Royal jelly (RJ) is exclusive food that is secreted from the hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands of worker honeybees, and it is well known to be a necessary for the growth of the queen honeybee Although fresh royal jelly have been demonstrated to enhance wound healing, the wound healing effects of water soluble royal jelly (WSRJ) have not been elucidated. We investigated whether WSRJ promotes the migration, attachment, and proliferation of human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) during in vitro wound healing. HDFs were treated with 1-5ug/ml WSRJ and RJ for up to 24hr following wound formation. Cell migration was assessed by measuring recovery from wound margin, while cell attachment and proliferation were determined by MTT assay. By observing the numbers of cell attached, we confirmed that not only WSRJ but also RJ did not affect on the initial cell adhesion. WSRJ (5 ug/ml) enhanced cell migration rate approximately 84.3% in HDFs at 24hr, whereas RJ (5 ug/ml) increased cell migration rate 71.3% in HDFs at 24hr, which is similar to cell migration rate of WSRJ 1 ug/ml (73.7%). In cell proliferation assays, WSRJ induced an increase in the number of HDFs, compared with control and RJ. In conclusion, WSRJ promotes cell migration with increased cell proliferation in an in vitro wound healing model.

Brucellosis is an important bacterial zoonosis in humans and domestic animals. Brucella spp. are taken up, and survive within non-professional and professional phagocytes. In common belief, diabetes mellitus increases susceptibility to pathogenic infection. In this study, Brucella (B.) abortus was inoculated into a diabetic animal model, db/db mice, in order to show the course of brucellosis in diabetic state. The liver proliferation, bacterial burden of the liver, level of cytokines in serum and macrophage migration into liver, were investigated at 14 days post-infection. In comparison with the uninfected control mice, the results revealed that the weight of the liver of infected db/db mice was higher but with lower bacterial load in this organ. The level of MCP-1 mRNA expression in the liver was lower, the levels of IL-12p70, IL-10, TNF-α and IFN-γ in serum was significantly higher and the macrophages migration was significantly lower in infected mice than in the control group. In conclusion, this present study suggested that MCP-1 suppression by B. abortus infection may inhibit the macrophages migration, and consequently may induce to abrogate the bacterial survival in db/db mouse liver. Furthermore, the increased inflammatory cytokines may contribute to inhibition of B. abortus proliferation in diabetic mice.

The body and head lice (Pediculus humanus humanus and Pediculus humanus capitis, respectively) are hematophagous ectoparasites of humans and only the body louse between two is known to transmit three bacterial diseases through its feces. The proliferation profiles of Bartonella quintana, the causative agent of trench fever, inside the louse body and its excretion patterns were investigated in the two louse subspecies following oral challenge with B. quintana-infected blood meal. The initial density of B. quintana was sustained inside head lice without any noticeable proliferation for the entire period after infection. In contrast, B. quintana proliferated rapidly inside body lice and the maximum density reached at 10 days post-infection. The numbers of bacteria detected in feces from infected lice were almost the same and steadily decreased over time in both body and head lice. Nevertheless, the viability of the bacteria, as determined by fluorescence, was significantly higher in body louse feces, especially at 1 day post-infection and this tendency lasted for 11 days. These findings suggest that excretion of feces containing more viable B. quintana that is proliferated inside body lice following ingestion of infected blood meal is responsible for the higher vector competence of body lice.

Recently, extensive research has been performed in the field of orthopedic medicine to develop cell-based therapies for the restoration of injured bone tissue. But there has been rarely reported about rehabilitaton of oral and maxillofacial bone defect using self-derived osteoblasts. Normal human osteoblast cell(NHost) was previously established into marrow-derived human mesenchymal stem cells for their capacity to proliferate and differentiate into osteoblasts under various culture conditions. The purpose of this study was to examine proliferation and differentiation of NHosts effected by growth factors with ALP activity and RT-PCR. After NHosts were cultured under basal and osteogenic medium at 37℃ and 5% CO2, they were analyzed by ALP activity and RT-PCR. BMP-2 under osteogenic medium decreased growth rate of NHosts compared to under osteogenic medium. BMP-2 under osteogenic medium induced osteoblastic differentiation in NHosts by increased ALP activity. The differentiating capacity of NHosts under osteogenic medium showed that NHosts expressed higher mRNA expression levels of OSX and OCN, while that of RUNX2 decreased after BMP-2 treatment. It suggested that NHosts having characteristics of osteoprecursor cells might be more advanced in their osteogenesis development by BMP-2, making NHosts an interesting biological tool for treatment of skeletal defects and diseases of oral and maxillofacial bone.

We identified cdf based on screening of the Arabidopsis cDNA library for functional suppressors of the AtBI-1 (a gene described to suppress the cell death induced by Bax gene expression in yeast). The cdf was located on Chr. V and was composed of 5 exons and 4 introns. It encodes a protein of 258 amino acid residues with a molecular weight of 28.8 kDa. The protein has 3 transmembrane domains in the C-terminal region. The cdf has one homologue, named cdf2, which was found in Arabidopsis. Like cdf, cdf2 also induced growth defect in yeast. The effect of the cell growth defect factor was somewhat lower than Bax. cdf could arrest the growth of yeast. Its localization to the nucleus was essential for the suppression of yeast cell proliferation. Morphological abnormality of intracellular network, which is a hallmark of AtBI-1, was attenuated by expression of cdf.

A dentigerous cyst (DC) and an odontogenc fibroma (OF) in the jaws are well known entities, which have been reviewed extensively. However, the presence of OF components in the wall of dentigerous cyst is a very rare event. A case of DC in the left mandible displaying the foci of an OF-like lesion is described. It is unclear whether the two lesions were just coincidental or were actually related to each other. However, OF-like proliferation may be arised from secondary epithelial and mesenchymal interactions in a pre-existing DC, although the initiating stimulus could not be identified.

This study examined the effects of tamoxifen at different concentrations and treatment periods on proliferation of a human cervical cancer cell line, HeLa. As in the previous studies, Estrogen did not have an effect on the cellular proliferation at low concentrations but significantly reduced proliferation at high concentration (5 ug/ml) based on MTT assay. Treatment with tamoxifen had similar effects. It did not have any significant effect on the HeLa cell proliferation at low concentrations, but significantly reduced proliferation at high concentration (10 uM). In addition, combined treatment with both estrogen and tamoxifen did not alter the inhibitory effects of either estrogen or tamoxifen on cellular proliferation. The inhibitory effects by tamoxifen on HeLa cell proliferation did not differ among different treatment periods. This suggests that tamoxifen may exert anti- proliferative effects at high concentration but does not have synergistic or antagonistic effects against estrogen on HeLa cell proliferation.

Fibroblasts of large animals are easy to isolate and to maintain in vitro culture. Thus, these cells are extensively applied to donor cell for somatic cell nuclear transfer, and to substrate cells to generate induced pluripotent stem cells after transfection of required genes to be essentially required for direct reprogramming. However, limited mitotic activity of fibroblasts to differentiate along a terminal lineage becomes restrictive for their versatile application. Recently, commercial culture medium and systems developed for primary cells are provided by manufactures. In this study, we examined whether one of the systems developed for primary fibroblasts of human are effective on porcine ear skin fibroblasts. To this end, we performed proliferation assay after five days culture in vitro of porcine fibroblasts in medium DMEM, which is generally used for fibroblasts culture, and medium M106 for human dermal fibroblasts, supplemented with various concentrations of FBS and LSGS contained mainly growth factors, respectively. Consequence was that presence of 15% FBS and 0.1 X concentrations of LSGS in DMEM showed most active proliferation of porcine fibroblasts.

Platelet derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB is one of the most potent vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferative factors, and abnormal VSMC proliferation by PDGF-BB plays an important role in the development and progression of atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of YP 12, a newly synthesized obovatol derivative, on the proliferation of PDGF-BB-stimulated rat aortic VSMCs. The anti-proliferative effects of YP 12 on rat aortic VSMCs were examined by direct cell counting and by using [3H] thymidine incorporation assays. It was found that YP 12 potently inhibited the growth of VSMCs. The pre-incubation of YP 12 (1-4 μM)significantly inhibited the proliferation and DNA synthesis of 25 ng/ml PDGF-BB-stimulated rat aortic VSMCs in a concentration-dependent manner. In accordance with these findings, YP 12 revealed blocking of the PDGF-BB-inducible progression through G0/G1 to S phase of the cell cycle in synchronized cells. Whereas, YP 12 did not show any cytotoxicity in rat aortic VSMCs in this experimental condition by WST-1 assay. These results also show that YP 12may have potential as an anti-proliferative agent for the treatment of restenosis and atherosclerosis.

본 연구의 목표는 일반적으로 사람들이 일상에서의 추위 노출 시간을 고려하여 단기간 추위노출과 지속적인 장기간의 추위 노출이 인지기능과 뇌의 신경세포생성과 신경전달물질에 미치는 영향을 규명하고자 하였다. 실험 방법으로 인지행동검사(Behavior test)와 면역조직화학법(Immunohistochemistry Method)을 실시하였다. 본 연구에서는 7주령(평균체중 250±10g) Sprague-Dawley 계열의 수컷 흰쥐(n=40)를 사용하여, 무선배치 방식으로 상온 대조군(n=10), 저온 3일군(n=10), 저온 5주군(n=10)으로 분류 하였다. 22℃(상대습도 40%)의 온도는 상온으로 설정 하였고, 4℃(상대습도 40%)는 추위 스트레스 환경으로 설정 하였다. 수동회피실험의 결과에 의하면, 추위 스트레스는 기억력의 감소를 가져왔다. 그러나 추위 스트레스에 의한 기억력 감소의 보상작용으로 신경전달 물질인 5-HT와 TPH의 증가가 나타나는 것을 면역조직화학법을 통해 해부시경학적으로 확인할 수 있었다. 그러나 보상작용에 의한 새로운 신경세포생성 증가가 기억력을 정상상태로 회복시키지는 못하였다.

Neurotrophic factors are essential to maintain and organize neurons functionally; thereby neurotrophic factor-like substances or their inducers are expected to be applied to the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as stroke. In the present study, we firstly examined the effects of ethanol extracts of Hericium erinaceus (HE, Yamabushitake), on nerve growth factor expression in neuronal cells. HE extract promoted NGF expression in a brain tissue. Here we assessed neuroprotective effects of HE with a transient global cerebral ischemia model. Global cerebral ischemia was induced by occluding both common carotid arteries. Treatment with HE was initiated after ischemia induction and given once a day for 7 consecutive days. Neuronal cell loss in CA1 of hippocampus was significantly decreased and the performance in the Morris water maze was significantly improved in rats administered HE. We conclude that treatment with HE attenuated learning and memory deficits, motor functional disability, and neuronal cell loss induced by global cerebral ischemia. These results suggest that HE may be a potential candidate for the treatment of vascular dementia.

The phenethyl ester of caffeic acid (CAPE), an active component of honeybee propolis extract, is shown to inhibit cancer growth previously. However, studies on human ovarian cancer are largely obscure. This study evaluated the effects of CAPE as a potenti

Atherosclerosis, a disease of the large arteries, is the primary cause of heart disease and stroke. The abnormal proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in arterial walls is an important pathogenetic factor of vascular disorders like atherosclerosis and restenosis after angioplasty. In the current study, the possible anti-proliferative effect of vitexin originated from Acer palmatum was investigated in rat aortic VSMCs. Vitexin was found to potently inhibit 5% fetal bovine serum (FBS)-induced growth of VSMCs. Pre-treatment with vitexin (5-50 μg/ml) in VSMCs for 24 h resulted in a significant decrease in cell number, i.e., the inhibition rates were 5.4±7.1, 52.5±8.4, and 78.9±5.2% with vitexin treatments of 5, 20, and 50 μg/ml, respectively. In addition, trteatment with vitexin resulted in significant and dose-dependent inhibition of 5% FBS-induced DNA synthesis. Vitexin did not show any cytotoxicity in rat aortic VSMCs under this experimental condition. These results indicate the potential for development of vitexin as an anti-proliferative agent for treatment of angioplasty restenosis and atherosclerosis.