$ 20-500 ng/mL in the medium supplemented with $0.4\%$ FBS for 72 hours and the cells were treated with cytokines $(TNF{\alpha}\;and\;IFN{\gamma})$ in phenol red-free F12 medium for an additional 48 hours. NO synthesis was assessed by measuring the nitrite anion concentration, the reaction product of NO, in the cell culture medium using Griess reagent. Results : PTH and $1,\;25[OH]_2D_3$ pretreatment induced a significant increase in NO production in the presence of $TNF{\alpha}\;and\;IFN{\gamma}.\;PGE_2$ slightly induced NO production compared to the control group. But, $PGE_2$ pretreatment did not affect in NO production in the presence of $TNF{\alpha}\;and\;IFN{\gamma}$. Conclusions : These results suggest that the actions of osteotropic hormones In bone metabolism may be partially mediated by NO in the presence of cytokines.

• 한국환경성돌연변이발암원학회지
• /
• 제21권1호
• /
• pp.1-8
• /
• 2001

We have synthesized $^{99m}$Tc-mercaptoacetyltriglycine (MAG3)-biocytin as a new imaging agent for hepatobiliary scintigraphy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of $^{99m}$Tc-MAG3-biocytin scintigraphy in differentiating carbon tetrachloride ( $CCl_4$)-induced hepatotoxicity from $\alpha$-naphthylisothiocyanate (ANIT)-induced cholestasis in mice, which reflecting the differential diagnosis of neonatal jaundice caused by neonatal hepatitis from congenital biliary atresia in humans. Methods: Balb/c mice (female, 20 g, n=4-6) were pretreated with $CCl_4$(0.5 or $1.0m\ell$/kg) and ANIT ($150 or 300 m\ell$/kg) 18 h before scintigraphy. Biochemical and histopathological examinations showed a pattern of typical acute hepatitis (increase of transaminases and hepatocellular necnsis) in $CCl_4$-treated mice and cholestasis (increase of alkaline phosphatase and ${\gamma}$-glutamyltransferase, and biliary hyperplasia) in ANIT-treated mice, respectively, Mice were fasted at least 4 hr prior to the intravenous injection of $^{99m}$Tc-MAG3-biocytin (18.5 MBq/20$\mu\textrm{g}$) in 2% human serum albumin in saline. Scintigraphy was performed with a ${\gamma}$-camera equipped with a 1-mm diameter pin-hole collimator for 30 min and images were acquired every 15 s. We compared the values of physical parameters, such as peak liver/heart ratio ($${\gamma}$_{max}$) and peak ratio time ($t_{max}$) far $^{99m}$Tc-MAG3-biocytin scintigraphy. Results: Scintigraphic parameters of the $CCl_4$-pretreated (0.5 $m\ell$/kg) group showed a 81.9% decrease of r$_{max}$, and 42.2% decrease of $t_{max}$, whereas the ANIT-pretreated ( $150m\ell$/kg) group showed a 53% decrease of $r_{max}$, and 2.36-fold increase of $t_{max}$, (P<0.05). These results demonstrate that the decrease of $r_{max}$ and the shortening of $t_{max}$ are characteristic features for hepatotoxicity, in contrast to the increase of $t_{max}$ and decrease of $r_{max}$ for biliary hyperplasia. Conclusion: $^{99m}$Tc-MAG3-biocytin hepatobiliary scintigraphy can distinguish hepatitis from cholestasis in mice model and may be similarly useful in humans which differentiating the cause of neonatal jaundice in clinical study.cal study.cal study.cal study.

• BMB Reports
• /
• 제42권9호
• /
• pp.605-610
• /
• 2009

Plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels are inversely correlated with the risk of cardiovascular disease, and are known to increase with repetitive exercise. In the current study, HDL fractions from athletes' sera were isolated and compared as a function of the type of sport (runners [n = 10], throwers [n = 10], wrestlers [n = 10], and weight lifters [n = 8]), and as an age- and gender-matched reference group (n = 14). Among athletes, HDL from runners had the strongest antioxidant activity. Immunodetection showed that runners and wrestlers had the highest levels of apoA-I and lowest levels of apoA-II in their HDL. Electron microscopy also revealed that HDL2 of runners and wrestlers were the largest in size. In conclusion, although all athlete groups had significantly better serum lipid/lipoprotein profiles than the reference group, runners and wrestlers had the most desirable lipoprotein function and structure, including antioxidant activity, HDL-associated enzyme activities and increased particle size.

• Toxicological Research
• /
• 제19권3호
• /
• pp.173-180
• /
• 2003

The present study was conducted to investigate the single and 2-week repeated dose toxicity of red ginseng acidic polysaccharide (RGAP) in Sprague-Dawley rats. The test article was administered orally to rats at dose levels of 0, and 2000 mg/kg/day for single dose toxicity study and at dose levels of 0, 250, 500, and 1000 mg/kg/day for repeated dose toxicity study. In both studies, there were no treatment-related effects on mortality, clinical signs, food and water consumption, ophthalmoscopy, urinalysis, hematology, serum biochemistry, necropsy findings and organ weights of all animals treated RGAP. Based on these results, it was concluded that the 2-week repeated oral dose of RGAP may have no toxic effect in rats at a dose level of 1000 mg/kg/day. In the condition of this study, the no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) was considered to be 1000 mg/kg/day for both sexes.

• BMB Reports
• /
• 제47권8호
• /
• pp.457-462
• /
• 2014

The pathogenesis of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is not fully understood. In the present study, both in vitro and in vivo vimentin expression and secretion in NASH were investigated. The exposure of palmitate and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to HepG2 cells enhanced caspase-3 activity and vimentin expression, respectively. The combined effects of both treatments on vimentin expression and caspase-3 activation appeared to be synergic. In contrast, blockade of caspase-3 activity by zVADfmk resulted in a significant reduction of cleaved vimentin and secreted vimentin into the culture supernatant. Similarly, lipid accumulation and inflammation occurred in mice fed a methionine-choline-deficient diet; thus, vimentin expression and serum cleaved vimentin levels were increased. However, vimentin was not significantly upregulated, and no cleavage occurred in mice fed a high-fat diet. It was conclusively determined that lipid accumulation in hepatocytes induces apoptosis through a caspase-3 dependent pathway; whereas, LPS stimulates vimentin expression, leading to its cleavage and secretion. Increased vimentin fragment levels indicated the existence of substantial hepatocellular death via an apoptotic mechanism.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• 제54권2호
• /
• pp.239-241
• /
• 2016

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), a tropical pathogen, has re-emerged and has massive outbreaks abruptly all over the world. Containing many dominant epitopes, the envelope E2 protein of CHIKV has been explored for the vaccination or diagnosis. In the present study, the antigenicity of a recombinant expressed intrinsically disorder domain (IUD) of E2 was tested for the detection of the antibody against CHIKV through western blot method. The gene of the IUD of E2 was inserted into 2 different vectors and expressed as recombinant GST-E2 and recombinant MBP-E2 fusion protein, respectively. Two kinds of fusion proteins were tested with 30 CHIKV patient sera and 30 normal sera, respectively. Both proteins were detected by 25 patients sera (83.3%) and 1 normal serum (3.3%). This test showed a relatively high sensitivity and very high specificity of the recombinant E2 proteins to be used as diagnostic antigens against CHIKV infection.

• 한국축산식품학회지
• /
• 제35권6호
• /
• pp.847-858
• /
• 2015

The study aimed to evaluate the effect of kefir combination from goat milk and soy milk on lipid profile, plasma glucose, glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity and the improvement of pancreatic β-cell in diabetic rats. Male rats were divided into five treatments: normal control, diabetic control, goat milk kefir, combination of goat milk-soy milk kefir and soy milk kefir. All rats were induced by streptooztocin-nicotinamide (STZ-NA), except for normal control. After 35 d experiment, the rats were sampled for blood, sacrificed and sampled for pancreatic tissues. Results showed that diabetic rats fed kefir combination had higher (p<0.05) triglyceride than the rats fed goat milk or soy milk kefir. Decreasing of plasma glucose in diabetic rats fed kefir combination was higher (p<0.05) than rats fed goat millk kefir. The activity of GPx in diabetic rats fed three kinds of kefir were higher (p<0.01) than untreated diabetic rats. The average number of Langerhans and β-cells in diabetic rats fed kefir combination was the same as the normal control, but it was higher than diabetic control. It was concluded that kefir combination can be used as antidiabetic through maintaining in serum triglyceride, decreasing in plasma glucose, increasing in GPx activity and improving in pancreatic β-cells.

• BMB Reports
• /
• 제32권4호
• /
• pp.345-349
• /
• 1999

We fused the promoter region of an H3.2 chicken histone gene, whose expression is dependent on the cell cycle, to the 5' coding region of an H3.3 chicken histone gene, which is expressed constitutively at a low level throughout the cell cycle. This fusion gene showed a cell cycle-regulated pattern of expression, but in a different manner. The mRNA level of the fusion gene increase during the S phase of the cell cycle by about 3.7-fold at 6 h and 2.7-fold at 12 h after the serum stimulation. The mRNA level of the intact H3.2 gene, however, increased by an average of 3.6-fold at 6 h and 8.7-fold at 12 h. This different expression pattern might be due to the differences in their 3' end region that is responsible for mRNA stability. The 3' end of the H3.2 mRNA contains a stem-loop structure, instead of a poly(A) tail present in the H3.3 mRNA. We also constructed a similar fusion gene using a H3.3 histone gene whose introns had been eliminated to rule out the possibility of involvement of the introns in cell cycle-regulated expression. The expression of this fusion gene was almost identical to the fusion gene made previously. These results indicate that the promoter region of the H3.2 gene is only partially responsible for its expression during the S phase of the cell cycle.

• BMB Reports
• /
• 제48권4호
• /
• pp.209-216
• /
• 2015

Stress is now recognized as a universal premorbid factor associated with many risk factors of various chronic diseases. Acute stress may induce an individual's adaptive response to environmental demands. However, chronic, excessive stress causes cumulative negative impacts on health outcomes through "allostatic load". Thus, monitoring the quantified levels of long-term stress mediators would provide a timely opportunity for prevention or earlier intervention of stressrelated chronic illnesses. Although either acute or chronic stress could be quantified through measurement of changes in physiological parameters such as heart rate, blood pressure, and levels of various metabolic hormones, it is still elusive to interpret whether the changes in circulating levels of stress mediators such as cortisol can reflect the acute, chronic, or diurnal variations. Both serum and salivary cortisol levels reveal acute changes at a single point in time, but the overall long-term systemic cortisol exposure is difficult to evaluate due to circadian variations and its protein-binding capacity. Scalp hair has a fairy predictable growth rate of approximately 1 cm/month, and the most 1 cm segment approximates the last month's cortisol production as the mean value. The analysis of cortisol in hair is a highly promising technique for the retrospective assessment of chronic stress. [BMB Reports 2015; 48(4): 209-216]

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• 제11권1호
• /
• pp.72-79
• /
• 2003

The present study was conducted to investigate the potential subacute toxicity of AS6, [(3$\beta$, 4$\alpha$)-3,23-dihydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid], by a 4-week repeated oral administration in Sprague-Dawley rats. To test the subacute toxicity, AS6 was administered once daily by gavage to rats at dose levels of 0, 250, 500, and 1000 mg/kg/day for 4 weeks. There were no treatment-related effects on mortality, clinical signs, body weight, food and water consumption, ophthalmoscopy, urinalysis, hematology, serum biochemistry, necropsy findings, organ weights, and histopathology in any treatment group. In the condition of this study, target organ was not observed and the no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) was considered to be 1000 mg/kg/day for both male and female rats.