• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.200-204
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• 2007

Objective : Radiation therapy is an important treatment for brain tumor. However, serious complications such as radiation necrosis can occur and it may be secondary to the expression of acute phase genes, like cytokines. In particular, inflammatory cytokines (IL-$1{\beta}$, TNF-${\alpha}$) and other immunomodulatory cytokines (TNF-${\alpha}$, TGF-${\beta}1$) might be changed after irradiation (high single dose irradiation). Although it has been reported that IL-1 level is remarkably elevated within 8 week after the irradiation to the rat brain. the change of cytokines levels at acute phase (within 24 hours) has not been reported. In the present study, we examined TNF-${\alpha}$, TGF-${\beta}1$, and IL-$1{\beta}$ levels in acute phase to clarify the early effect of cytokines on the radiation-induced brain damage. Methods : Fifty Sprague-Dawley rats were used and these were divided into irradiation group and control group. After a burr-hole trephination on the right parietal area using a drill, a single 10Gy was irradiated at the trephined site. Their forebrains were extirpated at 30 min, 2 hr, 8 hr, 12 hr and 24 hr, respectively and examined for the expression of TNF-${\alpha}$, TGF-${\beta}1$, and IL-$1{\beta}$. Results : The expression of TNF-${\alpha}$ and TGF-${\beta}1$ were decreased until 12 hr after irradiation but elevated thereafter. The expression of IL-1 was peak at 8 hr and then decreased until 12 hr but elevated after this time window. The present study indicated that expression of cytokines (TNF-${\alpha}$, TGF-${\beta}1$ and IL-$1{\beta}$) were increased at 24 hr after the irradiation to the rat brain. IL-$1{\beta}$ level, on the other hand. reached peak at 8 hr after radiation injury. Conclusion : These findings indicate that IL-1, among various cytokines, may have a more important role in the inflammatory reaction by radiation injury at acute phase and provide some clues for better understanding of the pathogenesis of radiation injury.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.530-536
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• 2019

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most incurable brain cancer derived from the transformed glial cells. Standard anti-GBM treatment, including surgery and chemoradiotherapy, does not ensure good prognosis for the patients with GBM, because successful therapy is often impeded by presence of glioma stem cells (GSCs). GSCs, which is generally divided into proneural (PN) and mesenchymal (MES) subtype, are understood as subpopulation of cancer cells responsible for GBM initiation, progression and recurrence after standard treatments. In the present study, we demonstrate that PN subtype GSCs differentially transit to MES subtype GSCs by specific cytokines. The expression of CD44, a marker of MES subtype GSCs, was observed when GSC11 PN subtype GSCs were exposed to tumor necrosis factor alpha ($TNF-{\alpha}$) cytokine and GSC23 PN subtype GSCs were treated to transforming growth factor beta 1 ($TGF-{\beta}1$) cytokine. Ivy glioblastoma atlas project (Ivy GAP) bioinformatics database showed that $TNF-{\alpha}$ and $TGF-{\beta}1$ were highly expressed in necrotic region and perivascular region, respectively. In addition, $TNF-{\alpha}$ signaling was relatively upregulated in necrotic region, while $TGF-{\beta}$ signaling was increased in perivascular region. Taken together, our observations suggest that MES subtype GSCs can be derived from various PN subtype GSCs by multimodal cytokine stimuli provided by neighboring tumor microenvironment.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.108-113
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• 2020

Objective: Endometrial fibrosis, the primary pathological feature of intrauterine adhesion, may lead to disruption of endometrial tissue structure, menstrual abnormalities, infertility, and recurrent pregnancy loss. At present, no ideal therapeutic strategy exists for this fibrotic disease. Eupatilin, a major pharmacologically active flavone from Artemisia, has been previously reported to act as a potent inducer of dedifferentiation of fibrotic tissue in the liver and lung. However, the effects of eupatilin on endometrial fibrosis have not yet been investigated. In this study, we present the first report on the impact of eupatilin treatment on transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β)-induced endometrial fibrosis. Methods: The efficacy of eupatilin on TGF-β-induced endometrial fibrosis was assessed by examining changes in morphology and the expression levels of fibrosis markers using immunofluorescence staining and quantitative real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. Results: Eupatilin treatment significantly reduced the fibrotic activity of TGF-β-induced endometrial fibrosis in Ishikawa cells, which displayed more circular shapes and formed more colonies. Additionally, the effects of eupatilin on fibrotic markers including alpha-smooth muscle actin, hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha, collagen type I alpha 1 chain, and matrix metalloproteinase-2, were evaluated in TGF-β-induced endometrial fibrosis. The expression of these markers was highly upregulated by TGF-β pretreatment and recovered to the levels of control cells in response to eupatilin treatment. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that suppression of TGF-β-induced signaling by eupatilin might be an effective therapeutic strategy for the treatment of endometrial fibrosis.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.1612-1619
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• 2006

This Study was designed to investigate the mechanism of Mixture of Bambusae Caulis in Liquamen and Bamboo Extract on the change of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and blood pressure (BP) in normal rats, and further to investigate cytokines production in serum of cerebral ischemic rats. Mixture were as follows ; Bamboo Extract extracted with distilled water at 98 $^{\circ}C$ for 3 hrs, Mixture of Bambusae Caulis in Liquamen and bamboo Extracts (MLE) mixed at the ratio 1 to 100 (MLE100), 1 to 50 (MLE50), 1 to 20 (MLE20), 1 to 10 (MLE10), 1 to 5 (MLE5). The results were as follows ; The MLE-induced increase in rCBF was significantly inhibited by pretreatment with indomethacin (1 mg/kg, I.p.), an inhibitor of cyclooxygenase as well as methylene blue (10 $^{\mu}g/kg$, I.p.), an inhibitor of guanylate cyclase. The MLE-induced increase in BP was significantly inhibited by pretreatment with methylene blue. In cytokines production in the serum drawn from femoral arterial 1 hr after middle cerebral artery occlusion, MLE5 significantly increased production of TGF-${\beta}$ and increased production of IL-10, but significantly decreased production of TGF-${\alpha}$ compared with control group. In cytokines production in the serum drawn from femoral arterial 1 hr after reperfusion, MLE5 significantly increased production of TGF-${\beta}$ and IL-10, but significantly decreased production of TGF-${\alpha}$ compared with control group. AS results above. And MLE5 had anti-ischemic effect by inhibiting TGF-${\alpha}$ production, and by accelerating IL-10 and TGF-${\beta}$ production.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Developmental Biology Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.102-102
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• 2003

Embryonic stem (ES) cells proliferate extensively in the undifferentiated state and have the potential to differentiate into a variety of cell types in response to various environmental cues. The generation of functional dopaminergic neurons from ES cells is promising for cell replacement therapy to treat Parkinson's disease. We compared the in vitro differentiation potential of pluripotent human embryonic stem (hES, MB03) cells induced with basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) or retinoic acid (RA). Both types of treatment resulted in similar neural cell differentiation patterns at the terminal differentiation stage, specifically, 75% neurons and 11% glial cells. Additionally, treatment of hES cells with brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) or transforming growth factor (TGF)- $\alpha$ during the terminal differentiation stage led to significantly increased tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) expression, compared to control (P<0.05). In contrast, no effect was observed on the rate of mature or glutamic acid decarboxylase-positive neurons. Immunostaining and HPLC analyses revealed the higher levels of TH (20.3%) and dopamine in bFGF and TGF-$\alpha$ treated hES cells than in RA or BDNF treated hES cells. The results indicate that TGF-$\alpha$ may be successfully used in the bFGF induction protocol to yield higher numbers of functional dopaminergic neurons from hES cells.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.93-99
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• 2007

Objective : The present study was carried out to investigate the effects of Folium Perillae (FP) on several cytokine production such as IL-1$\beta$, TNF-$\alpha$, IL-10 and TGF-$\beta$ to determine related mechanisma in Rats. Methods: So, we investigated the effects of FP on levels of several cytokines such as IL-l$\beta$, TNF-$\alpha$, IL-10 and TGF-$\beta$ in ischemic rats. Results: In this experiment, IL-10, an immune-modulatory cytckine, level was elevated by treatment with FP, but another regulatory cytokine, TGF-$\beta$1 level was not affected. On the other hand, levels of IL-l$\beta$ and TNF-$\alpha$, an inflammatory cytokines, were lowered by treatment with FP effectively. Conclusion : In conclusion, these results suggest that FP is useful to treat patient with disease related to cerebral ischemia, because FP can elevate IL-10 level, lower IL-l$\beta$ and TNF-$\alpha$ levels.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.93-106
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• 2005

Objectives : The aim of this study is to characterize the effect of Chungganhaeju-tang on $TGF-{\beta}l$-induced hepatic fibrosis. Materials and Methods : mRNA and protein expression levels of $TGF-{\beta}l$ in Chungganhaeju-tang treated HepG2 cells were compared to untreated cells using quantitative RT-PCR and ELISA assay, respectively. mRNA expression levels of the $TGF-{\beta}l$ signaling pathway genes $(T{\beta}R-I,\;T{\beta}R-II,\;Smad2,\;Smad3,\;Smad4,\;and\;PAI-1)$ and fibrosis-associated genes (CTGF, fibronectin, and collagen type $l{\alpha}$) were evaluated by quantitative RT-PCR. The effect of Chungganhaeju-tang on cell proliferation of T3891 human fibroblast was evaluated using $[^3H]Thymidine$ Incorporation Assay. Results : Inhibition of $TGF-{\beta}l$ mRNA expression and protein production was observed with treatment of Chungganhaeju-tang and seen to be dose and time dependent. Whereas $TGF-{\beta}l$-mediated induction of PAI-1 was suppressed with treatment of Chungganhaeju-tang, expression of the $TGF-{\beta}l$ signaling pathway genes such as $T{\beta}R-I$, $T{\beta}R-II$, Smad2, Smad3, and Smad4 was not affected. With treatment of Chungganhaeju-tang, inhibition of $TGF-{\beta}l$-induced cell proliferation of T3891 human fibroblast was observed, as well as abrogation of $TGF-{\beta}l$-mediated transcriptional up-regulation of CTGF, fibronectin, and collagen type $I{\alpha}$. Conclusion : This study strongly suggests that the liver cirrhosis-suppressive activity of Chungganhaeju-tang may be derived at least in part from its inhibitory effect on $TGF-{\beta}l$ functions, such as blockade of $TGF-{\beta}l$ stimulation of fibroblast cell proliferation and fibrosis-related gene expression as well as expression of $TGF-{\beta}l$ itself.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Toxicology Conference
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• 2005.05a
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• pp.151-151
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• 2005

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.143-150
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• 2001

Background : Many investigators have found transforming growth factor-${\beta}1$ (TGF-${\beta}1$) to be elevated in tumors. Changes in responsiveness to TGF-${\beta}1$ have been linked to malignant transformation, tumor progression and tumor regression. Many malignant cell lines of epithelial or hematopoietic origin are refractory to the antiproliferative effects of TGF-${\beta}1$. However, a little is known about the association of TGF-${\beta}1$ with progression of malignant tumor. Methods : In this study, we measured the plasma level of TGF-${\beta}1$ in various cancer patients and evaluated the utility of plasma TGF-${\beta}1$ as a possible tumor marker. Plasma TGF-${\beta}1$ levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in cancer patients and normal controls. Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) as tumor marker were compared with TGF-${\beta}1$ in the aspects of sensitivity and specificity. Results : The mean of plasma TGF-${\beta}1$ levels was $1.219{\pm}0.834ng/ml$ in normal controls, $5.491{\pm}3.598ng/ml$ in breast cancer, $12.670{\pm}10.386ng/ml$ in lung cancer, $5.747{\pm}3.228ng/ml$ in hepatocellular carcinoma and $10.854{\pm}7.996ng/ml$ in cervical cancer. In comparison with CEA and AFP, TGF-${\beta}1$ is more sensitive. Conclusion : We conclude that the high levels of TGF-${\beta}1$ are common in the plasma of cancer patients. These results suggest that the plasma TGF-${\beta}1$ level can be a potent tumor marker in various cancer patients.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.183-193
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• 2018

Objectives : In Traditional Korean Medicine, Epimedium koreanum Nakai has diverse pharmacological activities to treat impotence, forgetfulness, cataract and exophthalmos. Present study investigated anti-fibrogenic effects of E. koreanum water extract (EKE) in hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). Methods : To study anti-fibrogenic effects of EKE, LX-2 cells, a human immortalized HSCs, were pre-treated with $3-300{\mu}g/mL$ of EKE, and then subsequently exposed to 5 ng/mL of transforming growth $factor-{\beta}1$ ($TGF-{\beta}1$). Expression level of ${\alpha}-smooth$ muscle actin was determined by immunoblot analysis. Phosphorylation of Smad, transactivation of Smad, and expression of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) were monitored to investigate the effect of EKE on $TGF-{\beta}1-mediated$ signaling pathway. Results : Up to $100{\mu}g/mL$, EKE did not show any cytotoxicity on LX-2 cells. Pre-treatment of EKE ($100{\mu}g/mL$) significantly inhibited ${\alpha}-smooth$ muscle actin expression induced by $TGF-{\beta}1$. In addition, EKE significantly decreased Smad2 and Smad3 phosphorylations, Smad binding element-driven luciferase activity and PAI-1 expression by $TGF-{\beta}1$. Of three flavonoid compounds found in EKE, only quercertin ($30{\mu}M$) attenuated $TGF-{\beta}1-mediated$ PAI-1 expression. Conclusion : These results suggest that EKE has an ability to suppress fibrogenic process in HSCs via inhibition of $TGF-{\beta}1/Smad$ signaling pathway.