• Natural Product Sciences
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• 제19권4호
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• pp.347-354
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• 2013

Cordyceps militaris, a traditional medicinal mushroom, produces a component compound, cordycepin (3'-deoxyadenosine). Cordycepin has many pharmacological activities including immunological stimulating, anti-cancer, and anti-infection activities. However, the therapeutic mechanism has not yet been elucidated. In this study, we examined the effects of cordycepin on the antigen-presenting function of antigen-presenting cells (APCs). Dendritic cells (DCs) were cultured in the presence of cordycepin and then allowed to phagocytose microspheres containing ovalbumin (OVA). After washing and fixing, the efficacy of OVA peptide presentation by DCs was evaluated using CD8 and CD4 T cells. Also, we confirmed the protein levels of proinflammatory cytokines through RT-PCR and Western blot analysis. Cordycepin decreased both MHC class I and class II-restricted presentation of OVA and suppressed the expression of both MHC molecules and the phagocytic activity toward exogenous OVA. The class II-restricted OVA presentation-regulating activity of cordycepin was also confirmed using mice that had been injected with cordycepin followed by soluble OVA. Furthermore, cordycepin suppressed the mRNA and protein levels of iNOS, COX-2, pro-inflammatory cytokines in a concentration-dependent manner. These results provide an understanding of the mechanism of the T cell response-regulating activity of cordycepin through the inhibition of MHC-restricted antigen presentation in relation to its actions on APCs.

• 대한임상검사과학회지
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• 제41권4호
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• pp.173-179
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• 2009

The analysis of serum free light chains (sFLCs) can improve the diagnosis and monitoring of multiple myeloma and other plasma cell dyscrasias. As with other immunoassays, sFLCstests are subject to potential antigen excess and heterophilic antibody interference. We describe 9 cases of sFLCs antigen excess in patients with multiple myeloma using the FreeliteTM Human Kappa and Lambda Free Kits (The Binding Site ltd., Birmingham, UK) and the Hitachi7600 P module turbidimetric system. A total of 1,247 consecutive samples from 250 patients with multiple myeloma were assayed for sFLCs from April to September, 2009. The samples were assayed using an initial dilution of 1 :5and subsequent dilutions of 1 :50 and 1: 100. The same samples were analyzed for the presence of monoclonal gammopathies using serum protein electrophoresis (SPE) and immunofixation electrophoresis (IFE). There were 9 samples (0.72%) of antigen excess with 3 cases of kappa (0.24%) and 6 cases of lambda (0.48%). These cases represents an example of antigen excess or "hook effect" using the serum free light chain assays and mandates high level of attention to falsely low sFLC levels due to antigen excess, especially when it is disaccordant to other assay results or clinical manifestations.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• 제17권3호
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• pp.29.1-29.8
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• 2019

The Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium (WTCCC) study was a large genome-wide association study that aimed to identify common variants associated with seven diseases. That study combined two control datasets (58C and UK Blood Services) as shared controls. Prior to using the combined controls, the WTCCC performed analyses to show that the genomic content of the control datasets was not significantly different. Recently, the analysis of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes has become prevalent due to the development of HLA imputation technology. In this project, we extended the between-control homogeneity analysis of the WTCCC to HLA. We imputed HLA information in the WTCCC control dataset and showed that the HLA content was not significantly different between the two control datasets, suggesting that the combined controls can be used as controls for HLA fine-mapping analysis based on HLA imputation.

• 대한수의학회지
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• 제39권1호
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• pp.159-168
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• 1999

Swine whipworm(Trichuris suis) is cosmopolitan nematode which can cause serious pathology in immature stage(larva2~larva5) of infected pigs, such as anorexia, diarrhea, anemia, and death in heavy infections. In this larval stages, it is very difficult to diagnose the infection of whipworm and to differentiate from other common swine gastrointestinal disorders such as 21 day scours which are associated with TGE virus, rota virus, coccidium, and the stress of weaning. In this experiment, the isolated antigens of Trichuris spp. were carried out to examine the structure and specificity of antigens and to select the reasonable antigens which would be used in serological diagnosis by electrophoresis, Western blotting, ELISA. The results of this experiment were as follows; 1. The common fractions of each Trichuris suis antigen were identified 28,32,45, 80kDa by SDS-PAGE with silver stain and four major fractions could be detected in positive swine sera by Western blot analysis. 2. The OD(optical density) values of somatic and excretory-secretory antigens which were reacted against positive(negative) sera from pigs infected with Trichuris suis by ELISA reader were; 1) OD values($mean{\pm}SD$) of adult somatic antigen against positive(negative) sera were $0.30{\pm}0.12(0.09{\pm}0.006)$ and third-stage larva of somatic antigen were $0.28{\pm}0.038(0.10{\pm}0.005)$. And OD values of excretory-secretory antigens of adult and third-stage larva were $0.24{\pm}0.031(0.11{\pm}0.005)$ and $0.08{\pm}0.013(0.10{\pm}0.003)$, respectively. 2) OD values of adult somatic, larval somatic antigen and adult excretory-secretory antigen response to positive sera were significantly (p<0.01) associated with negative swine sera. And the Cut-off OD values(minimum positive value) were determined to be mean negative value plus 3 SD that would minimized the risk of false positives. 3. The OD values of somatic antigens of T suis and T vulpis against swine positive(negative) sera were $0.30{\pm}0.120(0.09{\pm}0.006)$ and $0.25{\pm}0.141(0.09{\pm}0.003)$. These data mean that the somatic antigens of T suis and T vulpis were able to diagnose T vulpis infection in dogs as well as T suis infection in pigs. These results suggest that somatic antigen of third-stage larva and excretory-secretory antigen of adult T suis could be used the diagnostic antigen by serological test(ELISA) in immature Trichuris spp. infection.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제19권7호
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• pp.886-891
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• 2009

Cancer/testis(CT) antigens은 여러 종료의 암에서는 발현이 되지만, 정상조직에서는 고환에서만 발현이 되는 특이성을 가지고 있다. 이러한 특이성은 immunotherapy을 하기 위한 항암백신 개발에 매력적인 유전자로 알려져 있다. 본 연구에서는 29개의 한국유방암조직에서 13개의 CT antigens (NY-SAR35, SCP-1, SSX-1, SSX-2, SSX-4, MAGE-1, MAGE-3, MAGE-4, MAGE-10, CT-7, NY-TLU57, NY-ESO-1, and LAGE-1)의 발현빈도를 RT-PCR을 통하여 조사하고 환자의 임상학적 분류와 CT antigens의 발현빈도에 대하여 조사하였다. 29개의 유방암조직에 RT-PCR결과, 13개의 CT antigen중에 MAGE-3 (66%)와 MAGE-1(57%)에서 발현빈도가 가장 높았고 LAGE-1 (55%),NY-SAR-35 (49%),MAGE-4(41%), NY-ESO-1(38%), CT-7(24%), SSX-4(24%)순으로 발현빈도를 보였다. 그러나 SSX-1, SSX-2. MAGE-10와 NY-TLU-57의 발현은 3-7%로 매우 낮았고 특히 SCP-1는 발현되지 않았다. 29 유방암 조직에서 적어도 하나 이상의 CT antigen이 발현되는 샘플은 28(98%)이였다. 그러나 환자의 임상학적 분류와 CT antigens의 발현빈도와는 특징적인 관꼐가 없음을 알수있었다. 29개의 유방암조직에서 MAGE-3와 NY-ESO-1의 Protein level에서의 발현을 알아보기 위하여monoclonal antibody를 이용하여 면역조직염색을 하였다. MAGE-3은 29개 조직중에서 12개의 조직에서 발현되었으며 NY-ESO-1은 11개의 조직에서 발현되었다. 그러므로 CT antigens은 한국 유방암 조직에서 빈번하게 발현된 것을 알 수 있었으며 CT antigens을 기반으로 한 암 백신개발의 잠재적인 표적이 될 수 있을 것이라 사료된다.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제30권4호
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• pp.323-328
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• 1992

질트리코모나스의 항원 분석을 시행하기 위하여 병원성이 화인된 질트리코모나스(Trichamonas vaginnlis) 6개주(HY-1,2,3,9,10,13)의 항일을 sodium dodecyl sulfate - polyacrlyamide gel electrophoresis(SDS-PAGE) 한 결과 Coomassie brilliant blue 염색상에서 peptide의 밀도 차이를 제외하고는 주간에 동일한 단백질 분포양상을 보였으며, 12kDa에서 170kDa까지 약 35개 정도의 분획이 관찰되었다. 또한 질트리코모나스 HY월주를 항원으로 하고 질트리코모나스 6개주에 대해 면역된 마우스의 항혈청을 이용하여 enzyme-linked immunoelectrotransfer blot(EITB)을 시행한 결과 각 주마다 서로 다른 반응양상을 보였으며, 51kDa과 96kDa에서 질트리코모나스의 특이한 공통 반응대가 관찰되었고, 각기 다른 6개주의 항원에 대해 HY-1주의 항혈청으로 ETTB한 결과 HY-1 함원(homologous antigen)과의 반응 양상과 타항친(heterologous antigen)과의 반응 양상간의 특이한 차이는 관찰할 수 없었다. 이상의 결과로 보아 질트리코모나스 각 주의 항원은 항인-항체 반응에서 주간에 이종(antigenic heterogeneity)을 형성하고 있는 것으로 보였으며, 41, 47, 55, 74 및 94kDa에서 질트리코모나스애 특이한 공통반응대를 보었으며, 이 부분이 숙주-기생충의 상 호관계에 있어서 중요한 의의를 내포하고 있을 것으로 생각된다.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제45권1호
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• pp.19-26
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• 2007

This study describes the isolation of a Toxocara canis species-specific excretory-secretory(ES) antigen and the development of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) based on this antigen. Analysis of the ES antigens of T. canis, Toxocara vitulorum, Ascaris lumbricoides and Necator americanus larval antigen was performed by SDS-PAGE followed by western blotting. A 57 kDa T. canis-specific antibody fraction(TcES-57) was identified by western blotting and labelling with anti-Toxocara antibodies(from experimental rabbits and human patients) and tracing with anti-human or anti-rabbit peroxidase conjugate. No protein fraction of 57 kDa was detected in ES or larval antigens collected from T. canis, T. vitulorum, A. lumbricoides and N. americanus. Using TcES-57, a specific anti-serum was produced in rabbits and a double sandwich ELISA was developed. This test was validated using known seropositive sera from toxocariasis patients, sera from A. lumbricoides or N. americanus patients, and 50 serum samples from cats. These tests revealed that TcES-57 antigen is specific to T. canis infection and does not cross react with sera of other related infections. Thus, ELISA based on TcES-57 antigen was proven to be an effective tool in the diagnosis of toxocariasis and studies on the role of T. canis in the epidemiology of human toxocariasis.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• 제10권4호
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• pp.135-143
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• 2010

Background: Cordyceps militarys water extract (CME) has been reported to exert antitumor and immunomodulatory activities in vivo and in vitro. However, the therapeutic mechanism has not yet been elucidated. In this study, we examined the effects of CME on the antigen presenting function of antigen presenting cells (APCs). Methods: Dendritic cells (DCs) were cultured in the presence of CME, and then allowed to phagocytose microspheres containing ovalbumin (OVA). After washing and fixing the efficacy of OVA, peptide presentation by DCs were evaluated using CD8 and CD4 T cells. Also, we confirmed the protein levels of proinflammatory cytokines through western blot analysis. Results: CME enhanced both MHC class I and class II-restricted presentation of OVA in DCs. In addition, the expression of both MHC class I and II molecules was enhanced, but there was no changes in the phagocytic activity of exogenous OVA. Furthermore, CME induced the protein levels of iNOS, COX-2, proinflammatory cytokines, and nuclear p65 in a concentration-dependent manner, as determined by western blot. Conclusion: These results provide an understanding of the mechanism of the immuno-enhancing activity of CME on the induction of MHC-restricted antigen presentation in relation to their actions on APCs.

• 대한수의학회지
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• 제55권2호
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• pp.89-95
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• 2015

Johne's disease, caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP), is one of the most widespread and economically important diseases in cattle. Current diagnostic methods are based on the detection of anti-MAP antibodies in serum or isolation of the causative agent. However, these techniques are often not applicable for cases of subclinical infection due to relatively low sensitivity. Therefore, finding new antigen candidates that strongly react with the host immune system had been attempted. To effectively detect infection during the subclinical stage, several antigen candidates were selected based on previous researches. Characteristics of the selected antigen candidates were analyzed using bioinformatics-based prediction tools. A total of nine antigens were selected (MAP0862, MAP3817c, MAP2077c, MAP0860c, MAP3954, MAP3155c, MAP1204, MAP1087, and MAP2963c) that have MAP-specific and/or high immune responses to infected animals. Using a transmembrane prediction tool, five of the nine antigen candidates were predicted to be membrane protein (MAP3817c, MAP3954, MAP3155c, MAP1087, and MAP1204). Some of the predicted protein structures identified using the I-TASSER server shared similarities with known proteins found in the Protein Data Bank database (MAP0862, MAP1204, and MAP2077c). In future studies, the characteristics and diagnostic efficiency of the selected antigen candidates will be evaluated.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제17권12호
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• pp.1955-1964
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• 2007

A recent report showed that analysis of CD154 expression in the presence of the secretion inhibitor Brefeldin A (Bref A) could be used to assess the entire repertoire of antigen-specific $CD4^+\;T$ helper cells. However, the capacity of intracellular CD154 expression to identify antigen-specific $CD8^+\;T$ cells has yet to be investigated. In this study, we compared the ability of intracellular CD154 expression to assess antigen-specific $CD8^+\;T$ cells with that of accepted standard assays, namely intracellular cytokine IFN-${\gamma}$ staining (ICS) and MHC class I tetramer staining. The detection of intracellular CD154 molecules in the presence of Bref A reflected the kinetic trend of antigen-specific $CD8^+\;T$ cell number, but unfortunately showed less sensitivity than ICS and tetramer staining. However, ICS levels peaked and saturated 8 h after antigenic stimulation in the presence of Bref A and then declined, whereas intracellular CD154 expression peaked by 8 h and maintained the saturated level up to 24 h post-stimulation. Moreover, intracellular CD154 expression in antigen-specific $CD8^+\;T$ cells developed in the absence of $CD4^+\;T$ cells changed little, whereas the number of IFN-${\gamma}$-producing $CD8^+\;T$ cells decreased abruptly. These results suggest that intracellular CD154 could aid the assessment of antigen-specific $CD8^+\;T$ cells, but does not have as much ability to identify heterogeneous $CD4^+\;T$ helper cells. Therefore, the combined analytical techniques of ICS and tetramer staining together with intracellular CD154 assays may be able to provide useful information on the accurate phenotype and functionality of antigen-specific $CD8^+\;T$ cells.