• Toxicological Research
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.279-283
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• 2013

Acanthopanax koreanum Nakai, a well known traditional herb grown in Jeju Island, South of Korea, has been used as a tonic and sedative agent, as well as in the treatment of diabetes and immune diseases. Mutagenicity of two lignans, syringaresinol and tortoside A isolated from A. koreanum, was assessed using Salmonella/microsome (Ames) test. Tester strains used were Salmonella typhimurium TA98, TA100, TA1535, and Escherichia coli WP2uvrA. The mutagenic activity was determined both in the absence or presence of S9 mixture. As a result, tortoside A did not cause any increase in the number of $his^+$ revertants in S. typhimurium and E. coli WP2uvrA strains in the presence or absence of S9 mix, compared to the controls. Similarly, low concentrations of syringaresinol (750 and 1,500 ${\mu}g$/plate) did not show any mutagenic properties in all bacterial strains, in the presence or absence of S9 mixture. However, in the high concentration of syringaresinol (3,000 ${\mu}g$/plate), the number of revertants were increased in TA1535 strains, in the absence of S9 metabolic activation. Therefore, in vivo experiments such as comet assay are needed to further determine the genotoxic/carciogenic potential of syringaresinol isolated from A. koreanum.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.97-101
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• 2011

Cirsium japonicum var. ussuriense is known to have a variety of biological activities, including anti-inflammatory, analgesic activity and antipyretic activity. In this study we investigated the role of polyacetylene compound, 1-Heptadecene-11, 13-diyne-8, 9, 10-triol (PA) from the root of Cirsium japonicum var. ussuriense as an immune-modulator. PA was evaluated as inhibitors of some macrophage functions involved in the inflammatory process. We tested the effect of PA on the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, interleukin-1beta (IL-$1{\beta}$) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-$\alpha$), and nitric oxide (NO) in murine macrophage cell line, RAW264.7. There was no effect on cytokine production of macrophages by PA itself. However, PA inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced IL-$1{\beta}$ and TNF-$\alpha$ production by macrophages at a dose dependent manner. PA also suppressed the NO production of macrophages by LPS. LPS-induced NF-${\kappa}B$ activity was decreased by treatment of PA. Therefore, these results suggest that PA has anti-inflammatory effect by inhibiting the NF-${\kappa}B$ activation.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.111-116
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• 2013

Chrysanthemum indicum is widely used to treat immune-related and infectious disorders in East Asia. C. indicum flower oil contains 1,8-cineole, germacrene D, camphor, ${\alpha}$-cadinol, camphene, pinocarvone, ${\beta}$-caryophyllene, 3-cyclohexen- 1-ol, and ${\gamma}$-curcumene. We evaluated the safety of C. indicum flower oil by conducting acute oral toxicity, bone marrow micronucleus, and bacterial reverse mutation tests. Mortality, clinical signs and gross findings of mice were measured for 15 days after the oral single gavage administration of C. indicum flower oil. There were no mortality and clinical signs of toxicity at 2,000 mg/kg body weight/day of C. indicum flower oil throughout the 15 day period. Micronucleated erythrocyte cell counts for all treated groups were not significantly different between test and control groups. Levels of 15.63~500 ${\mu}g$ C. indicum flower oil/plate did not induce mutagenicity in S. Typhimurium and E. coli, with or without the introduction of a metabolic activation system. These results indicate that ingesting C. indicum flower oil produces no acute oral toxicity, bone marrow micronucleus, and bacterial reverse mutation.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.22-30
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• 2018

Objectives : The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between chronic low grade inflammation theory, psoriasis, and herbal medicine. Methods : We reviewed recent studies on the relationship between chronic low-grade inflammation, psoriasis, and herbal medicine through Pubmed. Results : The pathological basis for psoriasis is the action of inflammatory mediators by the activation of the immune response, which can be a cause of various cardiovascular, metabolic and psychological symptoms of psoriasis patients, in addition to skin lesions. The herbal medicines improve these inflammatory conditions and improve local lesions through herbal medicine such as Qingdai, which have a strong inhibitory effect on IL-17,22 production. Conclusions : Herbal medicines used in psoriasis are thought to be effective not only for the improvement of local psoriasis lesions through anti-inflammatory effect but also for the improvement of systemic inflammation associated with chronic low grade inflammation.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.111-117
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• 2008

Objectives and methods : Previous mechanistic studies suggest the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors represent the good candidates against tumor progression. MeOH extract of the stem barks of Euonymus alatus induced the strong inhibition of COX-2. A phenolic compound responsible for the anti- COX-2 known to involve in tumor adhesion and invasion has been studied through the methanol extracts. The compound, rosmarinic acid (ROS-A) was an ester of caffeic acid and 3,4-dihydroxyphenyllactic acid. ROS-A showed a strong inhibitory effect of COX-2 activity in a concentration-dependent manner. Then we have measured the IL-1${\beta}$, IL-6 and TNF-${\alpha}$ production related the immune regulation, induction of inflammatory related genes. Results and Conclusions :Hep3B cells produce proinflammatory cytokines of IL-1${\beta}$, IL-6 and TNF-${\alpha}$ while ROS A inhibited the cytokines production. Since IL-1${\beta}$, IL-6 and TNF-${\alpha}$ need the transcription factors such as nuclear factor- ${\kappa}$B (NF-${\kappa}$B) and activated protein-1 (AP-1), we measured the transcription factors. ROS-A inhibited the activation of p65, p50, c-Rel subunits of NF-${\kappa}$B and AP-1 transcription factors. These findings indicate that ROS A from the stem bark of E. alatus inhibits proliferation in metastatic cancer cells. It was suggested that stem barks of E. alatus could be suitable for anti-cancer drugs.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.132-139
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• 1998

Currently, cancer is the primary cause of death and 50% of cancer patients are incurable by surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Therefore, immunotherpy is interested as the fourth remedy. Biological response modifier (BRM), such as organometallic compounds, glycoproteins, polysaccharides and other natural products. Is the one which can enhance the immune response against cancer cell. To develop new BRM from natural sources, we investigated 63 species Korean traditional medicines by observing the mitogenic activity to splenocytes, generation of activated killer cells and activation of macrophages. Finally, we selected 9 species including Angelicae gigantis Radix, Mori Cortex Radicis, Arisaematis Tuber, Salviae Radix, Cnidii Rhizoma, Ligusti Fructus, Pasoraliae Semen, Loranthi Ramulus, Ginseng Radix. Bioassay-guided fractionation and purification is undergoing.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.67-75
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• 2006

Background: Cytotoxic function of killer cells is inhibited by specific recognition of class I MHC molecules on target cells by inhibitory killer Ig-like receptors (KIR) expressed on NK cells and some cytotoxic T cells. The inhibitory effect of KIR is accomplished by recruitment of SH2-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase (SHP) to the phosphotyrosine residues in the cytoplasmic tail. Methods: By in vitro coprecipitation experiments and transfection analysis, we investigated the association of KIR with an adaptor protein Shc in Jurkat T cells. Results: The cytoplasmic tail of KIR appeared to associate with an adaptor protein Shc in Jurkat T celilysates. Similar in vitro experiments showed that phosphorylated KIR cytoplasmic tail bound SHP-1 and Shc in Jurkat T cell lysates. The association of KIR with Shc was further confirmed by transfection analysis in 293T cells. Interestingly, however, Shc appeared to be replaced by SHP-2 upon engagement of KIR in 293T cells. Conclusion: Our data indicate that KIR associate with an adaptor protein Shc in Jurkat T cells, and suggest that KIR might have an additional role which is mediated by this adaptor protein.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.289-294
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• 2013

Lipocalin-2 (LCN2) is an acute-phase protein induced by injury, infection, or other inflammatory stimuli. LCN2 binds small hydrophobic ligands and interacts with cell surface receptor to regulate diverse cellular processes. The role of LCN2 as a chemokine inducer in the central nervous system (CNS) has been previously reported. Based on the previous participation of LCN2 in neuroinflammation, we investigated the role of LCN2 in formalin-induced nociception and pathological pain. Formalin-induced nociceptive behaviors (licking/biting) and spinal microglial activation were significantly reduced in the second or late phase of the formalin test in Lcn2 knockout mice. Likewise, antibody-mediated neutralization of spinal LCN2 attenuated the mechanical hypersensitivity induced by peripheral nerve injury in mice. Taken together, our results suggest that LCN2 can be therapeutically targeted, presumably for both prevention and reversal of acute inflammatory pain as well as pathological pain.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.39-45
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• 2011

In the present study, we investigated whether volatile organic compounds induce inflammatory response in human T lymphocytes by evaluating the alteration of inflammatory cytokines. Volatile organic compounds such as formaldehyde, o-xylene, benzene, and hydroquinone have no cytotoxic effects on Jurkat T cells at a high concentration of 50 ${\mu}M$ for 48 h. IL-2, IL-4, IL-13, TNF-${\alpha}$ and IFN-${\gamma}$ were increased after the treatment with volatile organic compounds, although alteration of cytokines is different among volatile organic compounds. LPS as a positive control increased the secretion of IL-2, IL-4, IL-13, TNF-${\alpha}$ and IFN-${\gamma}$. MCP-1 and CCL17 (thymus and activation-regulated chemokine, TARC) were weakly increased after the treatment with volatile organic compounds but the amount of the increased cytokine was below 20 pg/ml. These results suggest that the measurement of cytokine in Jurkat T cells may be used as a useful method for evaluating the toxicity of volatile organic compounds in immune response.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.293-301
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• 2019

Combination chemotherapy is more effective than mono-chemotherapy and is widely used in clinical practice for enhanced cancer treatment. In this study, we investigated the potential synergistic effects of acetaminophen, a common component in many cold medicines, and romidepsin, a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, in the A549 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell line. The combination of acetaminophen and romidepsin also exerted significant cytotoxicity and apoptosis induced by activation of caspase-3 on tumor cells in vitro. Moreover, combination therapy significantly induced increased production of chemokines that stimulate migration of activated T-cells into tumor cells. This mechanism can lead to active T-cell mediated anti-tumor immunity in addition to the direct cytotoxic chemotherapeutic effect. Activated T-cells led to enhanced cytotoxicity in drug-treated A549 cells through interaction with tumor cells. These results suggested that the interaction between the two drugs is synergistic and significant. In conclusion, our data showed that the use of romidepsin and low concentrations acetaminophen could induce effective anti-tumor effects via enhanced tumor immune and direct cytotoxic chemotherapeutic responses. The combination of acetaminophen with romidepsin should be considered as a promising strategy for the treatment of lung cancer.