• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.781-787
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• 2009

The sense and antisense digoxigenin-labeled RNA probes of four genes, Cdc25A, Cdc25B, Sox2 and Mnb, were produced by using SP6 and T7 RNA polymerases, respectively, and in vitro transcription. Expression patterns of the four genes were detected by in situ hybridization in HH (Hamburger and Hamilton) stage 10 chick embryos. In general, expression patterns of the four genes were similar. mRNA of the four genes was mostly restricted to the entire CNS (central nervous system). All were confined to an identical region, neural tube, neural groove and caudal neural plate, corresponding to the notochord or spinal cord, but there was some distinction in specific region or in concentration, for example in somites. The overlap in expression at the same developmental stage in the CNS suggests that the four genes may be functional similar or related in CNS development. Expression patterns of the four genes support specific roles of these regulators in the developing CNS.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.123-126
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• 2010

The purpose of present study was to analyze mineral contents in various tissues and investigate theirs relation with bone mineral density (BMD) in rats. Fifteen Sprague-Dawley rats were fed standard diet for 4 weeks. Body weight gain, feed intake, and feed efficiency ratio were 41.00 g/week, 171.15 g/week, and 0.24 respectively. Among 12 minerals in serum, Ca is the highest with 6.86 mg/dl. Serum Mg, Se, and Cu were 2.52 mg/dl, 0.23 mg/dl and 0.22 mg/dl respectively. Mg contents in liver, spleen, and kidney were $246.36\;{\mu}/g$, $105.01\;{\mu}/g$, and $273.38\;{\mu}/g$ respectively. Tibia contents of Ca, Mg, Zn, Fe and V were 194.91 mg/g, 23.10 mg/g, 0.60 mg/g, 0.35 mg/g and 0.14 mg/g respectively. BMDs of right tibia and spine were 122.04 mg/cm and $153.61\;mg/cm^2$. There were significantly positive correlations between tibia BMD and Se (p<0.05), tibia BMD and V (p<0.01), spinal BMD and V(p<0.05), respectively. It's expected that these results are used as a reference data in following study to elucidate physiological function of minerals.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.43-58
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• 2022

Background: Current therapies are quite unsuccessful in the management of neuropathic pain. Therefore, considering the inhibitory characteristics of GABA mediators, the present systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the efficacy of GABAergic neural precursor cells on neuropathic pain management. Methods: Search was conducted on Medline, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. A search strategy was designed based on the keywords related to GABAergic cells combined with neuropathic pain. The outcomes were allodynia and hyperalgesia. The results were reported as a pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) with a 95% confidence interval (95% CI). Results: Data of 13 studies were analyzed in the present meta-analysis. The results showed that administration of GABAergic cells improved allodynia (SMD = 1.79; 95% CI: 0.87, 271; P < 0.001) and hyperalgesia (SMD = 1.29; 95% CI: 0.26, 2.32; P = 0.019). Moreover, the analyses demonstrated that the efficacy of GABAergic cells in the management of allodynia and hyperalgesia is only observed in rats. Also, only genetically modified cells are effective in improving both of allodynia, and hyperalgesia. Conclusions: A moderate level of pre-clinical evidence showed that transplantation of genetically-modified GABAergic cells is effective in the management of neuropathic pain. However, it seems that the transplantation efficacy of these cells is only statistically significant in improving pain symptoms in rats. Hence, caution should be exercised regarding the generalizability and the translation of the findings from rats and mice studies to large animal studies and clinical trials.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.268-273
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• 2011

Transgenic mice expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) under the control of human glial fibrillary acidic protein promoter (hGFAP) have been utilized for in vivo labeling of astrocytes. Although it has been considered that virtually all astrocytes express GFP in this transgenic mouse, we found that different subsets of GFAP-expressing astrocytes express considerably different levels of GFP in the adult brain. Astrocytes in the spinal cord, the molecular layer of thecerebellum, meninges, white matter, corpus callosum and blood vessels exhibited strong GFP, whereas subsets of astrocytes associated with granule cells in the cerebellum and dentate gyrus did not or only marginally exhibited GFP. We also found that a small subset of GFP-expressing cells in the periglomeruli of the olfactory bulb did not express GFAP immunoreactivity. Collectively, these results suggest that human GFAP promoter-derived GFP expression does not faithfully recapitulate the endogenous GFAP expression in mice, suggesting that upstream regulatory mechanisms controlling GFAP transcription are different in different populations of astrocytes, and may reflect the functional diversity of astrocytes.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.237-243
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• 2004

Glial cells are activated in neuropathy and play a key role in hyperalgesia and allodynia. This study was performed to determine whether minocycline could attenuate heat hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia, and how glial cell activation and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB) were regulated by minocycline in a model of chronic constriction of sciatic nerve (CCl). When minocycline (50 mg/kg, oral) was daily administered from 1 day before to 9 days after ligation, heat hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia were attenuated. Furthermore, when minocycline treatment was initiated 1 or 3 days after ligation, attenuation of the hypersensitive behavior was still robust. However, the effect of attenuation was less when minocycline was started from day 5. In order to elucidate the mechanism of pain attenuation by minocycline, we examined the changes of glia and NF-kappaB, and found that attenuated hyperalgesia and allodynia by minocycline was accompanied by reduced microglial activation. Furthermore, the number of NF-kappaB immunoreactive cells increased after CCI treatment and this increase was attenuated by minocycline. We also observed translocation of NF-kappaB into the nuclei of activated glial cells. These results suggest that minocycline inhibits activation of glial cells and NF-kappaB, thereby attenuating the development of behavioral hypersensitivity to stimuli.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.407-412
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• 1999

The influence of eating habits and food type on the ultrastructural characteristics of the digestive tracts was studied under the scanning and transmission electron microscopes in two crustacean decapods (Hemigrapsus penicillatus De Haan; mud crab, Pinnotheres cyclinus Shen; symbiotic crab). The relative ratio of the length of midgut versus hindgut was 1:1 in the mud crab, but 4:1 in the symbiotic crab. Observation through the scanning electron microscope revealed that the midguts of both species have densely-arranged longitudinal mucosal folds with a smooth surface. In the hindgut of the mud crab, mucosal folds were longitudinally oriented, clusters of two to five spines were observed on the cuticular surface, and the length of the spine in the distal hindgut was longer than that in the proximal portion. In the symbiotic crab, the mucosal folds were irregulary arranged, and numerous rudimentary spinal structures were noted on the cuticular surface. Through observation of a transmission electron microscope, the epithelial cells of the midgut in both species had numerous microvilli, but the length of the microvilli was slightly longer in the mud crab than in the symbiotic crab. The central layer of the basement membrane and the muscular layer of the midgut were more developed in the mud crab than in the symbiotic crab. The thickness of the cuticular layer over the hindgut surface in the mud crab was about 4 times than that of the symbiotic crab.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 1995.04a
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• pp.72-72
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• 1995

Monoclonal antibodies against bovine brain succinic semialdehyde reductase were produced and characterized. A total of nine monoclonal antibodies recognizing different epitopes of the enzyme were obtained, of which two inhibited the enzyme activity and three stained cytosol of rat spinal cord neurons as observed by indirect immunofluorescence microscopy. When unfractionated total proteins of bovine brain homogenate were seperated by gel electrophoresis and immunoblotted, the antibodies specifically recognized a single protein band of 34 kDa, which comigrates with purified bovine succinic semialdehyde reducatase Using the antisuccinic semialdehyde reductase antibodies as probes, we investigated the cross-reactivites of brain succinic semialdehyde reductases from some mammalian and an avian species. The immunoreactive bands on Western blots appeared to be the same in molecular mass-34 kDa-in all animal species tested, including humans. The result indicated that brain succinic semialdehyde reductase is distinct from other aldehyde reductases and that mammalian brains contain only one succinic semialdehyde reductase. Moreover, the enzymes among the species are imunologically very similar, although some properties of the enzymes reported previously were different from one another.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.323-330
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• 2013

Objective : To develop a simple, reproducible model of disc degeneration in rabbits through percutaneous annular puncture and to confirm the degree of degeneration over time. Methods : Fifteen New Zealand white rabbits (4 to 5 months old and weighing approximately 3 to 3.5 kg each) underwent annular puncture of the L2-L3, L3-L4, and L4-L5 discs. Rabbits were sacrificed at 4, 8, or 20 weeks after puncture. For a longitudinal study to assess changes in disc height over time, serial X-rays were performed at 0, 2, 4, 8, and 20 weeks for rabbits in the 20-week group. Upon sacrifice, the whole spinal column and discs were extracted and analyzed with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), real time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, and histological staining. Results : The X-rays showed a slow, progressive decrease in disc height over time. Significant disc space narrowing compared to preoperative disc height was observed during the time period (p<0.001). The MRI grade, aggrecan, and matrix metalloprotease-13 mRNA expression and hematoxylin and eosin/safranin O/anti-collagen II staining were consistently indicative of degeneration, supporting the results of the X-ray data. Conclusion : Percutaneous annular puncture resulted in slow, reproducible disc degeneration that was confirmed by radiology, biochemistry, and histology. This in vivo model can be used to study and evaluate the safety and efficacy of biologic treatments for degenerative disc disease.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.163-167
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• 2013

In the present study, the effect of intrathecal (i.t.) or intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) administration with cholera toxin (CTX) on the blood glucose level was examined in ICR mice. The i.t. treatment with CTX alone for 24 h dose-dependently increased the blood glucose level. However, i.c.v. treatment with CTX for 24 h did not affect the blood glucose level. When mice were orally fed with D-glucose (2 g/kg), the blood glucose level reached to a maximum level at 30 min and almost returned to the control level at 120 min after D-glucose feeding. I.c.v. pretreatment with CTX increased the blood glucose level in a potentiative manner, whereas i.t. pretreatment with CTX increased the blood glucose level in an additive manner in a D-glucose fed group. In addition, the blood glucose level was increased in formalin-induced pain animal model. I.c.v. pretreatment with CTX enhanced the blood glucose level in a potentiative manner in formalin-induced pain animal model. On the other hand, i.t. pretreatment with CTX increased the blood glucose level in an additive manner in formalin-induced pain animal model. Our results suggest that CTX administered supraspinally or spinally differentially modulates the regulation of the blood glucose level in D-glucose fed model as well as in formalin-induced pain model.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.105-111
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to characterize equine heat-shock protein (Hsp) genes and analyze their expression pattern in various horse tissues and blood leukocytes after exercise. In a previous study, RNA sequencing of blood and skeletal muscles of thoroughbreds before and after exercise was performed using differently expressed gene (DEG) analysis. Three Hsp genes (HspH1, Hsp90${\alpha}$ and Hsp70) were selected by DEG analysis and were found to be differentially expressed in either blood or muscle. To validate and extend previous observations on these genes, we performed RT-PCR analyses of horse tissue as well as real-time qPCR analyses of blood leukocytes after exercise. mRNA expression of these Hsp genes was found to be ubiquitous in the analyzed tissues (including thyroid, colon, skeletal muscle, cecum, kidney, spinal cord, heart, and lung). In addition, Hsp mRNA expression of these genes in extracted whole blood increased after 120 minutes of exercise compared to the baseline condition. These results are in agreement with the results of human and other experimental animals, suggesting that regulatory mechanisms that are responsible for upregulation of Hsp gene transcription may be conserved among species. Further investigations to correlate Hsp gene expression patterns with athletic performance or recovery processes after exercise are warranted.