• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• 제17권1호
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• pp.50-59
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• 1984

This study was performed to investigate the placental transfer and the human fetal utilization of amino acids at term of pregnancy. The plasma levels of 23 free amino acids in both the umbilical circulation ( umbilical vein and artery ) and the uterine circulation ( uterine vein and iliac artery ) of 34 pregnant women were measured at delivery by the cesarean section. In the umbilical circulation, 9 amino acids ( alanine, lysine, valine, leucine, arginine, isoleucine, ornithine, cystine, ${\alpha}-aminobutyrate$ ) were significantly higher and 2 amino acids ( glutamate, aspartate ) were significantly lower in the umbilical vein than in the umbilical artery. In the uterine circulation, alanine, tyrosine and methionine were significantly lower in the uterine vein than in the iliac artery. Glutamate was significantly lower in the uterine vein than in the iliac artery. According to these results, the origin of fetal plasma amino acids was discussed in terms of the metabolic conversions which would occur in the Placenta and the fetal utilization of amino acids was estimated.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• 제18권3호
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• pp.209-216
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• 1985

임신말 여성의 태반을 중심으로 모체와 태아사이의 아미노산 이동 현상을 이해하고저 모체쪽의 antecubital vein, uterine vein과 iliac artery에서 태아쪽의 umbilical vein과 artery에서 혈액을 채취하여 23개의 혈장 유리아미노산 농도를 측정 비교하였다. 본 실험에서 얻어진 결과들을 요약하면 다음과 같다. 첫째, glutamate를 제외하고는 모체의 antecubital vein과 태아의 umbilical vein의 아미노산 농도의 비는 1.21에서 3.21의 범위를 보여주고 있어 태아의 혈장 유리아미노산 농도가 모체에서 보다 훨씬 높았다. 둘째, 모체쪽의 iliac artery의 아미노산 농도와 태아의 umbilical vein의 아미노산 농도 사이에 존재하는 상호관계를 살펴보았을 때, 대부분의 아미노산들은 직선의 관계를 보였다. 이와같은 결과는 직선의 기울기가 1에 가까운 중성 아미노산은 단순확산, 직선의 기울기가 1과 상이한 염기성 및 산성아미노산은 단순확산과 능동적 이동과의 동적평형으로 해석되었으며, 따라서 태반은 아미노산에 대하여 단순한 장벽만의 역할을 하는 것이 아님을 의미하고 있다.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제11권3호
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• pp.129-133
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• 2007

There are growing evidences suggesting a pivotal role of oxidative stress in the pathophysiology of preeclampsia. We investigated oxidative stress in the rat model of preeclampsia, and in clinical cases. Pregnant female rats were injected intraperitoneally with deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA) and given 0.9% saline as drinking water during their pregnancy. We assessed plasma $F_2-isoprostane(8-iso-PGF_{2{\alpha})$ and malondialdehyde (MDA) in a rat model, and the same markers in the plasma of maternal blood and fetal cord blood in pregnant women with preclampsia. Blood samples from the umbilical arteries and veins were collected separately. The concentrations of MDA were increased in the preeclampsia groups of animal and humans, compared with the control group; it was significantly increased in the umbilical artery and vein of the preeclampsia group. The concentrations of $F_2-isoprostane$ were elevated in the preeclampsia groups of animal and humans, compared with the control group, and the increase in $F_2-isoprostane$ concentration was prominent in the umbilical vein than umbilical artery of the preeclampsia group. Therefore, it appears that the placenta has an important role in the pathophysiology of preeclampsia, and the $F_2-isoprostane$ of the umbilical vein may serve as a relatively reliable marker for ischemic/hypoxic injury to the fetus during the perinatal period.

• 한국발생생물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국발생생물학회 2003년도 제3회 국제심포지움 및 학술대회
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• pp.78-78
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• 2003

Adult stem cells can make identical copies of themselves for long periods of time. They also give rise to many differentiated mature cell types that have characteristic morphology and specialized function. Human adult stem cells are the attractive raw materials for the cell/tissue therapy, however, it is not easy to get from the adult tissues. In the present study, we tried to isolate a cell population derived from human umbilical cord vein which has been discarded after birth. The cells were isolated after treatment of the umbilical vein with collagenase or trypsin. After 3 days of culture, two kinds of cell populations were found consisting of adherent cells with endothelial cell-like and fibroblast-like morphology, respectively. When these cells were subcultured 12 times over a period of 3 months, almost cells appeared uniformly to exhibit fibroblastoid morphology which was different from that of mesenchymal stem cells obtained from human bone marrow The results of RT-PCR analyses showed distinct expression of BMP-4, oct-4, and SCF genes but not of GATA, PAX-6 and Brachyury genes. On immunohistochemical staining, the cells were negative for the von Willebrand factor(vWF), alpha-smooth muscle actin and placental alkaline phosphatase. From these observations, it is suggested that stem-like cells might be present in human umbilical cord vein.

• Toxicological Research
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• 제11권2호
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• pp.175-180
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• 1995

We found that bufalln, one of the prominent components of the bufadlenolides in the Chinese medicine chan'su, has the potent inhibitory effects on growth and proliferation of the cultured bovine aortlc endothelial (BAE) and human umbilical vein endothelial (HUVE) cells. All naturally-occuring bufadienolides used in this study inhibited the cell growth in a dose-dependent manner. Particularly, bufalin among the bufadienolides showed the strongest inhibitory activity for the cell growth. The order of growth inhibition by bufadienolides on BAE cells was as follows: bufalin > gamabufotalln > bufotalln > cinobufagin > cinobufotalin > resibufogenin. The $IC_50$ values (50% inhibition of cell growth) of bufalin as determined by XTT assay were the range of 1-10 nM in BAE and HUVE cells. Bufalin exhibited a higher sensitivity towards cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells than human umbilical vein endothelial cells.

• Anatomy and Cell Biology
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• 제56권4호
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• pp.579-583
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• 2023

In human fetuses, the left hepatic artery (LHA) issues the marginal artery that runs along the umbilical vein and, sometimes, reaches the umbilicus. The further observation demonstrated that, in 5 of 12 Japanese midterm fetuses (crown-rump length mm: 46, 50, 54, 59, 102), the marginal artery issued not only a thin umbilical branch but also a liver parenchymal branch that took a posterosuperior recurrent course in a peritoneal fold and supplied the anterior surface of the liver left lobe (segment III). However, in 22 Spanish fetuses of which gestational ages corresponded to the Japanese ones, we did not find the parenchymal branch. Therefore, between human populations, there seemed to be a considerable difference in the incidence as to whether or not the marginal artery issues the liver parenchymal branch. The parenchymal branch might be degenerated at the later stages due to friction between the liver free surface and growing diaphragm.

• 한국수정란이식학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국수정란이식학회 2003년도 제3회 발생공학 국제심포지움 및 학술대회
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• pp.78-78
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• 2003

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제21권1호
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• pp.121-128
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• 2006

Maitotoxin (MTX) is known as one of the most potent marine toxins involved in Ciguatera poisoning, but intracellular signaling pathways caused by MTX was not fully understood. Thus, we have investigated whether intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) are involved in MTX-induced cellular responses in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. MTX induced a dose-dependent increase of intracellular [$Ca^{2+}$]. MTX stimulated the production of intracellular ROS in a dose- and time-dependent manner, which was suppressed by BAPTA-AM, an intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ chelator. Ionomycin also elevated the ROS production in a dose-dependent manner. MTX elevated transamidation activity in a time-dependent manner and the activation was largely inhibited by transfection of tissue transglutaminase siRNA. The activation of tissue transglutaminase and ERK1/2 by MTX was suppressed by BAPTA-AM or ROS scavengers. In addition, MTX-induced cell death was significantly delayed by BAPTA-AM or a ROS scavenger. These results suggest that [$Ca^{2+}$]-dependent generation of intracellular ROS, at least in part, play an important role in MTX-stimulated cellular responses, such as activation of tTGase, ERK phosphorylation, and induction of cell death, in human umbilical vein endothelial cells.

• 대한방사선치료학회지
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• 제12권1호
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• pp.166-173
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• 2000

Angiopoietin-1(Ang-1) is a vasculogenic factor that signals through the endothelial cell-specific Tie2 receptor tyrosine kinase. We examined the effect of angiopoietin-1(Ang-1) on radiation-induced apoptosis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVECS) and receptor/second messenger signal transduction pathway for Ang-1's effect on HUVECs. The percent of apoptotic cells under control condition(0Gy) was $8.2\%$. Irradiation induced apoptosis was increased in a dose(1, 5, 10, and 15Gy)- and time 12, 24, 48 and 72hr)-dependent manner. The percent of apoptotic cells was approximately $34.9\%$ after 15 Gy of irradiation. Under these conditions, pretreatment with Ang-1's (50, 100, 200, and 400 ng/ml) inhibited irradiation-induced apoptosis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells in a dose-dependent manner. Two hundred ng/ml of Ang-1 inhibited approximately $55-60\%$ of the apoptotic events that occurred in the 10 Gy-irradiated cells. Pre-treatment with soluble Tie2 receptor, but not Tie1 receptor, blocked the Ang-1's antiapoptotic effects. Phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase (P13-kinase) specific inhibitor, wortmanin and LY294002, blocked the Ang-1-induced antiapoptotic effect. Ang-1 promotes the survival of endothelial cells in irradiation-induced apoptosis through Tie2 receptor binding and P13-kinase activation. Pretreatment of Ang-1 could be beneficial in maintaining normal endothelial cell integrity during irradiation therapy.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제24권3호
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• pp.358-363
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• 2007

Swine endothelial cells are commonly used as an in vitro model for studying features of the blood-brain barrier and some hemorrhagic diseases. However, primary cultures of swine cells have finite lifespans. To establish immortalized swine umbilical vein endothelial cells (SUVECs) using human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), the plasmid pCI-neo-hTERT was transfected into SUVECs by lipofection. Clones were selected for G418 resistance, and positive clones were amplified. One of the clones was cultured for up to 50 passages. Factor VIII-related antigen and CD34 were detected. The immortalized cells shared the properties of normal cells, such as contact inhibition, serum requirement and anchorage dependence. Karyotype analysis revealed that the immortalized cells were in the diploid range. In addition, both in vivo and in vitro assays of tumorigenicity showed no neoplastic transformation. Furthermore, NO, $PGI_2$, and ET-1 concentrations in the transfected cells were normal. These results suggest that the SUVECs immortalized by hTERT retain their original characteristics.