• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• 제8권1호
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• pp.46-53
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• 2014

Inorganic arsenic (iAs) is a toxic metalloid found ubiquitously in the environment. In humans, exposure to iAs can result in toxicity and cause toxicological manifestations. Arsenic trioxide ($As_2O_3$) has been used in the treatment for acute promyelocytic leukemia. The kidney is the critical target organ of trivalent inorganic As ($iAs^{III}$) toxicity. We examine if oral administration of astaxanthin (AST) has protective effects on nephrotoxicity and oxidative stress induced by $As_2O_3$ exposure (via intraperitoneal injection) in rats. Markers of renal function, histopathological changes, $Na^+-K^+$ ATPase, sulfydryl, oxidative stress, and As accumulation in kidneys were evaluated as indicators of $As_2O_3$ exposure. AST showed a significant protective effect against $As_2O_3$-induced nephrotoxicity. These results suggest that the mechanisms of action, by which AST reduces nephrotoxicity, may include antioxidant protection against oxidative injury and reduction of As accumulation. These findings might be of therapeutic benefit in humans or animals suffering from exposure to $iAs^{III}$ from natural sources or cancer therapy.

• BMB Reports
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• 제49권9호
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• pp.508-513
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• 2016

Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α is a key regulator associated with tumorigenesis, angiogenesis, and metastasis. HIF-1α regulation under hypoxia has been highlighted as a promising therapeutic target in angiogenesis-related diseases. Here, we demonstrate that diacetyl atractylodiol (DAA) from Atractylodes japonica (A. japonica) is a potent HIF-1α inhibitor that inhibits the Akt signaling pathway. DAA dose-dependently inhibited hypoxia-induced HIF-1α and downregulated Akt signaling without affecting the stability of HIF-1α protein. Furthermore, DAA prevented hypoxia-mediated angiogenesis based on in vitro tube formation and in vivo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assays. Therefore, DAA might be useful for treatment of hypoxia-related tumorigenesis, including angiogenesis.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• 제36권1호
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• pp.39-44
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• 2006

Tamsulosin or a salt thereof such as its hydrochloride salt has been known to have an adrenaline ${\alpha}$ receptor blocking action for urethra and prostate areas. It has been widely used as a drug which lowers the prostate pressure and improves urinary disturbance accompanied by prostate-grand enlargement, thus for the treatment of prostatic hyperplasia. To avoid dose-dependent side effects of tamsulosin upon oral administration, the development of sustained-release delivery system is essentially required, that can maintain therapeutic drug levels for a longer period of time. The aim of this study was therefore to formulate sustained-release tamsulosin granules and assess their formulation variables. We designed entric coated sustained-release tamsulosin granules for this purpose. Nano-pores in the outer controlled release membrane were needed in order to obtain initial tamsulosin release even in an acidic environment such as gastric region. In our sustained release osmotic granule system, hydroxypropylmethylcellulose in a drug-containing layer was used as a rate controller. The drug-containing granules were coated with hydroxypropylmethylcellulose phthalate (HPMCP) and Eudragit, along with glycerol triacetate as an aqueous nano-pore former. The release of tamsulosin depended heavily on the type of Eudragit such as RS, RL, NE 30D, used in the formulation of controlled release layer. These results obtained clearly suggest that the sustained-release oral delivery system for tamsulosin could be designed with satisfying drug release profile approved by the Korean Food and Drug Administration.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제20권1호
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• pp.41-51
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• 2016

Adult hippocampal dentate granule neurons are generated from neural stem cells (NSCs) in the mammalian brain, and the fate specification of adult NSCs is precisely controlled by the local niches and environment, such as the subventricular zone (SVZ), dentate gyrus (DG), and Toll-like receptors (TLRs). Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) is the main polyphenolic flavonoid in green tea that has neuroprotective activities, but there is no clear understanding of the role of EGCG in adult neurogenesis in the DG after neuroinflammation. Here, we investigate the effect and the mechanism of EGCG on adult neurogenesis impaired by lipopolysaccharides (LPS). LPS-induced neuroinflammation inhibited adult neurogenesis by suppressing the proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells in the DG, which was indicated by the decreased number of Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU)-, Doublecortin (DCX)- and Neuronal Nuclei (NeuN)-positive cells. In addition, microglia were recruited with activating TLR4-NF-${\kappa}B$ signaling in the adult hippocampus by LPS injection. Treating LPS-injured mice with EGCG restored the proliferation and differentiation of NSCs in the DG, which were decreased by LPS, and EGCG treatment also ameliorated the apoptosis of NSCs. Moreover, pro-inflammatory cytokine production induced by LPS was attenuated by EGCG treatment through modulating the TLR4-NF-${\kappa}B$ pathway. These results illustrate that EGCG has a beneficial effect on impaired adult neurogenesis caused by LPS-induced neuroinflammation, and it may be applicable as a therapeutic agent against neurodegenerative disorders caused by inflammation.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• 제36권1호통권140호
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• pp.56-59
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• 2005

Urease plays an important role in the urea metabolism and the effect of urease activity on human and environment is enormous. For instance, urease acts as a virulence factor of the urinary and gastrointestinal tracts infections in human and animal, being involved in kidney stone formation, catheter encrusatation, pyelonephritis, ammonia encephalopathy, hepatic coma, and urinary tract infections. Widespread urease activity in soil induces a plant damage due to ammonia toxicity and pH increase. Therefore, urease activity regulation through urease inhibitors would lead to an enhanced efficiency of urea nitrogen uptake in plants and to the improved therapeutic strategies for ureolytic bacterial infections. To search for new inhibitory compounds on urease activity from herbs, MeOH extracts of herbs were screened. Among of them, the MeOH extracts of Areca catechu exhibited an excellent inhibitory effect on urease activity. Two compounds were isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction by the activity guided fractionation. Their chemical structures were identified as (+)-catechin(compound I) and allantoin(compound II) by spectroscopic evidence, respectively. Compound I showed a stronger inhibitory effect on urease activity than compound II.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• 제40권1호
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• pp.59-64
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• 2009

Atopic dermatitis, caused by immune hyper-responsiveness, is wide spread in humans as well as in the dogs, especially in industrialized condition. Pet dogs are generally exposed to the same environment as their owners, and a significant portion of these animals are also known to suffer from this allergic disease. However, diagnosis and treatment methods of atopic dermatitis in animals have not been well established. We explored the possibility of using recently developed PG102 for the treatment of atopic dermatitis in the canine population. PG102 is a water soluble extract prepared from Actinidia arguta, and has been shown to produce significant therapeutic effect in variable allergy animal models. After oral administration of PG102 at a dose of 12.5 mg/kg daily for 4 weeks, severity of disease was greatly improved. IgE is one of representative members used to diagnose allergic diseases in humans. However, it is not well established whether there is any correlation between the serum level of IgE and atopic dermatitis. Our data indicated that dogs diagnosed to have atopic dermatitis contained higher level of serum IgE than the normal dogs and that treatment of dogs with PG102 significantly lowered the serum level of IgE. Taken together, this study demonstrated that PG102 treatment yielded significant amelioration of canine atopic dermatitis and down-regulation of serum IgE and that the serum level of IgE can be used as a convenient member for diagnosis of atopic dermatitis in dogs.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제20권6호
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• pp.544-549
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• 2012

To examine the neuroprotective effects of ginsenoside R0, we investigated the effects of ginsenoside R0 in PC12 cells under an anoxic or oxidative environment with Edaravone as a control. PC12 neuroendocrine cells were used as a model target. Anoxic damage or oxidative damage in PC12 cells were induced by adding sodium dithionite or hydrogen peroxide respectively in cultured medium. Survival ratios of different groups were detected by an AlamarBlue assay. At the same time, the apoptosis of PC12 cells were determined with flow cytometry. The putative neuroprotective effects of ginsenoside R0 is thought to be exerted through enhancing the activity of antioxidant enzymes Superoxide dismutases (SOD). The activity of SOD and the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), were measured to evaluate the protective and therapeutic effects of ginsenoside R0. Ginsenoside R0 treated cells had a higher SOD activity, lower MDA level and lower ROS, and their survival ratio was higher with a lower apoptosis rate. It is suggested that ginsenoside R0 has a protective effect in the cultured PC12 cells, and the protection efficiency is higher than Edaravone. The protective mechanisms of these two are different. The prevent ability of ginsenoside R0 is higher than its repair ability in neuroprotection in vitro.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• 제30권3호
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• pp.57-63
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• 2002

This landscape design was proposed for the Buchon Special School Competition, held by the Kyonggi Province Office of Education. The authors collaborated on this design and won first prize in November of 2001. In the design proposal, on the basis of the knowledge of; mentally retarded children the children's activities, nature and health, and the healing gardens, the special school outdoor spaces were designed to meet the particular needs of the users. The school outdoor spaces are design for various types of users-children, adolescents, parents, siblings, staff, volunteers and visitors. The following are some of the basis concerns in the design of the school outdoor spaces : garden site planning, garden location, security, microclimate, entering and exiting, accessibility, usability, user group territories, supervision, attracting trained volunteers, a range of high-quality social settings, accommodation of different student types, accommodation of needs for both challenge and rest, child nature interaction, diversity of natural settings, hands-on activity, integrating the arts, and maintenance. The following are some of the major features in the design of school outdoor spaces : pleasant and inviting entry areas, sports grounds with different levels of challenge, gardens with plants having strong fragrances and/or tactile qualities, resting places with many types and forms of seating and weather-mitigating features, play grounds for all student types, roof gardens for users to experience nature in man-made environments, and walkways and winding paths with various trees, shrubs and flowers. In the special school outdoor spaces, people would perceive a unique sense of place through the various types of spaces and features described above. An example of the true meaning of a playing and resting place and a restorative and therapeutic environment is provided in the school outdoor spaces.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• 제20권2호
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• pp.359-366
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• 2016

The normal tissue in radiation therapy, to minimize radiation, it is most important to maximize local tumor control rates in intensive research the exact dose to the tumor sites. Therefore, the initial, therapist accuracy of detecting movement of the patient fatigue therapist has been a problem that is weighted down directly. Also, by using a web camera, a difference value between the image to be updated to the reference image is calculated, if the result exceeds the reference value, using the system for determining the motion has occurred. However, this system, it is not possible to quantitatively analyze the movement of the patient, the background is changed when moving the treatment bed in the co-therapeutic device was not able to sift the patient. In this paper, using a alpah(${\alpha}$) filter index is an attempt to solve these limitations points, quantifies the movement of the patient, by separating a background image of the patient and treatment environment, and movement of the patient during treatment It senses only, it was possible to reduce the problems due to patient movement.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• 제14권6호
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• pp.296-306
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• 2014

There is growing evidence that crosstalk between mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) cells and stromal microenvironments, such as bone marrow and secondary lymphoid tissues, promotes tumor progression by enhancing survival and growth as well as drug resistance of MCL cells. Recent advances in the understanding of lymphoma microenvironment have led to the identification of crucial factors involved in the crosstalk and subsequent generation of their targeted agents. In the present study, we evaluated the combinatory effect of blocking antibodies (Ab) targeting CXCR4 and VLA-4, both of which were known to play significant roles in the induction of environment-mediated drug resistance (EMDR) in MCL cell line, Jeko-1. Simultaneous treatment with anti-CXCR4 and anti-VLA-4 Ab not only reduced the migration of Jeko-1 cells into the protective stromal cells, but also enhanced sensitivity of Jeko-1 to a chemotherapeutic agent to a greater degree than with either Ab alone. These combinatorial effects were associated with decreased phosphorylation of ERK1/2, AKT and NF-${\kappa}B$. Importantly, drug resistance could not be overcome once the adhesion of Jeko-1 to the stromal occurred despite the combined use of Abs, suggesting that the efforts to mitigate migration of MCLs should be attempted as much as possible. Our results provide a basis for a future development of therapeutic strategies targeting both CXCR4 and VLA-4, such as Ab combinations or bispecific antibodies, to improve treatment outcomes of MCL with grave prognosis.