• BMB Reports
• /
• v.31 no.5
• /
• pp.515-518
• /
• 1998

Adhesive interaction of the platelet glycoprotien IIb-IIIa (GP IIb-IIIa) with a plasma protein, such as fibrinogen, plays an important role in thrombosis and hemostasis. The specific sequence Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) is critical for the binding of fibrinogen to platelet. To examine and characterize the GP IIb-IIIa antagonist from natural sources, we have developed a simple enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) system. The GP IIb-IIIa complex was purified to homogeneity from platelet Iysates by the combination of two affinity chromatographic methods using the synthetic RGD peptide (GRGDSPK)-immobilized Sepharose and wheat germ lectin-Sepharose. The synthetic peptide GRGDSP inhibits GP IIb-IIIa binding to immobilized fibrinogen with an $IC_{50}$ of $1.5\;{\mu}M$. Venoms of three different snake species and a Korean scolopendra extract have strong antagonistic activities for the binding of human fibrinogen to the platelet GP IIb-IIIa complex. The $IC_{50}$ values of the snake venom s and scolopendra were in the range of $5.5\;{\mu}g$ to $60\;{\mu}g$. These results provide meaningful information for developing antiplatelet agents.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.3 no.2
• /
• pp.159-164
• /
• 1995

Fibrinolytic and fibrinogenolytic activities of the venoms from the Korean snakes, Agkistrodon caliginosus, nosus, Agkistrodon saxatilis and Agkistrodon blomhoffi brevicaudus were compared by fibrin-plate method and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, respectively. The venom from A. blomhoffi brevicaudus showed the highest degree of fibrin(ogen)olytic activity, and a protease with the fibrin(open)olytic activity was purified by p-amino-benzamidine affinity chromatography and DEAE ion-exchange chromatography. The purified enzyme had a molecular weight of 50,800 and a capability to degrade the B$\beta$-chain of fibrinogen preferentially to the $A\alpha$-chain, but not the ${\gamma}$-chain. Fibrinolytic activity of the purified enzyme was approximately 3.8 plasmin unit/mg protein.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.85-87
• /
• 2014

A total of 631 species of spiders have been reported in Korea. However, there are no spiders with noxious venom such as Latrodectus sp. Because of this, to date, no serious medical problems due to spider bites have been reported in Korea, and only two cases of spider bite were officially reported. However, as the number of earning spiders from other countries is increased, the number of cases of spider bite has also shown a recent increase. A 17-year-old man presented with numbness of both extremities after being bitten by a spider which he had as a pet. The spider is called an Indian ornamental tree spider (Poecilotheria regalis sp.), one kind of tarantula species. Herein, we report on a case of a spider bite by a tarantula.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.30-36
• /
• 2010

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze the clinical characteristics of anaphylaxis and anaphylactic shock caused by bee venom. Methods: We retrospectively collected the data of the patients who experienced anaphylaxis caused by natural bee sting or acupuncture using bee venom from January 1999 to December 2008. Seventy subjects were divided into the shock and non-shock groups. The clinical characteristics, sources of bee venom, treatments and outcomes were compared between the two groups. Results: The mean age of the subjects was $45.5{\pm}16.3$ years old and the number of males was 44 (62.9%). There were 25 patients in the shock group and 45 in the non-shock group. The age was older (p=0.001) and females (p=0.003) were more frequent in the shock group. Transportation to the hospital via ambulance was more frequent in the shock group (p<0.001). No difference was found in species of bee between the two groups. The cephalic area, including the face, was the most common area of bee venom in both groups. Anaphylaxis caused by bee sting commonly occurred between July and October. Cutaneous and respiratory symptoms were the most frequent symptoms related to anaphylaxis. Cardiovascular and neurologic symptoms were more frequent in the shock group. The amount of intravenously administered fluid and subcutaneous injection of epinephrine were much more in the shock group than that in the non-shock group. Conclusion: Older age was the factors related to anaphylactic shock caused by bee venom. Further validation is needed to evaluate the gender factor associated with shock.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.280-286
• /
• 2017

Objective: This case series aims to report the efficacy and the safety of using snake venom pharmacopuncture (SVP) for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). Methods: Three heterogeneous cancer (1 endometrium, 1 cervix, and 1 prostate cancer) patients were referred to the East-West Cancer Center (EWCC), Dunsan Korean Medicine Hospital of Daejeon University, from August 02, 2017, to September 15, 2017, for treatment with SVP, and they were treated with SVP 4 times, 6 times, and 8 times, respectively. During the treatment period, the efficacy of SVP therapy was assessed by using the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) and the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE), and the stability was evaluated by using blood tests. Following each session, all patients were examined closely for any allergenic responses or adverse effects. Results: All patients showed noticeable improvements of their NRS and CTCAE scores. Except for bleeding and bruising at the SVP injection site, no major side effects were noted. One of the patients reported mild chilling and a sore throat after receiving the second treatment; those symptoms went away after a few hours. No hematologic toxicity, hepatotoxicity, or nephrotoxicity was found on the blood test. Conclusion: The results of this research suggest positive potential benefits of using SVP for treating patients with CIPN. Also, the excellent safety results of SVP seen in this research should lead to larger clinical trials aimed at developing SVP into a potential intervention for managing patients with the symptoms of CIPN.

• Applied Microscopy
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.17-31
• /
• 1996

The venomous apparatus of the black widow spider, Latrodectus mactans, is composed of chelicera and paired venom glands in the cephalothorax. Each glands is surrounded by a thin adventitia and striated muscular bundles resting on a basal membrane. Along the musculature neuromuscular synaptic contacts are formed by a motor axon and the muscle fibers. The secretory epithelium, which made up of simple and long columnar cells with extensive finger-like processes, creates a simple acinar gland. The secretory surfac is increased by a sort of fringes extended from the basal membrane into the gland lumen, and the luminal surface of the epithelium is marked by the presence of closely spaced microvilli. The venoms of the black widow spider are produced from two types of secretory granules within the epithelial cells. During the secretory phase, these granules are transformed into droplets and suffering a condensation. Finally the secretory products are released by the apocrine secretion. After the gland is emptied, the basal epithelial cells present a high proliferative process and regenerate the columnar epithlial cells.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• v.59 no.9
• /
• pp.20.1-20.9
• /
• 2017

Background: Ribonuclease (RNase) is one of the few toxic proteins that are present constantly in snake venoms of all types. However, to date this RNase is still poorly studied in comparison not only with other toxic proteins of snake venom, but also with the enzymes of RNase group. The objective of this paper was to investigate some properties of RNase from venom of Vietnam cobra Naja atra. Methods: Kinetic methods and gel filtration chromatography were used to investigate RNase from venom of Vietnam cobra. Results: RNase from venom of Vietnam cobra Naja atra has some characteristic properties. This RNase is a thermostable enzyme and has high conformational stability. This is the only acidic enzyme of the RNase A superfamily exhibiting a high catalytic activity in the pH range of 1-4, with $pH_{opt}=2.58{\pm}0.35$. Its activity is considerably reduced with increasing ionic strength of reaction mixture. Venom proteins are separated by gel filtration into four peaks with ribonucleolytic activity, which is abnormally distributed among the isoforms: only a small part of the RNase activity is present in fractions of proteins with molecular weights of 12-15 kDa and more than 30 kDa, but most of the enzyme activity is detected in fractions of polypeptides, having molecular weights of less than 9 kDa, that is unexpected. Conclusions: RNase from the venom of Vietnam cobra is a unique member of RNase A superfamily according to its acidic optimum pH ($pH_{opt}=2.58{\pm}0.35$) and extremely low molecular weights of its major isoforms (approximately 8.95 kDa for RNase III and 5.93 kDa for RNase IV).

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.227-237
• /
• 2023

Objectives: Pharmacopuncture is considered a unique new type of acupuncture in Korean medicine (KM). This study was performed to investigate the research trends regarding pharmacopuncture through a bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer. Methods: The Web of Science Core Collection was searched for this study. The search terms were pharmacopuncture and pharmaco-puncture. The search was conducted on May 23, 2023, and 185 studies retrieved up to this date were included. Software VOSviewer version 1.6.19 was used to perform the bibliometric analysis. After data clearing, keyword co-occurrence and cooperation pattern analyses were performed. Results: The number of studies on pharmacopuncture have gradually increased since the mid-2000s, with the most published in 2020 (46 studies). The quality of the studies has also steadily increased, and recently, several randomized controlled trials of pharmacopuncture have been conducted. Moreover, this treatment has been investigated in the context of KM clinical practice guideline development in Korea. The scope of pharmacopuncture studies to date seems to be limited to musculoskeletal pain and bee venom pharmacopuncture. The researchers from Jaseng Medical Foundation have been the core researchers in the field of pharmacopuncture in Korea. They collaborated with researchers from universities or government-funded research institutes. However, small-scale research teams from KM clinics and university researchers were also identified as independent clusters. Conclusion: Pharmacopuncture research has grown both quantitatively and qualitatively, but the scope needs to be further expanded. There is also a gap between the use of pharmacopuncture by KM doctors in clinical settings and pharmacopuncture research. Based on these findings, some suggestions for future studies in this field are discussed. Furthermore, these findings may be used as data to expand and globalize pharmacopuncture research in the future.

• Toxicological Research
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.435-441
• /
• 1998

Alginase$Alginase^{ⓡ}$ (Arginine esterase) is one of the snake venoms which is mainly consisted of arginine esterase and acts as a thrombus -forming inhibitor/thrombus-lysin. These present studies were performed to investigate of the acute and subacute toxicity of the Alginase$Alginase^{ⓡ}$ in rats. In acute toxicity study, rats were single administered intravenously with dosages of 0.001, 0.01. 0.1, 1 and 10U/kg B.W. and examined the number of death, clinical sign, body weight and pathological change for 7days after administration of Alginase$Alginase^{ⓡ}$. At maximum dose level (10U/kg B.W.), Alginase$Alginase^{ⓡ}$ induced symptoms of shock with cyanosis and dyspnea. But these symptoms dissappeared after 30~50 minutes and we could not find any other toxic effect in rats. Therefore, $LD_{50}$ Value of Alginase was over 10U/kg B.W. in rats. In four-week intravenous toxicity study of Alginase$Alginase^{ⓡ}$, rats were administered intravenously seven days per week for 28 days, with dosages of 0, 0.0125, 0.125 and 1.25U/kg B.W./day, respectively. Alginase$Alginase^{ⓡ}$ did not caused any death and showed any clinical signs in rats. No significant Alginase$Alginase^{ⓡ}$ -related changes were found in feed uptake, water consumption, hematology, serum biochemistry, urinalysis, ocular examination, organ weight and histopathological examination. From the results, Alginase$Alginase^{ⓡ}$ seems not to have any toxic effect in rats when it were given daily intravenous injections below the dosage 1.25U/kg B.W./day for four weeks.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
• /
• v.27 no.6
• /
• pp.663-667
• /
• 2010

Experiments were undertaken to assess the antinociceptive effect of bee venom (BV) in rodent animal models. Comparison of antinociceptive efficacy between Korean BV and commercially available American BV was the primary interest of the study. Korean BV was collected using BV collector devices in which an electrical impulse is used to stimulate the worker bee (Apis mellfera L.) to sting and release venom. After collection, whole BV was evaporated until dry using the BV collector. Commercially available dried American BV was purchased from Sigma Company in USA. Korean and American sourced BVs were diluted and amounts of 6 mg/kg body weight (BW), 0.6 mg/kg BW and 0.06 mg/kg BW were tested. BV was subcutaneously injected to produce an antinociceptive effect and the antinociceptive efficacy was evaluated using a writhing test in mice and a formalin test in rats. The antinociceptive effects of the two BVs tested were similar in mice for visceral pain and showed a dose-dependent response. The antinociceptive effect of Korean BV was not significantly different compare to American BV. These results suggest that Korean BV may be used to achieve an antinociceptive effect for use in medical therapies.