• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2008

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the cerebral infarction size, antioxidant enzyme activities and lipid peroxidation changes after 6 weeks of dietary soybean protein intake in a rat focal brain ischemia model. Method: Weaning Sprague-Dawley rats were fed with either modified AIN-93G diet containing casein 20% (control), 20% soybean protein isolate-based diet (S20), or 40% of soybean protein isolate-based diet (S40) for 6 weeks. The animals were subject to right middle cerebral artery occlusion for 2 hr. After 24 hr of recirculation, the rats were sacrificed. Antioxidant enzymes activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) level in the right brain were also measured. Result: There were no significant differences in the right cortical infarction volume, TBARS level, SOD and CAT activities among the three groups whereas the GPx activities of the S20 group were significantly higher than those of the control group (p=.02). Conclusion: Our results suggest that 20% of soybean protein may have a modulating effect on GPx and possibly have some protective effect against oxidative stress although it may enough to decrease cerebral infarction volume in rat focal brain ischemia model.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.8-14
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• 2007

Background: Anticonvulsants and antidepressants are adjuvant analgesic drugs that are used widely for treating chronic neuropathic pain syndromes. The combined analgesic effect of gabapentin and milnacipran was investigated with a rat neuropathic pain model. Methods: The rat neuropathic pain model was made by ligating the spinal nerves (L5 and L6). An intrathecal catheter was inserted into the subarachnoid space. Tactile allodynia was tested with the up-down method using von Frey hair. We determined the antiallodynic effect of intraperitoneal (I.P.) and intrathecal (I.T.) gabapentin. The combined effect of I.P. gabapentin (50 mg/kg) and milnacipran (0, 10 and 30 mg/kg) was investigated. Results: Intraperitoneal and intrathecal administration of gabapentin increased the threshold for tactile allodynia (the ED50 was 60.6 mg/kg and $45.5{\mu}g$, respectively). Co-administration of I.P. milnacipran increased the antiallodynic effect of I.P. gabapentin in a dose-dependent fashion. Conclusion: The combined administration of milnacipran and gabapentin may increase the total analgesic effect during treatment of neuropathic pain.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.329-334
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• 2019

Diabetes is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular complications. Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-IV) inhibitors are used clinically to reduce high blood glucose levels as an antidiabetic agent. However, the effect of the DPP-IV inhibitor gemigliptin on ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)-induced myocardial injury and hypertension is unknown. In this study, we assessed the effects and mechanisms of gemigliptin in rat models of myocardial I/R injury and spontaneous hypertension. Gemigliptin (20 and 100 mg/kg/d) or vehicle was administered intragastrically to Sprague-Dawley rats for 4 weeks before induction of I/R injury. Gemigliptin exerted a preventive effect on I/R injury by improving hemodynamic function and reducing infarct size compared to the vehicle control group. Moreover, administration of gemigliptin (0.03% and 0.15%) powder in food for 4 weeks reversed hypertrophy and improved diastolic function in spontaneously hypertensive rats. We report here a novel effect of the gemigliptin on I/R injury and hypertension.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.536-543
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• 2023

Phytoceramide (Pcer) is found mainly in plants and yeast. It can be neuroprotective and immunostimulatory on various cell types. In this study, the therapeutic effect of Pcer was explored using the carrageenan/kaolin (C/K)-induced arthritis rat model and fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS). Pcer treatment (1, 10, and 30 mg/kg/day) were given to the arthritic rats for 6 days after disease induction. Weight distribution ration (WDR), knee thickness, squeaking score, serum levels of proinflammatory mediators, and histological analysis were measured and performed to evaluate arthritic symptoms in the rat model. In interleukin (IL)-1β-stimulated FLS, proinflammatory mediators were measured after Pcer (1-30 µM) treatment. Arthritic symptoms in rats with Pcer treatment were significantly decreased at days 4 to 6 after C/K arthritis induction. Inflammation in the knee joints were also significantly decreased in rats with Pcer treatment. Furthermore, in IL-1β-stimulated FLS, the expressions of proinflammatory mediators were also inhibited by Pcer. As shown by the results, Pcer has anti-arthritic effects in the C/K rat model and in synovial cells, suggesting that Pcer has the potential to be a useful agent in arthritis treatment.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.15-25
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• 2010

Background: Rat mast cells were regarded as a good model for mast cell function in immune response. Methods: Rat bone marrow mast cells (BMMC) were prepared both by recombinant rat IL-3 (rrIL-3) and by recombinant mouse stem cell factor (rmSCF), and investigated for both proliferation and differentiation in time course. Rat BMMC was induced by culture of rat bone marrow cells (BMCs) in the presence of both rrIL-3 (5 ng/ml) and rmSCF (5 ng/ml). Culture media were changed 2 times per week with the cell number condition of $5{\times}10^4/ml$ in 6 well plate. Proliferation was analyzed by cell number and cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and differentiation was by rat mast cell protease (RMCP) II and histamine. Results: Cell proliferation rates reached a maximum at 8 or 11 days of culture and decreased thereafter. However, both RMCP II production and histamine synthesis peaked after 11 days of culture. By real time RT-PCR, the level of histidine decarboxylase mRNA was more than 500 times higher on culture day 11 than on culture day 5. By transmission electron microscopy, the cells were heterogeneous in size and contained cytoplasmic granules. Using gated flow cytometry, we showed that cultured BMCs expressed high levels of $Fc{\varepsilon}RI$ and the mast cell antigen, ganglioside, on culture day 11. Conclusion: These results indicate that rat BMMCs were generated by culturing BMCs in the presence of rrII-3 and rmSCF and that the BMMCs have the characteristics of mucosal mast cells.

• Korean Journal of Computational Design and Engineering
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.436-442
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• 2012

Traumatic loading during car accidents or sports activities can lead to cervical spinal cord injury. Experiments in spinal cord injury research are mainly carried out on rabbit or rat. Finite element models that include the rat cervical spinal cord and adjacent soft tissues should be developed for efficient studies of mechanisms of spinal cord injury. Images of a rat were obtained from high resolution MRI scanner. Polygonal surfaces were extracted structure by structure from the MRI data using the ITK-SNAP volume segmentation software. These surfaces were converted to Non-uniform Rational B-spline surfaces by the INUS Rapidform rapid prototyping software. Rapidform was also used to generate a thin shell surface model for the dura mater which sheathes the spinal cord. Altair's Hypermesh pre-processor was used to generate finite element meshes for each structure. These processes in this study can be utilized in modeling of other biomedical tissues and can be one of examples for reverse engineering on biomechanics.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.554-558
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• 1999

The effects of ethanolic extract (EEP) of propolis on chronic inflammation were evaluated using rat adjuvant arthritis. In the chronic inflammatory animal model, the arthritis index was suppressed by EEP treatments (50 mg/kg/day and 100 gm/kg/day, p.o.). Moreover, physical weakness, induced by the chronic disease state, was dose-dependently improved in the EEP-treated groups. It s analgesic effect, assessed using the tail-flick test, was comparable to prednisolone (2.5 mg/kg/day, p.o.) and acetyl salicylic acid (100 mg/kg/day, p.o.). In carrageenan rat hind paw edema, which was conducted to test the effects of subfractions of EEP, the petroleum ether sub-fraction (100 mg/kg, p.o.) showed an inhibitor effect on the paw edema whereas EEP (200 mg/kg, p.o.) showed a significant anti-inflammatory effect at 3 and 4 hrs after carrageenan injection. From these results, we conclude that the ethanolic extract of propolis had a profound anti-inflammatory effects on both chronic and acute inflammations.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.59 no.3
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• pp.92-97
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• 2015

KIOM-MA128 is a novel Korean herbal medicine with anti-atopic, anti-inflammatory and anti-asthmatic effects. This article presents the first pharmacokinetic study on KIOM-MA128. The purpose of this study was to characterize a pharmacokinetic characteristic of matrine, a potential marker of KIOM-MA128, in rats using population pharmacokinetic model. 1, 2 and 8 g/kg of KIOM-MA128 were administered to rats orally and plasma concentrations of matrine was determined by HPLC-MS/MS. Non-compartmental analysis (NCA) was performed using Phoenix$^{(R)}$ and pharmacokinetic model was built using NONMEM$^{(R)}$. This model was validated with internal validation which is visual predictive check (VPC) and bootstrap. The NCA result of matrine showed that $C_{max}$ was 294.24, 552.22 and 868.65 ng/ml, $AUC_{inf}$ was 1273.05, 2724.76 and $9743.25ng{\cdot}hr/ml$ and $T_{max}$ was 1, 1.3 and 2.3 hr for the doses of 1, 2, and 8 g/kg, respectively. The rat plasma concentrations were described very well with one-compartment model. Pharmacokinetic model for matrine was successfully developed and evaluated. Finally, our model is helpful to understand pharmacokinetic characteristic of KIOM-MA128.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.326-334
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• 2020

Background: In this study, we sought to evaluate whether systemic propentofylline (PPF) has antiallodynic effects in a rat model of postoperative pain, and to assess the mechanism involved. Methods: After plantar incision, rats were intraperitoneally injected with various doses of PPF to evaluate its antiallodynic effect. To investigate the involved mechanism, rats were intraperitoneally injected with yohimbine, dexmedetomidine, prazosin, naloxone, atropine or mecamylamine, following the incision of the rat hind paws, and then PPF was administered intraperitoneally. The mechanical withdrawal threshold (MWT) was evaluated using von Frey filaments at various time points and serum levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6 were measured to determine the inflammatory response level. Results: MWT was significantly increased after intraperitoneal injection of 30 mg/kg of PPF when compared with the control group. Injection of PPF and yohimbine, atropine or mecamylamine showed significant decreases in the MWT, while injection of PPF and dexmedetomidine showed a significant increase. Systemic administration of PPF inhibited the post-incisional increase in serum level of TNF-α and IL-1β. Conclusions: Systemic administration of PPF following surgery presented antiallodynic effects in a rat model of postoperative pain. The antiallodynic effects against mechanical allodynia could be mediated by α-adrenergic and cholinergic receptors.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.73-78
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• 2007

The aim of this study was to investigate the absorption properties of ketoprofen. The in-situ perfusion model has advantages over in vitro models as it provides intact lymphatic and blood flow circulation. The absorption properties of six different concentrations of ketoprofen have been studied in single pass in-situ rat intestine model. $^{14}C-PEG$ 4000 was used as a permeability marker and the possibility of an energy dependent contribution to ketoprofen absorption was also Investigated using the metabolic inhibitor sodium azide. Three different concentrations of sodium azide were studied to examine its effect on absorption of ketoprofen from the rat intestine. The findings of this study suggest that mono-carboxylic type drugs like ketoprofen cause permeability changes in the intestine. This is shown by the increase in absorption of $^{14}C-PEG$ 4000 as the concentration of ketoprofen is increased. However, the trend for ketoprofen permeability is to decrease over the concentration ranges. It was observed that the Papp values for ketoprofen with sodium azide shows a trend towards reduction in the amount of ketoprofen absorbed from the rat intestine which was significantly different (p<0.05) from that of ketoprofen with sodium azide 3.0mM. This indicates that sodium azide has an affect on the absorption of ketoprofen. The pH of all the perfusion solutions was altered to ${\sim}pH\;6.7$ by the buffering capacity of the small intestine secretions. The results suggest that mechanisms other than passive diffusion may be involved in ketoprofen absorption. This would be consistent with the involvement of active transport or saturatable processes in the absorption of drugs containing monocarboxylic acid group, as has been previously suggested from in vitro data.