• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.125-137
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• 2004

Objectives : Recently, Herbal-acupuncture therapeutics has been used for the treatment of inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Especially, we have been interested in chemical mediators concerned with inflammation such as prostaglandin, cytokine, nitrous oxide. The purpose of this study is investigated that the effect of Chelidonii Herbal-acupuncture solution in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages, performed several expeimental items : those are prostaglandin $E_2$, nitric oxide and cyclooxygenase-2. Methods : The cytotoxicity of Chelidonii Herbal-acupuncture solution in RAW 264.7 macrophages were measured by MTT-based cytotoxicity assay. In order to observe cyclooxygenase-2 mRNA expression in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages, RT-PCR was used. Prostaglandin $E_2$ formation and nitric oxide production was measured by competitive enzyme immunoassay and Griess assay. Results : 1.The MTT assay demonstrated that cytotoxic effect of Chelidonii Herbal-acupuncture solution in RAW 264.7 macrophages were not appeared before concentration of 1mg/ml. 2.Chelidonii Herbal-acupuncture solution inhibited cyclooxygenase-2 mRNA expression in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. 3. Chelidonii Herbal-acupuncture solution inhibited nitric oxide production in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. 4. Chelidonii Herbal-acupuncture solution inhibited prostaglandin $E_2$ formation in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. Conclusions : On the basis of these results, It was shown that Chelidonii Herbal-acupuncture solution is significantly able to inhibit the production of $PGE_2$ and NO, as well as COX-2 mRNA expression. Our results may provide new mechanism by which Chelidonii Herbal-acupuncture solution accounts for its beneficial effect on accelerating wound healing and anti-inflammation.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.541-550
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• 1996

Tetracycline antibiotics have been widely used not only therapeutics but feed additives. There are many methods for the isolation and determination of tetracycline antibiotics in animal muscle tissue. But those methods take much time and labor, so it is difficult to analyse many samples simultaneously. A rapid isolation method and liquid chromatographic determination of tetracycline antibiotics in animal muscle tissue (bovine, porcine, chicken) is presented. Blank control and tetracyclines fortified samples (0.5g) were blended with $C_{18}$ containing 0.05g each of oxalic acid and disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate. After homogenize, homogenate was transferred to glass column made from 10ml glass syringe and compressed to 4~4.5ml volume. A column made from the $C_{18}$/meat matrix was washed with hexane (8ml) and dichloromethane (8ml, if needed), following which the tetracyclines were eluted,vith methanol or 0.01M methanolic oxalic acid (8ml). The eluates containing tetracyclines analytes were free from interfering compounds when analysed by HPLC with UV detection (photodiode array at 360nm). Standard curve for each tetracycline showed a linear response at the range of $0.05{\sim}1.0{\mu}g/ml$ and tetracycline antibiotics were eluted within 4ml of eluted volume. All tetracycline antibiotics except tetracycline were stable during the concentration process at $40^{\circ}C$ and time required for concentration was 3~4 hours. Fortified samples containing oxalic aicd and EDTA represented more good recoveries than those of not-contained sample. Recoveries were 91.8~110.1% (oxytetracycline; OTC), 57.7~79.5% (tetracycline; TC), 78.1~88.6% (chlortetracyclines; CTC) and 88.4~100.6% (doxycycline; DC) in pork tissue, 101.1~126.8% (OTC), 66.4~75.4% (TC), 79.2~88.1% (CTC) and 69.3~86.7% (DC) in beef tissue, and 90.8~95.6% (OTC), 66.2~84.4% (TC), 75.7~77.2% (CTC) and 55.6~80.7% (DC) in chicken muscle tissue. The detection limits validated in muscle tissue by this method were $0.05{\mu}g/g$ for OTC and TC, and $0.1{\mu}g/g$ for CTC and DC.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.470-476
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• 2017

Changes in the mammalian target of the rapamycin (mTOR) signaling proteins have been observed in many types of cancer. Accordingly, these proteins have recently become an exciting new target for molecular therapeutics. This study examined the expression of an activated mTOR signaling protein in patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma (CRAC) and colorectal adenoma lesion. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed on human CRAC and adenoma for the mTOR signaling components, including mTOR, phosphorylation, and activation of S6 kinase (p70-S6K), S6 ribosomal protein (S6), and eukaryotic initiation factor 4E-binding protein (4EBP1). A total of 100 cases with colorectal adenocarcinoma (CARC; N=40), adenoma with high-grade intraepithelial neoplasms (HIN; N=30), and adenoma with low-grade intraepithelial neoplasms (LIN; N=30) were enrolled in this study. p-mTOR expression was observed in 30 cases of the CRAC tissues (75%), 9 cases of adenoma with HIN (30%), and 2 cases of adenoma with LIN (7%). In addition, p-S6 expression was observed in 22 cases of CRAC tissues (55%), 8 cases of adenoma with HIN (27%), and 3 cases of adenoma with LIN (10%). A significant correlation was observed among the p-mTOR, p-S6 expression, and the adenoma-carcinoma sequence. Interestingly, the p-S6 protein was activated more in early CRAC than in advanced CRAC.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.291-297
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• 2001

The bioequivalence of two triflusal products was evaluated with 20 healthy volunteers following single oral dose according to the guidelines of Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). Trisa $l^{R}$ capsule (Whanin Pharm. Corp., Korea) and Disgre $n^{R}$ capsule (Myung-In Pharm. Corp., Korea) were used as test product and reference product, respectively. Both products contain 300 mg of trifusal. One capsule of test product or reference product was orally administered to the volunteers, respectively, by randomized two period crossover study (2$\times$2 Latin square method). Blood samples were taken at predetermined time intervals for 4 hours and the determination of trifusal was accomplished using semi-microbore HPLC equipped with automated column switching system. The analytical method with HPLC was validated according to the Bioanalytic Method Validation guideline by F7A prior to determining the plasma samples. The pharmacokinetic parameters (AU $C_{0-4h}$ $C_{max}$ and $T_{max}$) were calculated and ANOVA test was utilized for statistical analysis of parameters. As a result of the assay validation, the limit of quantification of trifusal in human plasma by current assay procedure was 50 ng/ml using 500 $\mu$l of plasma. The accuracy of the assay was from 97.76% to 116.51% while the intra-day and inter-day coefficient of variation of the same concentration range was less than 15%. Average drug concentration at the designated time intervals and pharmacokinetic parameters calculated were not significantly different between two products (p>0.05). The difference of mean AU $C_{olongrightarrow4hr}$, $C_{max}$, and $T_{max}$ between the two products (2.92, 4.39, and -2.44%, respectively) were less than 20%. The power (1-$\beta$) and treatment difference ($\Delta$) for AU $C_{olongrightarrow4hr}$ and $C_{max}$ were more than 0.8 and less than 0.2, respectively. Although the power for $T_{max}$ was under 0.8, $T_{max}$ of the two products was not significantly different from each other (p>0.05). These results satisfied the criteria of KFDA guideline for bioequivalence, indicating the two products of triflusal were bioequivalent.quivalent.ent.ent.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.538-543
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• 2012

The Maillard Reaction Products (MRPs) are chemical compounds which have been known to be effective in chemoprevention. Death receptors (DR) play a central role in directing apoptosis in several cancer cells. In our previous study, we demonstrated that (E)-2,4-bis(p-hydroxyphenyl)-2-butenal, a MRP product, inhibited human colon cancer cell growth by inducing apoptosis via nuclear factor-${\kappa}B$ (NF-${\kappa}B$) inactivation and $G_2$/M phase cell cycle arrest. In this study, (E)-2,4-bis(p-hydroxyphenyl)-2-butenal diacetate, a new (E)-2,4-bis(p-hydroxyphenyl)-2-butenal derivative, was synthesized to improve their solubility and stability in water and then evaluated against NCI-H460 and A549 human lung cancer cells. (E)-2,4-bis(p-hydroxyphenyl)-2-butenal diacetate reduced the viability in both cell lines in a time and dose-dependent manner. We also found that (E)-2,4-bis(p-hydroxyphenyl)-2-butenal diacetate increased apoptotic cell death through the upregulation of the expression of death receptor (DR)-3 and DR6 in both lung cancer cell lines. In addition to this, the transfection of DR3 siRNA diminished the growth inhibitory and apoptosis inducing effect of (E)-2,4-bis(p-hydroxyphenyl)-2-butenal diacetate on lung cancer cells, however these effects of (E)-2,4-bis(p-hydroxyphenyl)-2-butenal diacetate was not changed by DR6 siRNA. These results indicated that (E)-2,4-bis(p-hydroxyphenyl)-2-butenal diacetate inhibits human lung cancer cell growth via increasing apoptotic cell death by upregulation of the expression of DR3.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.27-35
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• 2012

Oroxylin A is a flavone isolated from a medicinal herb reported to be effective in reducing the inflammatory and oxidative stresses. It also modulates the production of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in cortical neurons by the transactivation of cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB). As a neurotrophin, BDNF plays roles in neuronal development, differentiation, synaptogenesis, and neural protection from the harmful stimuli. Adenosine $A2_A$ receptor colocalized with BDNF in brain and the functional interaction between $A2_A$ receptor stimulation and BDNF action has been suggested. In this study, we investigated the possibility that oroxylin A modulates BDNF production in cortical neuron through the regulation of $A2_A$ receptor system. As expected, CGS21680 ($A2_A$ receptor agonist) induced BDNF expression and release, however, an antagonist, ZM241385, prevented oroxylin A-induced increase in BDNF production. Oroxylin A activated the PI3K-Akt-GSK-$3{\beta}$ signaling pathway, which is inhibited by ZM241385 and the blockade of the signaling pathway abolished the increase in BDNF production. The physiological roles of oroxylin A-induced BDNF production were demonstrated by the increased neurite extension as well as synapse formation from neurons. Overall, oroxylin A might regulate BDNF production in cortical neuron through $A2_A$ receptor stimulation, which promotes cellular survival, synapse formation and neurite extension.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.158-164
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• 2012

Inhibiting the bioactivities of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) results in significant inhibition of neovessel formation during tumor angiogenesis. To investigate the potential effect of phloroglucinol as an EPC inhibitor, we performed several in vitro functional assays using $CD34^+$ cells isolated from human umbilical cord blood (HUCB). Although a high treatment dose of phloroglucinol did not show any cell toxicity, it specifically induced the cell death of EPCs under serum free conditions through apoptosis. In the EPC colony-forming assay (EPC-CFA), we observed a significant decreased in the small EPC-CFUs for the phloroglucinol group, implying that phloroglucinol inhibited the early stage of EPC commitment. In addition, in the in vitro expansion assay using $CD34^+$ cells, treatment with phloroglucinol was shown to inhibit endothelial lineage commitment, as demonstrated by the decrease in endothelial surface markers of EPCs including $CD34^+$, $CD34^+/CD133^+$, $CD34^+/CD31^+$ and $CD34^+/CXCR4^+$. This is the first report to demonstrate that phloroglucinol can inhibit the functional bioactivities of EPCs, indicating that phloroglucinol may be used as an EPC inhibitor in the development of biosafe anti-tumor drugs that target tumor angiogenesis.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.226-233
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• 2012

Ethanol exposure during gestational period is related to growth retardation, morphological abnormality, and even in neurological abnormalities including attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-like behaviors on offspring. However, relatively little is known about the effects of maternal ethanol consumption prior to conception on their offspring. In this study, we investigated whether maternal ethanol administration during preconceptional phase produces ADHD-like behaviors in the rat offspring. Sprague-Dawley (SD) female rats were administrated ethanol via intragastric intubation with dosing regimen of 6 g/kg daily for 10 consecutive days and treated female rats then mated with non-treated male SD rats after 8 weeks. Another group subjected to the same procedure as those conducted on ethanol treated group except the saline administration instead of ethanol. Offspring was tested for their ADHD-like behaviors using open field test, Y maze test and impulsivity test that is performed in the aversive electronic foot shock paradigm. Offspring of preconceptional ethanol treated (EtOH) group showed hyperlocomotive activity, attention deficit and impulsivity. And reduction of striatal dopamine transporter (DAT) level was observed by Western blot in the EtOH group, compared to control (Con) group, while the immunohistochemical analysis exhibited increased expression of norepinephrine transporter (NET) in the frontal cortex. These results suggest that maternal ethanol consumption in the preconceptional phase induces ADHD-like behaviors in offspring that might be related to the abnormal expression of DAT and NET in rat.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.442-448
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• 2015

We evaluated the chondroprotective effects of wogonin by investigating its effects on the gene expression and production of matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) in primary cultured rabbit articular chondrocytes, as well as on production of MMP-3 in the rat knee. Rabbit articular chondrocytes were cultured in a monolayer, and RT-PCR was used to measure interleukin-$1{\beta}$ (IL-$1{\beta}$)-induced expression of MMP-3, MMP-1, MMP-13, a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs-4 (ADAMTS-4), and type II collagen. In rabbit articular chondrocytes, the effects of wogonin on IL-$1{\beta}$-induced production and proteolytic activity of MMP-3 were investigated using western blot analysis and casein zymography, respectively. The effect of wogonin on MMP-3 protein production was also examined in vivo. In rabbit articular chondrocytes, wogonin inhibited the expression of MMP-3, MMP-1, MMP-13, and ADAMTS-4, but increased expression of type II collagen. Furthermore, wogonin inhibited the production and proteolytic activity of MMP-3 in vitro, and inhibited production of MMP-3 protein in vivo. These results suggest that wogonin can regulate the gene expression and production of MMP-3, by directly acting on articular chondrocytes.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.486-492
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• 2015

Drug metabolism mostly occurs in the liver. Cytochrome P450 (CYP) is a drug-metabolizing enzyme that is responsible for many important drug metabolism reactions. Recently, the US FDA and EU EMA have suggested that CYP enzyme induction can be measured by both enzymatic activity and mRNA expression. However, these experiments are time-consuming and their interassay variability can lead to misinterpretations of the results. To resolve these problems and establish a more powerful method to measure CYP induction, we determined CYP induction by using luminescent assay. Luminescent CYP assays link CYP enzyme activity to firefly luciferase luminescence technology. In this study, we measured the induction of CYP isozymes (1A2, 2B6, 2C9, and 3A4) in cryopreserved human hepatocytes (HMC424, 478, and 493) using a luminometer. We then examined the potential induction abilities (unknown so far) of mesalazine, a drug for colitis, and mosapride citrate, which is used as an antispasmodic drug. The results showed that mesalazine promotes CYP2B6 and 3A4 activities, while mosapride citrate promotes CYP1A2, 2B6, and 3A4 activities. Luminescent CYP assays offer rapid and safe advantages over LC-MS/MS and qRT-PCR methods. Furthermore, luminescent CYP assays decrease the interference between the optical properties of the test compound and the CYP substrates. Therefore, luminescent CYP assays are less labor intensive, rapid, and can be used as robust tools for high-throughput CYP screening during early drug discovery.