• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.39-44
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• 2006

Type I diabetes (T1D) is an organ-specific autoimmune disease caused by the T cell-mediated destruction of the insulin-producing ${\beta}$ cells in the pancreatic islets. The onset of T1D is the consequence of a progressive destruction of islet ${\beta}$ cells mediated by an imbalance between effector $CD4^+$ T helper (Th)1 and regulatory $CD4^+$ Th2 cell function. Since interferon-alpha (IFN-${\alpha}$) has been known to modulate immune function and autoimmunity, we investigated whether administration of adenoviralmediated IFN-${\alpha}$ gene would inhibit the diabetic process in NOD mice. The development of diabetes was significantly inhibited by a single injection of adenoviral-mediated IFN-${\alpha}$ gene before 8 weeks of age. Next, we examined the hypothesis that Th2-type cytokines are associated with host protection against autoimmune diabetes, whereas Th1-type cytokines are associated with pathogenesis of T1D. The expression of IFN-${\alpha}$ induced increase of serum IL-4 and IL-6 (Th2 cytokines) levels and decrease of serum IL-12 and IFN-${\gamma}$ (Th1 cytokines) levels. Therefore, overexpression of IFN-${\alpha}$ by adenoviralmediated delivery provides modulation of pathogenic progression and protection of NOD mice from T1D.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.366-371
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• 2012

In this present study, we determined whether or not there is an immunoadjuvant effect of ochnaflavone, a biflavone isolated from Lonicera japonica. As an antigenic source, the cell wall (CACW) of Candida albicans, a fungal pathogen, was used. CACW consists of 95% carbohydrate (mannan). In the experiments, BALB/c mice were immunized with emersion forms of CACW combined with or without ochnaflavone (Och) in the presence of IFA containing mineral oil or CACW alone. Then, the amounts of antisera collected from these mice groups were measured by the ELISA method. Data from these experiments showed that CACW combined with Och (CACW/Och/IFA) provoked the production of antisera app. 2.2 or 5 times more than the corresponding CACW/IFA or CACW alone (CACW/DPBS), respectively, in mice (P<0.05). We further examined the immune response type induced by Och. Analysis of the values of the IgG1/IgG2a ratios obtained from IgG isotyping revealed that Och induced Th2-immunity more dominantly than Th1. This finding was confirmed by cytokine profile. CACW/Och/IFA formulation induced IL-4 (Th2-type cytokine) more than IFN${\gamma}$ (Th1-type cytokine) as compared with CACW/IFA and CACW/DPBS formulations (P<0.05). All data combined, Och appears to have an immunoadjuvant activity that may convert Th1 immunity into Th2 immunity.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.39 no.8
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• pp.603-610
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• 2016

Recently, an increasing number of studies have focused on the effects of CD4+ T cell on cognitive function. However, the changes of Th2 cytokines in restricted CD4+ T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire model and their effects on the adult hippocampal neurogenesis and memory are not fully understood. Here, we investigated whether and how the mice with restricted CD4+ repertoire TCR exhibit learning and memory impairment by using OT-II mice. OT-II mice showed decreased adult neurogenesis in hippocampus and short- and long- term memory impairment. Moreover, Th2 cytokines in OT-II mice are significantly increased in peripheral organs and IL-4 is significantly increased in brain. Finally, IL-4 treatment significantly inhibited the proliferation of cultured adult rat hippocampal neural stem cells. Taken together, abnormal level of Th2 cytokines can lead memory dysfunction via impaired adult neurogenesis in OT-II transgenic.

• ALGAE
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.331-347
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• 2022

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is one of major skin inflammatory diseases characterized by excessive Th2-mediated immune responses. Recent evidence provides that interlukin-13 (IL-13) plays the role of a key Th2 cytokine that drives the inflammation underlining AD. Due to adverse effects of commercially available synthetic drugs, the need for treatments based on natural products is gaining much attention. Sargassum horneri is an edible brown algae known for beneficial bioactivities including anti-inflammation. We investigated if polyphenol-rich S. horneri extracts (SHE) could suppress AD-like skin lesions in NC/Nga mice and if that involved inhibition of the infiltration of Th2-mediated cytokine IL-13. We observed markedly increased infiltration of IL-13 positive cells in AD-like skin lesions of mice but SHE treatments decreased it. Also, the dermal expression of IL-13 was sufficient to cause inflammatory responses in mice skin resembling human AD. SHE suppressed the dermal infiltration of inflammatory cells where IL-13 plays a crucial role in skin tissues and in the recruitment of inflammatory cells. Furthermore, it was confirmed that SHE reduced T cell, dendritic cell, and macrophage populations in spleen. Moreover, SHE decreased the collagen deposition in skin and ear dermis resulting in reduced fibrosis that occurs in AD due to excessive collagen. Taken together, our results reveal that SHE suppressed the infiltration of inflammatory cells into skin dermis by decreasing the infiltration of IL-13 positive cells. Therefore, SHE could be taken as a useful therapeutic agent to alleviate AD.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.81-91
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• 1987

During the period of 10 years from July, 1976 to July, 1986, 154 cases of primary carcinoma of the lung - by the cell type, stage, operability, and survival rate in the resectable cases - are analyzed at the Dept. of Thoracic Surgery, Paik Hospital in Seoul. The results are as follows: 1] Histopathological types are squamous cell carcinoma 49% [76 cases], adenocarcinoma 25% [39 cases], undifferentiated large cell carcinoma 9% [14 cases], undifferentiated small cell carcinoma 6% [9 cases], bronchioloalveolar carcinoma 4% [6 cases] and adenosquamous carcinoma 3% [4 cases]. 2] Peak incidence is observed in the 4th decade of life [33%], then 5th [29%] and 3rd [21%] respectively. Male to female ratio is 4 to 1. 3] Evidence of inoperability is observed in 64% [99 cases] by clinical staging workup. Thirty six percent [55 cases] were operated. Of these, post-surgical stage I was 5% [3 cases], stage II, 64% [35 cases] and stage III, 31% [17 cases]. Among total 17 cases of stage III, 14 cases were unresectable with evidence of T2N2M0, while 3 cases were resectable. Resectability is 27%, [41 cases] from the total number of 154 cases. And the resectability for the ex 55 cases is 75% [41 cases]. 4] By cell type, highest resectabitity is the squamous cell carcinoma, 49% [20 cases]. Adenocarcinoma is 32% [13 cases] and bronchioloalveolar, 12% [5 cases]. 5] Survival rate is evaluated for 38 cases of 41 resectable stage I, II and III. Overall 5 year survival rate is 24%, 3 year 32% and 10 year 8%. Survival rate in stage II for 5 year is 25%. In squamous cell type for, 5 year is 42%. Authors believe when surgeons continuous effort of early detection is met with patients early visit, 5 year survival rate for the stage I K II resectable patients will improve more effectively. As well, When the efforts are added to combined modality with radiotherapy and chemotherapy for the stage III selected cases of non-small cell carcinoma patients, the enhancement in survival rate is expected.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.298-305
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• 2012

The general term flavonoids is often used to categorize a family of natural compounds that are highly abundant in all higher plants, and which in recent years have attracted scientific interest as therapeutics. Lutein is a xanthophyll and one of 600 known naturally occurring carotenoids. It is found in green vegetables such as spinach and kale, and has been demonstrated to exert anti-inflammatory activities. However, its anti-allergic effect in the Th1/Th2 immune response is poorly understood. In this study, we attempt to determine whether lutein regulates inflammatory mediators in an ovalbumin (OVA)-induced murine asthma model. To address this, mice were sensitized and challenged with OVA, and then treated with lutein before the last OVA challenge. Administration of lutein significantly suppressed the OVA-induced airway hyper-responsiveness. It also resulted in a significant alleviation of the infiltration of inflammatory cells into the bronchoalveolar lavage. Additionally, lutein attenuated the increased expression of Th2 responses in OVA-challenged mice. These results demonstrate that lutein is a potent inhibitor that reduces Th2 immune responses. Furthermore, they show that the immunopharmacological function is mediated by a pathway that involves and is regulated by Th2 immune response.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.143-150
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• 2005

Background:Several reports have suggested that cytokine alterations could be related to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. In this study, we measured plasma level of interleukin-12(IL-12), a proinflammatory T helper 1(Th1) cytokine and transforming growth factor-${\beta}1$(TGF-${\beta}1$), an anti-inflammatory Th3 cytokine before and after antipsychotic treatment in schizophrenic patients. Methods:The plasma concentrations of IL-12 and TGF-${\beta}1$ were measured by using quantitative ELISA in 23 schizophrenic patients and 31 normal controls at admission and 8 weeks later. The psychopathology was measured by Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale(BPRS). Results:IL-12 and TGF-${\beta}1$ levels were significantly higher in schizophrenic patients than in controls before treatment. At the 8 week of treatment, the TGF-${\beta}1$ levels returned to control values, while IL-12 levels were not significantly changed. There were no significant correlations between the changes of BPRS scores and the changes of IL-12 or TGF-${\beta}1$ levels in schizophrenic patients. Conclusion:Cytokine abnormalities in schizophrenia might be involved in the pathophysiology of the illness. It is possible that TGF-${\beta}1$ plays an important role in the schizophrenia.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.641-649
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• 2012

To investigate scientific evidence for the use of a Korean Medicine (KM), the papers regarding Sipjeondabo-tang (Shiquandabu-tang) frequently used in Korean medical clinics and hospitals were collected and analyzed. The papers were classified as being from domestic or international journals and by the year of publication. The mechanisms of immuno-activity Sipjeondabo-tang (Shiquandabu-tang) were researched. Among 41 papers, 4 were published as Korean papers whereas 7 were as Chinese papers and 40 were as Japanese papers. Sipjeondabo-tang (Shiquandabu-tang) regulated the productions of Th1 cytokines such as interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interferon-${\gamma}$ (IFN-${\gamma}$), and Th2 cytokines such as IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-12 improving the function of immune organ including bone marrow, spleen, liver, thymus and peyer's patch. It also modulated the releases of immunoglobulin-G (IgG) and IgM. Thus, Sipjeondabo-tang (Shiquandabu-tang) balanced the Th1/Th2 immune responses as well as T/B cell. The regulation of immunoactivity could be speculated as an objective and scientific evidence of Sipjeondabo-tang (Shiquandabu-tang).

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.833-847
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• 2016

Drought stress is a major agricultural limitation to crop productivity worldwide, especially by which leafy vegetables, plant leaves eaten as vegetable, could be more lethal. The study was carried out to know the effect of drought tolerance plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) on water stress of kale seedlings. A total of 146 morphologically distinct bacterial colonies were isolated from bulk soil and rhizosphere soil of leafy vegetables and screened for plant growth promoting microbioassay in greenhouse. Out of them the isolate SB19 significantly promoted the growth of kale seedlings in increasement of about 42% of plant height (14.1 cm), 148% of leaf area ($19.0cm^2$) and 138% of shoot fresh weight (1662.5 mg) attained by the bacterially treated plants compared to distilled water treated control (9.9 cm, $7.7cm^2$, 698.8 mg). Shoot water content of SB19 treated kale seedlings (1393.8 mg) was also increased about 152% compared with control (552.5 mg). The SB19 isolated from bulk soil of kale plant in Iksan, Korea, was identified as species of Bacillus based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis. We evaluated the effect of drought tolerance by the Bacillus sp. SB19 on kale seedlings at 7th and 14th days following the onset of the water stress and watering was only at 7th day in the middle of test. In the survey of 7th and 14th day, there were mitigation effect of drought stress in kale seedlings treated with $10^6$ and $10^7cell\;mL^{-1}$ of SB19 compared to distilled water treated control. Especially, there were more effective mitigation of drought damage in kale seedlings treated with $10^7cell\;mL^{-1}$ than $10^6cell\;mL^{-1}$. Further, although drought injury of bacterially treated kale seedlings were not improved at 14th day compared with 7th day, drought injury of $10^7cell\;mL^{-1}$ of SB19 treated kale seedlings were not happen rapidly but developed over a longer period of time than $10^6cell\;mL^{-1}$ of SB19 or control. The diffidence of results might be caused by the concentration of bacterial suspension. This study suggests that beneficial plant-microbe interaction could be a important role of enhancement of water availability and also provide a good method for improving quality of leafy vegetables under water stress conditions.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.214-223
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• 2017

Objective: In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a well-known method for the treatment of infertility. The present study aimed to compare the differences between infertile women with successful and unsuccessful IVF outcomes regarding the expression of T helper (Th) cell transcription factors and a group of related cytokines before and after exposure to their husbands' seminal plasma. Methods: This study was performed on 19 couples with unexplained infertility undergoing IVF treatment. Among the studied group, nine and 10 couples had successful and unsuccessful IVF outcomes, respectively. This study was carried out using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results: Before seminal plasma exposure, the expression levels of T-bet (p< 0.007), $interferon-{\gamma}$ (p= 0.013), and tumor necrosis factor $(TNF)-{\alpha}$ (p= 0.017) were higher in the infertile women with IVF failure than in those with successful IVF outcomes, while those of GATA3 (p< 0.001), Foxp3 (p= 0.001), and interleukin (IL)-35 (p< 0.003) were lower. After seminal exposure, the expression of T-bet (p= 0.02), Rorc (p< 0.001), $TNF-{\alpha}$ (p= 0.001), Foxp3 (p= 0.02), and $interferon-{\gamma}$ (p= 0.001) increased in the unsuccessful IVF group, while the expression of Foxp3 (p= 0.02), Rorc (p< 0.001), IL-23 (p= 0.04), IL-17 (p= 0.02), IL-6 (p< 0.001), transforming growth $factor-{\beta}$ (p= 0.01), and IL-35 (p< 0.001) increased in the successful IVF group. Conclusion: In summary, IVF failure was associated with imbalanced Th1/Th2/Th17/Treg responses. Moreover, our results show that seminal plasma might have a positive effect on IVF outcomes via changes in peripheral blood T cell subsets.