• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.157-169
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• 2023

Gracilaria Verrucosa (GV), a seaweed used in traditional Korean medicine, was studied for its effects on MI-induced heart failure in rats. MI is caused by a blocked coronary artery, leading to severe cardiac dysfunction. The study used a rat model to assess cardiac changes over time and evaluate the impact of GV on heart failure. Ischemia was induced through LAD ligation surgery, and the extent of ischemic area was measured as a prognostic factor. GV extract administration significantly improved cardiac morphology and reduced cardiac weight compared to the MI group. GV treatment also improved cardiac function, as evidenced by positive effects on chamber dilation during MI-induced heart failure. Parameters such as ejection fraction (EF) and fractional shortening (FS) were measured. The MI group showed decreased EF and FS compared to the sham group, while these parameters improved in the GV group. GV treatment also reduced levels of LDH, CPK, and CK-MB in the serum, indicating reduced myocardial damage. Histological analysis revealed that GV treatment attenuated cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis, with reduced collagen deposition in the myocardium. Immunohistochemistry analysis showed suppressed expression of TGF-β1 and collagen 1, involved in fibrosis. In conclusion, GV showed potential in improving cardiac function in a rat model of MI-induced heart failure. It alleviated myocardial damage, attenuated cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis, and suppressed fibrotic markers. Further studies are needed to explore its clinical efficacy and underlying mechanisms in cardiac diseases beyond animal models.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.1-24
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• 2009

Purpose: This study was performed to investigate the effects of Bojungikgi-Tang on the development of experimentally-induced endometriosis in rats. Methods: Endometriosis was induced in rats by autotransplanting uterine tissue to the peritoneum and we divided the rats into three groups: (1) sham-operated group (n=8), (2) surgically induced endometriosis and untreated control group(n=8), (3) surgically induced endometriosis and Bojungikgi-Tang treated group. Bojungikgi-Tang was orally administrated for 15 days after operation. Then we measured the body weight, the volume of endometriotic implants, the weight of uterus and ovary, and analysed the concentration of cytokines(MCP-1, TNF-${\alpha}$, IL-1${\beta}$, IL-6) in peritoneal fluids. Histopathology, immunohistochemistry for COX-2 and VEGF, and histochemistry for mast cell in transplanted uterine tissue were also performed. Results: 1. The volume($mm^3$) of endometriotic implants in Bojungikgi-Tang treated group(129${\pm}$39) was significantly decreased(p<0.05) compared with control group(222${\pm}$109). 2. The concentration(pg/$m{\ell}$) of MCP-1 in peritoneal fluids in Bojungikgi-Tang treated group(1012${\pm}$248) was significantly decreased(p<0.05) compared with control group(1413${\pm}$346). 3. The concentration(pg/$m{\ell}$ of TNF-${\alpha}$ in peritoneal fluids in Bojungikgi-Tang treated group(887${\pm}$196) was significantly decreased(p<0.05) compared with control group(1126${\pm}$140). 4. Histopathologically, proliferation of endometriotic epithelia, infiltration of inflammatory cells and angiogenesis in transplanted uterine tissue of Bojungikgi-Tang treated group were weakly observed than those of control group. 5. The percentage of positive epithelial layers for COX-2 in Bojungikgi-Tang treated group(56${\pm}$17) was significantly decreased(p<0.05) compared with control group(75${\pm}$16). 6. The VEGF expression of endometriotic epithelia, neovascular endothelia and stromal cells in transplanted uterine tissue of Bojungikgi-Tang treated group were weakly observed than those of control group. Conclusion: On the basis of these results, we concluded that Bojungikgi-Tang has inhibiting effects on the development of transplanted uterine tissue. And these effects may be related with decreased production of MCP-1, TNF-${\alpha}$, and decreased expression of COX-2 and VEGF infiltration by administration of Bojungikgi-Tang.

• Journal of agriculture & life science
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.129-139
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• 2016

Curcumin plays a protective role in brain injury through its anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Moreover, peroxiredoxin-5 exerts a protective effect against oxidative stress. The aim of this study was to investigate whether curcumin modulated the peroxiredoxin-5 expression in focal cerebral ischemic animal model. Middle cerebral artery occlusion(MCAO) was performed to induce cerebral ischemic injury in rats. Adult male rats were injected intraperitoneally with vehicle or curcumin(50mg/kg B.W.) 1 h after MCAO and cerebral cortex tissues were collected 24 h after MCAO. Photographs of hematoxylin and eosin staining showed that MCAO induced necrotic changes with scalloped shrunken form and apoptotic changes with nuclear chromatin condensations. However, curcumin treatment attenuated MCAO-induced histopathological changes. Moreover, this study clearly showed that peroxiredoxin-5 expression was decreased in MCAO operated animal with vehicle using a proteomics approach. However, this decrease in peroxiredoxin-5 expression was attenuated by curcumin treatment. Reverse-transcription PCR and Western blot analyses confirmed that curcumin treatment alleviated the MCAO injury-induced decrease in peroxiredoxin-5 expression(p<0.05). These results demonstrated that curcumin regulates peroxiredoxin-5 expression in MCAO animal model. In conclusion, our findings suggest that curcumin exerts a neuroprotective effect in cerebral ischemia by attenuating the MCAO-induced decrease in peroxiredoxin-5 expression.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.143-155
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• 2023

Percutaneous coronary intervention and acute coronary syndrome are both closely tied to the frequently occurring complication of coronary microembolization (CME). Resveratrol (RES) has been shown to have a substantial cardioprotective influence in a variety of cardiac diseases, though its function and potential mechanistic involvement in CME are still unclear. The forty Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups randomly: CME, CME + RES (25 mg/kg), CME + RES (50 mg/kg), and sham (10 rats per group). The CME model was developed. Echocardiography, levels of myocardial injury markers in the serum, and histopathology of the myocardium were used to assess the function of the cardiac muscle. For the detection of the signaling of TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB along with the expression of pyroptosis-related molecules, ELISA, qRT-PCR, immunofluorescence, and Western blotting were used, among other techniques. The findings revealed that myocardial injury and pyroptosis occurred in the myocardium following CME, with a decreased function of cardiac, increased levels of serum myocardial injury markers, increased area of microinfarct, as well as a rise in the expression levels of pyroptosis-related molecules. In addition to this, pretreatment with resveratrol reduced the severity of myocardial injury after CME by improving cardiac dysfunction, decreasing serum myocardial injury markers, decreasing microinfarct area, and decreasing cardiomyocyte pyroptosis, primarily by blocking the signaling of TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB and also reducing the NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Resveratrol may be able to alleviate CME-induced myocardial pyroptosis and cardiac dysfunction by impeding the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome and the signaling pathway of TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.104-120
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• 2023

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore the therapeutic mechanism of acupuncture and bee venom acupuncture (BVA) in patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD) using positron emission tomography (PET) and arterial spin labeling (ASL). Methods: Patients with IPD who received a stable dose of anti-parkinsonian medication for at least 4 weeks were recruited and randomly divided into one of two groups: treatment and control. The treatment group (11 subjects) received acupuncture and BVA at acupoints, and the control group (9 subjects) received sham acupuncture and normal saline injections at non-acupoints, twice per week for 12 weeks. The patients were examined using PET and ASL at baseline and after the 12-week treatment. In addition, age- and sex-matched healthy subjects without neurological symptoms and history were recruited to compare ASL data of patients with IPD. Results: PET results revealed that striatal dopamine transporter binding increased in each group after 12 weeks. Although the change was larger in the treatment group, the difference was not statistically significant. In ASL results, the treatment group exhibited hyperperfusion in specific regions compared with the healthy control group. After 12 weeks' intervention, hyperperfusion regions were recovered only in the treatment group. In contrast, significant changes were not found in hyperperfusion regions in the control group after 12 weeks. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the therapeutic mechanisms of acupuncture and BVA in IPD are different from placebo and operate by altering dopamine availability and recovering hyperactivity in cerebral blood flow.

• International Journal of Stem Cells
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.66-77
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• 2023

Background and Objectives: We compared the efficacy and safety of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSC), delivered at different doses and via different injection routes in an animal model of chronic kidney disease. Methods and Results: A total of ninety 12-week-old rats underwent 5/6 nephrectomy and randomized among nine groups: sham, renal artery control (RA-C), tail vein control (TV-C), renal artery low dose (RA-LD) (0.5×10⁶ cells), renal artery moderate dose (RA-MD) (1.0×10⁶ cells), renal artery high dose (RA-HD) (2.0×10⁶ cells), tail vein low dose (TV-LD) (0.5×10⁶ cells), tail vein moderate dose (TV-MD) (1.0×10⁶ cells), and tail vein high dose (TV-HD) (2.0×10⁶ cells). Renal function and mortality of rats were evaluated after hBMSC injection. Serum blood urea nitrogen was significantly lower in the TV-HD group at 2 weeks (p<0.01), 16 weeks (p<0.05), and 24 weeks (p<0.01) than in the TV-C group, as determined by one-way ANOVA. Serum creatinine was significantly lower in the TV-HD group at 24 weeks (p<0.05). At 8 weeks, creatinine clearance was significantly higher in the TV-MD and TV-HD groups (p<0.01, p<0.05) than in the TV-C group. In the safety evaluation, we observed no significant difference among the groups. Conclusions: Our findings confirm the efficacy and safety of high dose (2×10⁶ cells) injection of hBMSC via the tail vein.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.346-352
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• 2010

Introduction: Heat shock protein70 (HSP70) is a highly conserved family of proteins produced after a variety of stresses. Many studies reported that the overexpression of HSP70 can improve the prognosis of the patients with sepsis through a reduction of the nitric oxide concentration. However, these results only revealed the effect of HSP70 and nitric oxide. No studies have examined the relationship between HSP70 and nitric oxide. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the overexpression of HSP70 on the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase and the nitric oxide concentration. In addition, the mechanism of the relationship of HSP70 and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in sepsis was examined. Materials and Methods: The experiments were performed on male sprague-dawley rats. Sepsis was induced by a cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). Glutamine (GLN) or saline was administered 1 hour after the initiation of sepsis. Serum and lung tissues were acquired from the rats 12 hours or 24 hours after the initiation of sepsis. The nitric oxide concentration, the expression of HSP70 in lung, and the gene expression of iNOS in lung were analyzed. The three groups, sham operation, CLP and CLP+GLN, were compared. Results: Compared to the other groups, in CLP+GLN, GLN administered after the initiation of sepsis enhanced the expression of HSP70 in the lung at 12 hours ($47.19{\pm}10.04$ vs. $33.22{\pm}8.28$, P=0.025) and 24 hours ($47.06{\pm}10.60$ vs. $31.90{\pm}4.83$, P=0.004). In CLP+GLN, GLN attenuated the expression of iNOS messenger RNA (mRNA) in the lung at 12 hours ($5,513.73{\pm}1,051.60$ vs. $4,167.17{\pm}951.59$, P=0.025) and 24 hours ($18,740.27{\pm}8,241.20$ vs. $9,437.65{\pm}2,521.07$, P=0.016), and reduced the concentration of nitric oxide in the serum at 12 hours ($0.86{\pm}0.48$ vs. $3.82{\pm}2.53$, P=0.016) and 24 hours ($0.39{\pm}0.25$ vs. $1.85{\pm}1.70$, P=0.025). Conclusion: The overexpression of HSP70 induced by the administration of GLN in sepsis attenuates the expression of the iNOS gene but reduces the nitric oxide concentration.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.29-37
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• 2014

Objectives Osteoporosis is an impending problem in the rapidly aging society. The purpose of this study is to identify the effects of Yoohyangheukho-dan ($R{\check{u}}xi{\bar{a}}ngh{\bar{e}}ih{\check{u}}-d{\bar{a}}n$) on osteoporosis induced by ovariectomy in rats. Methods 24 rats were randomly assigned to a SHAM group, a control group, and a Yoohyangheukho-dan ($R{\check{u}}xi{\bar{a}}ngh{\bar{e}}ih{\check{u}}-d{\bar{a}}n$) group (n=8). Ovaries were extracted and for 8 weeks, the rats were given dry feeds and Yoohyangheukho-dan ($R{\check{u}}xi{\bar{a}}ngh{\bar{e}}ih{\check{u}}-d{\bar{a}}n$) group were given a mixture of dry feeds and Yoohyangheukho-dan ($R{\check{u}}xi{\bar{a}}ngh{\bar{e}}ih{\check{u}}-d{\bar{a}}n$). At 8 weeks, their body weight, femur mass, tibia ash per body ratio, overall surface area and thickness of the trabeculae, overall surface area of the osteoblasts, and the number of osteoclasts were measured and levels of albumin, aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total-cholesterol, calcium and estradiol were recorded. Results There was no significant difference in the weight of the femur and the tibia ash per body ratio. The Yoohyangheukho-dan ($R{\check{u}}xi{\bar{a}}ngh{\bar{e}}ih{\check{u}}-d{\bar{a}}n$) group had significantly thicker trabeculae than the control group and showed a minimal increase of overall surface area of the trabeculae. The overall surface area of the osteoblasts and the number of osteoclasts decreased in the Yoohyangheukho-dan ($R{\check{u}}xi{\bar{a}}ngh{\bar{e}}ih{\check{u}}-d{\bar{a}}n$) group. There were no statistically significant differences in AST, ALT, ALP, total cholesterol, phosphorus, and estradiol levels. On the contrary the Yoohyangheukho-dan ($R{\check{u}}xi{\bar{a}}ngh{\bar{e}}ih{\check{u}}-d{\bar{a}}n$) group had significantly higher levels of Albumin, triglyceride, and calcium. Conclusions It can be concluded that oral intake of Yoohyangheukho-dan ($R{\check{u}}xi{\bar{a}}ngh{\bar{e}}ih{\check{u}}-d{\bar{a}}n$) prevents the thinning process of the trabeculae. Thus, it may have positive effects on the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.725-732
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• 2005

This study attempted to investigate if the soy isoflavone, genistein, influences bone metabolism in ovariectomized, 4-week-old female Wister rats. All the rats were divided into sham (SH) and ovariectomized (OVX) groups consisting of OVX-17${\beta}$-estradiol($10\;{\mu}g/kg$ b.w.), OVX-1mg or 5 mg or 10mg of genistein/kg b.w. The rates were allowed ad libitum access to foods and water for 8 weeks. The Results showed that body weight had significantly increased in the OVX group compared to the SH group (p<0.05) and was not different among the OVX-GEN and OVX-ES groups and the OVX group. The liver and uterus weights in the OVX groups were slighter than those in SH group (p<0.05). The kidney weight in the OVX groups was decreased compared to in that in the SH group but was not significantly different among all OVX groups. Femoral length in the OVX groups was longer than in the SH group and was not different. Rats in the OVX groups had higher creatinine levels than those in the SH group and hydroxyproline level did not differ significantly among any of the groups. Serum ALP activity and Ca in bone, feces, urine and serum did not change among the groups. Bone mineral density (BMD) decreased in the OVX groups compared to the SH group and was slightly increased by feeding genistein (p>0.05). Breaking force and stiffness did not change by ovariectomy and feeding genistein. Hence, these results suggested that estrogen may affect bone mineralization in growing rats and that genistein be may involved in the prevention of bone loss. However, more studies are needed to identify the proper mechanism of genistein and bone formation.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.34 no.9
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• pp.1350-1356
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• 2005

Osteoporosis that is associated with estrogen deficiency in menopause is by far the most common cause of age-related bone loss. Since isoflavone had been reported as a natural substance that minimizes bone loss, we have begun this study to examine the effect of the substance on bone metabolism in ovariectomized rats. Five week-old (n=22) and 25 week-old (n=22) Sprage-Dawley female rats were classified into young (Y) and adult (A) groups. Each group consisted of three subgroups : sham operated group (SH), ovariectomized group (OVX), and isoflavone supplemented group (OVX+ISO 80 mg/kg B.W.). They were fed chow for 9 weeks. The result showed that body weight gain was increased in YOVX in comparison to YSH group, (p<0.05) serum osteocalcin concentration and urinal deoxypyridinoline (DPD) excretion had significantly increased in YOVX more than in YSH group, and significantly decrease in OVX+ISO than in YOVX group (p<0.05). We concluded that soy isoflavones may decrease bone turnover in young rats. However, isoflavone supplement didn't show significant influence on bone metabolism of adult rats.