• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.8-16
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• 1996

Effects of water extract of aloe vera on lead-induced neurotoxicity were investigated in sciatic nerve isolated from rat. The mechanism on toxicity reduction by measuring activities of axonal enzymes, metabolism of myo-inositol in nerve, lead concentration in several organs and so on were further examimed. In the lead-treated rats, the transport rate of axonal enzyme, such as acetyl cholinesterase and choline acetyltransferase, was reduced by from 50% to 30% respectively. Reduction in myo-inositol concentration and $Na^+/K^+$ ATPase activity were also observed in sciatic nerve from lead-treated rat. However, the aloe extract administration significantly eliminated the impairment and maintained myo-inositol concentration to about 85% of normal level. Also aloe extract promoted the excretion rate of lead which is accumulated in blood, sciatic nerve and kidney. These results suggest that lead-induced neurotoxicity was significantly reduced by administration of aloe extract and the mechanism might be partly increase in kidney excretion rate of lead and parity normalization of $Na^+/K^+$ ATPase activity which is critical factor in order to keep nerve maintaining normal myo-inositol level.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.392-399
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• 2019

Wilson disease a rare autosomal recessive inherited disorder of copper metabolism, is characterized by excessive deposition of copper in the liver, brain, and other tissues. Wilson disease is often fatal if it is not recognized early and treated when it is symptomatic. Gitelman syndrome is also an autosomal recessive kidney disorder characterized by low blood levels of potassium and magnesium, decreased excretion of calcium in the urine, and elevated blood pH. Hereditary sensory autonomic neuropathy type IV (HSAN-IV), a very rare condition that presents in infancy, is characterized by anhidrosis, absence of pain sensation, and self-mutilation. It is usually accompanied by developmental delay and mental retardation. We report a case of Wilson disease manifested as fulminant hepatitis, acute pancreatitis, and acute kidney injury in a 15-year-old boy comorbid with HSAN-IV and Gitelman syndrome. Such concurrence of three genetic diseases is an extremely rare case.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.389-399
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• 2004

Metallothionein (MT), a small protein molecule which can bind or release metal ions, is involved in the regulation of cellular metal homeostasis. This study was investigated the accumulation of cadmium in blood, tissue (liver, kidney and brain), and the effect of cadmium on several key genes (MT-I, MT-II, ZnT-1) in zinc metabolism in the mouse. Mouses weighing 20∼25 g were randomly assigned to control and cadmium treated group (Cd group). Cd group was intraperitoneally injected with cadmium 2, 4, 8 mg/kg and control group was administerd with saline. Mouses of each group were sacrificed by decapitation 4 hours after the administration of cadmium. Cadmium contents in blood, liver, kidney and brain were increased by a dose-dependent manner. Accumulation of cadmium was mainly occurred in liver and kidney. Induction of MT-I and MT-II protein was increased, but ZnT-1 expression was decreased in a dose-dependent manner by the treatment of 2∼8 mg/kg cadmium. These results suggested that cadmium can be transported to brain and alter the expression of several key genes in zinc homeostasis.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.213-216
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• 1987

The distribution features of recombinant human $alpha-interferon(rHuIFN-{\alpha}A)$ and $^{14}C-radiolabeled\;rHuIFN-{\alpha}A\;(^{14}C-rHuIFN-{\alpha}A)$ were investigated in ICR mice after i.v. injection. The level of $rHuIFN-{\alpha}A$ in the kidney was significantly higher than those in lung and liver at 10min after the injection. But the level was reduced significantly at 60min. The level of radioactivity in the kidney was also significantly higher than those in other organs after i.v. injection of $^{14}C-rHuIFN-{\alpha}A$, but it was reduced at much slower speed than was $rHuIFN-{\alpha}A$. These results show that interferon is distributed repidly and the kidney is the main site of distribution and metabolism of $rHuIFN-{\alpha}A$.

• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.28-32
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• 1965

It is well known that many kinds of chemical or metalic agent which were ionized or undissociated at toxified external medium and remarkable effect occurred to the fresh water fish. The effects of hydrogen ion concentration on serum protein of fresh water fish, (phycephalus argus CANTOR) had not been reported yet. In this point, authors attempted to study the changes of A/G ratio, total protein, hemoglobin, hematocrit, RBC , liver and kidney weight of snake head in the above environment. 95 snake heads were subjected to external medium with PH-4.5 and A/G ratio, hematocrit, hemoglobin, total protein, RBC, and liver & kidney weight were measured at 32.80, 15202000 and 272 hours respectively. In whole experimental period, L 1 and L2 globulin increased, on the other, albumin decreased as compare with control . Hence, the A/G ratio decreased remarkably . Though, total protein increased prominently through the whole experimental period, hematocrit, hemoglobin, RBC, increased only at 80 hours, and then decreased as compared to the control. Liver weight revealed distinctive increase at 80 hours, but no remarkable change could be seen there after. Hence, kidney weight revealed continuous rise. By these results, it may be said that as snake head were subjected to external medium with PH-4.5, this environmental factor influenced protein metabolism , blood component and organs.

• Archives of Obesity and Metabolism
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.66-73
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• 2022

Obesity is an increasing public health and medical issue worldwide. It has been associated with several comorbidities, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and cancer. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is another important comorbidity of obesity. Other major causes of CKD include hypertension and diabetes. However, the association between obesity and CKD is often overlooked. Among patients with CKD, patients with obesity were more vulnerable to have rapid kidney function decline than that of those with normal weight. Additionally, CKD is more prevalent among patients with obesity. These aggravations are induced through multiple mechanisms, specifically metabolic impairment of obesity and mechanical burden because of increasing intraabdominal renal pressure. Furthermore, the inflammation and lipotoxicity, caused by obesity, are critical in the CKD aggravation in patients with obesity. To prevent this, all adult patients with obesity are tested for CKD. The workup includes the estimated glomerular filtration rate and regular follow-up. Step-wise management is required for patients with obesity with CKD. Prompt reduction and management of obesity effectively delay CKD progression among patients with obesity and CKD. Therefore, weight loss is a core management for patients with obesity and CKD. Based on several studies, this article focused on the association between CKD and obesity, as well as the diagnosis and weight management of patients with obesity and CKD.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.28-37
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• 2022

Treatment options for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are currently limited; therefore, there has been significant interest in applying mesenchymal stem/stromal cell (MSC)-based therapy to treat CKD. However, MSCs harvested from CKD patients tend to show diminished viability and proliferation due to sustained exposure to uremic toxins in the CKD environment, which limits their utility for cell therapy. The application of melatonin has been demonstrated to improve the therapeutic efficacy of MSCs derived from and engrafted to tissues in patients suffering from CKD, although the underlying biological mechanism has not been elucidated. In this study, we observed overexpression of hexokinase-2 (HK2) in serum samples of CKD patients and MSCs harvested from an adenine-fed CKD mouse model (CKD-mMSCs). HK2 upregulation led to increased production levels of methylglyoxal (MG), a toxic metabolic intermediate of abnormal glycolytic processes. The overabundance of HK2 and MG was associated with impaired mitochondrial function and low cell proliferation in CKD-mMSCs. Melatonin treatment inhibited the increases in HK2 and MG levels, and further improved mitochondrial function, glycolytic metabolism, and cell proliferation. Our findings suggest that identifying and characterizing metabolic regulators such as HK2 in CKD may improve the efficacy of MSCs for treating CKD and other kidney disorders.

• The Journal of the Korean life insurance medical association
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.75-81
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• 1985

Urine contains protein and nucleic acid(urea, uric acid, creatinine, ammonia, amino acids), various organic and inorganic materials, vitamin, hormone, enzyme etc. The examination of gualitative or quantitative change of the above mentioned materials and picking up the abnormal materials are useful to diagnose diseases. The test strip for examination of urine is applied to the routine test, monitoring of medical therapy and recurrence, self monitoring, and screeing in preventive medicine. We have been using multitest strip for checking the bacterial infection(nitrite), PH, protein, glucose, ketone body, urobilinogen, bilirubin and occult blood. So it is possible to diagnose three groups of diseases as follows, abnormal metabolism of the carbohydrate, diseases of kidney and other urogenital system, diseases of hepatobiliary system and hemolytic disease causing abnormal metabolism of bile juice.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.27 no.10
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• pp.996-1006
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• 1994

This study was performed to investigate the effect of dietary chitin & chitosan on cadmium (Cd) toxicity and lipid metabolism in rats. Forty-two male rats of Sprague-Dawley strain weighing 137$\pm$2g were blocked into 6 groups according to body weight, and were raised for 4 weeks. Cadmium chloride was given at the level of 0 or 400ppm in diet and chitin and chitosan were given at the level of 0 or 4%(w/w) of diet. The results are summarized as follow. Chitosan decreased the toxicity of Cd on liver, kidney and femur and increase the Cd content of fecal excretion. Chitosan increased the lipdi & cholesterol content of fecal excretion by combining with lipid and bile acid. Chitosan decreased lipid, cholesterol and TG content in serum and liver by combining with lipid and bile acid. Chitin was less effective than chitosan in decreasing of Cd toxicity and lipid content of rat.

• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.162.2-163
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• 2003

Fumonisins are specific inhibitors of ceramide synthase in sphingolipid metabolism. The objective of this study was to investigate whether the elevation of free sphingoid bases 1-phosphate (S1P) are related to the fumonisin exposure. Sprague Dawley rats were injected i.p. with 10mg/kg fumonisin B1 (FB1), and kidney, liver, heart, lung, brain and serum were collected for sphingolipid analysis. (omitted)