• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.15-20
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• 2009

Uncoupling protein 3 (UCP3) is a mitochondrial protein that is expressed predominantly in skeletal muscle. It may play a role in altering metabolic function. However, its major physiological roles are not fully understood. Recently de novo expression of UCP3 in rat liver by fenofibrate was reported. We also reported previously that fenofibrate-induced de novo expression of UCP3 contributes to reduction of adipose tissue in obese rats. In the present study, we investigated that ienofibrate-induced expression of UCP3 in rat liver is related with metabolic function such as body weight and hepatic lipid content by time-dependent manner in high-fat diet rats. Eight-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into two groups; the high fat diet group (HF, n=16) and fenofibrate-treated high fat diet group (HFF, n=16). The mRNA expression of hepatic UCP3 was detected as early as 1 week of fenofibrate treatment by quantitative real-time PCR and the amount of mRNA was increased time-dependently. The mean body weight of the HFF group was significantly less com. pared with the HF group after 6 weeks of fenofibrate treatment, even though there was no difference of food intake between the two groups. Rectal temperature was increased during 4 to 6 weeks of fenofibrate treatment and body weight was decreased after 6 weeks of treatment. These results were corresponded with the increased amount of the expression of UCP3 mRNA and protein. We suggest that de novo expression of hepatic UCP3 is increased time-dependently with fenofibrate treatment and that the amount of expression is correlated with metabolic function.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.391-397
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• 2009

Carnosine is a dipeptide ($\beta$-alanyl-L-histidine) found in mammalian brain, eye, olfactory bulb and skeletal muscle at high concentrations. Its biological functions include antioxidant and anti-glycation activities. The objectives of this study were to investigate anti-diabetic effects of carnosine as determined by blood glucose levels in glucose tolerance test (GTT) and insulin tolerance test (ITT), insulin level and serum biochemical and lipid levels in male C57BL/6J db/db mice. There were five experimental groups including normal (C57BL/6J), control (vehicle), and three groups of carnosine at doses of 6, 30, and 150 mg/kg b.w. Carnosine was orally administered to the diabetic mice everyday for 8 weeks. There was no significant difference in body weight changes in carnosine-treated groups compared to the control. The treatments of carnosine significantly decreased the blood glucose level in the diabetic mice compared with the control (p < 0.05) after 5 weeks. The treatments of carnosine also significantly decreased the blood glucose levels in GTT and ITT and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), compared with the control (p < 0.05). Carnosine at the dose of 6 mg/kg significantly decreased the serum insulin level compared to the control (p < 0.05). Carnosine significantly increased total proteins but significantly decreased lactate dehydrogenase and blood urea nitrogen compared with the control (p < 0.05). Carnosine also significantly decreased glucose, LDL, and triglyceride in the serum of diabetic mice compared to the control (p < 0.05). These results suggest that carnosine has a hypoglycermic effect resulting from reduction of glucose and lipid levels and that high carnosine-containing diets or drugs may give a benefit for controlling diabetes mellitus in humans.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.703-710
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• 2003

The purpose of this study was to detect association between genetic variation and economic trait in the porcine heart type fatty acid-binding protein gene as a candidate gene for the traits related with growth and meat quality in pigs. The H-FABP is a 15-kDa protein expressed in several tissues with high demand for fat metabolism such as cardiac and skeletal muscle and lactating mammary gland. H-FABP is small intracellular protein involved in fatty acid transport from the plasma membrane to the site of $\beta$-oxidation and/or triacylglycerol or phospholipid synthesis. In this study, H-FABP PCR-RFLP was performed in F$_2$ population composed of 214 individuals from an intercross between Korean Native Boars and Landrace sows. PCR products from two primer sets within H-FABP gene were amplified in 850bp and 700bp. Digestion of PCR products with the restriction digestion enzymes HaeⅢ and HinfⅠ, revealed fragment length polymorphisms(RFLPs). The genotype frequencies from H-FABP/HaeⅢ was .29 for genotype DD, .53 for genotype Dd, and .15 for genotype dd, respectively. The genotype frequencies of HH, Hh, and hh from H-FABP/HinfⅠ was .38, .41 and .20, respectively, in the population. Relationships between their genotypes and economic traits were estimated. In H-FABP/HaeⅢ locus, there were specific genotypes(Dd and dd) associated with economic traits such as body weights at 3, 5, 12, and 30 week of age (p〈.05 to .001). The ‘d’ allele was associated with gaining of body weight. In H-FABP/HinfⅠ locus, Genotypes of HH and Hh associated with growth traits such as body weights at 5, 12, and 30 week of age (p〈.05 or p〈.001) and back fat thickness, body fat including abdominal and trimmed fat (p〈.001) and intramuscular fat(p〈.05) The ‘H’ allele was positively associated with gaining of body weight and fatness deposition. In conclusion, a significant association of the H-FABP gene from its genetic variation was found on body weight, intramuscular fat and backfat thickness.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.349-354
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• 2004

Stress-susceptible pigs have been known as the porcine stress syndrome (PSS), swine PSS, also known as malignant hyperthermia (MH), is characterized as sudden death and production of poor meat quality such as PSE (pale, soft and exudative) meat after slaughtering. PSS and PSE meat cause major economic losses in the pig industry. A point mutation in the gene coding for the ryanodine receptor (RYR1) in porcine skeletal muscle, also known calcium (Ca$^{2+}$) release channel, has been associated with swine PSS and halothane sensitivity. We used the PCR-RFLP(restriction fragment length polymorphism) and PCR-SSCP (single strand conformation polymorphism) methods to detect the PSS gene mutation (C1843T) in the RYR1 gene and to estimate genotype frequencies of PSS gene in Korean pig breed populations. In PCR-RFLP and SSCP analyses, three genotypes of homozygous normal (N/M), heterozygous carrier (N/n) and homozygous recessive mutant (n/n) were detected using agarose or polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, respectively. The proportions of normal, carrier and PSS pigs were 57.1, 35.7 and 7.1％ for Landrace, 82.5, 15.8 and 1.7％ far L. Yorkshire, 95.2, 4.8 and 0.0％ for Duroc and 72.0, 22.7 and 5.3％ for Crossbreed. Consequently, DNA-based diagnosis for the identification of stress-susceptible pigs of PSS and pigs producing PSE meat is a powerful technique. Especially, PCR-SSCP method may be useful as a rapid, sensitive and inexpensive test for the large-scale screening of PSS genotypes and pigs with PSE meat in the pork industry.y.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.2 s.82
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• pp.167-173
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• 2007

To study the transcriptional mechanisms by which expression of the murine glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor inducible transcription factor (mGIF) gene is regulated, a murine genomic clone was iso-lated using a mGIF cDNA as probe. A 13-kb genomic fragment, which comprises 4-kb upstream of the transcription initiation site was sequenced. The promoter region lacks a TATA box and CAAT box, is rich in G+C content, and has multiple putative binding sites for the transcription factor Spl. The mGIF gene also has consensus sequences for AP2 binding sites. The transcriptional activity of five deletion mutants of a 2.1-kb fragment was analyzed by modulating transcription of the heterologous luciferase gene in the promoterless plasmid pGL2-Basic. All mutants showed significant transcriptional activity in the murine neuroblastoma cell line NB41A3. Transient expression assays suggested the presence of a positive regulator between -213 and -129 while a negative regulator was found in the region between -806 and -214. Relatively strong transcriptional activity was observed in neuronal NB41A3, glial C6 cells and hepatic HepG2, but very weak activity in skeletal muscle C2C12 cells. These findings confirm the tissue-specific activity of the mGIF promoter and suggest that this gene shares structural and functional similarities with the dopamine receptor genes that it regulates.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.63 no.6
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• pp.480-485
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• 2007

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by airflow limitation that is not fully reversible. COPD has systemic effects, such as skeletal muscle dysfunction and abnormal weight loss. It also has been suggested that COPD is related to other chronic disease, such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and anemia. The aim of this study was to evaluate a symptom questionnaire and laboratory findings in subjects with air flow limitation. Methods: We evaluated a symptom questionnaire and laboratory findings in subjects with airflow limitation detected by spirometry in conjunction with the Second Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. A total of 9,243 adults over the age of 18 were recruited. Among the adults, we finally analyzed 2,217 subjects who met the acceptability and repeatability criteria of spirometry, showed normal findings on chest radiography, and were older than 40 years of age. Results: There were 288 subjects with airflow limitation as determined by spirometry. The frequency of respiratory symptoms such as cough, sputum and wheezing were significantly higher in subjects with airflow limitation (p <0.01). Hemoglobin and hematocrit levels were higher in subjects with airflow limitation (hemoglobin level 13.98 mg/dL vs. 13.62 mg/dL, hematocrit 42.10% vs. 40.89%; p<0.01). The HDL cholesterol level was lower in subjects with airflow limitation (44.95 mg/dL vs. 45.60 mg/dL; p<0.01). There was no significant difference in the total cholesterol, triglyceride, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, and fasting glucose levels. Conclusion: In subjects with airflow limitation, prevalence of respiratory symptoms was higher than in normal spirometry subjects and the levels of hemoglobin and the hematocrit were higher. The HDL cholesterol level was lower in subjects with airflow limitation.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.995-1007
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of 12-week elastic band exercise on body composition, blood lipids and AMPK in 24 elderly female volunteers aged 65-75 years, and they were divided into the combined exercise group(n=12) and the control group(n=12). The elastic band exercise method was to do exercise 3 times a week for 60 minutes per session, 1-4 weeks for low intensity of OMNI-RES 3-4, 5-8 weeks for medium intensity of OMNI-RES 5-6, 9-12 weeks for OMNI-RES 7-8 of high intensity. In order to compare the differences in the groups before and after the elastic band exercise, two-way repeated measures ANOVA was used to verify the interaction between group and time. The difference in the groups of the measured data was paired t-test, the difference between the groups was paired independent t-test, and analysis of covariance ANCOVA was performed to minimize the inter-group error. The statistical significance level of each item was set to .05. As a result, body fat percentage of exercise group significantly decreased (p<.05), and skeletal muscle volume was significantly increased (p<.01). TC, TG and LDL-C were not significantly different between the exercise and control groups, and HDL-C was significantly decreased in the control group (p<.05). AMPK was significantly decreased in the exercise group (p<.001), but there was no significant difference in the control group. According to the covariance analysis to minimize the error of difference between the pre-exercise groups (p<.05), there was significant difference in AMPK of groups after exercise. These results suggest that the 12-week elastic band exercise has a positive effect on the body composition and AMPK of the elderly women.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.12
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• pp.1088-1093
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• 2021

Jeju horse (Equus ferus caballus) is a Korean horse breed that has been native to Jeju Island for a long time. Jeju horses are used as racehorses, and their racing ability is a major economic trait. The role of the myostatin (MSTN) gene in skeletal muscle mass has been studied in various mammals, and mutations in the MSTN gene are known to affect the racing ability and stamina of thoroughbreds. In this study, we compared the frequency of mutations in the MSTN gene in several horse breeds, including 1,433 Jeju horses. Among the mutations (ECA18 g.66493737C>T) in the MSTN gene, the long-distance aptitude genotype (TT) was found to have a frequency of 0.826 in Jeju horses, which was higher than that in Halla horses (0.285) and thoroughbreds (0.252). The genotypes and arrival records of Jeju horses were compared according to various distances (400 m, 800 m, 900 m, 1,000 m, 1,110 m, and 1,200 m). According to the results, the CT type showed a faster-reaching record than the TT type in races of less than 1,000 m. However, almost identical results were confirmed in races over 1,110 m. This study suggests that the MSTN mutation in Jeju horses may be related to race distance aptitude. In future research, the data in this study can be used for developing markers related to race distance aptitude and racing abilities in Jeju horses.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.37 no.12
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• pp.1589-1598
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• 2008

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of obesity on health by analyzing the factors which are related to obesity through the questionnaires on the dietary pattern, nutrient intake and physical measurements. The subjects, 419 college women aged 20 to 24 year-old, were randomly selected from Seoul and data were collected during March to May, 2008 and classified as under underweight, normal weight, and obesity groups according to BMI. However, weight, skeletal muscle mass, body fat mass, fat free mass, percentage of body fat, and waist to hip ratio showed significant differences among all the groups (p<0.05). In the obese group, 77.8% ate fat-rich foods such as galbi and samgyopsal more than two times per week, 66.7% ate vegetables other than kimchi (p<0.05) as compared to the underweight and normal groups by mini dietary assessment (p<0.05). The cholesterol intakes of the underweight, normal weight, and obese groups were $164.67{\pm}114.52mg/dL$, $143.31{\pm}99.58mg/dL$, and $121.92{\pm}54.91mg/dL$, respectively, and the obese group had a significantly lower intake than the other groups (p<0.05). The serum total cholesterol levels of the underweight, normal, and obese groups were $177.04{\pm}26.36mg/dL$, $189.46{\pm}29.05mg/dL$, and $170.00{\pm}12.75mg/dL$, respectively, and the obese group showed lower total cholesterol level than the other groups (p<0.05). The triacylglycerol level of the obese group ($132.00{\pm}64.60mg/dL$) was significantly higher than the other two groups (p<0.05). The HDL-cholesterol levels of the underweight, normal weight, and obese groups were $51.92{\pm}9.39mg/dL$, $59.20{\pm}13.53mg/dL$, and $43.00{\pm}8.98mg/dL$, respectively, showing that the obese subjects had significantly lower HDL-cholesterol levels as compared to the subjects in the other groups (p<0.05). The HDL-C/LDL-C ratios of the underweight ($0.52{\pm}0.45$) and normal weight ($0.59{\pm}0.23$) groups were higher than the ratio of the obese group ($0.41{\pm}0.06$). Total cholesterol were positively correlated with LDL-cholesterol (r=0.768, p<0.01), but triacylglycerol were adversely correlated with HDL-cholesterol. In conclusion, our results show that college-aged women in Seoul should be encouraged to amend their overall dietary habits, make a dietary plan that fits their individual needs, and maintain an effective exercise schedule.