• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.307-311
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• 2014

In this study, we isolated scopoletin from Cirsium setidens Nakai (Compositae) and tested its effects on melanogenesis. Scopoletin was not toxic to cells at concentrations less than $50{\mu}M$ and increased melanin synthesis in a dose-dependent manner. As melanin synthesis increased, scopoletin stimulated the total tyrosinase activity, the rate-limiting enzyme of melanogenesis. In a cell-free system, however, scopoletin did not increase tyrosinase activity, indicating that scopoletin is not a direct activator of tyrosinase. Furthermore, Western blot analysis showed that scopoletin stimulated the production of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) and tyrosinase expression via cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) phosphorylation in a dose-dependent manner. Based on these results, preclinical and clinical studies are needed to assess the use of scopoletin for the treatment of vitiligo.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.79-87
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• 2006

Purpose: The present study purposed to examine induced characteristic or erythema and safety by medium wave ultra violet(UVB) lamp. Methods: We compared sunshine and UVB lamp using spectroradiometer and UV radiometer. For measuring sunshine irradiation, we used spectoradiometer and detected from 8 to 18 o'clock every each hour on the beach, playground and rooftop of a 5 story building. The subjects for erythema examination were 5 healthy subjects who have no pathologic history of photosensitivity reaction, psoriasis and vitiligo. They were exposed to UVB radiation at the abdominal area for 2 hours and after irradiation, we observed the change of skin color every 12 hours over a period of 1 week. Results: Between sunshine and UVB lamp, sunshine had higher data on the chromaticity coordinates, dominant and peak wavelength, bandwidth and purity than the UVB lamp but on the color temperature, brightness the UVB lamp had higher data than the sunshine. In comparison of sunshine and UVB lamp, UVB lamp irradiated constantly such as $3.9-4.4{\mu}W/cm^2$ at a distance of 100cm between bed and lamp which was same as early morning irradiation on the sunshine. The erythema didn't appear to any subject. Conclusion: This results suggest that the UVB lamp has lower irradiance as much as early sunshine. Therefore the UVB lamp had no influence of inducing erythema at a distance of 100cm between bed and lamp.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.62-81
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• 2017

Objectives: As interests in the beauty of skin is growing continuously, more people are focusing on white and clean skin. Melanin is the major factor that determines skin color. The abnormal concentration of melanin causes various skin diseases such as vitiligo, freckles, and melasma. This study investigated the inhibitory effect of Eriobotryae Folium extracts (EF) with phreatic water (PW) on the melanin synthesis. Methods: The effect of EF on melanin synthesis was evaluated by using mouse melanoma cells (B16F10). To define the mechanisms, real-time PCR and western blot were used. We also evaluated the inhibitory effects of EF and PW on melanin synthesis by using HRM-2 melanin-possessing hairless mice. After UVB irradiation, melanin differences between the skin parts that were treated and untreated with EF and PW. Levels of mRNA were measured by real-time quantitative PCR and histological analysis of the dorsal skin was conducted by hematoxylin and eosin staining. Results: EF inhibited various mechanisms of melanogenesis, and the effect was increased when combined with PW. In vitro experiments have shown that EF inhibited the expressions of tyrosinase related protein-1 (TRP-1) mRNA, tyrosinase mRNA, microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) mRNA and the tyrosinase inhibitory activation, but it stimulated the extracellular regulated kinase (ERK) mRNA expression. In vivo experiments have shown that EF prevented melanogenesis in the mice dorsal skin and inhibited TRP-1 mRNA expression. Also these effects were increased when combined with PW. Conclusions: EF and PW might be a new and effective treatment for whitening and treating pigmentation of skin.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.86-93
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• 2013

In the present study, we investigated if priming of autoreactive $CD8^+T$ cells would be inhibited by competitive peptides for major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I binding. We used a mouse model of vitiligo which is induced by immunization of $K^b$-binding tyrosinase-related protein 2 (TRP2)-180 peptide. Competitive peptides for $K^b$ binding inhibited IFN-${\gamma}$production and proliferation of TRP2-180-specific $CD8^+T$ cells upon ex vivo peptide restimulation, while other MHC class I-binding peptides did not. In mice, the capability of inhibition was influenced by T-cell immunogenicity of the competitive peptides. The competitive peptide with a high T-cell immunogenicity efficiently inhibited priming of TRP2-180-specific $CD8^+T$ cells in vivo, whereas the competitive peptide with a low T-cell immunogenicity did not. Taken together, the inhibition of priming of autoreactive $CD8^+T$ cells depends on not only competition of peptides for MHC class I binding but also competitive peptide-specific $CD8^+T$ cells, suggesting that clonal expansion of autoreactive T cells would be affected by expansion of competitive peptide-specific T cells. This result provides new insights into the development of competitive peptides-based therapy for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.63-74
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• 2013

Objective : Low level laser therapy(LLLT) is conjugated many different diseases such as skin disease, nervous system disease, cardiovascular disease, etc. This study was tried to survey the conjugation of LLLT in field of ophthalmology, otolaryngology and dermatology of Korean Medicine. Methods : In this study, LLLT deal with the field of ophthalmology, otolaryngology and dermatology was searched at Pubmed and NDSL. We searched Pubmed and NDSL with the title "Laser Therapy and Low-Level" for the last 10 years and analyzed disease, laser type, sample size, effect, journal and year. Results : Using Pubmed and NDSL, 8 treatises were researched. About 8 treatises, 7 treatises were papers in field of dermatology, 1 treatise was ophthalmology. And about 8 treatises, 6 treatises were foreign papers and 2 treatises were domestic papers on clinical application of laser status. Mainly used type of laser was a He-Ne laser and Diode laser. The diseases were ocular hypertension, acne, ulcers in patients with leprosy sequelae, freckles, segmental-type vitiligo lesions, diabetes-linked skin lesion, facial skin melanin and elasticity, atopic dermatitis symptom. As a result, we found that treat group had more improvement than control group in 7 of the 8 treatises, that treat group had no difference control group on effect significantly only 1 treatise. Conclusions: As therapeutic tool, LLLT's application range is very wide in the field of ophthalmology, otorhinolaryngology, and dermatology. Keep up with the increasing interest of domestic and foreign about laser therapy, clinical tries on the use of laser will be studied steadily. It is necessary to have sustained attention and research on the point of view of the Korean Medicine.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.49-58
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• 2010

Objective : The purpose of this study is to examine safety of herbal medicine on liver function and compare with western medicine. Method : 303 subjects of skin disease(vitiligo and psoriasis) were chosen at a local oriental medical clinic, and tested with a spot liver function test from Sept 1, 2006 to Dec 31, 2006. Subjects were grouped into untreated, herbal medicine, western medicine, and combination group by treatment record. Total bilirubin, AST, ALT and LDH was compared in each group, odds ratio and regression coefficient was calculated. Results : Subjects comprised of 116 individuals receiving western medication(38.28%), 54 receiving herbal medication(17.82%), 107 receiving combined forms of medication(35.31%), and 26 individuals without any types of medication(8.58%). With the mean age of 37.0 yr. 204 were male(67.3%), 99 were female(32.7%). Comparing variables of liver functions, there was no significant difference between the control and experiment groups. After adjusting potential confounders, monthly $\beta$(SE) of multiple regression -0.009~0.000 for the herbal group, -0.005~0.000 for the western group, and -0.001~0.001 for the combination group. No significant difference between the groups. OR of T-bilirubin were 1.02, 1.05, and 1.04. AST were 0.92, 0.94, and 0.98. ALT were 0.85, 0.99, and 0.97. LDH were 0.96, 1.06, 1.00 for the herbal, western, and combination group, respectively. Conclusion : Comparing with western medication, herbal medication did not cause special ill-effect on the liver function based on liver function tests.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.6 no.5
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• pp.275-279
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• 2002

Nerve growth factor (NGF) is an important autocrine growth factor and also a survival factor for keratinocytes. NGF may act in the hyperproliferative condition, psoriasis. Clinically, the combination of psoralen and UVA (PUVA) has been used in the treatment of a wide variety of cutaneous disorders, such as psoriasis and vitiligo. However, the precise therapeutic mechanism of PUVA on the dermatologic diseases remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the expression of NGF in cultured keratinocytes is influenced by PUVA. Thus, normal human keratinocytes were isolated from neonatal foreskin, and the third to fifth-passaged cells were used in this study. The cells were exposed to various doses of UVA (30, 60, 120 $mJ/cm^2)$ after adding 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) to examine the expression of NGF mRNA. The RNA and protein of the cells were extracted at various time points (1, 8, 24 hours) after UVA irradiation to examine the expression of NGF mRNA and production of NGF protein. In keratinocytes, there were no differences in the expression of NGF mRNA between the different doses of UVA irradiation, however, the expression of NGF mRNA in UVA and PUVA groups tended to increase as the time increased. The expression of NGF mRNA was the highest in PUVA group, followed by UVA group and the lowest in 8-MOP group. The expressions of NGF protein at 1 and 8 hours after UVA irradiation were lower in the PUVA group than in the other groups. This study showed that the expression level of NGF protein in keratinocytes was relatively lower in the PUVA groups than in the other groups, suggesting that the therapeutic mechanism of PUVA in psoriasis is related to the decrease of NGF protein.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.24-31
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• 2013

Although statins, inhibitors of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase, have been shown to increase melanin synthesis, the exact mechanism of this action is not fully understood. In this study we investigated the possible involvement of intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ signal in the mechanism of stimulation of melanin synthesis induced by lovastatin in B16 cells. Lovastatin stimulated the production of melanin in a dose-dependent manner in the cells. Treatment with mevalonate, FPP and GGPP, precursors of cholesterol, did not significantly suppress the lovastatin-induced melanin production, suggesting that inhibition of cholesterol synthesis may not be involved in the mechanism of the action of lovastatin. In addition, lovastatin did not significantly alter the cAMP concentration and the stimulated production of melanin by lovastatin was not significantly changed by treatment with H89, a potent inhibitor of protein kinase A, which demonstrates that cAMP pathway may not be involved. However, lovastatin increased intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ concentration in a dose-related fashion. Treatment with EGTA, an extracellular $Ca^{2+}$ chelator did not significantly alter the lovastatin-induced intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ increase and melanin synthesis, whereas intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ reduction with BAPTA/AM and intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ release blockers (dantrolene and TMB-8) completely blunted these actions of lovastatin. Taken together, these results suggest that the intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ release may play an important role in the lovastatin-induced stimulation of melanin synthesis in B16 cells. These results further suggest that lovastatin may be useful for the treatment of hypopigmentation disorders, such as vitiligo.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.219-226
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• 2023

Furanocoumarin 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) is the parent compound that naturally occurs in traditional medicinal plants used historically. 8-MOP has been employed as a photochemotherapeutic component of Psoralen + Ultraviolet A (PUVA) therapy for the treatment of vitiligo and psoriasis. Although the role of 8-MOP in PUVA therapy has been studied, little is known about the effects of 8-MOP alone on human gastric cancer cells. In this study, we observed anti-proliferative effect of 8-MOP in several human cancer cell lines. Among these, the human gastric cancer cell line SNU1 is the most sensitive to 8-MOP. 8-MOP treated SNU1 cells showed G1-arrest by upregulating p53 and apoptosis by activating caspase-3 in a dose-dependent manner, which was confirmed by loss-of-function analysis through the knockdown of p53-siRNA and inhibition of apoptosis by Z-VAD-FMK. Moreover, 8-MOP-induced apoptosis is not associated with autophagy or necrosis. The signaling pathway responsible for the effect of 8-MOP on SNU1 cells was confirmed to be related to phosphorylated PI3K, ERK2, and STAT3. In contrast, 8-MOP treatment decreased the expression of the typical metastasis-related proteins MMP-2, MMP-9, and Snail in a p53-independent manner. In accordance with the serendipitous findings, treatment with 8-MOP decreased the wound healing, migration, and invasion ability of cells in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, combination treatment with 8-MOP and gemcitabine was effective at the lowest concentrations. Overall, our findings indicate that oral 8-MOP has the potential to treat early human gastric cancer, with fewer side effects.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.50-58
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• 2016

Objectives : This study was performed to find out the characteristics of outpatients and diseases in dermatology of Korean medicine and compare to previous studies.Methods : We reviewed the medical records of total 3,041 outpatients in dermatology of Korean medicine at Kyung Hee Korean medicine hospital from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2015. We found out demographic characteristics of outpatients and observed the diseases in order of frequency by age and sex. Then, we compared these results to previous studies performed at same hospital in 2000 and 2007.Results and Conclusions : 1. Among the total 3,041 outpatients in 2011-2015, male patients were 1,184(38.87%) and female patients were 1,857(61.07%). 2. There were 203(6.68%) patients in 0-10 years old, 455(14.96%) patients in 11-20, 918(30.19%) patients in 21-30, 582(19.14%) patients in 31-40, 359(11.81%) patients in 41-50, 265(8.71%) patients in 51-60, and 259(8.52%) patients in more than 61 years old. 3. The common diseases in 2011-2015 were seborrheic dermatitis(17.33%), eczema(13.32%), urticaria(12.89%), atopic dermatitis(12.36%), pruritus(9.90%), acne(8.85%), and alopecia(6.08%). 4. The most common diseases by age groups were atopic dermatitis(0-10, 11-20 years old), seborrheic dermatitis(21-30, 31-40, 41-50 years old), urticaria(51-60 years old), and pruritus(more than 61 years old). 5. The common diseases in male patients were seborrheic dermatitis(20.69%), atopic dermatitis(15.46%), and urticaria(12.25%) and female patients were seborrheic dermatitis(15.19%), eczema(15.13%), and urticaria(13.30%). 6. The most increasing disease in the distribution between 2004-2006 and 2011-2015 is rosacea(+462.93%), and the most decreasing disease is vitiligo(-72.05%).