• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.21.1-21.21
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• 2022

As far the current severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), respiratory disease is still the biggest threat to human health. In addition, infectious respiratory diseases are particularly prominent. In addition to killing and clearing the infection pathogen directly, regulating the immune responses against the pathogens is also an important therapeutic modality. Sirtuins belong to NAD+-dependent class III histone deacetylases. Among 7 types of sirtuins, silent information regulator type-1 (SIRT1) played a multitasking role in modulating a wide range of physiological processes, including oxidative stress, inflammation, cell apoptosis, autophagy, antibacterial and antiviral functions. It showed a critical effect in regulating immune responses by deacetylation modification, especially through high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), a core molecule regulating the immune system. SIRT1 was associated with many respiratory diseases, including COVID-19 infection, bacterial pneumonia, tuberculosis, and so on. Here, we reviewed the latest research progress regarding the effects of SIRT1 on immune system in respiratory diseases. First, the structure and catalytic characteristics of SIRT1 were introduced. Next, the roles of SIRT1, and the mechanisms underlying the immune regulatory effect through HMGB1, as well as the specific activators/inhibitors of SIRT1, were elaborated. Finally, the multitasking roles of SIRT1 in several respiratory diseases were discussed separately. Taken together, this review implied that SIRT1 could serve as a promising specific therapeutic target for the treatment of respiratory diseases.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.1509-1517
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• 2008

The flowers and buds of Lonicera Flower (LF), are used in Korean herbal medicine for latent-heat-clearing, antipyretic, detoxicant and anti-inflammatory ailments. This plant is used worldwide for the treatment of many types of inflammatory disease including respiratory infections, diabetes mellitus, rheumatoid arthritis and play an important role in immune reaction. These pharmaceutical effects of LF looks like to be related to its antioxidant capacity and phytochemicals containing in LF. In this study, the antioxidant activity of extract from LF was studied in vitro methods by measuring the antioxidant activity by TEAC, measuring the scavenging effects on reactive oxygen species (ROS) [superoxide anion, hydroxyl radical] and on reactive nitrogen species (RNS) [nitric oxide and peroxynitrite] as well as measuring the inhibitory effect on $Cu^{2+}$ induced human LDL oxidation and the inhibitory effect on collagen induced platelet aggregation. The LF extracts were found to have a potent scavenging activity, as well as an inhibitory effect on LDL oxidation and on platelet aggregation. In conclusion, the LF extracts have anti-oxidative and anti-atherosclerotic effects in vitro system, which can be used for developing pharmaceutical drug against oxidative stress and atherosclerosis.

• Journal of Haehwa Medicine
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.1-12
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• 2009

Most of the cholesterol is synthesized by liver in the body while about one of third is taken via dietary. The main functions of cholesterol is to protect membranes in cell surface, avoid the arterial bleeding by hypertension, and prolong the life of erythrocytes, and so on. However, overload of cholesterol leads to arteriosclerosis associated with leading death cause. Lack of physical activity, emotional and environmental stress, and low intake of protein or vitamin E induce the unbalance between HDL- and LDL-cholesterol so become a basis of ischemic disorders in heart, brain and elsewhere in the body. So far, four major classes of medications for hyperlipidemia are HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins), bile acid sequestrants, nicotinic acid, and fibric acids. The statins can lower LDL and levels triglyceride, but may induce myopathy and an elevation of liver enzyme levels. The bile acid sequestrants lower LDL levels and raise HDL levels with no effect on triglyceride levels but side effects of gastrointestinal (GI) distress, constipation, and a decrease in the absorption of other drugs. Nicotinic acid and fibric acids lower LDL and triglyceride levels with showing flushing, hyperglycemia, hyperuricemia, GI distress, and hepatotoxicity dyspepsia, gallstones, myopathy, and unexplained noncardiac death as adverse effects. Above western drugs lower cholesterol by 15 to 30% while all have notable adverse effects. In traditional medicine, hyperlipidemia is regarded as retention of phlegm and fluid disease. Etiology and pathogenesis of hyperlipidemia is basically based on Spleen-Deficiency and Phlegm-Stagnation, accumulation and stasis of -heat, and Qi & blood stagnation induced by Phlegm-damp, water-dampness, and blood stasis. Thereby, strengthening Spleen and dissolving Phlegm, clearing away heat and diuresis, and supplementing Qi and activating blood circulation are commonly used therapeutic methods for hyperlipidemia. The traditional herbal medicine, have been used for patients with CVA, hypertension or hyperlipidemia in Oriental hospital or Oriental clinic. The lock and key theory is used to develop most of western medicine, however many diseases are caused by mixed factors in body-complex system. We expect that Oriental pharmacological theory could be newborn as a novel drug showing high advantage of blood levels of lipidsand QOL of performance without side effects.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.11
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• pp.1536-1543
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• 2013

Proteases produced by Xenorhabdus are known to play a significant role in virulence leading to insect mortality. The present study was undertaken to purify and characterize protease from Xenorhabdus indica, an endosymbiont of nematode Steinernema thermophilum, and to decipher its role in insect mortality and its efficacy to control Helicoverpa armigera. A set of 10 strains of Xenorhabdus isolated from different regions of India were screened for protease activity on the basis of zone of clearing on gelatin agar plates. One potent strain of Xenorhabdus indica was selected for the production of protease, and the highest production (1,552 U/ml) was observed at 15-18 h of incubation at $28^{\circ}C$ in soya casein digest broth. The extracellular protease was purified from culture supernatant using ammonium sulfate precipitation and ion-exchange chromatography. The enzyme was further characterized by SDS-PAGE and zymography, which confirmed the purity of the protein and its molecular mass was found to be ~52 kDa. Further MALDI-TOF/TOF analysis and effect of metal chelating agent 1,10-phenanthrolin study revealed the nature of the purified protease as a secreted alkaline metalloprotease. The bioefficacy of the purified protease was also tested against cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera) and resulted in $67.9{\pm}0.64%$ mortality within one week. This purified protease has the potential to be developed as a natural insecticidal agent against a broad range of agriculturally important insects.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.287-292
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• 2005

Objective: Recent clinical studies have demonstrated that intracisternal administration of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator(rt-PA) can facilitate the normal clearing of blood from the subarachnoid space. Urokinase, a first generation fibrinolytic agent, has been used to liquify such clots with some success. Therefore, recombinant tissue plasminogen activator, a second generation fibrinolytic drug that may be safer and more effective, is studied to evaluate its dosage to lyse clots in vitro and reactivity in the brain parenchyme. Methods: Intracerebral hematomas were created by stereotactically injecting 2ml of clotted autogenous blood into the brain parenchyme of total 28 anesthetized adult cats (weighting 3.8 to 4.1 kg). The control animals (group A) received 1 ml of normal saline injected into the clots and the experimental animals received each 0.1 mg of rt-PA (group B), 0.5mg of rt-PA (group C) and 1 mg of rt-PA (group D) at 6 hours after the clot injection. Results: 1. The amount of remained clots after lysing the hematomas were as follows: $1.80{\pm}0.17ml$ in group A, $1.65{\pm}0.23ml$ in group B, $0.61{\pm}0.37ml$ in group C and $0.52{\pm}0.34$ in group D. The result indicated that hematomas in rt-PA treated groups (C & D) were lysed better than the control group. 2. At least 0.5mg of rt-PA should be required for the lysis of 2ml of hematomas. 3. Light microscopic examination revealed no histological evidence of hemorrhage in tissue sections from each brain. Conclusion: Recombinant tissue plasminogen activator may be safely and effectively employed for the lysis of intracerebral hematomas in animal model.

• Korean Journal of Bronchoesophagology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.60-66
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• 2003

Although there is a wide range of diseases caused by gastric acid reflux and the number of cases is on the rise, it is difficult for the laryngologist to make the correct diagnosis. The treatment for laryngopharyngeal reflux can be grouped into 3 categories - changes in lifestyle, medication, and surgery. The medication used to treat laryngopharyngeal reflux are prokinetic agents and acid supressive agents such as antacids, H2 blockers, and PPIs(Proton pump inhibitor). Rabeprazole sodium($Pariet^{\circledR}$) is a newly developed agent belonging to the PPI group, but in contrast with the existing drugs such as omeprazole, lansoprazole, pantoprazole, has a low dependency on CYP2C19 during the metabolic cycle. Thus, it is known to have a quick but fixed antiacid effect and less individual differences. We analyzed 2166 patients from 32 hospitals who were prescribed $Pariet^{\circledR}$ from May, 2001 to April, 2002. The patients were divided into 4 groups according to the duration of treatment - Group 1: 1-14 days, Group 2: 15-28 days, group 3: 29-56 days, Group 4: more than 56 days. The cases were then analyzed for improvement of 8 symptoms(heart bum, regurgitation, chronic cough, hoarseness, globus sensation, chronic throat clearing, sore throat, and dysphagia), improvement on laryngoscope, usefulness to the doctor, and complication development. Of the total of 2116 patients, 1627(75.1%) cases showed at least 50% improvement of symptoms and the amount of improvement increased according to the duration of medical treatment. Most of the patients showed objective improvement on the laryngoscope, with 32.9% showing significant improvement and 38.7% showing moderate improvement. 37.6% of the doctors questioned replied that $Pariet^{\circledR}$ was very useful and 50.3% said it was useful, showing that most were satisfied with the treatment results. The complications known to develop after taking PPI are headache, nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain, constipation, dizziness, fatigue, and of these, only a small percentage of the patients complained of mild headache. $Pariet^{\circledR}$ has shown to be a relatively safe and effective drug for the treatment of laryngopharyngeal reflux.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.691-703
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• 1998

Saliva is obviously potential medium to protect the dental caries by not only physical clearing effect, but aggregating action of protein with bacteria. Nevertheless, we still do not understand how the dental caries occur and what brings the individual difference in caries prevalence. In the regards of dental caries prevalence, we hypothesized that the composition of salivary protein might be different from caries susceptible group to caries resistant group. The purposes of this experiment were focused on the molecular analysis of salivary proteins from the subjects who were involved in multiple caries. Electrophoretic analysis was done on the whole saliva collected from the children with and without multiple caries. We found 86.2% of subjects with multiple caries has approximately 120 KDa protein band while 30.4% in the healthy subjects. And the concentration of the total protein on the subjects with multiple caries is significantly higher than that of the healthy group. However, it turned out that the difference of the salivary composition does not affect the bacterial adhesion to hydroxyapatite bead. With regards of enzymes in saliva, the activity of ${\alpha}-amylase$ and lactate dehydrogenase does not have any significant difference between both groups. However, the concentrations of $Na^+\;and\;Cl^-$ in saliva from multiple caries group is higher than that of the control group. Taken all together, it may be concluded that 120 KDa protein in saliva may be associated with the process of dental caries, also the high concentration of protein and $Na^+,\;Cl^-$ in saliva may be linked to dental caries development as a cofactors.

• ALGAE
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.325-336
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• 2017

Intertidal community recovery and resilience were investigated with quantitative and qualitative perspectives as a function of disturbance timing. The study was conducted in a lower intertidal rock bed of the southern coast of South Korea. Six replicates of artificial disturbance of a $50cm{\times}50cm$ area were made by clearing all visible organisms on the rocky substrate in four seasons. Each of the seasonally cleared plots was monitored until the percent cover data reached the control plot level. There was a significant difference among disturbance timing during the recovery process in terms of speed and community components. After disturbances occurred, Ulva pertusa selectively preoccupied empty spaces quickly (in 2-4 months) and strongly (50-90%) in all plots except for the summer plots where non-Ulva species dominated throughout the recovery period. U. pertusa acted as a very important biological variable that determined the quantitative and qualitative recovery capability of a community. The qualitative recovery of communities was rapid in summer plots where U. pertusa did not recruit and the community recovery rate was the lowest in winter plots where U. pertusa was highly recruited with a long duration of distribution. In this study, U. pertusa was a pioneer species while being a dominant species and acted as a clearly negative element in the process of qualitative recovery after disturbance. However, the negative effect of U. pertusa did not occur in summer plots, indicating that disturbance timing should be considered as a parameter in understanding intertidal community resilience in temperate regions with four distinct seasons.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.77-82
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• 2015

Objectives : The Korean medical doctors use PMR(Polygoni Multiflori Radix) for nourishing the liver-kidney, loosing the bowel to relieve constipation, recovering from malaria, and clearing away heat and eliminating toxin, etc. But, this study was performed to investigate the effect of water extracts from PMR on prevention of hyperlipidemia and liver damage induced by alcohol. Methods ： Except for the normal group, we fed rat on 25% alcohol for 55 days. And the extract was administrated for the same period. We measured the serum components in rat's blood, body weight and weight of liver. Results ： At first, we observed effects of PMR on prevention of hyperlipidemia induced by alcohol. PMR group showed significant decrease of total cholesterol and triglyceride in comparison with those of the control group. PMR group showed significant increase of body weight in comparison with those of the control group in 4weeks and 8weeks. At second, we observed effects of PMR on prevention of liver damage induced by alcohol. PMR group showed significant decrease of GOT, GPT, ALP, and LDH in comparison with those of the control group. PMR group showed significant increase of liver weight in comparison with those of the control group. Conclusions ： Reviewing these experimental results, it appears that water extracts from PMR have pharmaceutical efficacy on prevention of hyperlipidemia and liver damage induced by alcohol. Therefore further additional study should be conducted to elucidate in depth the pharmaceutical efficacy of these.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.40-46
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• 2003

Background and Objectives : The vocal fold granuloma has been associated with vocal abuse, gastroesophageal reflux, endotracheal intubation and habitual throat clearing etc.. Granuloma is benign growth of hypertrophic granulation tissue. It is usually located on the posterior third of vocal fold, in one or both vocal process of the arytenoid cartilage In spite of the voice therapy, steroid therapy, anti-reflex therapy and surgical procedure. The distinct advantage and uniform success rate of each methods have not been generally shown. Authors report that localized injection of botulinum toxin type A (BOTOX$^{\circledR}$) is the promising method both as an initial treatment and as an alternative treatment in patients who do not respond to standard therapy or who are poor surgical candidates. Materials and Method : We carried out a retrospective study of 9 patients with the diagnosis of vocal fold granuloma on the videostroboscopic examination from Jan 2000 to Mar 2003. The botulinum toxin type A was injected into one or both thyroarytenoid muscle or lateral cricoarytenoid muscle under the electromyography. The average dosage ranges from 6U to 8U per injection. Results : Unilateral vocal fold granuloma in 7 patients had been resolved completely within 2-3 months after first injection : 5 patients received th\ulcorner GER medical therapy in addition to the Botulinum toxin injections, 2 patients was resolved completely who had shown recurrence after $CO_2$ laser vaporization. 2 patients who had shown recurrence after $1^st$ injection were also completely resolved within 6 months after further injections. Conclusion : We expect that localized injection of Botulinum toxin type A can provide an alternative treatment for the refractory cases to the traditional forms of therapy and avoid the recurrence in conjunction with proper medical and voice therapy against GER and vocal abuse.