• 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.13 no.6
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• pp.249-256
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• 2013

How Th2 immunity develops in vivo remains obscure. Basophils have been considered key innate cells producing IL-4, a cytokine essential for Th2 immunity. Increasing evidence suggests that basophils are dispensable for the initiation of Th2 immunity. In this study, we revisited the role of basophils in Th2 immune responses induced by various types of adjuvants. Mice deficient in IL-3 or IL-3 receptor, in which basophil lymph node recruitment is completely abolished, fully developed wild type level Th2 CD4 T cell responses in response to parasite antigen or papain immunization. Similar finding was also observed in mice where basophils are inducibly ablated. Interestingly, IL-4-derived from non-T cells appeared to be critical for the generation of IL-4-producing CD4 T cells. Other Th2 promoting factors including IL-25 and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) were dispensable. Therefore, our results suggest that IL-3- and basophil-independent in vivo Th2 immunity develops with the help of non-T cell-derived IL-4, offering an additional mechanism by which Th2 type immune responses arise in vivo.

• BMB Reports
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• v.41 no.12
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• pp.863-867
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• 2008

CD320 has been recently discovered and reported as a follicular dendritic cell (FDC) protein. Although CD320 is known to enhance proliferation of germinal center (GC) B cells, little other information is available. In this study, we investigated its cellular distribution in the GC. Confocal microscopy of human tonsil sections revealed co-localization of CD320 with CD19 and CD38 but not with CD3 indicating that GC B cells expressed CD320 in addition to FDC. In purified GC B cells, CD320 expression was inhibited in the nucleus, membrane and cytoplasm. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction confirmed CD320 mRNA expression in B cells. These finding indicate that CD320 is expressed in B cells in addition to FDC, and that its GC activity may be more complicated than previously thought.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.214-221
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• 2018

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a rapidly emerging infection that may have devastating consequences. Prompt and accurate diagnosis is crucial for management and control. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of C. difficile associated diarrhea among hospitalized patients, and to compare different diagnostic laboratory methods for detection of toxin producing strains in clinical specimens. The study was conducted at a university hospital in Cairo during the period from May 2013 till June 2015. Subjects were under antibiotic therapy and presented with hospital-acquired diarrhea. Four hundred and sixty-five stool specimens were processed by different microbiological methods. C. difficile was recovered in culture in 51 of stool specimens. Of these, 86.3% to 98% were positive for toxin production by 2 different methods. This study showed that antibiotic intake is the major risk factor for development of hospital-acquired diarrhea. We evaluated different microbiological methods for diagnosis of C. difficile. We recommend the use of toxigenic culture as a gold standard for microbiological diagnosis of C. difficile.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.323-328
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• 1987

This study was attempted to investigate the effect of inosiplex on the cell-mediated immunity in the patients with lepromatous leprosy. Fourteen patients received inosiplex (6gm/day) for 1 month. About 20% of the patients (3 of 14) showed conversion of the lepromin reaction and bacteriological index was significantly decreased in 3 of 7 patients. However, inosiplex administration had no effect on the lymphocyte blastogenesis to M. leprae. The clinical evolution showed a favorable activity of the drug on cutaneous lesions in some patients. The tolerance of the drug was excellent. No side effects were observed. These results suggest that inosiplex may have a moderate immunopotential value in lepromatous leprosy.

• Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Research
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.575-590
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• 2018

The prevalence of allergic disorders has dramatically increased over the past decade, particularly in developed countries. Apart from gastrointestinal disorders, neoplasia, genital and dermatological diseases etc., dysregulation of gut microbiota (dysbiosis) has also been found to be associated with increased risk of allergies. Probiotics are increasingly being employed to correct dysbiosis and, in turn, to modulate allergic diseases. However, several factors like strain variations and effector metabolites or component of them in a bacterial species can affect the efficacy of those as probiotics. On the other hand, host variations like geographical locations, food habits etc. could also affect the expected results from probiotic usage. Thus, there is a glaring deficiency in our approach to establish probiotics as an irrefutable treatment avenue for suitable disorders. In this review, we explicate on the reported probiotics and their effects on certain allergic diseases like atopic dermatitis, food allergy and asthma to establish their utility. We propose possible measures like elucidation of effector molecules and functional mechanisms of probiotics towards establishing probiotics for therapeutic use. Certain probiotics studies have led to very alarming outcomes which could have been precluded, had effective guidelines been in place. Thus, we also propose ways to secure the safety of probiotics. Overall, our efforts tend to propose necessary discovery and quality assurance guidelines for developing probiotics as potential immunomodulatory 'Pharmabiotics.'

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.493-499
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• 2002

We investigated the antitumor activity of oregonin, a diarylheptanoid derivative purified from Alnus hirsuta Turcz, Betulaceae. Oregonin is a potential novel immunomodulator, which augments the activation of natural killer (NK) cells, and thereby leads to a powerful antitumor activity. To evaluate the cytotoxicity of oregonin against tumor cells, we examined the effectiveness of NK cells and determined that oregonin could increase NK cell cytotoxicity. This was confirmed by MTT assay. In addition, the survival time of C57BL/6 mice were measured by inoculating 816-F10 melanoma cells to mice via intra muscular (i.m.) injection. Oregonin treatment after 10 hours of inoculation at 10 mg/kg dosage showed a significant extension of survival time by up to 51.32%, when compared to the control group. Moreover, oregonin significantly reduced the incidence of pulmonary metastasis, which may be developed from 816-F10 melanoma cells. These findings suggest that oregon in may be classified as a new and novel immunomodulator due to its potential antitumor activity.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.111-118
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• 2021

Periodontitis and periimplantitis are caused as a result of dental biofilm formation. This biofilm is composed of multiple species of pathogens. Therefore, controlling biofilm formation is critical for disease prevention. To inhibit biofilm formation, sugars can be used to interrupt lectin-involving interactions between bacteria or between bacteria and a host. In this study, we evaluated the effect of D-Arabinose on biofilm formation of putative periodontal pathogens as well as the quorum sensing activity and whole protein profiles of the pathogens. Crystal violet staining, confocal laser scanning microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy revealed that D-Arabinose inhibited biofilm formation of Porphyromonas gingivalis, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and Tannerella forsythia. D-Arabinose also significantly inhibited the activity of autoinducer 2 of F. nucleatum and the expression of representative bacterial virulence genes. Furthermore, D-Arabinose treatment altered the expression of some bacterial proteins. These results demonstrate that D-Arabinose can be used as an antibiofilm agent for the prevention of periodontal infections.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.100-105
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• 2020

A 25-year-old male presented with influenza-like symptoms and took Western anti-inflammatory analgesic drugs for 2 days. The symptoms aggravated, so the patient decided to rely on Korean medicine (KM). Based on the highly elevated hepatic enzymes (AST 4,621 IU/L and ALT 2,763 IU/L) with a positive result of anti-HAV IgM, he was diagnosed with hepatitis A. The patient was hospitalized and given herbal drugs (Chunggan-plus extract, Innae-Tang) and acupuncture, according to symptom differentiation, the accumulation of damp heat (濕熱蘊結)". The subjective symptoms (fatigue, nausea, gastric discomfort) including jaundice and dark urine as well as laboratory abnormalities gradually improved gradually in 10 hospital days, and the patient completely recovered in 25 days as an out-patient. This case presents a classic case of severe hepatitis A in 2019 Korean outbreak, and is informative to physicians for diagnosis and treatment in the traditional Korean medicine field.

• Mycobiology
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.94-108
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• 2023

Termitomyces sp. that grow in symbiosis with fungus-farming Termites have medicinal properties. However, they are rare in nature, and their artificial culture is challenging. The expression of AXL receptor tyrosine kinase and immune checkpoint molecules favor the growth of cancer cells. The study evaluated the optimal conditions for the artificial culture of Termitomyces and their inhibitory activity on AXL and immune checkpoint molecules in lung adenocarcinoma and melanoma cell lines. The culture of 45 strains of Termitomyces was compared. Five strains with marked growth rates were selected. Four of the selected strains form a single cluster by sequence analysis. The mycelium of 4 selected strains produces more fungal mass in potato dextrose broth than in a mixed media. The bark was the most appropriate solid substrate for Termitomyces mycelia culture. The mycelium of all five selected strains showed a higher growth rate under normal CO₂ conditions. The culture broth, methanol, and ethyl acetate of one selected strain (T-120) inhibited the mRNA relative expression of AXL receptor tyrosine kinase and immune checkpoint molecules in cancer cell lines. Overall, these results suggest the potential usefulness of Termitomyces extracts as a coadjuvant therapy in malignant diseases.