Effects of anthocyanin extracted from black soybean seed coat on spermatogenesis in a rat varicocele-induced model.

Jang, Hoon,Kim, Su Jin,Yuk, Seung Mo,Han, Dong Seok,Ha, U-Syn,Hong, Sung Hoo,Lee, Ji Yeol,Hwang, Tae Kon,Hwang, Seong Yeon,Kim, Sae Woong Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Or 2012 Reproduction, fertility, and development Vol.24 No.5

<P>Varicocele is the most common cause of primary male infertility and is associated with oxidative stress. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of anthocyanin on a rat model of varicocele. Twenty-four male rats were divided into four experimental groups: a normal control group, a varicocele-induced control group and two varicocele-induced groups treated with either 40 or 80mgkg(-1), p.o., anthocyanin for 4 weeks. Varicocele was induced by the partial obstruction of the left renal vein. After 8 weeks, the testes and epididymides from rats in all groups were removed, weighed and subjected to histological examination and semen analysis. Apoptosis in the testes was determined by terminal deoxyribonucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-digoxigenin nick end-labelling (TUNEL) and oxidative stress was assessed by measuring 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) levels. Although no significant differences in sperm counts were observed among the groups, anthocyanin treatment of the varicocele-induced groups resulted in significantly increased testes weight, sperm motility and spermatogenic cell density (P<0.05). Anthocyanin treatment also significantly decreased apoptotic body count and 8-OHdG concentrations (P<0.05). We suggest that the antioxidant effect of anthocyanin prevented the damage caused by varicocele-induced reactive oxygen species.</P>

Regulation of Cyclic AMP-Response Element Binding Protein Zhangfei (CREBZF) Expression by Estrogen in Mouse Uterus

Jang, Hoon The Korean Society of Developmental Biology 2018 발생과 생식 Vol.22 No.1

CREBZF (cAMP-response element binding protein zhangfei) is a member of ATF/CREB family, and which regulates various cellular functions by suppressing major factors with direct interaction. In this study, we have examined the expression of CREBZF on mouse endometrium during uterus estrous cycles and estrogen (E2) treatment. In uterus, CREBZF mRNA expression was higher than other organs and mRNA and protein of CREBZF was increased in proestrus phase and decreased in estrus phase. The expression of CREBZF in 3-weeks old mouse uterus was reduced by E2 injection in endometrium. In addition, the expression of progesterone receptor, a marker of E2 in ovariectomized mice was found to be strongly expressed in stroma, while CREBZF was only expressed in epithelium. Also, we conformed that E2-suppressed CREBZF was restored by co-injection of ICI 182,780, an estrogen receptor antagonist. Overall, these results suggest that CREBZF is regulated by estrogen and involved in ER signaling pathway in mouse uterus.

Differential Expression of Cyclic AMP-Response Element Binding Protein Zhangfei (CREBZF) in the Mouse Testis during Postnatal Development

Jang, Hoon The Korean Society of Developmental Biology 2018 발생과 생식 Vol.22 No.1

Cyclic AMP-response element binding protein zhangfei (CREBZF), a member of ATF/CREB (activating transcription factor/ cAMP response element binding protein) family, regulates numerous cellular functions and development of cells by interacting transcription factors. This study discovered the expression pattern of CREBZF in seminiferous tubule of testes during the postnatal development of mice. In testis, CREBZF mRNA expression was the highest among other organs. Immunofluorescence analyses showed that the CREBZF was specifically expressed on spermatocyte but not in spermatogonia and Sertoli cells in seminiferous epithelium of mouse testis. Semi-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis showed that CREBZF transcript level was significantly elevated during postnatal development of mouse testis. Confocal imaging analysis indicated that the protein expression of CREBZF in seminiferous tubule remained low until postnatal day (PD) 14, and was dramatically increased in PD 21. Interestingly, only one type of the spermatocyte expressed CREBZF specifically among SCP3-positive spermatocytes. Taken together, these results suggest that CREBZF may be novel putative marker of the spermatocyte and regulate meiosis during postnatal development of mice.

Melatonin and Fertoprotective Adjuvants: Prevention against Premature Ovarian Failure during Chemotherapy

Jang, Hoon,Hong, Kwonho,Choi, Youngsok MDPI AG 2017 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES Vol.18 No.6

<P>Premature ovarian failure is one of the side effects of chemotherapy in pre-menopausal cancer patients. Preservation of fertility has become increasingly important in improving the quality of life of completely recovered cancer patients. Among the possible strategies for preserving fertility such as ovarian tissue cryopreservation, co-treatment with a pharmacological adjuvant is highly effective and poses less of a burden on the human body. Melatonin is generally produced in various tissues and acts as a universally acting antioxidant in cells. Melatonin is now more widely used in various biological processes including treating insomnia and an adjuvant during chemotherapy. In this review, we summarize the information indicating that melatonin may be useful for reducing and preventing premature ovarian failure in chemotherapy-treated female patients. We also mention that many adjuvants other than melatonin are developed and used to inhibit chemotherapy-induced infertility. This information will give us novel insights on the clinical use of melatonin and other agents as fertoprotective adjuvants for female cancer patients.</P>

Inhibitory Components from Glycosmis stenocarpa on Pepper Mild Mottle Virus

( Jang Hoon ),( Ju-yeon Yoon ),( Sun Jung Kwon ),( In Sook Cho ),( Nguyen Manh Cuong ),( Seung-kook Choi ),( Young Ho Kim ),( Gug Seoun Choi ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2016 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.26 No.12

The goal of this study was to identify a source of natural plant compounds with inhibitory activity against pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV). We showed, using a half-leaf assay, that murrayafoline-A (1) and isomahanine (2) isolated from the aerial parts of Glycosmis stenocarpa have inhibitory activity against PMMoV through curative, inactivation, and protection effects. Using a leaf-disk assay, we confirmed that 2 inhibited virus replication in Nicotiana benthamiana. Using electron microscopy, we found that a mixture of the virus with 2 resulted in damage to the rod-shaped virus.

Seoritae Extract Reduces Prostate Weight and Suppresses Prostate Cell Proliferation in a Rat Model of Benign Prostate Hyperplasia

Jang, Hoon,Bae, Woong-Jin,Yuk, Seung-Mo,Han, Dong-Seok,Ha, U-Syn,Hwang, Seong-Yeon,Yoon, Shin-Hee,Kim, Sae-Woong,Han, Chang-Hee Hindawi Publishing Corporation 2014 Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medic Vol.2014 No.-

<P>Seoritae is a type of black soybean that is known to have health-promoting effects due to its high isoflavone and anthocyanin contents. We evaluated whether Seoritae extract (SE) had beneficial effects on the reduction of prostate weight in a rat model of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). BPH was induced by intramuscular injections of testosterone enanthate once a week for 5 weeks in Sprague-Dawley rats, and rats were treated with or without daily oral doses of SE during BPH induction. After 5 weeks, the oxidative stress (superoxide dismutase and 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine), apoptosis (caspase-3), and activity of 5-alpha reductase were evaluated in the serum and prostate. The SE treatment group showed a significant decrease in prostate weight, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and 5-alpha reductase activity compared to the nontreated BPH group. These results show that SE is effective in decreasing the weight and proliferation of the prostate, and suggest that SE may be an effective treatment for BPH.</P>

Identification of Endothelial Specific Region in the Intracellular Adhesion Molecule-2 (ICAM2) Promoter of Miniature Pig

Jang, Hoon,Jang, Won-Gu,Kim, Dong Un,Kim, Eun-Jung,Hwang, Sung Soo,Oh, Keon Bong,Lee, Jeong-Woong The Korean Society of Animal Reproduction 2012 Reproductive & developmental biology Vol.36 No.3

The shortage of human organs for transplantation has induced the research on the possibility of using animal as porcine. However, pig to human transplantation as known as xeno-transplantation has major problem as immunorejection. Recently, the solutions of pig to human xenotransplantation are commonly mentioned as having a genetically modification which include alpha 1, 3 galatosyl transferase knockout (GTKO) and immune-suppressing gene transgenic model. Unfortunately, the expression level of transgenic gene is very low activity. Therefore, development of gene overexpression system is the most urgent issue. Also, the tissue specific overexpression system is very important. Because most blood vessels are endothelial cells, establishment of the endothelial-specific promoter is attractive candidates for the introduction of suppressing immunorejection. In this study, we focus the ICAM2 promoter which has endothelial-specific regulatory region. To detect the regulatory region of ICAM2 promoter, we cloned 3.7 kb size mini-pig ICAM2 promoter. We conduct serial deletion of 5' flanking region of mini-pig ICAM2 promoter then selected promoter size as 1 kb, 1.5 kb, 2 kb, 2.5 kb, and 3 kb. To analyze promoter activity, luciferase assay system was conducted among these vectors and compare endothelial activity with epithelial cells. The reporter gene assay revealed that ICAM2 promoter has critical activity in endothelial cells (CPAE) and 1 kb size of ICAM2 promoter activity was significantly increased. Taken together, our studies suggest that mini-pig ICMA2 promoter is endothelial cell specific overexpression promoter and among above all size of promoters, 1 kb size promoter is optimal candidate to overcome the vascular immunorejection in pig to human xenotransplantation.

Designing robust rollout plan for better rural perinatal care system in Korea

Jang, Hoon,Hwang, Kyosang,Lee, Taeho,Lee, Taesik Elsevier 2019 european journal of operational research - Vol.274 No.2

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Strengthening perinatal care provision in medically under-served areas is an important public health task in Korea. Motivated by the ongoing efforts by the Korean government, this paper studies a multi-period capacitated location problem to design an optimal rollout plan for the government’s support program. The proposed model incorporates (1) health care consumers’ preference for care providers and (2) uncertainty in future demand for perinatal care. If not properly accounted for, these factors render location solutions at risk for under- or over-use, which will result in a continual need for extra budget spending to sustain healthy operation of the care capacities. In the proposed formulation we integrate a discrete choice model that describes the provider choice behavior by women in under-served areas in Korea. In addition, we address the demand uncertainty by using the robust optimization framework. By applying the proposed model to Korea’s under-served area support program, we show that both the demand uncertainty and choice behavior significantly influence the solution performance. Furthermore, we find that a strong requirement for robustness drives the model to not open all care provider sites allowed by the program’s budget to ensure that the capacity constraints are respected. With this surplus budget, we can relax the robustness requirement to open more perinatal care providers by using the surplus to absorb the cost associated with expected constraint violations. In other words, the surplus budget can pay the <I>price of reducing the price of robustness</I>.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> We develop a location model to design a rollout plan of perinatal care providers in Korea. </LI> <LI> Our model considers health care consumers’ preference and future demand uncertainty. </LI> <LI> We empirically find that a strong requirement for robustness has its own price. </LI> <LI> We propose a framework that uses the surplus budget to reduce the price of robustness. </LI> </UL> </P>

Methylation and expression changes in imprinted genes H19 and Igf2 during serial somatic cell nuclear transfer using piglet fibroblasts

Jang, Hoon,Jang, Won-Gu,Kim, Eun-Jung,Do, Minhwa,Oh, Keon-Bong,Hwang, Seongsoo,Shim, Hosup,Choo, Young-Kug,Kwon, Dae-Jin,Lee, Jeong-Woong Taylor Francis 2015 Animal cells and systems Vol.19 No.1

Muscle Activity Based on Real-time Visual Feedback Training Methods by Rehabilitative Ultrasound Image in Elderly and Relationship between Heckmatt Scale, Muscle Thickness and Tone : A Pilot Study

Janghoon Shin,Wanhee Lee 물리치료재활과학회 2021 Physical therapy rehabilitation science Vol.10 No.1

Purpose: This study is to investigate the muscle activity based on real-time visual feedback training methods by rehabilitative ultrasound image in elderly and correlation between Heckmatt scale grade, muscle tone and thickness. Design: Cross-sectional study: Pilot study Methods: 6 elderly participated in the study with 2 conditions. Under the condition of rehabilitation ultrasound imaging equipment, all subjects performed voluntary maximal muscle contraction of the quadriceps 3 times using visual feedback based on Rehabilitative Ultrasound Imaging 1.0 (RUSI 1.0). Under the condition of only ultrasound images, all subjects performed voluntary maximal muscle contraction of the quadriceps 3 times using ultrasound image-based visual feedback. The muscle thickness and tone of the quadriceps were measured and the grades were classified by Heckmatt scale and all variables were comparative analyzed. Results: Heckmatt scale grade showed a negative correlation with muscle thickness at relaxation (p<0.05), and a negative correlation with the difference value obtained by subtracting muscle thickness at relaxation from muscle thickness at contraction in ultrasound image condition (p<0.05). The muscle tone during relaxation showed a negative correlation with the muscle thickness during relaxation (p<0.05). Conclusion: In the case of voluntary maximum muscle contraction of the quadriceps muscle in the elderly, it can be seen that the muscle thickness is getting larger when the RUSI 1.0-based visual feedback is provided than with only ultrasound image provided. And the lower Heckmatt scale grade is, the thicker the muscle is, and the lower the muscle tone is.