• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.173-178
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• 2011

Objective : The rat middle cerebral artery thread-occlusion model has been widely used to investigate the pathophysiological mechanisms of stroke and to develop therapeutic treatment. This study was conducted to analyze energy metabolism, apoptotic signal pathways, and genetic changes in the hippocampus of the ischemic rat brain. Methods : Focal transient cerebral ischemia was induced by obstructing the middle cerebral artery for two hours. After 24 hours, the induction of ischemia was confirmed by the measurement of infarct size using 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining. A cDNA microarray assay was performed after isolating the hippocampus, and was used to examine changes in genetic expression patterns. Results : According to the cDNA microarray analysis, a total of 1,882 and 2,237 genes showed more than a 2-fold increase and more than a 2-fold decrease, respectively. When the genes were classified according to signal pathways, genes related with oxidative phosphorylation were found most frequently. There are several apoptotic genes that are known to be expressed during ischemic brain damage, including Akt2 and Tnfrsf1a. In this study, the expression of these genes was observed to increase by more than 2-fold. As energy metabolism related genes grew, ischemic brain damage was affected, and the expression of important genes related to apoptosis was increased/decreased.Conclusion : Our analysis revealed a significant change in the expression of energy metabolism related genes (Atp6v0d1, Atp5g2, etc.) in the hippocampus of the ischemic rat brain. Based on this data, we feel these genes have the potential to be target genes used for the development of therapeutic agents for ischemic stroke.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.107-115
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• 2017

Human malignant melanoma is an aggressive skin cancer which has been rising at a greater rate than any other cancers. Although various new therapeutic methods have been developed in previous studies, this disease has properties of high proliferation and metastasis rate which remain obstacles that have lead to a poor prognosis in patients. It has been reported that a specific Lactobacillus extract has anti-cancer and -metastasis effect in vitro and in vivo. However, previous research has not specified precisely what effect the Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) extract has had on human malignant melanomas. In this study, we showed that the LGG extract has anti-cancer and -metastasis effects on the human malignant melanoma cell lines, A375P and A375SM. At first, it was found that, while the LGG extract affects human neonatal dermal fibroblasts slightly, it induced the dose-dependent anti-cancer effect on A375P and A375SM by a WST-1 proliferation assay. As a result of a real-time PCR analysis, the expression patterns of several genes related to cell cycle, proliferation, and apoptosis were modulating in a manner that inhibited the growth of both malignant melanoma cell lines after the treatment of the LGG extract. Furthermore, genes related to the epithelial-mesenchymal transition were down-regulated, and migration rates were also decreased significantly by the LGG extract. Our study showed that the LGG extract could be used as a potential therapeutic source.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.2939-2946
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• 2015

Many of the anti-cancer agents currently used have an origin in natural sources including plants. Aloe vera is one such plant being studied extensively for its diverse health benefits, including cancer prevention. In this study, the cytotoxic potential of Aloe vera crude extract (ACE) alone or in combination with cisplatin in human breast (MCF-7) and cervical (HeLa) cancer cells was studied by cell viability assay, nuclear morphological examination and cell cycle analysis. Effects were correlated with modulation of expression of genes involved in cell cycle regulation, apoptosis and drug metabolism by RT-PCR. Exposure of cells to ACE resulted in considerable loss of cell viability in a dose- and time-dependent fashion, which was found to be mediated by through the apoptotic pathway as evidenced by changes in the nuclear morphology and the distribution of cells in the different phases of the cell cycle. Interestingly, ACE did not have any significant cytotoxicity towards normal cells, thus placing it in the category of safe chemopreventive agent. Further, the effects were correlated with the downregulation of cyclin D1, CYP 1A1, CYP 1A2 and increased expression of bax and p21 in MCF-7 and HeLa cells. In addition, low dose combination of ACE and cisplatin showed a combination index less than 1, indicating synergistic growth inhibition compared to the agents applied individually. In conclusion, these results signify that Aloe vera may be an effective anti-neoplastic agent to inhibit cancer cell growth and increase the therapeutic efficacy of conventional drugs like cispolatin. Thus promoting the development of plant-derived therapeutic agents appears warranted for novel cancer treatment strategies.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.221-228
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• 2010

In 2009, American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy (AJHP) recommended that targeting vancomycin trough concentrations of 10 mg/L or more because of therapeutic failure and potential risk of developing vancomycin resistance. Therefore, new dosage guidelines that could achieve to these higher target were needed. The aims of this study were to develop dosage guidelines targeting new vancomycin trough concentration and to evaluate the performance of these new guidelines. All data analysis were performed using NONMEM(R). Population pharmacokinetic model was first developed from vancomycin dosage and concentration data collected retrospectively during routine therapeutic drug monitoring in 441 patients, then new vancomycin dosage guidelines were developed by using the model to predict vancomycin trough and peak concentrations in a simulated dataset. The estimates, such as, vancomycin concentration trough level, time to achieve target level, mean error were performed to evaluate and compare difference between conventional dosage and new dosage guidelines. The proposed dosage guidelines were predicted to achieve 43.5% of vancomycin trough level within 10~20 mg/L, which is significantly higher than current guidelines (26.3%). Time to achieve target trough level was 19.4 hours in new guidelines comparing to 93.1 hours in the conventional dosage. Thus, new vancomycin dosage guidelines have been developed to achieve new target trough concentrations earlier and more consistently than conventional guidelines.

• BMB Reports
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.311-316
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• 2012

Sulforaphane (1-isothiocyanato-4-(methylsulfinyl)-butane), belonging to a family of natural compounds that are abundant in broccoli, has received significant therapeutic interest in recent years. However, the molecular basis of its effects remains to be elucidated. In this study, we attempt to determine whether sulforaphane regulates the inflammatory response in an ovalbumin (OVA)-induced murine asthma model. Mice were sensitized with OVA, treated with sulforaphane, and then challenged with OVA. Sulforaphane administration significantly alleviated the OVA-induced airway hyperresponsiveness to inhaled methacholine. Additionally, sulforaphane suppressed the increase in the levels of SOCS-3 and GATA-3 and IL-4 expression in the OVA-challenged mice. Collectively, our results demonstrate that sulforaphane regulates Th2 immune responses. This sutdy provides novel insights into the regulatory role of sulforaphane in allergen-induced Th2 inflammation and airway responses, which indicates its therapeutic potential for asthma and other allergic diseases.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.371-383
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• 2014

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) offers a unique opportunity for biological and basic medical researches due to its genetic tractability and well-defined developmental lineage. It also provides an exceptional model for genetic, molecular, and cellular analysis of human disease-related genes. Recently, C. elegans has been used as an ideal model for the identification and functional analysis of drugs (or small-molecules) in vivo. In this review, we describe conserved oncogenic signaling pathways (Wnt, Notch, and Ras) and their potential roles in the development of cancer stem cells. During C. elegans germline development, these signaling pathways regulate multiple cellular processes such as germline stem cell niche specification, germline stem cell maintenance, and germ cell fate specification. Therefore, the aberrant regulations of these signaling pathways can cause either loss of germline stem cells or overproliferation of a specific cell type, resulting in sterility. This sterility phenotype allows us to identify drugs that can modulate the oncogenic signaling pathways directly or indirectly through a high-throughput screening. Current in vivo or in vitro screening methods are largely focused on the specific core signaling components. However, this phenotype-based screening will identify drugs that possibly target upstream or downstream of core signaling pathways as well as exclude toxic effects. Although phenotype-based drug screening is ideal, the identification of drug targets is a major challenge. We here introduce a new technique, called Drug Affinity Responsive Target Stability (DARTS). This innovative method is able to identify the target of the identified drug. Importantly, signaling pathways and their regulators in C. elegans are highly conserved in most vertebrates, including humans. Therefore, C. elegans will provide a great opportunity to identify therapeutic drugs and their targets, as well as to understand mechanisms underlying the formation of cancer.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.48-55
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• 2010

Neural progenitor cells (NPCs) differentiate into astrocytes, neurons and oligodendrocytes, which is controlled by various factors in brain. Recent evidences suggest that small molecules modulating the proliferation and differentiation of NPCs may have therapeutic value as well as the potential use as chemical probes. Phylligenin is a lignan with anti-inflammatory activity that is isolated from the fruits of Forsythia koreana. We investigated effects of phylligenin on proliferation and differentiation of NPCs. Treatment of phylligenin decreased the number of proliferating NPCs in culture without effects on the differentiation and survival of neural cells such as neurons and astrocytes. To examine the mechanism of the decreased NPCs number, we performed cell cycle analysis. Proliferation of NPCs was decreased via G1-S transition block by phylligenin treatment, and it was mediated by the increase of p21 level. However, phylligenin did not induce apoptosis of NPCs as determined by TUNEL assay and PARP cleavage. We also found that viability of glioma cell lines such as C6 and U87MG glioma cells, but not that of primary neuron and astrocyte, was inhibited by phylligenin. These results suggest that phylligenin selectively inhibits proliferation of rapidly growing cells such as neural stem cells and glioma cells. Given that the possible role of brain tumor stem cells in the pathology of brain cancers, the inhibitory effects of phylligenin might be useful in the development of new therapeutic agents against brain cancers.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.421-427
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• 2012

The production of therapeutic proteins from transgenic animals is one of the most important successes of animal biotechnology. Milk is presently the most mature system for production of therapeutic proteins from a transgenic animal. Specifically, ${\beta}$-casein is a major component of cow, goat and sheep milk, and its promoter has been used to regulate the expression of transgenic genes in the mammary gland of transgenic animals. Here, we cloned the porcine ${\beta}$-casein gene and analyzed the transcriptional activity of the promoter and intron 1 region of the porcine ${\beta}$-casein gene. Sequence inspection of the 5'-flanking region revealed potential DNA elements including SRY, CdxA, AML-a, GATA-3, GATA-1 and C/EBP ${\beta}$. In addition, the first intron of the porcine ${\beta}$-casein gene contained the transcriptional enhancers Oct-1, SRY, YY1, C/EBP ${\beta}$, and AP-1, as well as the retroviral TATA box. We estimated the transcriptional activity for the 5'-proximal region with or without intron 1 of the porcine ${\beta}$-casein gene in HC11 cells stimulated with lactogenic hormones. High transcriptional activity was obtained for the 5'-proximal region with intron 1 of the porcine ${\beta}$-casein gene. The ${\beta}$-casein gene containing the mutant TATA box (CATAAAA) was also cloned from another individual pig. Promoter activity of the luciferase vector containing the mutant TATA box was weaker than the same vector containing the normal TATA box. Taken together, these findings suggest that the transcription of porcine ${\beta}$-casein gene is regulated by lactogenic hormone via intron 1 and promoter containing a mutant TATA box (CATAAAA) has poor porcine ${\beta}$-casein gene activity.

• CELLMED
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.8.1-8.7
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• 2017

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is one of the major diseases of the urinary system in older men. WSY-0702 is the extracted from the traditional medicinal plant; Seoritae, and it has effects of anti-obesity, chronic cervical pain, and anti-oxidant. The present study aimed to investigate the therapeutic potential of WSY-0702 in the prevention and treatment of BPH. Several parameters including inflammatory mediators, hormones, and oxidative stress (OS) have been considered to play a role in the development of BPH. Prostate tissue damage and OS may lead to compensatory cellular proliferation with resulting hyperplastic growth. An in vitro study showed that proliferation inhibited the human prostate epithelial cell line RWPE-1 in a dose-dependent manner. In cell line, the cell cycle at the G2/M and G0/G1 phase and downregulated the expression of CyclineB1 (CCNB1) and CyclineD1 (CCND1). In addition, we measured the $H_2O_2$-induced OS damage using RWPE-1 cells. We examined the relative expression of protein involved in the regulation of prostate apoptosis: transforming growth factor (TGF)-${\beta}$, a negative growth factor able to induced prostate apoptosis under physiological conditions. These results suggest that WSY-0702 that can inhibit the growth of prostate epithelial cell by a mechanism that may involve arresting the cell cycle and downregulating CCNB1 and CCND1 expression. In addition, WSY-0702 exposure resulted in significant protective effects in $H_2O_2$-stressed PWPE-1 cells by reduction in TGF-${\beta}$ levels.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.1891-1898
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• 2016

Imperata cylindrica, a tall tufted grass which has multiple pharmacological applications is one of the key ingredients in various traditional medicinal formula used in India. Previous reports have shown that I. cylindrica plant extract inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis in various cancer cell lines. To our knowledge, no studies have been published on the effect of I. cylindrica leaf extract on human oral cancers. The present study was undertaken in order to evaluate the anticancer properties of the leaf extract of I. cylindrica using an oral squamous cell carcinoma cell line SCC-9 as an in vitro model system. A methanol extract from dried leaves of I. cylindrica (ICL) was prepared by standard procedures. Effects of the ICL extract on the morphology of SCC-9 cells was visualized by microscopy. Cytotoxicity was determined by MTT assay. Effects of the ICL extract on colony forming ability of SCC-9 cells was evaluated using clonogenic assay. Cell cycle analysis was performed by flow cytometry and induction of apoptosis was determined by DNA fragmentation assay. The ICL extract treatment caused cytotoxicity and induced cell death in vitro in SCC-9 cells in a dose-dependent manner. This treatment also significantly reduced the clonogenic potential and inhibited cell proliferation by arresting the cell cycle in the G2/M phase. Furthermore, DNA fragmentation assays showed that the observed cell death was caused by apoptosis. This is the first report showing the anticancer activity of the methanol extracts from the leaves of I. cylindrica in human oral cancer cell line. Our data indicates that ICL extract could be considered as one of the lead compounds for the formulation of anticancer therapeutic agents to treat/manage human oral cancers. The natural abundance of I. cylindrica and its wide geographic distribution could render it one of the primary resource materials for preparation of anticancer therapeutic agents.