Reparative, Neuroprotective and Anti-neurodegenerative Effects of Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor in Radiation-Induced Brain Injury Model

Gökhan Gürkan,Özüm Atasoy,Nilsu Çini,İbrahim Halil Sever,Bahattin Özkul,Gökhan Yaprak,Cansın Şirin,Yiğit Uyanıkgil,Ceren Kızmazoğlu,Mümin Alper Erdoğan,Oytun Erbaş 대한신경외과학회 2023 Journal of Korean neurosurgical society Vol.66 No.5

Objective : This animal model aimed to compare the rat group that received brain irradiation and did not receive additional treatment (only saline) and the rat group that underwent brain irradiation and received Granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) treatment. In addition, the effects of G-CSF on brain functions were examined by magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and histopathologically. Methods : This study used 24 female Wistar albino rats. Drug administration (saline or G-CSF) was started at the beginning of the study and continued for 15 days after whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT). WBRT was given on day 7 of the start of the study. At the end of 15 days, the behavioral tests, including the three-chamber sociability test, open field test, and passive avoidance learning test, were done. After the behavioral test, the animals performed the MR spectroscopy procedure. At the end of the study, cervical dislocation was applied to all animals. Results : G-CSF treatment positively affected the results of the three-chamber sociability test, open-space test and passive avoidance learning test, cornu Ammonis (CA) 1, CA3, and Purkinje neuron counts, and the brain levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and postsynaptic density protein-95. However, G-CSF treatment reduced the glial fibrillary acidic protein immunostaining index and brain levels of malondialdehyde, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, nuclear factor kappa-B, and lactate. In addition, on MR spectroscopy, G-CSF had a reversible effect on brain lactate levels. Conclusion : In this first designed brain irradiation animal model, which evaluated G-CSF effects, we observed that G-CSF had reparative, neuroprotective and anti-neurodegenerative effects and had increased neurotrophic factor expression, neuronal counts, and morphology changes. In addition, G-CSF had a proven lactate-lowering effect in MR spectroscopy and brain materials.

Pathophysiological Mechanisms Underlying Unilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis in Female Patients: An Ultrasonographic Study

Yi-An Lu,Tuan-Jen Fang,Yu-Cheng Pei,Yun-Chen Tsai,Wan-Ni Lin 대한이비인후과학회 2023 Clinical and Experimental Otorhinolaryngology Vol.16 No.4

Objectives. Laryngeal ultrasonography (LUS) has been suggested as an alternative diagnostic tool for unilateral vocal foldparalysis (UVFP). The present study applied LUS and quantitative laryngeal electromyography (LEMG) in female UVFPpatients to investigate the pathophysiologic mechanisms of UVFP. Methods. In this cross-sectional study, vocal fold (VF) length parameters included resting and phonating VF length measuredusing B-mode LUS, and color Doppler vibrating length (CDVL) measured using the color Doppler mode. Results. Forty female patients with UVFP were enrolled, among whom 11 and 29 were assigned to the thyroarytenoid (TA)muscle+cricothyroid (CT) muscle group (with CT involvement) and the TA (without CT involvement) group, respec-tively. In the TA group, the turn frequency in thyroarytenoid-lateral cricoarytenoid (TA-LCA) on the paralyzed side,as observed through LEMG, correlated with the VF length during the resting phase (R =0.368, P =0.050) and CDVLvalues (R =0.627, P =0.000) on the paralyzed side. In the TA+CT group, the turn ratio in the CT muscle correlatedwith the normalized phonatory vocal length change (nPLC; R =0.621, P =0.041) on the paralyzed side. Conclusion. CDVL and nPLC are two parameters that can be utilized to predict the turn frequencies of TA-LCA in UVFPcases without CT involvement, and the turn ratio of CT in cases of UVFP with CT involvement, respectively. The find-ings suggest that LUS, as a noninvasive tool, can serve as an alternative method for assessing the severity of laryngealnerve injury and offer valuable insights into the pathophysiology of UVFP.

Role of the Oxygen-Dependent Degradation Domain in a Hypoxia-Inducible Gene Expression System in Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Gene Therapy

Jin, HongLian,Liu, Meng-Lu,Kim, Hyun Ah,Lee, Minhyung,An, SungSu,Oh, JinSoo,Cho, Joon,Yi, Seong,Kim, KeungNyun,Yoon, DoHeum,Ha, Yoon Lippincott Williams Wilkins, Inc. 2009 1528-1159) Vol.34 No.26

STUDY DESIGN.: An in vitro neural hypoxia model and rat spinal cord injury (SCI) model were used to assess the regulation effect of a reporter or therapeutic gene expression by an oxygen-dependent degradation (ODD) domain in a hypoxia-inducible gene expression system with or without the erythropoietin (EPO) enhancer. OBJECTIVE.: To increase vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene expression in SCI lesions but avoid unwanted overexpression of VEGF in normal sites, we developed a hypoxia-inducible gene expression system consisting of the EPO enhancer upstream of the SV promoter and an ODD domain C-terminally fused to VEGF. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA.: ODD domain plays a major role in the degradation of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α and has been used in a hypoxia-specific gene expression system as a post-translational regulatory factor. METHODS.: The hypoxia-inducible luciferase or VEGF plasmid was constructed using the EPO enhancer combined with or without the ODD domain. The constructed plasmid was transfected into mouse Neuro 2a (N2a) neuroblastoma cells by Lipofectamine 2000, followed by a 24-hour incubation in hypoxia or normoxia. For in vivo analysis, the naked plasmid DNA was directly injected into the injured rat spinal cord. The gene expression was evaluated by luciferase activity assay, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, and immunofluorescence staining. RESULTS.: The EPO enhancer/ODD domain-combined hypoxia-inducible gene expression system clearly increased the expression of the reporter luciferase gene and therapeutic VEGF gene specifically under hypoxic conditions and SCI, and quickly downregulated protein expression to a very low level after reoxygenation. CONCLUSION.: These results strongly suggest the potential applicability of this EPO enhancer/ODD domain-based hypoxia-inducible gene expression system in the development of a safer and more effective VEGF gene therapy for SCI.

Vertical equipment isolation using piezoelectric inertial-type isolation system

Lyan-Ywan Lu,Ging-Long Lin,Yi-Siang Chen,Kun-An Hsiao 국제구조공학회 2020 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.26 No.2

Among anti-seismic technologies, base isolation is a very effective means of mitigating damage to structural and nonstructural components, such as equipment. However, most seismic isolation systems are designed for mitigating only horizontal seismic responses because the realization of a vertical isolation system (VIS) is difficult. The difficulty is primarily due to conflicting isolation stiffness demands in the static and dynamic states for a VIS, which requires sufficient rigidity to support the self-weight of the isolated object in the static state, but sufficient flexibility to lengthen the isolation period and uncouple the ground motion in the dynamic state. To overcome this problem, a semi-active VIS, called the piezoelectric inertia-type vertical isolation system (PIVIS), is proposed in this study. PIVIS is composed of a piezoelectric friction damper (PFD) and a leverage mechanism with a counterweight. The counterweight provides an uplifting force in the static state and an extra inertial force in the dynamic state; therefore, the effective vertical stiffness of PIVIS is higher in the static state and lower in the dynamic state. The PFD provides a controllable friction force for PIVIS to further prevent its excessive displacement. For experimental verification, a shaking table test was conducted on a prototype PIVIS controlled by a simple controller. The experimental results well agree with the theoretical results. To further investigate the isolation performance of PIVIS, the seismic responses of PIVIS were simulated numerically by considering 14 vertical ground motions with different characteristics. The responses of PIVIS were compared with those of a traditional VIS and a passive system (PIVIS without control). The numerical results demonstrate that compared with the traditional and passive systems, PIVIS can effectively suppress isolation displacement in all kinds of earthquake with various peak ground accelerations and frequency content while maintaining its isolation efficiency. The proposed system is particularly effective for nearfault earthquakes with long-period components, for which it prevents resonant-like motion.

First-principles study of transport properties of endohedral Li@C20 metallofullerene

Yi-Peng An,Chuan-Lu Yang,Mei-Shan Wang,Xiao-Guang Ma,De-Hua Wang 한국물리학회 2010 Current Applied Physics Vol.10 No.1

The transport properties of the endohedral Li@C20 metallofullerene are studied using density functional non-equilibrium Green’s function method. The equilibrium conductance of Li@C20 metallofullerene becomes larger than that of the empty C20 fullerene molecule. The I.V curve under low-bias voltage shows the characteristic of metallic behavior; another, the novel negative differential resistance behavior is also observed. It is found that the doping effect of Li atom significantly changes the transport properties of C20 fullerene.

Defective Tapetum Cell Death 1 (DTC1) Regulates ROS Levels by Binding to Metallothionein during Tapetum Degeneration

Yi, Jakyung,Moon, Sunok,Lee, Yang-Seok,Zhu, Lu,Liang, Wanqi,Zhang, Dabing,Jung, Ki-Hong,An, Gynheung American Society of Plant Biologists 2016 Plant Physiology Vol.170 No.3

<P>After meiosis, tapetal cells in the innermost anther wall layer undergo program cell death (PCD)-triggered degradation. This step is essential for microspore development and pollen wall maturation. We identified a key gene, Defective Tapetum Cell Death 1 (DTC1), that controls this degeneration by modulating the dynamics of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during rice male reproduction. Mutants defective in DTC1 exhibit phenotypes of an enlarged tapetum and middle layer with delayed degeneration, causing male sterility. The gene is preferentially expressed in the tapetal cells during early anther development. In dtc1 anthers, expression of genes encoding secretory proteases or lipid transporters is significantly reduced, while transcripts of PCD regulatory genes, e.g. UDT1, TDR1, and EAT1/DTD, are not altered. Moreover, levels of DTC1 transcripts are diminished in udt1, tdr, and eat1 anthers. These results suggest that DTC1 functions downstream of those transcription factor genes and upstream of the genes encoding secretory proteins. DTC1 protein interacts with OsMT2b, a ROS scavenger. Whereas wild-type plants accumulate large amounts of ROS in their anthers at Stage 9 of development, those levels remain low during all stages of development in dtc1 anthers. These findings indicate that DTC1 is a key regulator for tapetum PCD by inhibiting ROS-scavenging activity.</P>

제7회 한증 형법 국제 학술심포지움 : 신중국 60년 경제형법 입법 경험의 초보적 총결 -탈세죄의 개정을 기본으로-

루찌엔핑 ( Lu Jian Ping ),왕안이 ( Wang An Yi ) 한국비교형사법학회 2009 비교형사법연구 Vol.11 No.2

Anomalous magnetization jumps in granular Pb superconducting films

Zhang An-Lei,Jiang Wan-Yan,Chen Xing-Hong,Zhang Xiao-Ke,Lu Wen-Lai,Chen Fei,Feng Zhen-Jie,Cao Shi-Xun,Zhang Jin-Cang,Ge Jun-Yi 한국물리학회 2022 Current Applied Physics Vol.35 No.-

In granular superconductors, the grain boundaries are closely related to the vortex dynamics and the macroscopic superconducting properties. In our research, Pb films with different grain sizes were prepared by tuning the substrate temperature. With the grain size decreasing, Pb films are prone to feature the anomalous magnetization jumps in the M − T curves, while in the M − H curves flux avalanche happens. Both phenomena appear in the same region of the H − T phase diagram and thus are considered to have the same origin. The further theoretical analysis shows that with grain size decreasing the pinning mechanism evolves from a mixed δTc and δl pinning to the δl pinning mechanism. The results shed light on the study of pinning mechanism for granular superconductors and is beneficial to the potential application of manipulating vortex pinning by regulation of intrinsic defects.

Linking Emergence of the Central Pacific El Niño to the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation

Yu, Jin-Yi,Kao, Pei-ken,Paek, Houk,Hsu, Huang-Hsiung,Hung, Chih-wen,Lu, Mong-Ming,An, Soon-Il American Meteorological Society 2015 Journal of climate Vol.28 No.2

Transcriptome characterization and profiling related to detoxification enzyme genes in Chilo sacchariphagus (Lepidoptera Crambidae)

Liu Jianbai,Yi Jiequn,Wu Han,Lu Yinglin,Mao Yongkai,Lin Mingjiang,Li Jihu,An Yuxing 한국곤충학회 2022 Entomological Research Vol.52 No.9

Chilo sacchariphagus Bojeris is one of the most dangerous pests of sugarcane. The larvae damage the seedlings and stems of sugarcane and also harm sorghum, corn and other crops, which causes great economic losses to the sugar industry every year. Transcriptome sequencing and expression profile analysis of cytochrome P450 monooxygenase (CYP), carboxylesterase and glutathione S-transferase (GST) were carried out, which could provide a basis for drug resistance monitoring and drug resistance management of the pest. Unigenes of C. sacchariphagus were obtained by using the Illumina HiSeqTM 4,000 platform as 150 bp paired-end reads. A total of 173,013 unigenes were obtained after data assembly and redundancy removal. 28,330 unigenes were annotated based on multiple public databases, and the number of unigenes annotated by NR database was the largest. According to the transcriptome analysis, 214 candidate detoxification enzyme genes were identified, including 44 GSTs,138CYPs, and 32 CarEs. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the CYPs were mainly clustered in CYP4, CYP6, CYP9 and CYP12 subfamilies; CarEs mainly include antennal CarEs, venom CarEs and CarEs NOTUM; while the GSTs cluster mainly contains subfamilies such as delta, omega, epsilon, theta, zeta and sigma. In this study, transcriptome information of C. sacchariphagus was obtained, and genes related to detoxification were identified, which could provide data and a basis for the further study of detoxification and host plant adaptation mechanism of C. sacchariphagus.