• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.342-348
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• 2019

Panax ginseng Meyer (P. ginseng; Korean ginseng) is well known for its medicinal properties. It can alleviate pathological symptoms, promote health, and prevent potential diseases via its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, homeostatic, and other positive effects on biological metabolism. Although many studies have determined effects of P. ginseng on various diseases, such as cardiovascular, neurological, and immunological diseases, little is known about the effect of P. ginseng on autoimmune diseases. Here, we review a few reports about effects of P. ginseng on autoimmune diseases (e.g., multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, atopic dermatitis, and rheumatoid arthritis) and suggest the possibility of P. ginseng as a candidate herbal medicine to prevent and treat autoimmune diseases as well as the need to study it.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.65-75
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• 2015

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of warm needling at $GB_{30}{\cdot}GB_{34}$ on Complete Freund's Adjuvant(CFA)-induced rheumatoid arthritis in rats. Methods : Arthritis was induced by injecting CFA subcutaneously into the left knee joint and paw. Acupuncture(AT) and warm needling(W-AT0.5, W-AT1.0) were injected at $GB_{30}{\cdot}GB_{34}$, every other day for a total of 5 times beginning on day 10 after the CFA injection. Thereafter, external shape, paw edema, serum aminotransferase and anti-inflammatory factors were assessed, and hematological and histological observations were made. Results : In paw edema volume all 3 groups(AT, W-AT0.5, W-AT1.0) showed significant decrease compared to the CFA control group. In TNF-${\alpha}$ and IL-6, all 3 groups showed significant decrease compared to CFA control group. In AST and ALT all 3 groups showed no significant change. In IL-$1{\beta}$, W-AT0.5 and W-AT1.0, groups showed significant decrease compared to the CFA control group. Leucocyte, erythrocyte and thrombocyte, all 3 groups showed no significant change. In histological observations, all 3 groups were similar to the intact group in terms of synoviocyte, cartilage lacuna and cartilage cells. Conclusions : The results suggest that warm needling at $GB_{30}{\cdot}GB_{34}$, has the effect of suppressing inflammation of CFA-induced rheumatoid arthritis in rats.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.53 no.11
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• pp.936-941
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• 2010

The systematic approach to pharmacologic treatment is typically to begin with the safest, simplest, and most conservative measures. It has been realized that the more rapidly inflammation is under control, the less likely it is that there will be permanent sequelae. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the mainstay of initial treatment for inflammation. In addition, the slow-acting antirheumatic drugs (SAARDs) and disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) have efficacy of anti-inflammatory action in children with chronic arthritis. New therapeutic modalities for inflammation, such as etanercept and infliximab, promise even further improvements in the risk/benefit ratio of treatment. It is not typically possible at the onset of the disease to predict which children will recover and which will go on to have unremitting disease with lingering disability or enter adulthood with serious functional impairment. Therefore, the initial therapeutic approach must be vigorous in all children.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.135-141
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• 2011

Celastrus orbiculatus has been widely used as a traditional medicine for the treatment of many diseases including rheumatoid arthritis and odontalgia. In the present study, anti-metastatic activity of a methanolic extract from C. orbiculatus (MCO) was studied. A gelatin zymographic assay revealed that MCO has potent inhibitory effects on MMP-2 and MMP-9 activities in B16F10 melanoma cells. Moreover, MCO attenuated MMP expression via down-regulation of NF-${\kappa}$B translocation to the nucleus. Melanoma cell migration and invasion were also down-regulated by MCO. In addition, MCO significantly suppressed lung metastasis in an in vivo model. These results strongly suggest that MCO may possibly be used as a valuable anti-metastatic agent for cancer treatment.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.111-115
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• 2010

Anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effect of Spirodela polyrrhiza (Lemnaceae), a widely used traditional medicinal plant were investigated. In macrophages nitric oxide (NO) is released as an inflammatory mediator and has been proposed to be an important modulator of many pathophysiological conditions including inflammation. 85% MeOH extracts of S. polyrrhiza (0.01, 0.1, 1 mg/mL) suppressed nitric oxide production in interferone-$\gamma$ (IFN-$\gamma$) and lipopoloysaccharide(LPS)-stimulated macrophages. It also attenuated the expression of inflammatory enzymes like inducible NOS (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2) as assessed by immunoblotting with specific antibodies. Moreover, the values obtained with DPPH radical, superoxide anion and NO radical scavenging assay showed that S. polyrrhiza has potent antioxidant properties as a natural ROS scavenger. The results of the present study suggest the potential use of S. polyrrhiza in the treatment of ROS-mediated chronic inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.

• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2003.10b
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• pp.98.1-98.1
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• 2003

Bee venom (BY) has been utilized to relieve pain and to treat inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the molecular mechanism by which BV-induced anti-arthritis effect has been not reported yet. Therefore, in the present study we investigated anti-inflammatory effect of BV in a murine marcrophage cell line Raw 264.7 cell and synoviocyte obtained from RA patients. The present data showed that BV has a preventive effect on lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) induced induction of COX-2, cPLA2 and iNOS. (omitted)

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.47.1-47.13
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• 2020

Tetracyclines, which have long been used as broad-spectrum antibiotics, also exhibit a variety of nonantibiotic activities including anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties. Tetracyclines bind to the 30S ribosome of the bacteria and inhibit protein synthesis. Unlike antimicrobial activity, the primary molecular target for the nonantibiotic activity of tetracycline remains to be clarified. Nonetheless, the therapeutic efficacies of tetracyclines, particularly minocycline and doxycycline, have been demonstrated in various animal models of autoimmune disorders, such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and asthma. In this study, we summarized the anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activities of tetracyclines, focusing on the mechanisms underlying these activities. In addition, we highlighted the on-going or completed clinical trials with reported outcomes.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.33-42
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• 2006

Background: Calcineurin plays a crucial role in T cell activation, cell growth, apoptosis, and angiogenesis, and its over-expression has been implicated in the pathogenesis of cardiomyopathy and stroke. However, the expression and function of calcineurin in the pathologic lesion of chronic inflammatory diseases, like rheumatoid synovium, remain to be defined. This study was aimed to determine the role of calcineurin in inflammatory arthritis and investigate the expression and function of calcineurin in the rheumatoid synovium and synoviocytes, the actual site of chronic inflammation. Methods: Immuno-histochemical staining using specific antibody to calcineurin was perfomed in the synovium of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) from RA and osteoarthritis (OA) patients were isolated from RA and OA patients, and cultured with IL-1${\beta}$ and TNF-${\alpha}$ in the presence or absence of cyclosporin A, a calcineurin inhibitor. The calcineurin expression was assessed by phosphatase assay and Western blotting analysis. IL-6, -10, -17, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1, -2, -3, and -9 released into the culture supernatants were measured by ELISA. After transfection with GFP-Cabin 1 gene into synoviocytes, the levels of IL-6 and MMPs were measured by ELISA. Results: Calcineurin was highly expressed in the lining layer of synovium and cultured synoviocytes of RA patients. The elevated calcineurin activity in the rheumatoid synoviocytes was triggered by proin flammatory cytokines such as IL-1${\beta}$ and TNF-${\alpha}$. In contrast, IL-10, an anti-inflammatory cytokine, failed to increase the calcineurin activity. The targeted inhibition of calcineurin by the over-expression of Cabin 1, a natural calcineurin antagonist, inhibited the production of IL-6 and MMP-2 by rheumatoid synoviocytes in a similar manner to the calcineurin inhibitor, cyclosporin A. Conclusion: These data suggest that abnormal activation of calcineurin in the synoviocytes may contribute to the pathogenesis of chronic arthritis, and thus provide a potential target for controlling inflammatory arthritis.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.1416-1422
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• 2008

In order to examine anti-inflammatory effect of Anemarrhenae Rhizoma (AR) alcohol extract on rheumatoid arthritis, the present study investigated the viability and TNF-${\alpha}$ production in Raw264.7 cells treated with AR and collagen induced arthritis in DBA/1J mice which were orally administered with AR prior to immunization. The results are as follows: AR extract at 20 and 50${\mu}g$/ml inhibited the viability of Raw264.7 by 35% and 79%, respectively. AR showed a significant decrease in TNF-${\alpha}$ levels from Raw264.7 cells treated with LPS. AR administration significantly decreased arthritic index in DBA/1J mice immunized with bovine collagen type II. AR administration significantly decreased spleen weights obtained from mice in 6 weeks after immunization. AR administration significantly decreased serum anti-type II collagen antibody levels compared with control group. AR administration decreased serum IL-6 levels compared with control group but it did not reach statistical significance.

• BMB Reports
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.278-286
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• 2008

Angiogenesis, the formation of blood vessels, is essential for preparing a closed circulatory system in the body, and for supplying oxygen and nutrition to tissues. Major diseases such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and atherosclerosis include pathological angiogenesis in their malignant processes, suggesting anti-angiogenic therapy to be a new strategy for suppression of diseases. However, until the 1970s, the molecular basis of angiogenesis was largely unknown. In recent decades, extensive studies have revealed a variety of angiogenic factors and their receptors, including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-VEGFRs, Angiopoietin-Tie, Ephrin-EphRs and Delta-Notch to be the major regulators of angiogenesis in vertebrates. VEGF and its receptors play a central role in physiological as well as pathological angiogenesis, and functional inhibitors of VEGF and VEGFRs such as anti-VEGF neutralizing antibody and small molecules that block the tyrosine kinase activity of VEGFRs have recently been approved for use to treat patients with colorectal, lung, renal and liver cancers. These drugs have opened a novel field of cancer therapy, i.e. anti-angiogenesis therapy. However, as yet they cannot completely cure patients, and cancer cells could become resistant to these drugs. Thus, it is important to understand further the molecular mechanisms underlying not only VEGF-VEGFR signaling but also the VEGF-independent regulation of angiogenesis, and to learn how to improve anti-angiogenesis therapy.