• 대한의생명과학회지
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• 제7권2호
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• pp.53-58
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• 2001

We studied antitrichomoniasis with the extract of Gentiana scabra val buergeri, which may be effective in treating infectious diseases. The growth inhibition against T. vaginalis became optimal when tile extract concentration was 0.7 mg/ml and the cells were seeded at a density of 3$\times$10$^5$ per well. After incubation for 12, 24, 36, and 48 hrs, respectively, the number of cells were each 5$\times$10$^5$, 1$\times$10$^5$, 1$\times$10$^5$, and none, respectively. Under the electron microscope, the experimental group showed that the nucleus, karyosomes, and chromatin were weaker than those in the control group. After incubating for 3 hrs, the cells were destroyed completely, and only a remnant remained. The hydrogenosomes disappeared almost. The vacuoles and autophagic vacuoles increased. The cells became regressive form.

• 대한의생명과학회지
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• 제22권4호
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• pp.220-226
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• 2016

Hypertriglyceridemia induces atherosclerosis and accordingly is a major causative factor in cardiovascular diseases. Macrophages that develop into foam cells are a crucial component in the development of atherosclerosis. Monocytes can be differentiated into M1 or M2 macrophages. M1 macrophages promote inflammatory responses, whereas M2 macrophages exhibit anti-inflammatory activity. Recently, we found that triglyceride (TG)-treated THP-1 monocytes express a variety of macrophage-specific surface markers, indicating that TG treatment could trigger the differentiation of monocytes into macrophages. In this study, we investigated whether TG-induced macrophages express the M1 or the M2 macrophage phenotype. THP-1 cells were treated with various concentrations of TG for different times and the expression of M1- and M2-specific markers was evaluated by RT-PCR. We found increased expression of M1 markers (CD40, CD80, and CD86) in TG-treated THP-1 cells in a TG dose- and time-dependent manner. The expression of M2 markers (CD163, CD200R, and CD206) showed variable responses to TG treatment. Taken together, our results indicate that TG treatment triggers the differentiation of monocytes into M1 macrophages, rather than into M2 macrophages, suggesting that TG contributes to pro-inflammatory responses.

• 대한의생명과학회지
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• 제20권1호
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• pp.39-42
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• 2014

Asthma is an allergic inflammation and house dust mite (HDM) is a major allergen to induce asthma pathogenesis. Regulation of eosinophil apoptosis is an essential immune process and its dysregulation is implicated in asthma. In the present study, we examined the effects of HDM on spontaneous apoptosis of asthmatic eosinophils and on cytokine secretion in eosinophils of normal subjects including non-atopic and atopic normal. Extract of Dermatophagoides pteronissinus (DP) inhibited eosinophil apoptosis in a time-dependent manner. DP increased the secretion of G-CSF, GM-SCF, and IL-4, which is involved in suppression of eosinophil apoptosis, but IL-5 expression was not altered after DP stimulation. DP also elevated the release of IL-6, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ (TNF-${\alpha}$) and CCL2, which are anti-apoptotic or survival factors. The secretion of G-CSF, GM-CSF, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-${\alpha}$ due to DP is higher in atopic normal than that in non-atopic normal. In conclusion, DP increases the survival of eosinophils and its mechanism may be associated with cytokine release. These findings may enable elucidation of asthma pathogenesis induced by HDM.

• 대한의생명과학회지
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• 제8권4호
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• pp.229-234
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• 2002

Chlorella is rich in chlorella growth factor (CGF). A review of the literature has described that CGF improves the capability of a Th1-based immunity, anticancer, antioxidant antibacterial activity, growth promotion, wound healing and so on, but has not studied the effect for the metabolism and the proliferation of human skin keratinocyte. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of metabolism and the proliferation of human skin keratinocyte in vitro. CGF was extracted with an autoclaving method which is a modified hot-water extraction method from dried chlorella and conformed by means of absorbance 0.22 at 260 nm. We have measured the extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) of the CGF by Cytosensor$^{\circledR}$ Microphysiometer and evaluated responsiveness depending upon the dosage on the HaCaT cell. The ECAR for the concentrations of 0.15, 1.5, 15, 150 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ml of CGF increased as a 103.6, 128.2, 149.0 and 423.9%, respectively compared to control (0.0 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ml, 100% ECAR). The ECAR for ErbBl tyrosine kinase inhibited by 4-anilinoquinazolines, $C_{16}$H$_{14}$BrN$_3$O$_2$.HCl on tile HaCaT cells with the amounts of 10 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ml of the CCF compared with 100 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ml of rhEGF. The conclusion of the study is that CGF might increase human epidermal keratinocyte proliferation through the interaction between the epidermal growth factor receptor and itself.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• 제16권1호
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• pp.61-74
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• 2016

Dendritic cells (DCs) are professional antigen-presenting cells that sample their environment and present antigens to naïve T lymphocytes for the subsequent antigen-specific immune responses. DCs exist in a range of distinct subpopulations including plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) and classical DCs (cDCs), with the latter consisting of the cDC1 and cDC2 lineages. Although the roles of DC-specific transcription factors across the DC subsets have become understood, the posttranscriptional mechanisms that regulate DC development are yet to be elucidated. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are pivotal posttranscriptional regulators of gene expression in a myriad of biological processes, but their contribution to the immune system is just beginning to surface. In this study, our in-house probe collection was screened to identify miRNAs possibly involved in DC development and function by targeting the transcripts of relevant mouse transcription factors. Examination of DC subsets from the culture of mouse bone marrow with Flt3 ligand identified high expression of miR-124 which was able to target the transcript of TCF4, a transcription factor critical for the development and homeostasis of pDCs. Further expression profiling of mouse DC subsets isolated from in vitro culture as well as via ex vivo purification demonstrated that miR-124 was outstandingly expressed in CD24⁺ cDC1 cells compared to in pDCs and CD172α⁺ cDC2 cells. These results imply that miR-124 is likely involved in the processes of DC subset development by posttranscriptional regulation of a transcription factor(s).

• 대한의생명과학회지
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• 제23권3호
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• pp.161-165
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• 2017

It has well reported that host immune system is closely related to cancer growth and eradication. Among cancer immunotherapy, cancer vaccine is focused on this review. Cancer vaccine is using host immune system against various tumor antigens to treat cancer. We discuss the classification and characteristics of the preventive vaccine, therapeutic vaccine and combination cancer immunotherapy.

• 대한의생명과학회지
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• 제20권3호
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• pp.139-146
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• 2014

Accurate and rapid diagnosis of dermatophytosis, a disease whose prevalence has been steadily increased, is important for successful treatment. Current laboratory methods for diagnosing dermatophytosis rely on KOH mount and fungal culture method. However, these methods have low sensitivity and are time-consuming (2~4 weeks to diagnosis). In our previous study, a rapid molecular diagnostic assay (PCR-reverse blot hybridization assay, REBA) was developed to identify the following 6 main species of dermatophytes: Trichophyton rubrum, T. mentagrophytes, T. tonsurans, Microsporum canis, M. gypseum, and Epidermophyton floccosum. However, the REBA required more evaluation to validate its use in clinical examinations. The aim of the present study was to evaluate and validate the ability of the PCR-REBA to successfully identify dermatophytes in clinical isolates from dermatophytosis patients. Both conventional identification methods and the PCR-REBA were used to assess the presence of species of dermatophytes in 148 clinical isolates. The results of the two approaches were compared, and discrepancies between the two approaches were resolved by fungal ITS1 sequence analysis. T. rubrum was the most prevalent dermatophyte identified by conventional identification methods (118/148, 79.7%) and the PCR-REBA (131/148, 88.4%). The overall rate of consistency between conventional identification methods and the PCR-REBA was 79.0% (117/148 samples). Fungal ITS1 sequence analysis showed that PCR-REBA results were correct for 93.5% (29/31) of the discrepant samples. The PCR-REBA is rapid, sensitive, and highly specific compared with conventional identification methods. Thus, the PCR-REBA is a potentially useful tool for identifying dermatophytes in clinical settings.

• 대한의생명과학회지
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• 제22권3호
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• pp.98-106
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• 2016

Investigation of human papillomavirus (HPV) in archival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) material is important for understanding cervical carcinogenesis. The objective of the present study was to identify the high risk HPVs (HR-HPVs) using HPV E6/E7 mRNA testing from archival tissues in cervical cancer and the relation to HR-HPVs genotypes in paired cervical exfoliated cells. HPV E6/E7 mRNA testing and DNA chip testing were performed in 79 paired cervical FFPE tissues and exfoliated cells from women with histologically confirmed squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. Overall agreement in HR-HPVs detection from FFPE samples and cytology samples were 98.5% in HPV 16, 100% in HPV 18, HPV 31, HPV 33, HPV 58, HPV 66, and HPV 68. Type-specific agreement between FFPE samples and cytology samples was 89.1% in HPV positive, 93.5% in HPV 16 and more than 70% in the other HR-HPVs. In conclusion, HR-HPVs were reliably detected in paired FFPE and cytology samples with some variation in type-specific detection.

• 대한임상검사과학회지
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• 제45권1호
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• pp.9-15
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• 2013

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has recently shown to be associated with diabetes mellitus. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between chronic hepatitis B and diabetes mellitus indicators. We evaluated anthropometry, metabolic syndrome risk factors, fasting glucose, HbA1c, and C-peptide among the normal and HBV subjects. The partial correlation and average comparison analysis were used to assess the independent association between chronic hepatitis B and diabetes mellitus indicators. Average comparisons of normal and HBV subjects were significantly different in fasting glucose (p<0.000), HbA1c (p<0.000), C-peptide (p<0.000), alanine transaminase (ALT) (p<0.000) and aspartate transaminase (AST) (p<0.000). We may suggest that HBV infection is related to diabetes mellitus indicators such as fasting glucose, HbA1c and C-peptide.

• 대한임상검사과학회지
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• 제44권2호
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• pp.39-45
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to determine the association between serum uric acid, abdominal obesity, and waist circumference (WC) in Korean. A total of 208 healthy examinees were examined at Gimcheon Medical Center from July 2011 to December 2011. WC and body mass index (BMI) of subjects were measured as well as blood pressure, fasting blood sugar level, High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) and Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, C-reactive protein (CRP), triglycerides, and serum uric acid (SUA). In both men (p<0.05) and women (p<0.01), BMI and SUA were significantly correlated with WC. In men, triglycerides (r=0.501, p<0.01) had a positive correlation with WC, and CRP (r=0.442, p<0.01) had a positive correlation with BMI. In women, triglycerides (r=0.470, p<0.01) and CRP (r=0.366, p<0.01) had a positive correlation with WC. Therefore, WC and SUA may be the most effective anthropometric indices of obesity for screening Korean population.