• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.332-338
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• 1992

Samples of ho subspecies of striped field mice, Apodemus agrarius coreue & Apodemus ograrius cheiuensis, from four localities in Korea were used for the analyses of mitochondrial DNA fragment patterns resulted from the digestion with eight restriction enzvmes. A total of 31 fragments were recognized and 15 clones were revealed. The 15 clones were grouped into four major subgroups. One sample from Cheongiu was distinct, and formed one of the four major subgroups: the mean divergence wi6 other subgroups was 4.6 per cent, and extensive analyses using samples from various sites are necessary to clarify the taxonomic status of the subgroup. Samples from Cheju island constituted another subgroup, and they should be named as hpodemus cheiuensis. Samples from Wan island composed still another subgroup, and thew seemed to be another population of Apodemus chejuensis: further analvses are needed for the classification of Apodemus cheiuensis. In the last subgroup composed of six of seven samples from Cheongiu and four samples from Haenam, two samples from Cheonsiu and one sample from Haenam were identical in their mitochondrial genotypes, indicating that these striped field mice from Cheongiu and Haenam have close maternal relationship.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.301-304
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• 2018

Rodents are important reservoirs of diseases affecting people and livestock, and are major sources of parasite contamination of agricultural products. We surveyed the infection status of intestinal helminths in 2 species of field mice, Apodemus agrarius and A. peninsulae, captured in the agricultural fields of Gangwon-do and Chungcheongnam-do, Korea. Total 83 mice (57 A. agrarius and 26 A. peninsulae) were collected in 2 surveyed areas, and the intestines of each mouse were opened with scissors, and then intestinal contents were examined with microscope. Total 6 species of intestinal helminth were detected in 61 (73.5%) out of 83 mice examined. Four species of nematode, i.e., Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, Aspiculuris tetraptera, Heterakis spp. and ascarid, were found in 40 (48.2%), 14 (16.9%), 11 (13.3%) and 13 (15.7%) mice respectively. One species of cestode, Hymenolepis diminuta and 1 unidentified egg were also detected in the intestines of 14 (16.9%) and 1 (1.2%) mice, respectively. Conclusively, this study identified 5 helminth species in the gastrointestinal tracts of wild rodents captured in some areas in central and northern Korea, and N. brasiliensis was the most prevalent (dominant) species rather than zoonotic ones.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.257-264
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• 2017

Introduction: Pharmacopuncture, which combines acupuncture with herbal medicine, is one of the newly developed acupuncture techniques that has recently been put into use. The possible mechanisms of scolopendra pharmacopuncture, as well as its potential effects on depressive symptoms, were investigated in this study by using a mouse model of chronic immobilization stress (CIS). Methods: C57BL/6 male mice were randomly assigned into three groups: mice not stressed with restraint and injected with distilled water, mice stressed with restraint and injected with distilled water, and mice stressed with restraint injected with scolopendra pharmacopuncture at a cervical site. Behavioral tests (an open field test, tail suspension test, and forced swimming test) were carried out after two weeks of CIS and injection treatments. The expression levels of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in the hippocampus were determined by using western blot and immunohistochemistry analyses. Results: Mice exposed to CIS showed decreased behavioral activity, while scolopendra pharmacopuncture treatment significantly protected against the depressive-like behaviors induced by CIS. Moreover, scolopendra pharmacopuncture treatment increased GFAP protein levels in the hippocampi of the mice stressed by chronic immobilization. Conclusion: Scolopendra pharmacopuncture has an ameliorating effect on depressive behavior, which is partially mediated through protection against glial loss in the hippocampus.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.217-242
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• 2010

Objective : This study is aimed to evaluate the effects of Evodiae Fructus herbal-acupuncture (EF-HA) at KI10 on osteoporosis induced by ovariectomy in mice. Method : Mice underwent bilateral ovariectomy. After recovering, the ovariectomized (OVX) mice were treated by needle prick, saline injection, herbal acupuncture with Evodiae Fructus (EF-HA) at KI10 for 8 weeks. Result : 1. EF-HA at KI10 significantly inhibited the overgrowth of tibia in ovariectomized mice. 2. NP at KI10 significantly restored the tibial BMD (bone mineral density) in ovariectomized mice. 3. EF-HA at KI10 significantly restored the phosphorus and creatinine levels in ovariectomized mice serum. 4. EF-HA at KI10 significantly restored the tibial Ca and P levels in ovariectomized mice. 5. EF-HA at KI10 significantly reduced the tibial osteoclast-like cells in ovariectomized mice. 6. EF-HA at KI10 significantly inhibited the overgrowth of tibial GPL (growth plate length) in ovariectomized mice. Conclusion : EF-HA at KI10 has protective and therapeutic effect for osteoporosis in ovariectomized mice. Thus, it is suggested that EF-HA can be an useful therapeutics in clinical field after further researches.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.27-33
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• 2014

Objectives: The main objective of this study was to evaluate the anti-depressant effects of pharmacopuncture using sumsu (Bufonis venenum). Methods: Animals were divided into three groups (control, sham, and experimental), with eight mice per group. The sham and the experimental groups were exposed to 2 hours of immobilization stress daily for 14 days. They were also injected with normal saline (sham) or subjected to pharmacopuncture with sumsu at the acupoints HT7, SP6, and GV20 (experimental). The depression or anxiety-like behaviors of the mice in each group were evaluated 1 day after treatment. Results: There was no difference in locomotor activity between the groups during the open-field test; i.e., all groups had normal motor function. However, the open-field and the forced-swimming tests revealed that depression and anxiety-like behaviors were decreased significantly in the group treated with sumsu pharmacopuncture. Conclusion: Sumsu pharmacopuncture attenuated depressive or anxiety-like behavior in mice stressed with chronic immobilization. These results suggest that sumsu pharmacopuncture has therapeutic potential for treating neuropsychiatric disorders such as anxiety or depression disorder.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.453-459
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• 2014

Chronic mild stress (CMS) has been reported to induce an anhedonic-like state in mice that resembles some of the symptoms of human depression. In the present study, we used a chronic mild stress animal model of depression and anxiety to examine the responses of two strains of mice that have different behavioral responsiveness. An outbred ICR and an inbred C57BL/6 strain of mice were selected because they are widely used strains in behavioral tests. The results showed that the inbred C57BL/6 and outbred ICR mice were similarly responsive to CMS treatment in sucrose intake test (SIT) and open field test (OFT). However, the two strains showed quite different responses in forced swimming test (FST) and novelty-suppressed feeding (NSF) test after 3 weeks of CMS treatment. Only C57BL/6 mice displayed the depression- and anxiety-like behavioral effects in response to CMS treatment in FST and NSF test. Our results suggest that there are differences in responsiveness to CMS according to the different types of strain of mice and behavioral tests. Therefore, these results provide useful information for the selection of appropriate behavioral methods to test depression- and anxiety-like behaviors using CMS in ICR and C57BL/6 mice.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.183-188
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• 2008

The behavioral phenotypes of out-bred ICR mice were compared with those of in-bred C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice. In particular, this study examined the locomotor activity and two forms of hippocampus-dependent learning paradigms, passive avoidance and object recognition memory. The basal open-field activity of the ICR strain was greater than that of the C57BL/6 and BALB/c strains. In the passive avoidance task, all the mice showed a significant increase in the cross-over latency when tested 24 hours after training. The strength of memory retention in the ICR mice was relatively weak and measurable, as indicated by the shorter cross-over latency than the C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice. In the object recognition memory test, all strains had a significant preference for the novel object during testing. The index for the preference of a novel object was lower for the ICR and BALB/c mice. Nevertheless, the variance and the standard deviation in these strains were comparable. Overall, these results confirm the strain differences on locomotor activity and hippocampus-dependent learning and memory in mice.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.344-348
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• 2006

The crude methanolic extract of the bark of Cerbera odollam Gaertn. was evaluated for its possible antinociceptive and neuropharmacological activities in animal models. At the dose of 250 and 500 mg/kg body weight, the extract showed a significant antinociceptive effect in acetic acid induced writhing in mice comparable to that produced by aspirin, used as standard drug (P<0.001). The extract significantly reduced the time of onset of sleep (P<0.01) and potentiated the pentobarbital induced sleeping time in mice at the dose of 400 mg/kg of body weight significantly (P<0.001). It also decreased the open field score in open field test significantly at the dose of 400 mg/kg of body weight (P < 0.05). The obtained results tend to suggest the probable antinociceptive and neuropharmacological activities of the crude extract.

• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.81-92
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• 1982

G- and C-banding pattern analyses of striped field mice (Apodemus agrarius coreae) using 17 specimens from four localities in Korea revealed that centromeric heterochromatin results in the variation of No. 1 chromosome pair (telocentri $c_telocentric), i.e., centromeric heterochromatin sometimes appeared to be recognized as short arm. G- and C-banding patterns of four black rats (R. rattus rufescens) from two localities in Korea showed that No. 1 chromosome polymorphism (telocentri $c_telocentric) is due to pericentric inversion. In addition, G- and C-banding patterns of black rats mentioned above are idiogrammed.ammed.

• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.272-282
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• 1986

Univariate and multivariate analyses of morphometric characters were performed with samples of three subspecies of striped field mice (Apodemus agrarius coreae, A. agrarius pallescens, and A. agrarius chejuensis). It was found that the samples of A. agrarius chejuensis from Jeju-Do were distintc from those of the other two subspecies from the Korean peninsular, whereas subspecies coreae was similar to subspecies pallescens: it is concluded that A. agrarius pallescens is a synonym of A. agrarius coreae. Further analyses will be needed to clearify the subspecific status of A. agrarius chejuensis.