• Toxicological Research
• /
• v.17
• /
• pp.167-171
• /
• 2001

The introduction of genetically modified crops has raised concerns regarding safety issues over the insertion of foreign genes into plant genomes using recombinant DNA technology. Since 1991 in Japan, 29 foods and 6 food additives have been evaluated, based on the "Guideline for Safety Assessment", before these foods were marketed. The MHW, however, decided that safety assessment of such foods and food additives should be legally imposed. because soon such foods and food additives are expected to circulate globally and a new system for assessing safety of such foods and food additives at a pre-market stage is necessary, in order to avoid the distribution of any genetically modified foods that have had no safety assessment. The MHW published relevant announcements to amend existing regulations on 1 May 2000. "Standards for safety assessment of seed plant" is established based on a concept of substantial equivalence, and applicable to the products which are regarded as equivalent to the existing products used as foods and food additives. The characterization of the food products entails consideration of the molecular characterization. phenotypic and compositional characteristics, key nutrients and toxicants, and toxicity and allergenicity of the introduced proteins, and if there are indications of unintended effects of the modification, whether further safety testing (animal studies etc.) is needed should be considered. Safety and wholesomeness studies with whole foods should be care fully designed in order to avoid nutritional imbalances causing artifacts and uninterpretable results as was the case of Dr. Pusztaiis report. A case study of genetically modified soybeans (glyphosate-tolerant soybeans) on the immune system of rats and mice is shown. Chemical compositions were also compared with those of the non-GM soybeans. The studies failed to detect any differences in immuno-toxic activity.muno-toxic activity.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.458-464
• /
• 2005

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of gamma irradiation for the reduction of an egg allergy in a cake with the irradiated egg white. A white layer cake was manufactured including 10- or 20-kGy-irradiated egg white. Enzyme-Iinked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) with immunoglobulin (Ig) E from egg-allergic patient and with rabbit anti-ovalbumin (OVA) IgG were used to identify and quantify native OVA in the samples. Concentrations of native OVA detected by IgE and IgG in the control were $432.88{\mu}g/g$ sanple and $375.46{\mu}g/g$ sample, respectively. However, native OVA in white layer cake prepared with 10- and 20-kGy-irradiated egg white were detected at low concentrations detected by IgE to 14.27 and $8.78{\mu}g/g$ sample, respectively. Whereas, IgG recognized OVA more often in 10- and 20-kGy samples than in control. The result appear to suggest that irradiating egg white might reduce ie allergenicity by the conformational change of OVA. Therefore, gamma irradiation could utilize reduce an egg allergy.

• Food Science and Preservation
• /
• v.22 no.6
• /
• pp.901-907
• /
• 2015

Genetically modified (GM) pepper H15 containing the gene for cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) coat protein (CP) and its control line non-GM pepper P2377 were investigated for their allergic risk. Amino acid sequence of the inserted gene product CMV-CP was compared with those of known allergens. No known allergen had greater than 35% amino acid sequence homology over an 80 amino acid window or more than 8 consecutive identical amino acids. Protein patterns of GM and non-GM pepper extracts were evaluated by SDS-PAGE, which showed similar distribution of protein bands for both GM and non-GM pepper. Antigen-antibody reactions were compared between GM and its non-transgenic parental control. ELISA and immunoblot analysis of sera from allergic patients showed some IgE reactivity; however, no differences were observed between GM pepper H15 and P2377. We therefore conclude that CMV-CP is less likely to be an allergen; the protein composition and allergenicity of the GM pepper H15 is not different from that of P2377 and safe as a commercial host.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.124-128
• /
• 2002

Hantaan (HTN) and Puumala (PUU) viruses are major etiological agents of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), an important public health problem in Korea after the Korean War. The objective of present study was to determine allergenic potency of an inactivated combination vaccine against HTN and PUU viruses inflection. As a series of allergenicity assessment, a homologous active systemic anaphylaxis (ASA) and homologous/heterologous passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA) tests using the mice and guinea pigs were carried out. In the ASA test, no anaphylactic symptoms were observed in the guinea pigs sensitized with the vaccine alone as well as the vaccine emulsified with an adjuvant. By homologous PCA test, the vatscine did not induced the potential IgE antibody production in the sera obtained from the sensitized guinea pigs. In addition, IgE against the vaccine was not significantly enhanced from the mice inoculated with the vaccine, which was judged by the heterologous PCA test in rats. On the other hand, the inoculation of ovalbumin appeared to allergenic reactions both in the ASA and PCA tests. The results suggest that a combination vaccine against HW and PUU viruses have no allergenic potential in mice or guinea pigs.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
• /
• v.45 no.2
• /
• pp.248-257
• /
• 2018

Overexpression of AtCYP78A7, a gene encoding a cytochrome P450 protein, has been reported to improve tolerance to drought stress in genetically modified (GM) rice (Oryza sativa L.). The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential allergenicity and acute oral toxicity of the AtCYP78A7 protein expressed in GM rice. Bioinformatics analysis of the amino acid sequence of AtCYP78A7 did not identify any similarities with any known allergens or toxins. It showed that no known allergen had more than a 35% amino acid sequence homology with the AtCYP78A7 protein over an 80 amino acid window or more than 8 consecutive identical amino acids. The gene encoding the AtCYP78A7 protein was cloned in the pGEX-4T-1 vector and expressed in E. coli. Then, the AtCYP78A7 protein was purified and analyzed for acute oral toxicity. The AtCYP78A7 protein was fed at a dose of 2,000 mg/kg body weight in mice, and the changes in mortalities, clinical findings, and body weight were monitored for 14 days after the dosing. Necropsy was carried out on day 14. The protein did not cause any adverse effects when it was orally administered to mice at 2000 mg/kg body weight. These results indicate that the AtCYP78A7 protein expressed in GM rice would not be a potential allergen or toxin.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.524-531
• /
• 2012

Soybean is one of the most common food materials causing food hypersensitivity reactions in Korea. In this study, we have investigated the effect of roasting and fermentation on the allergenicity of soybean. Three kinds of soybean ($Daepung$, $Daewon$, and $Taegwang$) were prepared as raw, roasted, and fermented by $Bacillus$ $subtilis$ GSK 3580, and then their proteins were extracted. The proteins were separated using SDS-PAGE, and the detection of IgE specific to soybean proteins was performed by immunoblotting using 7 sera of soybean allergy patients and non-allergic control individuals. Serum specific IgE to soybean was measured by ELISA. The SDS-PAGE of raw soybean proteins showed various-sized bands ranging from 9 to 76 kDa, which are known as major allergens. In particular, 9, 21, 34, 52, 72, and 76 kDa proteins are known as LTP, Kunits trypsin inhibitor, $Gly$ m Bd 30K, ${\beta}$-subunit, ${\alpha}$-subunit, and ${\alpha}$'-subunit of ${\beta}$-conglycinin, respectively; these are major allergens in soybean. In contrast, only peptides of less than 35 kDa were found in roasted and fermented soybeans. IgE immunoblot analysis of three roasted species of soybeans commonly detected at 38-40 kDa and 10-15 kDa. The protein bands in fermented soybean showed very weak signals or were not detected. In addition, the reactivity of most patients' sera to soybean was decreased after roasting and fermentation. With these results, it may be concluded that the allergenicity of soybeans is reduced by the roasting and fermentation processes. It is supposed that allergenic proteins in soybean were degraded by heat treatment methods and proteolytic enzymes were secreted from fermenting microorganisms.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.21 no.2 s.24
• /
• pp.224-237
• /
• 1988

To determine the causes of and related factors to childhood injuries, the emergency room records and inpatient medical records were reviewed for 4,849 injured children out of 15,790 pediatric patients(<15 years old) who visited the emergency rooms of 3 university hospitals and 2 general hospitals in Taegu from 1 January to 31 December 1987. Out of total injured children, 54.675 were 3-8 years old and the male to female ratio of the total injured children was about 2:1. The leading causes of injury were falls and slips (29.1%) and traffic accident(28.2%). The frequency of injury was higher in May-October than the rest of months and 51.6% of the injuries occurred between 15 and 20 o'clock. Falls and slips took place most frequently at the stairway(25.7%). The most common interpersonal violence was inflicted injuries(85.6%) and there were 11 child rapes. Dog bites accounted for 67.6% of all biting injuries and it occured 2.9 times more in male than in female. CO intoxication was the most common cause of poisoning (45.3%) and scalding accounted for 85.2% of all burns. Common places of drownings were river (32.2%), swimming pool (22.6%) and construction site(19.3%). To prevent childhood injuries, it is recommended to eliminate the hazardous environmental factors, to provide safe playgrounds, to educate the children for safety from kindergarten and the general public through mass communication, to establish a strict safety standard for houses, public buildings and facilities, and playgrounds.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Toxicology Conference
• /
• 2001.10a
• /
• pp.194-194
• /
• 2001

Preclinical test methods for allergenic potential chemicals has been widely used to assess human risks and has been developed. Recently, the murine local lymph node assay (LLNA) has been proposed as a prospective method to identify contact allergens and to replace conventional the guinea pig maximization test (GPMT). The objective of this study was to establish LLNA and to evaluate allergenicity of chemicals by LLNA. (omitted)

• Food Science and Biotechnology
• /
• v.15 no.3
• /
• pp.441-446
• /
• 2006

The biological effects of heating and chemical treatment on castor meal were investigated in order to develop a procedure to inactivate its antigenic activity in a way that is suitable for industrial applications. A 1% solution of purified castor bean allergen (CB-1A) was heat-treated with or without exposure to NaOH and NaOCI (250 ppm each). CB-1A exhibited extreme stability when heat-treated alone. In the presence of NaOH and NaOCl, CB-1A showed a drastic decrease in antigenic activity as the temperature surpassed the critical level of $70^{\circ}C$. The gradual disappearance of disc gel electrophoresis bands presumably responsible for the allergenicity of CB-1A, along with the significant losses of the amino acids phenylalanine, methionine, arginine, histidine, and cysteine correlated with the loss of CB-1A activity. CB-1A showed a single symmetrical band in SDS acrylamide gel electrophoresis with an estimated molecular weight of 6,000 daltons. The chemical and heat treatments reduced the disulfide bond content of CB-1A by 9.1% with a coincident increase in sulfhydryl bonds.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.187-196
• /
• 1982

The followings are the results of the study on industrial accidents occurred at 12 factories manufacturing metal products during the period of 2 years from January 1980 to December 1981 in the area of Yong-Dung-Po in Seoul. The results of the study are as follows: 1. The incidence rate of industrial injuries was 45.7 per 1,000 workers of the sample group and the rate of male (54.0) was three times higher than that of female (17.5). 2. In age groups, the highest rate was observed in the group of under 19 years old with 83.5, while the lowest in the group of 40s. 3. It was found that those who had short term of work experience produced a higher rate of injuries, particularly, the group of workers with less than 1 year of experience showed the highest rate of it as 48.1%. 4. In working time, the highest incidence rate occurred 3 and 7 hours after the beginning of their working showing the rate of 6.0 and 6.1 per 1,000 workers, respectively. 5. The highest incidence rate was observed on Monday as 8.4 per 1,000 workers, and it was 18.3% in aspect of the days of a week. 6. In aspect of the months of a year, the highest incidence was observed on July 1,000 workers and the next was on March as 4.8. These figures account for 11.8% of total occurrence in respective month. as 5. 4 per and 10.5% 7. In causes of injuries, the accident caused by power driven machinery showed the highest rate with 37.5%, the second was due to handling without machinery with 17.2%, and the third was due to falling objects with 14.2%, and striking against objects with 10.2%, and so on. 8. By parts of the body affected, the most injuries 84.3% of them occurred on both upper and lower extremities with the rate of 58.8% for the former and 25.5% for the latter. Fingers were most frequently injured with a rate of 40.3%. Comparing the sites of extremities affected, rate of injuries on the right side was 55.0% and 45.0% on the left side. 9. In the nature of injury, laceration and open wound were the highest with 34. 0%, the next was fracture and dislocation with 31. 9%, and sprain was the third with 8.1%. 10. On the duration of treatment, it lasted less than one month in 68.9% of the injured cases, of which 14.5% of the cases were recovered within 2 weeks, and 54.4% of them were treated more than 2 weeks. And the duration of the treatment tended to be prolonged in larger industries. 11. The ratio of insured accidents to uninsured accidents was 1 to 4.7.