• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.145-157
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• 2015

Objective : This study aimed to analyze a comprehensive feature of experimental research on Insamyangyoungtang and develop a strategy that can be used for experimental studies on Insamyangyoung-tang in the future. Method : The journal search was performed using six databases : PubMed, Chinese database (China Network Knowledge Infrastructure, [CNKI]), Japan database (Japan Science and Technology Information Aggregator, Electronic, [J-STAGE]) and three Korean databases (Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System [OASIS], Research Information Service System [RISS], and Korean Studies Information Service System [KISS]). We used limited keywords and analyzed studies by publication year, experimental models, and the subjects of biological activities. The mechanism of pharmacological activity in accordance with the therapeutic effects of Insamyangyoung-tang was noted. Results and Conclusion : A total of 43 studies (6 domestic studies and 37 foreign ones) were examined according to the inclusion criteria of the experimental study. Research on the pharmacological activities of Insamyangyoung-tang showed its therapeutic effects on the nervous and immune systems, as well as its anti-aging, anti-fatigue, and hematopoietic effects. Additional efficacy and safety assessments and experimental and clinical studies should be performed to evaluate the mechanism of Insamyangyoung-tang. The present review has provided preliminary information for further studies on Insamyangyoung-tang.

• Journal of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.119-132
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• 2018

Despite the fact that pharmacotherapy depressive disorders have proven efficacy, a substantial number of patients are resistant to conventional management. As neuroscientific research about pathophysiology of depression have accumulated, repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) have emerged as an important mechanism-based treatment modality. This overview provides a review of therapeutic application of rTMS and tDCS in patients with depression. The clinical and basic studies of rTMS and tDCS in depression were reviewed and integrated using a literature review and interview with experts. rTMS is a noninvasive procedure of a localized pulsed magnetic field to the surface of the head to cause a depolarization of neurons in the brain cortex. tDCS has a mechanism of modulating cortical excitability in a polarity-specific manner without eliciting action potentials. rTMS and tDCS seem promising for treating depression. Although therapeutic parameters and further technical improvement remain to be systematically investigated, rTMS and tDCS would be a safe and effective intervention to treat depression.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.420-431
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• 2016

The complement system comprises a set of essential molecules that bridge the innate and adaptive immune responses. Research has focused on how the complement system's destructive mechanism could potentially be harnessed for cancer treatment. However, cancer subverts the complement system to avoid immunosurveillance. In addition, a complement-triggered biological mechanism that contributes to cancer growth has been identified. Thus, drugs should be designed to homeostatically maintain a normal concentration of complement. This review explores three types of complement-related anti-cancer drugs: therapeutic antibodies, complement inhibitory drugs, and anti-complement regulatory drugs.

• Safe Food
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.24-30
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• 2013

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.127-133
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• 1997

Lithium remains the most widely used therapeutic agent for bipolar affective disorder, particularly mania. Although many investigators have studied the effects of lithium on abnormalities in monoamine neuro-transmitter as a pathophysiological basis of affective disorder, the action mechanism of lithium ion remains still unknown. To explore the action mechanism of lithium in the brain, we examined the effects of lithium on the extrasynaptosomal concentrations of catecholamines and their metabolites. Synaptosomes were prepared from the rat forebrains and assays of catecholamines and metabolites were made using HPLC with an electrochemical detector. Lithium of 1mM decreased the extrasynaptosomal concentrations of NE from the control group of $3.07{\pm}1.19$ to the treated group of $0.00{\pm}0.00$ (ng/ml of synaptosomal suspension) but not that of DHPG. It can be suggested that lithium increases synaptosomal uptake of NE. Increased intraneuronal uptake of NE would decrease neurotransmission and extraneuronal metabolism of NE. Because increased brain NE metabolism and neurotransmission have been suggested as important components in the pathophysiology of bipolar affective disorder, especially mania, lithium-induced increase of intraneuronal NE uptake can be suspected as an action mechanism of therapeutic effect of lithium in manic patient, possibly in bipolar affective disorder.

• Experimental and Molecular Medicine
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• v.50 no.11
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• pp.9.1-9.10
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• 2018

Although the positive effects of recombinant fibroblast growth factor-2 (rFGF-2) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have been implicated in previous studies, knowledge of its role in COPD remains limited. The mechanism of FGF2 in a COPD mouse model and the therapeutic potential of rFGF-2 were investigated in COPD. The mechanism and protective effects of rFGF-2 were evaluated in cigarette smoke-exposed or elastase-induced COPD animal models. Inflammation was assessed in alveolar cells and lung tissues from mice. FGF-2 was decreased in the lungs of cigarette smoke-exposed mice. Intranasal use of rFGF-2 significantly reduced macrophage-dominant inflammation and alveolar destruction in the lungs. In the elastase-induced emphysema model, rFGF-2 improved regeneration of the lungs. In humans, plasma FGF-2 was decreased significantly in COPD compared with normal subjects (10 subjects, P = 0.037). The safety and efficacy of inhaled rFGF-2 use was examined in COPD patients, along with changes in respiratory symptoms and pulmonary function. A 2-week treatment with inhaled rFGF-2 in COPD (n = 6) resulted in significantly improved respiratory symptoms compared with baseline levels (P < 0.05); however, the results were not significant compared with the placebo. The pulmonary function test results of COPD improved numerically compared with those in the placebo, but the difference was not statistically significant. No serious adverse events occurred during treatment with inhaled rFGF-2. The loss of FGF-2 production is an important mechanism in the development of COPD. Inhaling rFGF-2 may be a new therapeutic option for patients with COPD because rFGF-2 decreases inflammation in lungs exposed to cigarette smoke.

• BMB Reports
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.47-55
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• 2020

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a multifactorial neurodegenerative disease and has become a major socioeconomic issue in many developed countries. Currently available therapeutic agents for AD provide only symptomatic treatments, mainly because the complete mechanism of the AD pathogenesis is still unclear. Although several different hypotheses have been proposed, mitochondrial dysfunction has gathered interest because of its profound effect on brain bioenergetics and neuronal survival in the pathophysiology of AD. Various therapeutic agents targeting the mitochondrial pathways associated with AD have been developed over the past decade. Although most of these agents are still early in the clinical development process, they are used to restore mitochondrial function, which provides an alternative therapeutic strategy that is likely to slow the progression of the disease. In this mini review, we will survey the AD-related mitochondrial pathways and their small-molecule modulators that have therapeutic potential. We will focus on recently reported examples, and also overview the current challenges and future perspectives of ongoing research.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.17-33
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• 1998

Advances in molecular biology contribute to the understanding genetic mechanism of psychiatric disorders. They have renewed hope for the discovery of disease relevant gene. However, the results somewhat confused. And we will wait for a long time for the application of gene therapy in schizophreniar. Fortunately we could classified the schizophrenia with genotypes of dopamine and serotonin receptors. It is expected that this genetic classification could provide key strategy for the therapeutic application in biological treatment for schizophrenia. The purpose of this article is to call attention of the institute participants to linkage, association, mRNA expression, genotypic classification and to the need for more systemic research. The author summarized the modified methods which were done in his laboratory in appendix.

• Proceedings of the Microbiological Society of Korea Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.118-120
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• 2002

Genetic materials including DNA plasmid are effective delivery vehicle to express interesting gene efficiently and safely not to generate replication competent virus. Moreover, it has advantages to design a better vector and to simplify manufacturing and storage condition. To understand a possible pathogenic mechanism by a flavivirus, West Nile virus (WNV), WNV genome sequence was aligned to other pathogenic viral genome. Interestingly, WNV capsid (Cp) amino acid sequence has some homology to HIV-l Vpr protein. These proteins induce apoptosis in human cell lines as well as in vivo and cell cycle arrest. Therefore, DNA plasmid carrying apoptosis-inducing and cell cycle arresting viral proteins including a HIV-1 Vpr and a WNV Cp protein can be useful for anti-cancer therapeutic applications. This WNV Cp protein is an early expressed protein which can be a reasonable target antigen (Ag) for vaccine design. Immunization of a DNA construct encoding WNV Cp protein induces a strong Ag-specific humoral and Th1-type immune responses in animal. Therefore, DNA plasmid encoding apoptotic viral proteins can be useful tool for therapeutic and prophylactic applications.

• BMB Reports
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.3-10
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• 2022

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) released from different types of kidney cells under physiologic conditions contribute to homeostasis maintenance, immune-modulation, and cell-to-cell communications. EVs can also negatively affect the progression of renal diseases through their pro-inflammatory, pro-fibrotic, and tumorigenic potential. Inhibiting EVs by blocking their production, release, and uptake has been suggested as a potential therapeutic mechanism based on the significant implication of exosomes in various renal diseases. On the other hand, stem cell-derived EVs can ameliorate tissue injury and mediate tissue repair by ameliorating apoptosis, inflammation, and fibrosis while promoting angiogenesis and tubular cell proliferation. Recent advancement in biomedical engineering technique has made it feasible to modulate the composition of exosomes with diverse biologic functions, making EV one of the most popular drug delivery tools. The objective of this review was to provide updates of recent clinical and experimental findings on the therapeutic potential of EVs in renal diseases and discuss the clinical applicability of EVs in various renal diseases.