• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
• /
• 1998.11a
• /
• pp.147-147
• /
• 1998

The present study was designed to examine the effect of total ginseng saponin on CA secretion evoked by activation of nicotinic receptors from the isolated perfused rat adrenal glands. Total ginseng saponin given (100 $\mu\textrm{g}$/20 min) into an adrenal vein did fail to produce alteration of spontaneous CA release from the rat adrenal medulla. Acetylcholine (5.32 mM)- and DMPP (100 uM, a selective ncotinic receptor agonist)-evoked CA secretory responses were reduced markedly by the pretreatment with the total ginseng saponin at a rate of 100 $\mu\textrm{g}$/6.2 $m\ell$/20 min, respectively.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.129-136
• /
• 1992

The effects of $Cd^{2+}$ on spontaneous contraction, and the contractures induced by $0mM\;Na^+,\;60mM\;K^+\;and\;10^{-6}\;M$ acetylcholine, 1mM caffeine were studied in order to elucidate diverse actions of $Cd^{2+}$ on the $Ca^{2+}$ mobilization related with contractility in the antral circular muscle of guinea pig stomach. $Cd^{2+}$ inhibited the spontaneous contraction in a does dependent manner $(10^{-6}\;M\;10^{-4}\;M).\;Cd^{2+}\;(3{\times}10^{-5}M)$ suppressed 60 mM $K^+$ induced contracture composed or a phasic and a tonic response and the increased tonic response by the increased external $Ca^{2+}$ concentration. $Cd^{2+}$ also suppressed acetylcholine induced contracture composed of repetitive phasic and a tonic component and the increased tonic response by the increased external $Ca^{2+}$ concentration. Caffeine in the concentration of 1mM evoked contracture but $Cd^{2+}$ suppressed the contracture. $Cd^{2+}$ suppressed the amplitude of the $Na^+$ tee contracture dose dependently and the amplitude of $Na^+$ free contracture almost decreased to 20% of control amplitude in the concentration of $10^{-4}\;M\;Cd^{2+}$. From the above results, it is suggested that $Cd^{2+}$ may inhibit not only $Ca^{2+}$ influx via voltage sensitive, receptor operated $Ca^{2+}$ channel and Na/ca exchange but also intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum in the antral circular muscle of guinea pig stomach.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.9 no.5
• /
• pp.255-262
• /
• 2005

Striatum is involved in the control of movement and habitual memory. It receives glutamatergic input from wide area of the cerebral cortex as well as an extensive serotonergic (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) input from the raphe nuclei. In our study, the effects of 5-HT on synaptic transmission were studied in the rat corticostriatal brain slice using in vitro whole-cell recording technique. 5-HT inhibited the amplitude as well as frequency of spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents (sEPSC) significantly, and neither ${\gamma}-aminobutyric$ acid (GABA)A receptor antagonist bicuculline (BIC), nor $N-methyl-_{D}-aspartate$ (NMDA) receptor antagonist, $_{DL}-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric$ acid (AP-V) could block the effect of 5-HT. In the presence non-NMDA receptor antagonist, 2,3-dioxo-6-nitro-1,2,3,4-tetrahydrobenxo[f] quinoxaline-7-sulfonamide (NBQX), the inhibitory effect of 5-HT was blocked. We also figured out that 5-HT change the channel kinetics of the sEPSC. There was a significant increase in the rise time during the 5-HT application. Our results suggest that 5-HT has an effect on both pre- and postsynaptic site with decreasing neurotransmitter release probability of glutamate and decreasing the sensitivity to glutamate by increasing the rise time of non-NMDA receptor mediated synaptic transmission in the corticostriatal synapses.

• Natural Product Sciences
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.290-296
• /
• 2013

In preliminary tests, we examined the effect of several fractions isolated from fermented pine needle extract on pacemaker potentials in cultured interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs) from the mouse colon using a whole cell patch clamp technique. Among these fractions, Fraction 3 (F3) elicited the most powerful depolarization of membrane. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of F3 obtained from fermented extract of Pinus densiflora needle on pacemaker potentials in ICCs and to establish its mechanism of action. Colonic ICCs generated spontaneous periodic pacemaker potentials in the current-clamp mode. F3 depolarized the membrane and decreased the frequency and amplitude of pacemaker potentials in a dose-dependent fashion. The F3-induced effects on pacemaker potentials were blocked by methoctramine, a muscarinic $M_2$ receptor antagonist, and by glycopyrrolate, a muscarinic $M_3$ receptor antagonist. The F3-induced effects on pacemaker potentials were blocked by external $Na^+$-free solution and by flufenamic acid, a non-selective cation channel blocker, as well as by the removal of external $Ca^{2+}$ and in the presence of thapsigargin, a $Ca^{2+}$-ATPase inhibitor in the endoplasmic reticulum. Taken together, these results suggest that F3 of pine needle extract modulates the pacemaker activity of colonic ICCs by the activation of non-selective cation channels via muscarinic $M_2$ and $M_3$ receptors. And external $Ca^{2+}$ influx and intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ release are involved in F3 actions on ICCs.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.47 no.4
• /
• pp.230-236
• /
• 2015

Dermatophagoides pteronissinus (DP) is one of the house dust mites (HDM) associated with allergic diseases. The cysteine protease Der p 1 from DP is a powerful allergen. The pathogenic mechanism of allergy is involved in cytokine secretion of lymphocytes and spontaneous apoptosis of neutrophils. In this study, we investigated whether Der p 1 induces cytokine secretion of lymphocytes and if the release of cytokines is associated with regulation of neutrophil apoptosis. In normal and allergic subjects, Der p 1 increased IL-6, IL-8, MCP-1, and GM-CSF release in a time-dependent course. Supernatants collected from normal and allergic neutrophils after Der p 1 stimulation suppressed the apoptosis of normal and allergic neutrophils, although Der p 1 alone has no effect on neutrophils. Der p 1 suppressed neutrophil apoptosis in coculture of normal neutrophils with normal lymphocytes. Der p 1 more strongly suppressed apoptosis of allergic neutrophils cocultured with allergic lymphocytes than normal neutrophils cocultured with normal lymphocytes. In summary, Der p 1 increases the secretion of cytokines, which has anti-apoptotic effects on neutrophils of normal and allergic subjects. These results will contribute to elucidate the pathogenic mechanism of allergic diseases.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
• /
• v.11 no.4
• /
• pp.45-53
• /
• 2019

The purpose of this work was to examine the factors affecting the identities of the voiceless plosives, i.e. English [p, t, k] and Korean [p^h, t^h, k^h], from the spontaneous speech corpora. The factors were automatically extracted by a Praat script and the percent correctness of the discriminant analyses was incrementally assessed by increasing the number of factors used in predicting the identities of the plosives. The factors included the spectral moments and tilts of the plosive release bursts, the post-burst aspirations and the vowel onsets, the durations such as the closure durations and the voice onset times (VOTs), the locations within words and utterances and the identities of the following vowels. The results showed that as the number of factors increased up to five, so did the percent correctness of the analyses, resulting in 74.6% for English and 66.4% for Korean. However, the optimal number of factors for the maximum percent correctness was four, i.e. the spectral moments and tilts of the release bursts and the following vowels, the closure durations and the VOTs. This suggests that the identities of the voiceless plosives are mostly determined by their internal and vowel onset cues.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.6 no.4
• /
• pp.207-214
• /
• 2002

The present study was designed to clarify whether tacrine affects the release of catecholamines (CA) from the isolated perfused model of rat adrenal gland or not and to elucidate the mechanism of its action. Tacrine $(3{\times}10^{-5}{\sim}3{\times}10^{-4}\;M)$ perfused into an adrenal vein for 60 min inhibited CA secretory responses evoked by ACh $(5.32{\times}10^{-3}\;M),$ DMPP (a selective neuronal nicotinic agonist, $10^{-4}$ M for 2 min) and McN-A-343 (a selective muscarinic M1-agonist, $10^{-4}$ M for 2 min) in relatively dose- and time- dependent manners. However, tacrine failed to affect CA secretion by high $K^+\;(5.6{\times}10^{-2}\;M).$ Tacrine itself at concentrations used in the present experiments did not also affect spontaneous CA output. Furthermore, in the presence of tacrine $(10^{-4}\;M),$ CA secretory responses evoked by Bay-K-8644 (an activator of L-type $Ca^{2+}$ channels, $10^{-4}\;M),$ but not by cyclopiazonic acid (an inhibitor of cytoplasmic $Ca^{2+}-ATPase,\;10^{-4}\;M),$ was relatively time-dependently attenuated. Also, physostigmine $10^{-4}\;M),$ given into the adrenal gland for 60 min, depressed CA secretory responses evoked by ACh, McN-A-343 and DMPP while did not affect that evoked by high $K^+.$ Collectively, these results obtained from the present study demonstrate that tacrine greatly inhibits CA secretion from the perfused rat adrenal gland evoked by stimulation of cholinergic (both nicotinic and muscarinic) receptors, but does fail to affect that by direct membrane-depolarization. It is suggested that this inhibitory effect of tacrine may be exerted by blocking both the calcium influx into the rat adrenal medullary chromaffin cells without $Ca^{2+}$ release from the cytoplasmic calcium store, that is relevant to the cholinergic blockade. Also, the mode of action between tacrine and physostigmine in rat adrenomedullary CA secretion seems to be similar.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.1 no.5
• /
• pp.581-589
• /
• 1997

This study was undertaken to examine the effects of ultraviolet light (UVL) and rebamipide on the cutaneous blood flow and tissue survival on rabbit skin flap. In a random bipedicle flap, Laser Doppler Flowmetry (LDF) was employed to measure the blood flow of flap (BFF). Wound Margin Strength (WMS) measured by force transducer and Light microscophy were used for evaluation of tissue viability. Single exposure to UVL increased the BFF gradually for more than 15 hours, and decreased the vasoconstrictor effect of intravenous phenylephrine. The UVL-induced increase in BFF regressed after 18 hours of irradiation, and this regression was tended to be enhanced by intradermal injection of L-NAME, a nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor, but the regression was significantly reversed by acetylcholine, an endothelial constitutive NOS (cNOS) activator and L-arginine, an NO precusor. Rebamipide, a novel antiulcer agent known to scavenge the hydroxyl radical, abruptly reversed the spontaneous regression of the UVL- induced increase in BFF by the same manner as L-arginine. In ischemic skin flap, rebamipide increased the BFF abruptly by the same manner as sodium nitroprusside (SNP), an NO doner, while N-acetylcystein (NAC), a free radical scavenger, gradually increase the BFF. The rebamipide-induced increase in BFF was sustained at the level of the SNP-induced increase in BFF during the late period of experiment. Rebamipide increased the WMS of skin flaps and prevented the tissue necrosis in comparison with L-NAME. Based on these results, it is concluded that in rabbit skin, UVL irradiation increases the BFF by NO release, and rebamipide exerts a protective effect on the viability of ischemic skin flaps by either or both the increase in BFF by NO release and free radical scavenger effect.

• Biomedical Science Letters
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.39-42
• /
• 2014

Asthma is an allergic inflammation and house dust mite (HDM) is a major allergen to induce asthma pathogenesis. Regulation of eosinophil apoptosis is an essential immune process and its dysregulation is implicated in asthma. In the present study, we examined the effects of HDM on spontaneous apoptosis of asthmatic eosinophils and on cytokine secretion in eosinophils of normal subjects including non-atopic and atopic normal. Extract of Dermatophagoides pteronissinus (DP) inhibited eosinophil apoptosis in a time-dependent manner. DP increased the secretion of G-CSF, GM-SCF, and IL-4, which is involved in suppression of eosinophil apoptosis, but IL-5 expression was not altered after DP stimulation. DP also elevated the release of IL-6, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ (TNF-${\alpha}$) and CCL2, which are anti-apoptotic or survival factors. The secretion of G-CSF, GM-CSF, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-${\alpha}$ due to DP is higher in atopic normal than that in non-atopic normal. In conclusion, DP increases the survival of eosinophils and its mechanism may be associated with cytokine release. These findings may enable elucidation of asthma pathogenesis induced by HDM.

• Biomedical Science Letters
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.152-159
• /
• 2015

Der p 2, which is a major allergen of house dust mite, plays an important role in the pathogenesis of allergic disease. There is controversy regarding whether Der p 2 binds to Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), and its inflammatory effect has not yet been elucidated. In the current study, we examined the interaction of Der p 2 with TLR4 and the effect of Der p 2 on cytokine release in THP-1 cells and lymphocytes. Among house dust mite extracts, recombinant TLR4 protein interacted with Der p 2. The overall structure of Der p 2 is characteristic of the immunoglobulin superfamily and contains ten ${\beta}-strands$, forming a ${\beta}-cup$ fold with two anti-parallel ${\beta}-sheets$, and a short 310 helix. The two sheets can be separated, further allowing the formation of a large internal pocket, which is narrow and suitable for binding large flat molecules such as lipid-like molecules. Der p 2 caused increased secretion of IL-6, IL-8, and MCP-1, which are neutrophil survival factors, in human monocytic THP-1 cells in a time-dependent manner. Der p 2 also induces the release of cytokines in normal and allergic lymphocytes. Supernatant after treatment with Der p 2 inhibited neutrophil apoptosis. In coculture of lymphocytes with neutrophils, Der p 2 inhibited spontaneous apoptosis of allergic neutrophils. In summary, Der p 2 binds to TLR4 and induces an inflammatory response such as cytokine secretion in immune cells. These findings may enable elucidation of allergy pathogenesis by specific allergen of house dust mite.