Acorus gramineus is a herb used frequently in oriental medicine. Clinically, the effects of Acorus gramineus are known as awakening of one’s consciousness, removal of sputum, and relief of autism. Experimentally, Acorus gramineus root(AGR)-induced cerebral blood flow increase depending on the concentration causes diverse responses of blood pressure and regional cerebral blood flow and possesses strong inhibitory effects of apoptosis in the nervous system. We investigated the effects of AGR water extract on the adipose tissue status. Male C57BL/6 mice were fed high fat diet and a total of 35 mice were divided into 5 groups: normal group, control group, and groups treated with AGR water extract at concentrations of 20, 100, and 500 mg/kg. The mice were treated by oral administration once a day for consecutive 6 weeks, and their weight changes were monitored. As the results, the groups treated with AGR water extract showed weight loss. Also, the weights of liver, epididymal fat, retroperitoneal fat and peri-renal fat were decreased in the groups treated with AGR water extract. In histopathological examination, the sizes of adipose tissues decreased in liver, epididymal fat, retroperitoneal fat, and peri-renal fat. These results indicate that AGR water extract have an anti-obesity activity, which could be used as an useful material to decrease body adipose tissues.

Cytokines may play an important role in the acute rejection (AR) of solid organ transplantation. Many studies have investigated the association between interleukin-10 gene (IL-10) polymorphisms and risk of AR. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between IL-10 polymorphism (-1082, G/A) and AR risk after solid organ transplantation in Caucasian population. A comprehensive electronic search of PUBMED, Google Scholar, and Korean databases was performed. Meta-analysis was performed using comprehensive meta-analysis software (Biostat, NJ,USA). We assessed the pooled p-value, odds ratio (OR), and 95% confidence interval (CI) to measure the association between the risk of AR and IL-10 polymorphism (-1082, G/A). The OR and 95% CI were used to evaluate the strength of the association. P-values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Fourteen case-control studies were included in this meta-analysis. In overall analysis, we observed that IL-10 polymorphism (-1082, G/A) was associated with the AR in liver transplantation (G allele vs. A allele, OR = 1.436, 95% CI = 1.006-2.050, p = 0.046 in fixed model). However, IL-10 polymorphism (-1082, G/A) did not show any significant association with solid organ transplantation and renal transplantation (p>0.05 in each model, respectively). Our meta-analysis suggests that IL-10 polymorphism (-1082, G/A) may be related to susceptibility of AR in liver transplantation recipients.

Rotaviruses are enteric pathogens causing acute watery dehydrating diarrhea in humans and animals. The importance of group C rotavirus (GpC-RV) infections has not been established as the studies on the GpC-RV have been hampered by the lack of an in vitro culture system. However, diarrheal diseases associated with GpC-RV have been gradually increasing worldwide. In this study, VP6 gene of bovine GpC-RV Korean isolate was expressed, and monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against VP6 were produced and characterized. The VP6 gene was cloned and expressed based on a baculovirus expression system. Indirect fluorescence antibody (IFA), polymer chain reaction (PCR), and Western blot assays were used to confirm expression of VP6 gene synthesized by the recombinant baculovirus. Eleven mAbs against VP6 were produced using expressed VP6. Cross-reactivity of the mAbs was assessed with recombinant VP6 proteins from porcine GpC-RV and human GpA-RV, or different serotypes of group A rotavirus strains by IFA test. Some mAbs reacted with intact porcine GpC-RV Cowden strain as well as bovine GpC-RV VP6 recombinant baculoviruses, but not with human and animal GpA-RV strains. The VP6-specific mAbs might be useful to develop immunodiagnostic tests such as rapid diagnostic kit, IFA and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detection of GpC-RV.

A 4-month-old intact male, Siberian husky dog, weighing 14.6 kg, was initially presented to the Gyeongsang National University Animal Medical Center (GAMC) with a history of bilateral forelimb lameness and angular deformity. Physical examination revealed forelimb lameness and valgus deformities. Radiography showed a conical shaped, radiolucent, thickened and irregular marginated distal growth plate in both distal ulnar physis. Thickening of distal growth plate also was evident at both the distal radial physis, and the presence of osteophytes was observed. A diagnosis of angular deformity was made on the basis of a shortened ulna associated with osteochondrosis. Temporary hemiepiphysiodesis was implemented by surgical insertion of tension band plate. The plates were implanted for 6 weeks. Pre- and post-operative radiographs of both forelimbs were evaluated to determine the angle of frontal plane alignment (FPA) and sagittal plane alignment (SPA) over a 8-week period. FPA was corrected into the normal range in the right forelimb, and SPA was close to the reference range in the both forelimbs. Furthemore, a reduction in osteochondrosis was revealed by radiography. This case report establishes that temporary hemiepiphysiodesis with a tension band plate should be option in dogs with angular deformities during a growing period and is minimally invasive with a lower morbidity than traditional osteotomy. Moreover, this treatment facilitates the resolution of osteochondrosis lesions.

As a result of development in medical diagnostic technology, the incidence of double primary cancer is increasing. In case that one primary cancer was identified by pathologic finding and has suggestive multiple metastatic lesions of the cancer, it is often difficult that the lesions are considered as another synchronous primary malignancy, not as metastasis of primary cancer. Here, we report a rare case of synchronous double primary renal cell carcinoma that was diagnosed initially as metastatic duodenal adenocarcinoma. A 66-year-old man presented with a palpable abdominal mass. Abdominal computed tomography showed duodenal wall thickening and hypervascular masses in the liver and left kidney. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy revealed an ulcerative lesion in the duodenal bulb, and endoscopic biopsy identified moderately-differentiated adenocarcinoma. We regarded the findings as duodenal adenocarcinoma with metastasis to liver and kidney. So he was treated with fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy for the diagnosis of duodenal adenocarcinoma with liver and renal metastases. After 10 months, he developed a right forearm mass. Morphological and immunohistochemical analysis of an incisional biopsy of the forearm mass were consistent with a diagnosis of metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Even when there is a pathologically confirmed malignancy, clinicians must consider the possibility of synchronous double primary malignancy in metastatic lesions.

The belief that honey bee venom (BV) can be used to treat certain immune-related diseases, such as arthritis and rheumatic conditions, goes back to antiquity. A growing number of reports have demonstrated that BV contains at least 18 pharmacologically active components, including phospholipase A2 (PLA2). Recent research has shown that bee venom PLA2 (bvPLA2) induces protective immune responses against several diseases including asthma, Parkinson’s disease, and drug-induced organ inflammation. However, the antiviral properties of bvPLA2 have not been well investigated. Hence, we examined the potential inhibitory effects of bvPLA2 and its possible mechanism of action against a broad panel of pathogenic viruses in vitro. Pre-treatment with bvPLA2 significantly inhibited the replication of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), coxsackie virus (H3), enterovirus-71 (EV-71), herpes simplex virus (HSV) and Adenovirus (AdV) dramatically. However, bvPLA2 did not show antiviral activity against Influenza A virus (PR8) and Newcastle disease virus (NDV). Such inhibitory effects were explained by blocking of the attachment of the virus to cells upon bvPLA2 treatment. Additionally, we observed that Heparan sulfate (HS) has an inhibitory effect on the attachment of HSV to the cell surface dose dependently, which was inconsistent with bvPLA2 treatment. These findings suggest that bvPLA2 has an inhibitory effect on the replication of diverse viruses by blocking their attachment to the cell surface and could be a promising source of natural antiviral agents.