• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.533-538
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• 1995

Ten specimens of the imported pufferfish, fugu flavidus ('Sarnchaebog'), from China were assayed for anatomical distribution of toxicity, Also, a toxic ovary of each specimen was excised, and transferred into Bio-gel P-2 column chromatography for purification of the toxins. The average toxicity of all specimens assayed was calculated to be $4.1\pm 0.5\;in\;liver,\;2.8\pm1.1\;intestine,\;0.8\pm0.5\;skin,\;2.3\pm1.5\;testis\;39.0\pm16.0\;ovary\;and\;7.0\pm2.0 MU/g$ bile, respectively; Ovary was weakly toxic, but others were non-toxic or weakly toxic. Moreover, instrumental analyses including thin layer chromatography(TLC) and electrophoresis disclosed tetrodotoxin (TTX) and anhydro tetrodotoxin (anh-TTX), respectively. The toxins of the ovary gave four peaks in high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) whose retention times (14 and 24 min) were close to those of TTX and anh-TTX, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.725-732
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• 2013

To identify the food component characteristics of seven edible pufferfishes (five wild pufferfishes including striped puffer Takifugu xanthopterus; eyespot puffer Takifugu chinensis; purple puffer Takifugu porphyreus; rough-backed puffer Lagocephalus wheeleri; and grass puffer Takifugu niphobles; and two cultured pufferfishes including yellow puffer Takifugu obscurus, and tiger puffer Takifugu rubripes) in Korea, the proximate, fatty/amino acid, chemical and taste compositions were investigated. The proximate compositions were not significantly different among the sampled pufferfishes, whereas grass puffer had lower moisture and crude lipid levels contents, and higher crude protein and ash contents than the other species. The total amino acid levels in wild and cultured pufferfishes were 14,941.6-16,427.9 mg/100 g, and the major amino acids were aspartic acid, glutamic acid, glycine, alanine, leucine, lysine and arginine. Regarding the fatty acid and mineral compositions, the major fatty acids included 22:6n-3, 16:0, 18:1n-9, 20:5n-3, 18:0, 20:4n-3, and 22:5n-3 in that order, and there was a little difference among the sampled pufferfishes. Grass puffer had a higher monoenes ratio, i.e., 16:1n-7 and 18:1n-9, and a lower polyenes ratio than the other pufferfishes. The main minerals detected K, P, Na, S and Ca. Regarding the taste-active compounds, the free amino acid contents of pufferfish extracts were 236.4-428.1 mg/100 g, consisting primarily of taurine, lysine, proline, glycine, alanine and arginine in that order. The amino nitrogen content of the pufferfishes was 84.5-156.4 mg/100 g, and there was a little difference among the species. As for taste intensity, the total taste value of the purple puffer was higher than that of the other pufferfishes.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.363-368
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• 1991

Twenty-four specimens of the pufferfish Fugu xantheptens, Korean name, 'Ggachibog', collected at a fish market of Pusan were examined for anatomical distribution of toxicity by the mouse bioassay method. Frequency of toxic specimens was 88, 75, 54, 13, 71, 80 and $71\%$, in terms of liver, intestine, skin, muscle, testis, ovary and bile, respectively. Their the highest toxicity scores were 417, 387, 112, 17, 39, 403 and 178 MU/g, respectively; and average toxicity values were $110\pm25.0(mean \pm S.E.)$, $73\pm20.3,\;17.8\pm 5.1,\;2.7\pm1.1,\;15.6\pm5.4,\;115\pm33.0\;and\;34\pm9.3 MU/g,$ respectively. A significant correlation between the toxicities of liver and intestine(r=0.93), between those of liver and skin (r=0.79) and between those of liver and ovary(r=0.83) was observed.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.97-107
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• 2015

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to explore the antitumor mechanism and effects of tetrodotoxin through a literature review of experimental and clinical studies. Methods : Medical databases, including The Cochrane Library, Pubmed, NDSL, RISS4u and National Assembly Library, were searched for relevant articles published from January 1, 2000 to October 31, 2014 using the keywords 'tetrodotoxin', 'cancer' and 'tumor'. The results were classified into experimental studies(in vitro and in vivo) and clinical studies. Analysis of the results was conducted on several research areas including the mechanism, antitumor effect and adverse effects of tetrodotoxin(TTX). Results : A total of 34 experimental studies(32 in vitro and 2 in vivo) and 3 clinical studies were found in the search. Most of the experimental studies suggested blocking of voltage-gated sodium channels in metastasis of tumor cells as the main antitumor mechanism of TTX. The most common type of cancers mentioned in the experimental studies were prostate and breast cancer. All of the clinical studies were on the application of TTX on moderate to severe cancer-related pain. No adverse effects of TTX were reported in in vivo studies but mild to moderate adverse events were reported in clinical studies. Conclusions : The results show that tetrodotoxin, which is the main component of Tetraodontidae(commonly known as pufferfish) poison, could be clinically used for antitumor therapy. However, further studies should be conducted on its safety.

• Genes and Genomics
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• v.40 no.11
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• pp.1225-1235
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• 2018

Hypoxia seriously affects the innate immune system of fish. However, the roles of suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS), pivotal anti-inflammatory genes, in response to hypoxia/reoxygenation remain largely unexplored. The primary objective of this study was to elucidate the function of SOCS genes under acute hypoxia and reoxygenation in pufferfish (Takifugu fasciatus). In the present study, SOCS1, 2 and 3 were identified in T. fasciatus referred to as TfSOCS1, 2 and 3. Then, qRT-PCR and western blot analysis were employed to assess their expressions at both the mRNA and protein levels. Tissue distribution demonstrated that the three SOCS genes were predominantly distributed in gill, brain and liver. Under hypoxia challenge ($1.63{\pm}0.2mg/L$ DO for 2, 4, 6 and 8 h), the expressions of TfSOCS1 and 3 in brain and liver at the mRNA and protein levels were significantly decreased, while their expressions showed an opposite trend in gill. Different from the expressions of TfSOCS1 and 3, the expression of TfSOCS2 was inhibited in gill, along with its increased expression in brain and liver. After normoxic recovery ($7.0{\pm}0.3mg/L$ of DO for 4 and 12 h), most of TfSOCS genes were significantly altered at R4 (reoxygenation for 4 h) and returned to the normal level at R12 (reoxygenation for 12 h). SOCS genes played vital roles in response to hypoxia/reoxygenation challenge. Our findings greatly strengthened the relation between innate immune and hypoxia stress in T. fasciatus.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.502-508
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• 1994

A total of 24 specimens of the pufferfish, Fugu xanthopterus, purchased at a fixhmarket in Pusan, korea were examined for toxicity using the assay method of tetrodotoxin (TTX). Also, the toxins isolated from the puffer liver were partially purified and analyzed for their chemical composition by instrumental behaviors. On the whole, when the level of toxicity in each organ was analyzed compared to that of liver, they were 100 % of the lover, 92 % for the intestine, 75% for the skin, 17% for the muscle, 785 for the testis, 87% for the ovary, and 71% for bile. The highest and average scores of toxicity for the liver were 917 and $231{\pm}51MU/g$ liver, respectively. The toxins of the puffer gave four peaks in HPLC whose retention times (10, 20, 22 and 25 min) were close to those of TDA, TTX, 4-epi-TTX, and and -TTX, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.31-34
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• 1995

Ten specimens (5 males and 5 females) of the pufferfish, fugu stictonotus ('gachilbog'), were collected at a fish market of Pusan, Korea in July 1993, and examined for anatomical distribution of toxicity by mouse assay method. The frequency of toxic specimens was $40\%\;for\;liver,\;60\%$ for ovary, $40\%\;for\;skin\;and\;60\%$ for bile in female puffers. The highest toxicities were 107, 107, 29 and 93MU/g for liver, ovary, skin and bile, respectively; and average toxicity $\pm S.E.\;values\;were\;14\pm11,\;48\pm22.4\pm3\;and\;12\pm9MU/g,$ respectively. The range of total toxicity was shown to be from 0 to 35,316MU. The characteristic pattern of toxin distribution observed on these specimens was exhibited; both muscle and testis were non-toxic, but others were weakly toxic. Also, there was significant difference for toxicity between male and female specimens.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.24 no.11
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• pp.360-369
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• 2021

Paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) and tetrodotoxin (TTX) are neurotoxins that display pharmacological activity that is similar to that of specific sodium channel blockers; they are the principle toxins involved in shellfish and puffer fish poisoning. In Korea, puffer fish is a very popular seafood, and several cases of accidental poisoning by TTX have been reported. Therefore, it is necessary to determine whether puffer fish poisoning incidents are caused by PSTs or by TTX. In this study, we used mouse bioassay (MBA) and liquid chromatograph-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to determine the presence of PSTs and TTX in puffer fish from an area near Mireuk-do, Tong-Yeong on the southern coast of Korea from January through March, 2014. The toxicity of PSTs and TTX extracts prepared from three organs of each specimen was analyzed by MBA. Most of the extracts killed mice with typical signs of TTX and PSTs. The LC-MS/MS analysis of seven specimens of Takifugu pardalis and Takifugu niphobles, each divided into muscles, intestines, and liver, were examined for TTX. In T. pardalis, the TTX levels were within the range of 1.3-1.6 ㎍/g in the muscles, 18.8-49.8 ㎍/g in the intestines, and 23.3-96.8 ㎍/g in the liver. In T. niphobles, the TTX levels were within the range of 2.0-4.5 ㎍/g in the muscles, 23.9-71.5 ㎍/g in the intestines, and 28.1-114.8 ㎍/g in the liver. Additionally, the toxicity profile of the detected PSTs revealed that dcGTX3 was the major component in T. pardalis and T. niphobles. When PSTs were calculated as saxitoxin equivalents the levels were all less than 0.5 ㎍/g, which is below the permitted maximum standard of 0.8 ㎍/g. These findings indicate that the toxicity of T. pardalis and T. niphobles from the southern coast of Korea is due mainly to TTX and that PSTs do not exert an effect.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.77-84
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• 2017

Three species of pufferfishes (family Tetraodontidae) were examined to determine their morphological characteristics based on meristics, morphometrics, olfactory organs, and lateral line systems of specimens collected from the Chennai Fish Market in Tamil Nadu, India, in December 2016. The three species, which are all previously unreported in Korea, are Chelonodon patoca (Hamilton, 1822), Lagocephalus spadiceus (Richardson, 1845), and Arothron immaculatus (Bloch and Schneider, 1801). For nostril shape, fishes of the genus Lagocephalus have two nostrils, while Arothron and Chelonodon have none. Fishes of the genera Lagocephalus and Arothron have a single well-developed lateral line on the body, while Chelonodon fishes have two lateral lines that merge on the caudal peduncle.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.343-352
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• 2009

Natural-killer-cell-enhancing factor (NKEF) belongs to the newly defined peroxiredoxin (Prx) family. It was originally isolated from human erythroid cells. The black rockfish NKEF cDNA was identified through the expressed sequence tag (EST) analysis of PBLs libraries. The full-length NKEF cDNA was 1433 bp long and contained an open reading frame (ORF) of 594 bp that encoded 198 amino-acid residues. The 5' UTR had a length of 39 bp, and the 3’UTR 800 bp. The deduced amino-acid sequence of the black rockfish had a density 93.4, 92.9, 87.8, 85.8, 84.8, 83.8, 80.3, 79.7, 77.2, and 75.2% that of the pufferfish, olive flounder, channel catfish, zebrafish, chicken, common carp, Myotis lucifugus, cattle, human PrxI, rat PrxI, human NKEF-A, and Xenopus tropicalis, respectively. The NKEF gene was expressed in all the tissues of the black rockfish. The RT-PCR indicated that the NKEF transcripts were predominantly in the spleen and gill, less dominantly in the PBLs, head kidney, trunk kidney, and liver, and least in the intestine and muscles. This is the first report on the existence of the NKEF-A gene in black rockfish.