• Journal of Life Science
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.751-755
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• 2003

Cyclic AMP receptor proteins(CRP) activate many genes in Escherichia coli by binding of cAMP with not fully known mechanism. CRP existed as apo-CRP in the absence of cAMP, $CRP;(cAMP)_2$$_2$ at low(micromolar) cAMP concentration, or $CRP;(cAMP)_4$ at high(millimolar) concentration of cAMP. This study is designed to measure the thermal stability of S83G CRP, which substituted glycine for serine at amino acid 83 position, with CD spectrapolarimeter at 222nm by the constant elevation of temperature from $20^{\circ]C\; to\; 90^{\circ}C\; at\; 1^{\circ}C/min$. The non-linear regression analysis showed that melting temperatures were 68.4, 72.0, and $82.3^{\circ}C$ for no cAMP, 0.1mM cAMP, and 5mM cAMP, respectively. Result showed the strong thermal stability of CRP by binding of additional cAMP molecules to region between the hinge region and helix-turn-helix(HTH) motif at 5mM cAMP concentration.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.610-615
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• 2009

As a provirus, polydnavirus has a segmented DNA genome on chromosome(s) of host wasp. It contains several genes in each segment that presumably play critical roles in regulating physiological processes of target insect parasitized by the wasp. A cysteine-rich protein 1 (CRP1) is present in the polydnavirus Cotesia plutellae bracovirus (CpBV) genome, but its expression and physiological function in Plutella xylostella parasitized by the viral host C. plutellae is not known. This CpBV-CRP1 encoding 189 amino acids with a putative signal peptide (20 residues) was persistently expressed in parasitized P. xylostella with gradual decrease at the late parasitization period. Expression of CpBV-CRP1 was tissue-specific in the fat body/epidermis and hemocyte, but not in the gut. Its physiological function was analyzed by inducing transient expression of a CpBV segment containing CpBV-CRP1 and its promoter, which caused significant reduction in hemocyte -spreading and delayed larval development. When the treated larvae were co-injected with double-stranded RNA of CpBV-CRP1, the expression of CpBV-CRP1 disappeared, whereas other genes encoded in the CpBV segment was expressed. These co-injected larvae significantly recovered the hemocyte-spreading capacity and larval development rate. This study reports that CpBV-CRP1 is expressed in P. xylostella parasitized by C. plutellae and its physiological function is to alter the host immune and developmental processes.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.183-189
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• 2018

Purpose : As age increases, a low-level systemic inflammatory state develops and the levels of anti-aging hormones decrease. The vagus nerve activates parasympathetic nerves and promotes sulfation and secretion of neurotransmitter in the brain. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of electrical vagus nerve stimulation on systemic inflammation (CRP) and anti-aging hormone (DHEA-S) levels in elder people. Methods : A total of 30 healthy elder people participated in this study, randomly divided into two groups of 15 subjects. Electrical vagus nerve stimulation was applied to the experimental group for 4 weeks. CRP and DHEA-S levels were compared with those of the control group. Results : The CRP level was significantly lower in the experimental group than in the control group. In the experimental group, there was a significant decrease in CRP before and after the intervention. However, the DHEA-S level was not significantly different between groups. Conclusion : Electrical vagus nerve stimulation may alleviate the low-level systemic inflammatory state found in elderly people. These results suggest that it may have the effect of reducing the degenerative inflammatory diseases of the elderly and delaying aging.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.37.1-37.1
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• 2020

Cosmic-ray protons (CRp) are efficiently produced at starburst galaxies (SBGs), where the star formation rate (SFR) rate is high. In this talk, we present estimates of gamma-ray and neutrino emissions from nearby SBGs, M82, NGC253, and Arp220. Inside the starburst nucleus (SBN), CRp are accelerated at supernova remnant (SNR) shocks as well as at stellar wind (SW) termination shocks, and their transport is governed by the advection due to starburst-driven wind and diffusion mediated by turbulence. We here model the momentum distributions of SNR and SW-produced CRp with single or a double power-law forms. We also employ two different diffusion models, where CRp are resonantly scattered off large-scale turbulence in SBN or self-excited waves driven by CR streaming instability. We then calculate gamma-ray/neutrino fluxes. The observed gamma-ray fluxes by Fermi-LAT, Veritas, and H.E.S.S are well reproduced with double power-law distribution for SNR-produced CRp and the CRp diffusion by self-excited turbulence. The estimated neutrino fluxes are <~10-3 of the atmospheric neutrino flux in the energy range of Eneutrino <~100 GeV and <~10-1 of the IceCube point source sensitivity in the energy range of Eneutrino >~60 TeV.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.369-376
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• 2019

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical significance of inflammatory biomarkers in acute infectious diarrhea among children. Methods: Clinical parameters including fever, bacterial and viral etiology based on stool culture and multiplex polymerase chain reaction, and nine biomarkers including C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and leukocytes in blood and calprotectin, lactoferrin, myeloperoxidase, polymorphonuclear elastase, leukocytes, and occult blood in feces were evaluated in children who were hospitalized due to acute diarrhea without underlying disease. Results: A total of 62 patients were included. Among these patients, 33 had fever, 18 showed bacterial infections, and 40 patients were infected with 43 viruses. Of all the biomarkers, CRP was significantly correlated with fever (p<0.001). CRP, ESR, calprotectin, lactoferrin, myeloperoxidase, fecal leukocytes, and occult blood were significantly associated with infection with bacterial pathogens (p<0.001, p=0.04, p=0.03, p=0.003, p=0.02, p=0.03, p=0.002, respectively). The combination of CRP and fecal lactoferrin at their best cut-off values (13.7 mg/L and $22.8{\mu}g/mL$, respectively) yielded a sensitivity of 72.2%, and a specificity of 95.5% for bacterial etiology compared with their individual use. Conclusion: Blood CRP is a useful diagnostic marker for both fever and bacterial etiology in acute pediatric diarrhea. The combination of CRP and fecal lactoferrin yields better diagnostic capability for bacterial etiology than their use alone for acute diarrhea in children without underlying gastrointestinal disease.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.83-104
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• 2019

Elevated high-sensitivity C reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels and metabolic syndrome are considered important predictors of cardiovascular mortality. This study examined the influence of the alcohol consumption level on the hs-CRP level and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in South Koreans. The study subjects were 3,884 participants (${\geq}19$ years) from the KNHANES in 2015. The subjects were divided into four groups according to their alcohol consumption; None (none-alcohol consumption), Low (less than 15 g/day), Medium (15~29.9 g/day), and High (over than 30 g/day). The odds ratio for high-risk hs-CRP of men was significantly lower in the Low or Medium groups compared to the None group. In women, the odds ratio for high-risk hs-CRP was not decreased in the Low or Medium groups but was significantly higher in the High group than in the None group. Compared to nondrinkers, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was lower in the Low group and Medium group in both men and women, whereas it was significantly higher in the High group in men only. In particular, the prevalence of low HDL-cholesterol was lower in all drinking groups. When the confounding factors were adjusted, the odds ratio for low HDL-cholesterol appeared to decline in the Low groups in both men and women. On the other hand, in the Medium group, women showed an elevated odds ratios of high blood pressure (HBP) and high fasting plasma glucose but men showed an elevated odds ratios of HBP and high triglyceride levels. The overall results suggest that low alcohol consumption is more appropriate than medium alcohol consumption. Nevertheless, more study will be needed to evaluate the appropriate alcohol consumption level.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.206-210
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• 2005

Objective : Our aim is to evaluate the early changes of biologic markers such as white blood cell[WBC] count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate[ESR] and C-reactive protein[CRP] in early diagnosis of postoperative infection and to differentiate infection from inflammatory reaction in lumbar spine surgery. Methods : We reviewed 330patients who had undergone spinal operations between May 1999 and October 2001. For this study, the patients were classified into two groups, which include a group that underwent spinal decompressive surgery without instrumentation[SD], and the other group that underwent fusion surgery with spinal instrumentation[SI]. And each group was also subdivided into two groups respectively, one with infection and the other without infection. We retrospectively analyzed the WBC count, ESR and CRP preoperatively and postoperatively, according to their operation type and postoperative infection history. Results : Inflammatory indices were physiologically affected by instrumentation itself. But ESR and CRP elevations were more prolonged and sustained under infection. In SD patients without infection, ESR and CRP were stabilized 5 days after surgery. In SI patients without infection, CRP was stabilized about 7days after surgery, but ESR showed sustained and variously elevated. In both SD and SI groups, the stabilization of CRP was the most reliable behavior of surgery without infection. Conclusion : C-reactive protein is most sensitive parameter for postoperative spine infection. The knowledge of the inflammatory indices and their relatively uniform patterns with or without infection offers surgeons the ability to infer the state of surgical wound.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.65 no.2
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• pp.99-104
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• 2008

Background: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is ultimately an inflammatory state. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) level are inflammatory markers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the value of the ESR, CRP and APACHE II score as prognostic factors for patient with ARDS. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 87 ARDS patients. The predictors (APACHE II score, ESR and CRP) and outcomes (mortality and length of the total hospital stay, the ICU stay and mechanical ventilator care) were obtained from the patients' records. The patients were grouped according to survival as the Survivor and Non survivor groups. We compared the APACHE II score, the ESR and the CRP level between the survivor group and the nonsurvivor group. We evaluated the correlation between the predictors and the outcomes. The initial ESR, CRP level and APACHE II score were checked at the time of ICU admission and the second ESR and CRP level were checked $3.3{\pm}1.2$ days after ICU admission. Results: Thirty-eight (43.7%) patients remained alive and 49 (56.3%) patients died. The APACHE II score was significantly lower for the survivor group than that for the non survivor group ($14.7{\pm}7.6$ vs $19.6{\pm}9.1$, respectively, p=0.006). The initial ESR and CRP level were not different between the survivor and non-survivor groups (ESR $64.0{\pm}37.8mm/hr$ vs $63.3{\pm}36.7mm/hr$, respectively, p=0.93, CRP $15.5{\pm}9.6mg/dl$ vs $16.3{\pm}8.5mg/dl$, respectively, p=0.68). The decrement of the CRP level for the survivor group was greater than that for the non survivor group ($-8.23{\pm}10.0mg/dl$ vs $-1.46{\pm}10.1mg/dl$, respectively, p=0.003). Correlation analysis revealed the initial ESR was positively correlated with the length of the total hospital stay and the ICU stay (correlation coefficient of the total hospital days: R=0.43, p=0.001, correlation coefficient of the ICU stay: R=0.39, p=0.014). Conclusion: The initial APACHE II score can predict the mortality of ARDS patients, and the degree of the early CRP change can be a predictor of mortality for ARDS patients. The initial ESR has positive correlation with the ARDS patients' duration of the total hospital stay and the ICU stay.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.195-199
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• 1996

We have cloned several E. coli sfs genes which stimulate mal gene expression with $crp^{{\ast}1}$). One the genes (pPVC2) was sequenced and potential CRP binding site is located in the upstream of the putative promoter in the regulatory region. In order to investigate the regulation of the sfs1 gene by the cAMP-CRP complex, we have constructed the sfs-lacZ fusion gene in this research. The overall transcriptional stimulations of sfs1 gene in the presence cAMP were confirmed by ${\beta}-galactosidase$ activity and Western blot analysis of sfs1-lacZ fusion gene. Transcriptional regulation by cAMP-CRP was also confirmed by Northern blot analysis. End-labelled DNA of the DNA fragment in sfs1 regulation region were used for gel retardation assay to examine the CRP-DNA complex in the presence of cAMP. Results here indicate that CRP binding site in the regulatory region of sfs1 gene is positive regulator for the expression of sfs1 gene.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.413-418
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• 2008

Objectives: This study was performed to investigate the associations between the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and inflammatory markers. Methods: This cross-sectional analysis was performed using data from 1578 Koreans aged 40-69 years residing in a rural area. We investigated associations between MetS and circulating high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), white blood cells (WBC) and adiponectin. MetS was defined using the criteria proposed by the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP-III). Results: Increased WBC counts and hs-CRP levels and decreased adiponectin levels were observed in subjects with MetS. WBC, hs-CRP and adiponectin levels linearly deteriorated with an increase in the number of MetS components (all ptrend <0.005). Finally, adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for the risk of MetS by increase/decrease in 3 inflammatory markers were calculated by multivariate logistic regression analyses. In terms of changes in inflammation markers, in men, the adjusted ORs (95% confidence interval) were 1.15 (1.01-1.31) for WBC, 1.64 (1.02-2.64) for hs-CRP, and 0.19(0.08-0.45) for adiponectin, whereas corresponding adjusted ORs (95% Cls) in women were 1.27 (1.15-1.40), 0.98 (0.67-1.42), 0.09 (0.04-0.18), respectively. Conclusions: Serum adiponectin levels and WBC counts were found to be strongly associated with MetS in both sexes. However, hs-CRP lost its significance after adjusting for BMI and other inflammatory markers in women. This study shows that inflammatory response is associated with MetS in the Korean population. Further prospective studies are necessary to confirm the contribution made by inflammatory markers to the development of MetS.