• The Korea Genome Conference
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• 2004.07a
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• pp.46.2-46.2
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• 2004

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.675-678
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• 2015

Background: There are several validated risk factors for breast cancer. However the legitimacy of elevated fasting blood glucose (FBG) is not well established. This study was designed to assess this parameter as a risk factor for breast cancer among pre- and post-menopausal women. Materials and Methods: This case-control study was conducted at Department of Biochemistry, University of Karachi from June 2010 to August 2014. Simple random sampling technique was used to collect data of study subjects comprising 175 diagnosed breast cancer patients with positive histopathology from Breast Clinic, surgical unit-1, Civil Hospital, Karachi and 175 healthy controls from various screening programs. Blood samples were analyzed for FBG and serum insulin. Results: FBG, HOMA-IR, systolic and diastolic blood pressure were significantly raised in breast cancer cases when compared to control subjects. Cases and controls were further categorized in to two groups using cutoff value of 110mg/dl to distinguish subjects into normal fasting glucose (<110mg/dl) and having impaired fasting glucose (${\geq}110-{\leq}125mg/dl$) or diabetes (${\geq}126mg/dl$). Odds ratios were found to be 1.57, 2.15 and 1.17 in overall, pre-menopausal and post-menopausal groups, respectively. (all p < 0.05). Conclusions: A statistically significant risk of breast cancer exists in women having elevated fasting blood glucose levels, corresponding to prediabetes and diabetes, among pre and postmenopausal ages, with comparatively greater effects in the premenopausal group.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.225-230
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• 1995

The effect of long-term ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) administration on the clearance of carboxyhemoglobin (CO-Hb) and the property of blood gases was investigated in rats. Rats were received ginseng water extract (0.025% in drinking water) for 42 weeks starting at the age of 6 weeks. They were exposed to the diluted mainstream smoke generated from 15 filter cigarettes for 20 min in a round polycarbonate chamber (D37 cmXH13 cm). Under this condition, the mean CO-Hb content of control and the ginseng-treated rats immediately after the exposure was nearly the same as 13.8$\pm$2.9 f) and 13.9$\pm$1.6%, respectively. However, CO-Hb was more rapidly removed from blood in the ginseng treated rats than in untreatEd control with the laps of time, namely, its biological half life In the former was 36.9$\pm$1.5 min and in the latter was 56.9$\pm$13.2 min. Although long-term ginseng treatment did not affect the content of hemoglobin and blood pH of rats, it slightly increased blood oxygen content and its partial pressure value, and decreased levels of carbon dioxide and bicarbonate. These results suggest that long-term administration of rats with ginseng extract accelerate the elimination of CO from the blood. This effect seems to be related to the enhancement of oxygen consumption of the rat by a certain action of ginseng components as previously reported.

• BMB Reports
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.225-229
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• 1996

Effects on thrombin by an amphipathic cation, dequalinium, which has been recognized as an anticarcinoma agent were investigated with small chromogenic substrates such as Na-benzoyl-DL-argininep-nitroanilide (BApNA), H-D-phenylalanyl-L-pipecoyl-L-arginine-p-nitroanilide (S-2238), and Na-p-tosyl-L-arginine methyl ester (TAME). Among them, only TAME hydrolysis due to an esterase activity of the enzyme was significantly activated to 81% at 20 ${\mu}M$ dequalinium in the absence of NaCl. This stimulation became even higher in the presence of 0.2 M NaCl to 3.5-fold at 60 ${\mu}M$ dequalinium. This specific activation of thrombin was well correlated with the results of in vitro coagulation tests measuring the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and the prothrombin time (PT) It is pertinent. therefore, to suggest that the esterase activity should be examined in addition to the effects on 5-2238 hydrolysis when especially any regulators not directed to an active site of thrombin need to be studied. We also expect that dequalinium could be a useful tool for studying structure-function relationship of thrombin and blood coagulation.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.11
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• pp.1559-1563
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• 2002

The ovarian follicular fluid was found to contain steroidogenesis stimulatory protein similar to albumin from human and buffalo. Therefore, the albumins from various species, commercial and purified, were studied for their steroidogenic effect on progesterone secretion by granulosa cells from buffalo ovaries, during culture. A dose of $20{\mu}g$ of bovine serum albumin was optimum to exhibit maximum progesterone secretion on day 6 of culture, in medium ($350{\mu}l$) containing $10^5$ cells. Among commercial albumins, chicken albumin showed highest effect on progesterone secretion, which was followed by albumins from goat, bovine, human, sheep and rat, respectively at day 6 of culture. The albumins were also purified from blood serum of buffalo, goat and rat using salt fractionation, ion-exchange chromatography, gel filtration and SDS-PAGE. The highest stimulatory effect on progesterone secretion was shown by albumin purified from buffalo blood serum and lowest by that from rat blood. Comparatively the buffalo and goat albumins were more biologically active than commercial albumins. The presence of some active molecules conjugated with freshly purified albumins may be responsible for better stimulatory effect.

• Proceedings of the Korean Biophysical Society Conference
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• 1996.07a
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• pp.43-43
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• 1996

Bovine angiogenin (bAng) is a potent blood vessel inducing protein purified from cow milk. Fluorescence spectroscopy has been used to study the interaction of bAng with actin in 50 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.5, and 1 mM CaCl$_2$ at 25$^{\circ}C$. Actin contains four tryptophans but bAng contains no tryptophans. A 50% decrease in intrinsic fluorescence accompanied formation of the bAng/actin complex. (omitted)

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.221-227
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• 1990

The aqueous extract of fresh ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) contains a macromolecular fraction that showed mitogenic and co-mitogenic activities in human peripheral blood lymphocytes. Purification of the crude extract by size (ultrafiltration, Sephadex G-200) and charge (DEAE-cellulose, DEAE-Sepharose) yielded a semi.purified fraction (DS-3). This fraction contains at least three subgroups of anionic macromolecules with apparent molecular weight greater than 600 kilodaltons. It is a glycoprotein with a large amount of glucuronic acid. It acts as a mitogen in both T and B cells of human peripheral blood lymphocytes. It could also potentiate the mitogenic action of Concanavalin A in lymphocyte T cells. Such potentiation is not due to increased binding of Concanavalin A to the cell surface. Its mitogenic and co-mitogenic effects do depend on the presence of extracellular Ca2+.

• BMB Reports
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.565-571
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• 2003

The locomotor responses of human peripheral blood neutrophils and lymphocytes were measured by the change from spherical to polarized shapes in the presence of endotoxins (lipopolysaccharide, LPS) of enteric pathogens: S. dysenteriae type 1, V. cholerae Inaba 569B, S. typhimurium, and K. pneumoniae. We reported earlier that these endotoxins are chemotactic factors for the neutrophils since they stimulated cell polarization within a few minutes of incubation. Endotoxins had an inhibitory effect upon neutrophil phagocytosis of opsonized yeast and the cells engulfed fewer yeasts. Interestingly, endotoxins increased neutrophil adhesion to clean glass surfaces, but stimulated the cells to exhibit increased random locomotion (chemokinesis) through cellulose nitrate filters and show an enhanced ability to reduce nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) dye. Unlike neutrophils, lymphocytes direct from blood do not show polarized morphology towards chemotactic factors but the cells acquire locomotor capacity during 24-72 h culture with mitogens such as phytohemagglutinin (PHA), phorbol myristate acetate or concanavalin A. Stimulation of blood lymphocytes with endotoxins did not induce cell polarization in short-term but long-term culture resulted in an increase in the proportion of polarized cells that acquired locomotor morphologies. The majority of these cells were identified as esterase negative B-lymphocytes that migrated through filters. Despite the optimum time of incubation for each of these cell types being different, we found that lymphocytes respond to much lower concentrations of endotoxins than the neutrophils. These findings suggest that endotoxins of enteric pathogens modulate the functions of human blood neutrophils and lymphocytes.

• BMB Reports
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.500-506
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• 1996

We have isolated a water-extracted novel regulator for blood coagulation from an earthworm, Lumbricus rubellus. As a folk remedy, the earthworm has been known to facilitate blood circulation. After complete heat inactivation of endogenous proteases in the earthworm, an anticoagulant(s) was purified through ammonium sulfate fractionation and three consecutive gel permeation chromatography of Sephacryl S-300, Sephadex G-75, and G-150 by measuring activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) The anticoagulant was further purified to 2,800 fold with a C4 reversed-phase HPLC This activity was stable under heat ($100^{\circ}C$ for 30 min) and acidic conditions (0.4 N HCl). The effects of this partially purified anticoagulant on thrombin were observed with various substrates such as N${\alpha}$-benzoyl-DL-arginine-p-nitroanilide (BApNA), H-D-phenylalanyl-L-pipecoyl-L-arginine-p-nitroanilide (S-2238), N${\alpha}$-p-tosyl-L-arginine methyl ester (TAME), and fibrinogen as a natural substrate. Only TAME hydrolysis, due to an esterase activity of the enzyme, was inhibited among the chromogenic substrates. In addition, the anticoagulant not only inhibited the conversion of fibrinogen to fibrin but also prolonged the fibrin clot formation monitored with the in vitro coagulation test. Based on these observations, we suggest the significance of measuring the ability of antithrombotic drugs to inhibit the esterase activity of thrombin. In this report, it was also shown that the earthworm indeed contained a water-extractable, heat- and acid-stable anticoagulant which could be used as a novel antithrombotic agent.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.226-230
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• 1999

We have isolated a sesquiterpene lactone, cumambrin A from the dried flowers of Chrysanthemum boreale Makino and reported its chemical structure. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the exogenous administration of cumambrin A has a pharmacological effect on normalization of blood pressure in the spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). In vitro studies: Relaxative response induced by cumainbrin A was increased with dose-dependent manner and showed maximizing response at a concentration of $5{\times}10^{-4}M$. Further, this relaxative response was significantly increased at a condition of endothelium present than that of endothelium denuded. In vivo studies: The normalizing effect of cumambrin A on blood pressure was also increased with time-dependent manner and then gradually recovered to normal condition at approximately 4 hrs after cumambrin A treatment.