Therapeutic effect of ethyl acetate extract from Asparagus cochinchinensis on phthalic anhydride-induced skin inflammation / 한국실험동물학회지

Asparagus cochinchinensis has been used to treat various diseases including fever, cough, kidney disease, breast cancer, inflammatory disease and brain disease, while IL-4 cytokine has been considered as key regulator on the skin homeostasis and the predisposition toward allergic skin inflammation. However, few studies have investigated its effects and IL-4 correlation on skin inflammation to date. To quantitatively evaluate the suppressive effects of ethyl acetate extracts of A. cochinchinensis (EaEAC) on phthalic anhydride (PA)-induced skin inflammation and investigate the role of IL-4 during their action mechanism, alterations in general phenotype biomarkers and luciferase-derived signals were measured in IL-4/Luc/CNS-1 transgenic (Tg) mice with PA-induced skin inflammation after treatment with EaEAC for 2 weeks. Key phenotype markers including lymph node weight, immunoglobulin E (IgE) concentration, epidermis thickness and number of infiltrated mast cells were significantly decreased in the PA+EaEAC treated group compared with the PA+Vehicle treated group. In addition, expression of IL-1β and TNF-α was also decreased in the PA+EaEAC cotreated group, compared to PA+Vehicle treated group. Furthermore, a significant decrease in the luciferase signal derived from IL-4 promoter was detected in the abdominal region, submandibular lymph node and mesenteric lymph node of the PA+EaEAC treated group, compared to PA+Vehicle treated group. Taken together, these results suggest that EaEAC treatment could successfully improve PA-induced skin inflammation of IL-4/Luc/CNS-1 Tg mice, and that IL-4 cytokine plays a key role in the therapeutic process of EaEAC.

Toxicity of antioxidative extract collected from Styela clava tunics in ICR mice / 한국실험동물학회지

Some polymers and bioactive compounds derived from Styela clava tunic (SCT) have been reported as traditional medicine for the treatment of inflammation, oxidative stress and surgical wounds although there is little scientific evidence of their liver and kidney toxicity. To investigate the toxicity of ethanol extracts of SCT (EtSCT) in the liver and kidney of ICR mice, alterations in related markers including body weight, organ weight, urine composition, liver pathology and kidney pathology were analyzed following oral administration of 50 and 100 mg/kg body weight/day of EtSCT for 14 days. EtSCT showed a high level of free radical scavenging activity for DPPH (93.1%) and NO (16.2%) as well as the presence of 14.8 mg/mL of flavonoids and 36.2 mg/mL of phenolics, while EtSCT treated groups did not show any significant alterations in the body and organ weight, clinical phenotypes, urine parameters or mice mortality when compared with the vehicle treated group. In addition, constant levels of serum biochemical markers including alanine phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine (CRE) were maintained. Moreover, no specific histopathological features induced by most toxic compounds were observed in liver and kidney sections stained with hematoxilin and eosin. Therefore, the present results indicate that EtSCT with strong antioxidant activity cannot induce any specific toxicity in liver and kidney organs of ICR at doses of 100 mg/kg body weight/day.

Beneficial effects of ethanol extracts of Red Liriope platyphylla on vascular dysfunction in the aorta of spontaneously hypertensive rats / 한국실험동물학회지

Some biological effects of Red Liriope platyphylla (RLP) on various chronic diseases including Alzheimer's disease, diabetes and obesity were suggested after a report of the production from Liriope platyphylla (L. platyphylla, LP) roots using a steaming process. To examine the beneficial effects of ethanol extracts RLP (EEtRLP) on the vascular dysfunction of hypertension, alterations in key factors related to vascular regulation and antioxidant conditions were investigated in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) after EEtRLP treatment for 2 weeks. High levels of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity were detected in 500 or 1,000 mg/mL EEtRLP. Although no significant improvement of systolic blood pressure or aortic wall thickness were observed in the EEtRLP treated group, the expression level of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) and ACE2 increased significantly after EEtRLP treatment. Moreover, the concentration of aldosterone and K ion in serum rapidly recovered in the EEtRLP treated group relative to the vehicle treated group. Furthermore, the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) expression and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were significantly increased in the EEtRLP treated group relative to the vehicle treated group, while the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) and NOx in the serum of the same group were recovered to the level of Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats. Overall, the results presented herein provide novel evidence that EEtRLP treatment may improve vascular dysfunction in the aorta of the SHR through up regulation of the antioxidant state and down regulation of aldosterone and K ion concentration. These results also suggest that EEtRLP may be a potential candidate for treatment of various chronic diseases showing vascular dysfunction.

Toxicity of fermented soybean product (cheonggukjang) manufactured by mixed culture of Bacillus subtilis MC31 and Lactobacillus sakei 383 on liver and kidney of ICR mice / 한국실험동물학회지

To investigate the toxic effects of cheonggukjang (CKJ) manufactured using mixed cultures of Bacillus subtilis MC31 and Lactobacillus sakei 383 on the liver and kidney of ICR mice, an alteration on the related markers including body weight, organ weight, urine composition, liver pathology and kidney pathology were analyzed after oral administration at dosage of 25, 50 and 100 mg/kg body weight/day of CKJ for 14 days. Any significant toxicity was not observed on the body and organ weight, clinical phenotypes, urine parameters and mortality in the CKJ-treated group compared with the vehicle-treated group. Also, liver toxicity analysis revealed no significant increase in alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) or lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in response to CKJ. Additionally, the specific pathological features induced by most toxic compounds were not observed upon liver histological analysis. Furthermore, kidney toxicological analysis revealed that blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and the serum creatinine (Cr) levels and pathological features on histological sections did not differ significantly between the vehicle- and CKJ-treated groups. Overall, these results suggest that CKJ does not induce any specific toxicity in liver and kidney organs of ICR at dose of 100 mg/kg body weight/day as no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL).

In vitro and in vivo study of effects of fermented soybean product (chungkookjang) on NGF secretion ability and NGF receptor signaling pathway / 한국실험동물학회지

In order to investigate the effects of a fermented soybean product (Chungkookjang, CKJ) on nerve growth factor (NGF) metabolism, NGF secretion ability and its related signaling pathway were analyzed in B35 neuronal cells and the Tg2576 mouse model of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In B35 cells, the concentration of NGF significantly increased upon treatment with Taegwang (TG)-CKJ and Shinhwa (SH)-CKJ extracts compared with vehicle. Further, a significant increase in PC12 cell length as well as the phsophorylation levels of TrkA and Akt, which are members of a high affinity NGF receptor signaling pathway, were observed after treatment with TG-CKJ and SH-CKJ conditional medium (CM). On the other hand, there was no difference in activation of the NGF receptor p75NTR signaling pathway between vehicle and all CKJ treated groups. In Tg2576 mice showing early stage of AD, the concentrations of NGF in the serum and brain were reduced compared with those in Non-Tg mice. Treatment of Tg2576 mice with SH-CKJ, which contains high concentrations of total flavonoids and phenolic compounds, for 8 weeks dramatically recovered the NGF level to that of Non-Tg mice. Furthermore, the low phosphorylation levels of TrkA and Erk in the NGF receptor TrkA signaling pathway were rapidly recovered to those of Non-Tg mice after SH-CKJ treatment in vehicle treated Tg2576 mice, whereas the phosphorylation level of Akt was maintained at a constant level. These results suggest that CKJ may stimulate NGF secretion ability as well as the NGF receptor TrkA signaling pathway in PC12 cells and Tg2576 mice.

Effects of Red Liriope platyphylla on NGF secretion ability, NGF receptor signaling pathway and gamma-secretase components in NSE/hAPPsw transgenic mice expressing Alzheimer's Disease / 한국실험동물학회지

Liriope platyphylla (LP) has long been regarded as a curative herb for the treatment of diabetes, asthma, and neurodegenerative disorders. To examine the therapeutic effects of Red LP (RLP) manufactured by steaming process on neurodegenerative disorders, significant alteration of the key factors influencing Alzheimer's Disease (AD) was detected in NSE/hAPPsw transgenic (Tg) mice after RLP treatment. The concentration of nerve growth factor (NGF) in serum increased in RLP-treated NSE/hAPPsw Tg mice compared with vehicle-treated Tg mice. However, downstream effectors of the NGF receptor signaling pathway, including TrkA and p75NTR proteins, were suppressed in RLP-treated NSE/hAPPsw Tg mice. Especially, Tg mice showed decreased levels of TrkA, p75NTR, and RhoA expression. Production of Abeta-42 peptides was lower in RLP-treated NSE/hAPPsw Tg mice than in vehicle-treated Tg mice. Further, analysis of gamma-secretase components showed that Abeta-42 peptide expression was downregulated. Of the four components, the expression of APH-1 and Nicastrin (NCT) decreased in RLP-treated NSE/hAPPsw Tg mice, whereas expression of PS-2 and Pen-2 was maintained or increased within the same group. Overall, these results suggest that RLP can help relieve neurodegenerative diseases, especially AD, through upregulation of NGF secretion ability, activation of NGF signaling pathway, downregulation of Abeta-42 peptide deposition, and alteration of gamma-secretase components.

Toxicity of red Liriope platyphylla manufactured by steaming process on liver and kidney organs of ICR mice / 한국실험동물학회지

Red Liriope platyphylla (RLP) produced by steaming process has been reported to enhance the secretion of insulin and nerve growth factor (NGF). However, there has been no report on the toxicity of RLP in the specific organs of mice. To investigate the toxic effect of RLP, we tried to observe a significant alteration on body weight, food/water intake, organ weight, liver pathology and kidney pathology in female ICR mice received 12.5, 25.0 and 50.0 mg/kg body weight/day of RLP via gavage for 10 days. Out of seven organs including brain, heart, lung, liver, kidney, spleen and ovary, two organs (heart and lung) showed significantly decreased weights in the medium dosage RLP-treated group, whereas weights of other organs were maintained at constant levels in all dosage groups. In the liver toxicity analysis, no significant increase of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate amino-transferase (AST) were detected in any RLP-treated group compared to vehicle-treated group. The specific pathological changes induced by most of toxic compounds were not observed in the liver in microscopic examination. Furthermore, in the kidney toxicological analysis, a significant enhancement of the blood urea nitrogen (BUN) concentration was detected in the high dosage RLP-treated group compared to the vehicle-treated group. However, the serum creatinine (CA) concentration on the serum biochemistry as well as the pathological changes in microscopic examination were not significantly different between the vehicle- and RLP-treated groups. Therefore, these results suggest that RLP does not induce any specific toxicity in liver or kidney tissues of mice, although the BUN level slightly increased in 50.0 mg/kg of RLP-treated group.

Analysis of the Diagnostic Efficacy of Breast Imaging Studies in Pathologically Confirmed Cases: Comparison of T-scan with Mammography and Ultrasonography

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare the diagnostic efficacy of mammography, Ultrasonography(US) and T-scan in pathologically confirmed breast diseases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-eight patients withpathologically confirmed breast diseases who had undergone T-scan and mammography and/or US were retrospectivelyreviewed. Cases were categorized as normal, benign, or malignant, and on the basis of disease entity and masssize, the results were compared with pathologic diagnosis. For the of t scans, the conductance ratio was alsoused. RESULTS: Twenty cases were benign and 18 were malignant. The sensitivity, specificity and positivepredictive value of mammography were 100%, 70%, 74%;respectively. For US, the corresponding figures were 100%,82%, 88%, and for T-scan, 33%, 85%, 67%. Between masses with a diameter of less than 2cm and more than 2cm, thesensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value of mammography and US demonstrated no significantdifference, except in some cases ; for T-scan however, the respective results were 10%, 80%, 33% when lesion sizewas less than 2cm, and 56%, 90%, 83% when lesions were larger than 2cm. The diagnostic efficacy of T-scan was thusgreater for larger lesions than for smaller ones. With regard to the conductance ratio of T-scan no pathologicallymalignant lesions showed high suspicion of malignancy but 33% showed moderate suspicion. CONCLUSION: Mammographyand US were useful in diagnosing breast malignancy. T-scan was less efficient for the diagnosis of breastmalignancies smaller than 2cm, and of infiltrating ductal carcinoma and ductal carcinoma in situ. They may thus beconsidered a complementary to mammography and ultrasound examination.