• 생태와환경
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• 제40권4호
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• pp.489-494
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• 2007

Transcriptional modulation of metallothionein (MT) during acute metal exposures (cadmium, copper or zinc) was examined in fry of Hemibarbus mylodon, a threatened fish species in Korean peninsula. Viability of H. mylodon fry was most affected by copper exposure (up to 79% of mortality at 1 ppm for 48 hours) and considerably by cadmium exposure (21 to 54% of mortality). On the other hand, Zn showed the least adverse effect on the viability (0 to 13% of mortality) of this species. Based on the semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis, the stimulation of MT mRNA in response to metal exposures followed generally in a dose-dependent fashion where cadmium was the most potent inducer for the induction of MT transcripts in fry (up to more than 5-fold) while the lowest response was observed in zinc-exposed group (2-fold at maximum). From the exposure using environmentally realistic doses of cadmium (0 to 0.05 ppm for 24 hours), MT expression at mRNA level was also sensitively modulated toward upregulation up to more than 3-fold as relative to non-exposed control. Results from the present study would be a good basis for understanding the adaptive capacity and stress physiology of this endangered fish species during metal pollution.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• 제15권1호
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• pp.122-127
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• 2006

The effects of fermented chaga mushroom (Inonotus obliquus) powder on the lipid concentrations and the activities of liver marker enzymes of serum in genetically diabetic Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima fatty (OLETF) rats were investigated. Rats were fed a semisynthetic diet supplemented with 50 g/kg chaga mushroom powder (CM) or 50 g/kg fermented chaga mushroom powder (FCM) for 8 weeks (26 to 34 weeks of age). Nondiabetic Long-Evans Toknshima Otsuka (LETO) rats were used as age-matched nondiabetic control animals. Water consumption was significantly higher in the OLETF control than the LETO rats. Water consumption in the FCM-fed OLETF rats tended to be less than in both the OLETF control and CM-fed OLETF rats. Serum concentrations of triglycerides and total cholesterol were significantly higher in the OLETF control rats than in the LETO rats while within the OLETF rat groups, the consumption of FCM resulted in a significantly lower serum triglyceride concentration and slightly lowered serum total cholesterol concentration when compared to the OLETF control and CM-fed rats. The alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity was significantly higher in the OLETF control than in the LETO rats, but this difference was significantly reduced compared to the CM-fed rats and essentially no difference in the ALT levels was observed between the LETO and OLETF-FCM rats. This observation suggests an adaptive effect of the fermented chaga mushroom in liver function. Livers of the LETO rats showed no histopathological changes, whereas those of the OLETF control rats were characterized by many fat depositions in the central zone of the hepatocytes. The livers of the OLETF CM-fed rats showed less fatty changes compared to the OLETF control rats and fat deposition in the hepatocytes was nearly absent. These results suggest that orally ingested fermented chaga mushroom has a potential beneficial effect on the complications known to occur in the obesity-related non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NlDDM) OLETF rat.