• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.38 no.3 s.248
• /
• pp.245-248
• /
• 2005

Drugs containing ergotamine are widely used in the treatment of migraine. Spastic vasoconstriction is one of the most serious side effects even with recommended dosage. We report a case of 63-year-old male with severe arterial occlusion of the upper limbs which might be related with vasospasm caused by ergotamine-containing medication because of migraine for f5 years. He was treated with bypass graft, sympathicotomy and heparin and prostaglandin E1 infusion. But dramatic clinical reversal of the vasospasm was obtained after withdrawal of ergotamine.

• Nutritional Sciences
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.26-33
• /
• 2001

Animal and clinical studies as well as epidemiological data have provided convincing evidence that n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids can protect against atherosclerosis. However, the effects of the fatty acids on atherogenesis are contradictory. This discrepancy could derive from great susceptibility of the fatty acids to oxidation. We investigated the effect of eicosapentaenoic aced(EPA) on cellular atherogenesis via the scavenger receptor of THP-1 derived macrophages. THP-1 cells were fully differentiated into macrophages by incubating with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate for seven days. Atherogenic features of EPA were compared by subsitituting for linoleic acid (LA). Macrophages were also incubated without treatment of the fatty acids as controls. EPA (5-50 nmol/mL) was not cytotoxic and did not measurably induce cellular oxidation compared to bovine serum albumin (BSA) vehicle or identical doses of LA. EPA increased macrophage uptake and degradation of acetylated LDL(AcLDL) up to 14% and 88%, respectively. EPA increased markedly total cellular sterol synthesis and heparin-releasable lipoprotein lipase activity of macrophages, indicating that EPA may enhance accumulation of cellular cholesteryl ester and possibly facilitate formation of foam cells. These results demonstrate that EPA promotes the modified LDL-triggered atherosclerotic process by the modulation of the scavenger receptor and the activation of LPL in macrophages.

• Journal of Photoscience
• /
• v.7 no.3
• /
• pp.123-128
• /
• 2000

Phosphorylation of cellular proteins is a key regulatory mehanism for signal transduction pathway in living cells. Phytochrome, a red/far-red light photoreceptor in plants, is known to employ protein phosphorylation for its light signaling, although its detauked mechanism is still ambiguous. This study is intended to identify the phosphoproteins and protein kinases that are regulated by phytochrome, by employing transgenic rice seedlings that overexpress Arabidopsis phytochrome A. Red light stimulated phsophorylation of a 70 kDa protein and far-red light negated the effect. The red light induced phosphotylation of the 70 kDa protein was strongly activated by heparin and inhibited by poly-L-lysine, suggesting that the 70 kDa protein phosphorylating kinase belongs to GSK-3/SHAGGY protein kinase that has functional roles in establishing cell fate and pattern formation in Drosophila. Taken together with the fact that phytochrome controls plant development, these results may suggest that a GSK-3/SHAGGY-related protein kinase in plant(ASK) is likely to be involved in phytochrome signal transduction.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.20 no.6
• /
• pp.968-973
• /
• 2010

In order to study its biochemical properties, the integrase (IN) protein of feline foamy virus (FFV) was overexpressed in Escherichia coli, purified by two-step chromatography, (Talon column and heparin column), and characterized in biochemical aspects. For the three enzymatic reactions of the 3'-processing, strand transfer, and disintegration activities, the $Mn^{2+}$ ion was essentially required as a cofactor. Interestingly, $Co^{2+}$ and $Zn^{2+}$ ions were found to act as effective cofactors, whereas other transition elements such as $Ni^{2+}$, $Cu^{2+}$, $La^{3+}$, $Y^{3+}$, $Cd^{2+}$, $Li^{1+}$, $Ba^{2+}$, $Sr^{2+}$, and $V^{3+}$ were not. Regarding the substrate specificity, FFV IN has low substrate specificities as it cleaved in a significant level prototype foamy virus (PFV) U5 LTR substrate as well as FFV U5 LTR substrate, whereas PFV IN did not. Finally, the 3'-processing activity was observed in high concentrations of several solvents such as CHAPS, glycerol, Tween 20, and Triton X-100, which are generally used for dissolution of chemicals in inhibitor screening. Therefore, in this first report showing its biochemical properties, FFV IN is proposed to have low specificities on the use of cofactor and substrate for enzymatic reaction as compared with other retroviral INs.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• v.48 no.6
• /
• pp.675-677
• /
• 2005

Pseudothrombocytopenia is usually associated with anticoagulant ethylene diaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). The platelet clumping that occurs in EDTA-dependent pseudothrombocytopenia (EDPT) can sometimes be prevented by the use of other anticoagulants such as heparin or sodium citrate. As an alternative, we used kanamycin before or after the withdrawal of EDTA-anticoagulated blood in a 6-year-old boy with EDPT. Kanamycin used supplementarily during the differentiation of EDPT effectively prevented platelet clumping.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.74-80
• /
• 1998

CS-2l lymphoma cells that preferentially metastasize to lymph nodes after s.c. inoculation into BALB/c mice were grown in vitro in the presence of CA- 12 stromal cells isolated from lymph nodes. In order to obtain fundamental data on the identification and characterization of the soluble factors produced by CA-12 stromal cells, the conditioned medium of CA-12 stromal cells that inhibited apoptosis of CS-21 cells was examined. Various analytical treatments revealed that the soluble factors in CA-12 conditioned medium are very sensitive to heat treatment and trypsinization. Moreover CA-12 conditioned medium has an affinity with heparin but not with Con-A. In addition to these, the activity of CA-12 conditioned medium was blocked by H-7, a PKC inhibitor, but the conditioned medium could not induce the differentiation of thymocytes. We concluded that CA-12 conditioned medium contains stromal cell-derived apoptosis-inhibitory molecules that play an important role in proliferation of CS-2l cells by suppressing cell apoptosis.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.13 no.5
• /
• pp.660-665
• /
• 2003

High-level expression of Thermus caldophilus GK24 alkaline phosphatase (Tca APase) was achieved in Escherichia coli using the pET-based expression plasmids, pEAP1 and pEAP2. In the case of plasmid pEAP2, the signal peptide region of Tca APase was replaced by the PelB leader peptide of expression vector pET-22b(+). Furthermore, the expression level was somewhat higher than that of plasmid pEAPl. A rapid purification procedure of Tca APase overproduced in E. coli was developed which involved heating to denature E. coli proteins followed by HiTrap Heparin HP column chromatography. Optimal temperature and pH and $Mg^{2+}$ dependence of the recombinant Tca APase were similar to those of native enzyme isolated from T. caldophilus GK24.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.48 no.1
• /
• pp.88-90
• /
• 2010

Retroperitoneal hematoma (RH) due to radiologic intervention for an intracranial lesion is relatively rare, difficult to diagnose, and can be lifethreatening. We report a case of RH that developed in a patient on anticoagulant therapy following endovascular coiling of a ruptured anterior communicating artery (AcoA) aneurysm. An 82-year-old man presented with a 12-day history of headache. Computed tomography (CT) on admission demonstrated slight subarachnoid hemorrhage, and left carotid angiography revealed an AcoA aneurysm. The next day, the aneurysm was occluded with coils via the femoral approach under general anesthesia. The patient received a bolus of 5,000 units of heparin immediately following the procedure, and an infusion rate of 10,000 units/day was initiated. The patient gradually became hypotensive 25 hours after coiling. Abdominal CT showed a huge, high-density soft-tissue mass filling the right side of the retroperitoneum space. The patient eventually died of multiple organ failure five days after coiling. RH after interventional radiology for neurological disease is relatively rare and can be difficult to diagnose if consciousness is disturbed. This case demonstrates the importance of performing routine physical examinations, sequentially measuring the hematocrit and closely monitoring systemic blood pressures following interventional radiologic procedures in patients with abnormal mental status.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.45 no.6
• /
• pp.390-395
• /
• 2012

Background: Conventional open repair is a suboptimal therapy for blunt traumatic aortic injury (BTAI) due to the high postoperative mortality and morbidity rates. Recent advances in the thoracic endovascular repair technique may improve outcomes so that it becomes an attractive therapeutic option. Materials and Methods: From August 2003 to March 2012, 21 patients (mean age, 45.81 years) with BTAI were admitted to our institution. Of these, 18 cases (open repair in 11 patients and endovascular repair in 7 patients) were retrospectively reviewed and the early perioperative results of the two groups were compared. Results: Although not statistically significant, there was a trend toward the reduction of mortality in the endovascular repair group (18.2% vs. 0%). There were no cases of paraplegia or endoleak. Statistically significant reductions in heparin dosage, blood loss, and transfusion amounts during the operations and in procedure duration were observed. Conclusion: Compared with open repair, endovascular repair can be performed with favorable mortality and morbidity rates. However, relatively younger patients who have acute aortic arch angulation and a small aortic diameter may be a therapeutic challenge. Improvements in graft design, delivery sheaths, and graft durability are the cornerstone of successful endovascular repair.

• Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.35 no.2
• /
• pp.134-140
• /
• 1997

Botrytis cinerea T91-1 has been shown to produce at least four different polygalacturonases into a liquid medium containing citrus pectin, a carbon sousrce. One of the enzymes, which had an apparent molecular weight of 66 kDa estimated by denatured polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity by a series of procedures including a cetone precipitation, ion exchange, heparin affinity, and reverse phase column chromatographies. The molecular weight of native enzyme was determined to be 64 kDa by gel permeation chromatography indicating the enzyme to be a single polypeptide chain. By viscometric analysis, the enzyme was revealed as exo-polygalacturonase. The enzyme activity was inhibited by divalent cations such as $Ca^{2+}$, $Mg^{2+}$, and Cu$^{2+}$. Km and Vmax for polygalacturonic acid hydrolysis were 0.33 mg/ml and 28.6 nM/min, respectively. The optimum temperature for enzymatic activity was 5$0^{\circ}C$. And the enzyme showed optimal pH values between 4.0 and 5.0. The enzyme was stable upto 12 hours in the range of pH 3 to 8 and at temperature below 3$0^{\circ}C$.