• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.365-376
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to clarify the effect of light emitting diode (LED) irradiation on healing of impaired wound and alteration of mast cells in experimental diabetic rats. Twenty-four male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups: excision (Ex), excision-LED irradiation (Ex-LED), diabetes + excision (DM) and diabetes + excision + LED irradiation (DM-LED). Diabetes was induced in rats by streptozotocin (STZ) injection (70 mg/kg, single dose) and 6 mm punch excision wounds were created on the back after shaving hair. The LED-irradiated rats were treated to a daily dose of $5\;J/cm^2$ LED (630 nm) light for 11 days after surgery, and were killed at day 1, 3, 7 and 11. The lesion and adjacent skin tissues were excised, fixed with 10% buffered formalin and embedded with paraffin. For evaluation of wound healing, hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and Masson trichrome staining were performed. Mast cells (MCs) were stained with toluidine blue (pH 0.5) and quantified using a computerized image analysis system. The proliferation activity of keratinocyte in skin tissues was analyzed on sections immunostained with proliferative cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). The results showed that wound healing rate, collagen density and neo-epidermis length, number of PCNA-positive cells, fibroblasts and mast cells were significantly higher in the LED-irradiated rats than in the DM and Ex rats throughout the periods of experiment. Exceptionally, the number of MCs was significantly lower at day 11 compared with day 7 after surgery in the all groups. These findings suggest that the LED irradiation may promote the tissue repair process by accelerating keratinocyte and fibroblast proliferation and collagen production in normal rats as well as in diabetic rats, and MCs may play an important role at an early stage of skin wound healing in normal and diabetic rats.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.1-18
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• 2017

Objectives : This review aims to evaluate a risk of bias by risk of bias tool and RoBANS(Risk of Bias Assessment tool for Non-randomized Study) tool for clinical trial papers proving treatment effect of Korean medicines to alopecia and provides the newest reason of effectiveness of herbs to alopecia. Methods : Data were collected through electronic database including NDSL, KISS, KMBASE, Koreantk, OASIS, KoreaMed, KISTI, Pubmed, Cochrane CENTRAL and CINAHL. Two experts in Oriental Medicine assessed risk of bias of randomized controlled trials by Cochrane group's Risk of Bias tool and non-randomized controlled trials by RoBANS tool after searching, reviewing and selecting papers. Results : Total number of selected trials is 20 including 4 randomized controlled trial, 13 non-randomized controlled trials and 3 case reports. This study evaluate the risk of bias of 17 papers including 4 randomized controlled trials and 13 non-randomized controlled trials except 3 case reports by risk of bias tool and RoBANS tool. All papers of randomized controlled trials are evaluated unclear for random sequence generation and allocation concealment as there are no word on them. And all papers of non-randomized controlled trials are evaluated unclear for blinding of outcome assessments and relatively low for others. Conclusions : Korean medicine intervention can be an effective for treatment in alopecia. It was evaluated by hair density, thickness and expert panel assessment of photographs and all results are statistically significant. But enhancing levels of evidence, we must try to reduce bias in researches and report a safety, protocol and IRB.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.235-239
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• 2022

A 10-year-old neutered male Siberian Husky presented with paraparesis and severe lethargy. On physical examination, the patient was unable to weight-bear and walk and exhibited significant muscle mass loss in both hindlimbs and generalized truncal alopecia with a dull coat of hair. On neurological examination, cranial lumbar vertebral pain, hind limb cross-extensor reflex, delayed hindlimb postural reaction, upper motor neuron bladder dysfunction, and total absence of cutaneous trunci reflex were identified. Computed tomography revealed diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis and spondylosis deformans of the cervical and thoracolumbar vertebrae. In addition, a generalized decrease in bone mineral density of the vertebrae was identified. Magnetic resonance imaging showed hyperplasia of the epidural fat compressing the spinal cord in the thoracolumbar region and concurrent mild multiple intervertebral disc herniations. No specific findings were observed in cerebrospinal fluid analysis. Blood analysis of thyroid function revealed decreased total T4 and free T4 levels, and increased TSH levels. The patient was tentatively diagnosed with spinal epidural lipomatosis (SEL) secondary to hypothyroidism. The patient was treated with levothyroxine, firocoxib, and gabapentin. Clinical signs gradually improved, and the patient showed normal ambulation 40 days after treatment initiation. SEL is extremely rare in dogs. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of SEL secondary to hypothyroidism that was treated conservatively. Secondary SEL can be sufficiently managed by treating the underlying cause, if possible.

• BMB Reports
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• v.57 no.5
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• pp.256-261
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• 2024

In the context of aging, the susceptibility to infectious diseases increases, leading to heightened morbidity and mortality. This phenomenon, termed immunosenescence, is characterized by dysregulation in the aging immune system, including abnormal alterations in lymphocyte composition, elevated basal inflammation, and the accumulation of senescent T cells. Such changes contribute to increased autoimmune diseases, enhanced infection severity, and reduced responsiveness to vaccines. Utilizing aging animal models becomes imperative for a comprehensive understanding of immunosenescence, given the complexity of aging as a physiological process in living organisms. Our investigation focuses on Cisd2, a causative gene for Wolfram syndrome, to elucidate on immunosenescence. Cisd2 knockout (KO) mice, serving as a model for premature aging, exhibit a shortened lifespan with early onset of aging-related features, such as decreased bone density, hair loss, depigmentation, and optic nerve degeneration. Intriguingly, we found that the Cisd2 KO mice present a higher number of neutrophils in the blood; however, isolated neutrophils from these mice display functional defects. Through mass spectrometry analysis, we identified an interaction between Cisd2 and Calnexin, a protein known for its role in protein quality control. Beyond this function, Calnexin also regulates calcium homeostasis through interaction with sarcoendoplasmic reticulum calcium transport ATPase (SERCA). Our study proposes that Cisd2 modulates calcium homeostasis via its interaction with Calnexin and SERCA, consequently influencing neutrophil functions.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.85-91
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• 2007

Dlx3 is a homeodomain protein and is known to playa role in development and differentiation of many tissues. Deletion of four base pairs in DLX3 (NT3198) is causally related to tricho-dento-osseous (TDO) syndrome (OMIM # 190320), a genetic disorder manifested by taurodontism, hair abnormalities, and increased bone density in the cranium. Although the observed defects of TDO syndrome involves bone, little is known about the role of Dlx3 in bone remodeling process. In this study, we examined the effect of wild type DLX3 (wtDlx3) expression on osteoclast differentiation and compared it with that of 4-BP DEL DLX3 (TDO mtDlx3). To examine whether Dlx3 is expressed during RANKL-induced osteoclast differentiation, RAW264.7 cells were cultured in the presence of receptor activator of nuclear factor-B ligand (RANKL). Dlx3 protein level increased slightly after RANKL treatment for 1 day and peaked when the fusion of prefusion osteoclasts actively progressed. When wtDlx3 and TDO mtDlx3 were overexpressed in RAW264.7 cells, they enhanced RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis and the expression of osteoclast differentiation marker genes such as calcitonin receptor, vitronectin receptor and cathepsin K. Since osteoclast differentiation is critically regulated by the balance between RANKL and osteoprotegerin (OPG), we examined the effect of Dlx3 overexpression on expression of RANKL and OPG in C2C12 cells in the presence of bone morphogenetic protein 2. Overexpression of wtDlx3 enhanced RANKL mRNA expression while slightly suppressed OPG expression. However, TDO mtDlx3 did not exert significant effects. This result suggests that inability of TDO mtDlx3 to regulate expression of RANKL and OPG may contribute to increased bone density in TDO syndrome patients. Taken together, it is suggested that Dlx3 playa role as a positive regulator of osteoclast differentiation via up-regulation of osteoclast differentiation-associated genes in osteoclasts, as well as via increasing the ratio of RANKL to OPG in osteoblastic cells.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.411-417
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• 2009

This research is intended to discover physiological and biochemical defense mechanisms against herbivores of 8 species of the genus Acerby examining the morphological characteristics of the leaf, the structure and number of leaf domatia, herbivores insects and mites feeding on leaves, which were collected from the trees growing in Mt. Chiak, Mt. Cheongtae, Mt. Jungwang, Mt. Bangtae, Mt. Taebaek and Wonju City. This research was conducted from May through July, 2009, and the results are as follows. The domatia of A. pseudosieboldianum, A. pictum subsp. mono and A. mandshuricum belongs to tuft type; that of A. palmatum, A. triflorum and A. tschonoskii pocket+tuft type; and that of A. tegmentosum pocket type. The number of domatia per leaf turned out to be the highest in the case of A. tegmentosum(20.2), and the lowest in the case of A. ginnala (4.2). Leaf surface trichomes of A. palmatum, A. pseudosiebotdianum, A. ginnala and A. mandshuricum are covered with villi; those of A. pictum subsp. mono and A. triflorum with soft, pilose type of hair, and those of A. tschonoskii with stiff, strigose hair. The trichome density of lower leaf surface is found to be higher than that of the upper leaf surface. Only in the case of A. palmatum, A. pseudosieboldianum, A. tegmentosum and A. tschonoskii, a small amount of nectar is found to be secreted from the distal vein parts of the leaf margin. The number of mites on each leaf are found to be significantly different among tree species, and average mites number per leaf was the highest in the case of A. tschonoskii (9.2/leaf), and A. mandshuricum, A. pseudosieboldianum, and A. triflorum follow it in decreasing order. Minute insects attacking the leaf of Acer spp. include Periphyllus californiensis, P. viridis, Psylla spp, and gall mites, and the number of these insects are found in Periphyllus californiensis, Psylla spp, P. viridis, and Cicadellidae sp. in decreasing order. The natural enemies of these herbivores insects are predatory mites, such as Chilocorus rubidus, Coccinella septempunctata and the nymph, Aphidius ervi, Poecilocoris lewisi and its larva, and Poecilocoris lewisi. Lasius japonicus and Formica japonica are symbiotic with aphids, and supports herbivores. Finally, our research confirmed that predatory mites attack Periphyllus californiensis and suck the body fluid of their victim. This proves that mites form a symbiotic relationship with plants through the mediation of leaf domatia. This also indicates that a protective mutualism may be more conspicuous in temperate broad-leaved trees.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.67-73
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• 2009

Purpose : In spite of the karyotype and phenotype diversity in Turner syndrome patients, there are few reports about such differences in Korea. We reviewed the data of chromosome abnormalities, clinical manifestations, and comorbidities of Turner syndrome patients in Kyungpook National University Hospital to compare them to the recent hypotheses about sex chromosome gene loci related to Turner symptoms. Materials and Methods : We identified the cytologic findings of 92 patients with Turner syndrome and the clinical findings of 62 patients among them. Results : 54.3 percent of patients had 45,X while 45.7 percent showed other karyotype combinations (45,X/46,XX, 45,X/46,XX/47,XXX, 46,X,del(Xp), 46,X,del(Xq), 45,X/46,X,del(Xq), 46,X,i(Xq), 45,X/46,X,i (Xq)). The Turner symptoms found included short neck, high arched palate, broad chest, Madelung deformity, short metacarpals, scoliosis, cubitus valgus, low hair line, webbed neck, edematous extremities, pigmented nevus, and sexual infantilism. The specific diseases associated Turner syndrome included renal abnormalities, congenital heart disease, hearing defects, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, and decreased bone density. The phenotype of the mosaicism group was milder than that of the monosomy group. In the case of 46,X,del(Xp) and 45,X/46,X,del(Xq) groups, all had skeletal abnormalities, but the 46,X,del(Xq) group had none. In the case of 46,X,del(Xp) group, all showed short statures and skeletal abnormalities, but no sexual infantilism was observed. In the case of 46,X,i(Xq) and 45,X/46,X,i(Xq) groups, they all showed delayed puberty and had primary amenorrhea. Conclusion : It is important to study karyotype-phenotype correlations in patients with Turner syndrome to obtain interesting information about the genotype-phenotype correlations related to the X chromosome.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.119-125
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• 2007

Dlx3 is a homeodomain protein and is known to play a role in development and differentiation of many tissues. Deletion of four base pairs in DLX3 (NT3198) is causally related to tricho-dento-osseous (TDO) syndrome (OMIM #190320), a genetic disorder manifested by taurodontism, hair abnormalities, and increased bone density in the cranium. The molecular mechanisms that explain the phenotypic characteristics of TDO syndrome have not been clearly determined. In this study, we examined phenotypic characteristics of wild type DLX3(wtDlx3) and 4-BP DEL DLX3 (TDO mtDlx3) in C2C12 cells. To investigate how wtDlx3 and TDO mtDlx3 differentially regulate osteoblastic differentiation, reporter assays were performed by using luciferase reporters containing the promoters of alkaline phosphatase, bone sialoprotein or osteocalcin. Both wtDlx3 and TDO mtDlx3 enhanced significantly all the reporter activities but the effect of mtDlx3 was much weaker than that of wtDlx3. In spite of these differences in reporter activity, electrophoretic mobility shift assay showed that both wtDlx3 and TDO mtDlx3 formed similar amounts of DNA binding complexes with Dlx3 binding consensus sequence or with ALP promoter oligonucleotide bearing the Dlx3 binding core sequence. TDO mtDlx3 exhibits a longer half-life than wtDlx3 and it corresponds to PESTfind analysis result showing that potential PEST sequence was missed in carboxy terminal of TDO mtDlx3. In addition, co-immunoprecipitation demonstrated that TDO mtDlx3 binds to Msx2 more strongly than wtDlx3. Taken together, though TDO mtDlx3 acted as a weaker transcriptional activator than wtDlx3 in osteoblastic cells, there is possibility that during in vivo osteoblast differentiation TDO mtDlx3 may antagonize transcriptional repressor activity of Msx2 more effectively and for longer period than wtDlx3, resulting in enhancement of osteoblast differentiation.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.88 no.1
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• pp.11-17
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• 1999

Morphological variations in leaves and leaf trichomes according to tree age were investigated for the identification of Quercus taxa at the different stages of development. The sizes of leaves from one-year-old seedlings of Q. serrata, Q. dentata, and Q. aliena were the smallest and increased with tree age. Blade length, blade width, petiole length, number of serration, and serration depth war also varied with tree age. Therefore, the examined taxa by the size and form of leaves were hardly identified at juvenile stages. The type, structure, and density of leaf trichomes of each species varied remarkably along with tree age. Three types of trichomes such as small stellate hairs, large stellate hairs, and long single hairs were observed on the abaxial side of leaves of Quercus taxa. In matured trees of Q. serrata both small stellate and long single hairs on leaves were observed. On the other hand large stellate hairs were found in leaves of Q. dentata. There were small stellate hairs in Q. aliens. In Q. mongolica var. crispula, no hair or small stellate hairs were occasionally found. It is possible to identify Q. serrata and Q. dentata by the characteristics of trichome even at two to three year old seedlings, while, it is difficult to tell Q. aliens and Q. mongolica var. crispula of seedlings from other taxa only by those of trichome.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.247-272
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• 2005

The Philadelphus schrenkii complex including P. schrenkii var. schrenkii, P. schrenkii var. jackii, P. schrenkii var. mandshuricus, P. tenuifolius, P. pekinensis, P. seoulensis, P. lasiogynus, and P. scaber, is distributed in China, Korea, japan, and far eastern Russia. Their taxonomic delimitations are obscure because quantitative characters, such as presence/absence and density of hair on leaf, petiole, style, disc, calyx-tube, and pedicel, are highly variable with no apparent characteristics that consistently distinguish from each other within the group. Thus, these morphological characters are reexamined using univariate analyses. P. pekinenesis is distinct from other taxa in having glabrous disk, calyx, pedicel, and leaf blade. In addition, the number of flowers in an inflorescence [(5)7-9(11) vs 5-7 in other taxa], smaller calyx tube [2.5-3 mm vs. (2.5)3-4(5.9) in other taxa], and slightly divided styles help distinguish P. pekinenesis from other related taxa in Korea. However, P. schrenkii var. schrenkii, P. schrenkii var. jackii, P. schrenkii var. mandshuricus, and P. lasiogynus show continuous variation in the pubescence of disk, calyx, pedicel, and leaf blade, and this may reflect a lack of divergence among them. Particular emphases are placed on P. tenuifolius and P. seoulensis, because of the high degree of morphological intergradation with respect to the degree of pubescence in disk, calyx, pedicel, and leaf blade and their inconsistent circumscription across various systematic treatments. P. scaber, distributed in the southern Korea, has often been treated as an independent species having exfoliated branchlets, distinct serrated leaf margin, and recurved styles. However, this current study suggests that P. scaber should be recognized as a form of P. tenuifolius because these distinguishing characters are continuous between P. tenuifolius and P. scaber. In geographical distribution, P. pekinensis is mainly distributed in the southern part of Korea, while P. tenuifoilus and P. schrenkii are commonly found all over the country.