Paralimbic association area in the temporal pole is situated between sensory association areas and the limbic regions and has direct connections with these areas and the ventral striatum. Corticostriatal connections of paralimbic association area in the temporal pole were studied with particular emphasis on specific projections of the ventral striatum to identify different contributions to the functional outcome of the ventral striatum. Retrograde tracers were injected into the five different regions of the ventral striatum such as the ventromedial caudate nucleus, ventral shell, central shell, dorsal core of the nucleus accumbens (NA), and ventrolateral putamen to identify the labeled cells of origin. Present results indicate that the temporal pole has specifically dense projections to the ventral shell of NA. This differential pattern of corticostriatal connectivity suggests that ventral shell region of ventral striatum is preferentially involved in the convergence of sensory and limbic stimulus to motivational and emotional states.
Basal Ganglia ; Caudate Nucleus ; Nucleus Accumbens ; Primates* ; Putamen

Rod bipolar cells constitute the second-order neuron in the rod pathway. Previous investigations of the rat retina have evaluated the development of other components of the rod pathway namely the AII amacrine cell and GABAergic amacrine cell populations. To gain further insights into the maturation of this retinal circuitry, we studied the development of rod bipolar cells, immunocytochemistry with antibodies directed to the protein kinase C (PKC), in the rat retina. PKC immunoreactivity first appeared in postnatal day 9 (P9), faint PKC immunoreactivity was observed in the cell bodies located at the distal inner nuclear layer (INL), dendrites in the outer plexiform layer (OPL) and immunoreactive bands in the proximal inner plexiform layer (IPL). PKC immunoreactive cells and terminal bulbs at P10 show stronger immunostaining. At P15, the time of eye opening, PKC immunoreactive cells display stronger immunostaining than those of P10 and more mature characteristics like in the adult retina. Double fluorescence immunocytochemistry using an antiserum against parvalbumin, a marker for the AII amacrine cells, or GABA revealed that PKC immunoreactive rod bipolar cell terminals make contact with AII amacrine cells and GABAergic neurons in the proximal IPL from P9. Given these results, the different components of the rod pathway follow a similar pattern of maturation, presumably allowing the rod pathway to function at the early developmental stage of retina.
Adult ; Amacrine Cells ; Animals ; Antibodies ; Dendrites ; Fluorescence ; GABAergic Neurons ; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Neurons ; Protein Kinase C ; Rats* ; Retina* ; Retinaldehyde

The higher concentration of traces of aromatic hydrocarbons prevailing in the refinery atmosphere causes severe occupational health hazard to refinery workers. In this study, the biochemical role of genetic polymorphism in modulating urinary excretion of benzene metabolite as phenol level has been investigated in 90 workers exposed to benzene in the petroleum refinery plants of Korea. Glutathione S-transferase (GST) subfamily as GSTM1, GSTT1 and GSTP1 and NAD(P)H: quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) gene polymorphisms were determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods. The mean concentration of volatile benzene in the refinery environment was 0.042 mg/m(3) (SD, 0.069) and that of urinary phenol was 7.42 mg/g creatinine (SD, 11.3). The airborne benzene concentration was significantly related to the concentration of phenol in urine (r = 0.640, p<0.01). However, all the genotypes of GST subfamily and NQO1 except small sample size of genotypes in GSTM1 and GSTT1 none of them were higher than that of present genotype. Also, it was higher in the GSTP1*1/*1 than in the GSTP1*1/*2. The various biological (i.e. age and liver function parameters) or lifestyle factors (i.e. medication, smoking, alcohol and coffee intake), also taken into account as potential confounders, did not influence the correlations found. These results suggested that GST subfamily and NQO1 genotypes might play an important role in the metabolism of benzene.
Atmosphere ; Benzene* ; Coffee ; Creatinine ; Genotype ; Glutathione Transferase ; Hydrocarbons, Aromatic ; Korea ; Life Style ; Liver ; Metabolism* ; Occupational Health ; Petroleum ; Phenol ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Sample Size ; Smoke ; Smoking

Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) is a neuroactive substance that is widely expressed in both non-mammalian and mammalian retinas. In this study, we immunocytochemically identified and investigated the VIP-containing neurons in the mouse retina, which has become an important model for the study of the structure and function of the mammalian retina, mainly because of the wide availability of transgenic animals. VIP immunoreactivity was observed in the somata of the amacrine cells in the inner nuclear layer (INL) and their varicose processes ramifying in strata 1 and 3 of the inner plexifrom layer (IPL). The distribution of VIP-immunoreactive (IR) amacrine cells showed a peak of 430 cells/mm2 in the central retina and minimum values of 50 cells/mm2 in the peripheral one. Double-label experiments demonstrated that all VIP-IR amacrine cells possessed GABA immunoreactivity. These results demonstrate that VIP-IR amacrine cells of the mouse retina make up a neurochemically and morphologically distinct subpopulation of the GABAergic amacrine cell population.
Amacrine Cells* ; Animals ; Animals, Genetically Modified ; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid ; Immunohistochemistry ; Mice* ; Neurons ; Retina* ; Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide*

BMP-4 signaling is mediated through Smad proteins which may translocate to the nucleus to activate transcription. Little is known about how BMP-4 signaling regulates the transcription of its target genes, e.g., Xvent genes. Therefore, we isolated the genomic clone of a BMP-4 responsive homeobox gene, Xbr-1a/Xvent-2. This clone contains a promoter and three exons for the entire coding region. Using the primer extension, we identified the transcription initiation site corresponding to position -64 bp upstream to the ATG codon of the Xvent-2 gene. The promoter was linked to the luciferase reporter gene, and promoter activity determined by luciferase assay. The temporal promoter activity peaked between embryonic stages 13~17, in agreement with its temporal mRNA expression in the whole embryo. Through the serial deletion mutation, the upstream -235 bp of the promoter retains the full transcriptional activity, and is regulated by BMP-4 signaling. The present results suggest that the BMP-4 responsive element is located on the upstream 235 bp of the promoter.
Clinical Coding ; Clone Cells ; Codon ; Embryonic Development* ; Embryonic Structures ; Exons ; Female ; Genes, Homeobox ; Genes, Reporter ; Luciferases ; Pregnancy ; RNA, Messenger ; Sequence Deletion ; Smad Proteins ; Transcription Initiation Site ; Xenopus laevis ; Xenopus*

Phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3-kinase) is critical player in cell proliferation and death. The mechanism by which bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induces synthesis of nitric oxide (NO) in murine macrophages is incompletely understood. In this study we examined the effects of wortmannin and LY294002, two inhibitors of PI3-kinase, on the induction of NO synthesis and NO-mediated apoptosis in LPS-stimulated macrophages. Treatment of wortmannin and LY294002 markedly potentiated NO synthesis and inducible NO synthase (iNOS) expression in LPS-stimulated cells. Furthermore, wortmannin also enhanced apoptosis in LPS-stimulated cells. These results suggest that PI3-kinase might play an important role in transducing the signal that involved in LPS-induced macrophage activation.
Apoptosis* ; Cell Proliferation ; Macrophage Activation ; Macrophages* ; Nitric Oxide Synthase ; Nitric Oxide* ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases

Thymic epithelial cells constitute a major component of the thymic microenvironment. The thymus is involved in the regulation of the proliferation, maturation and differentiation of thymocytes. There is some controversy about the classification of thymic epithelial cell types. Traditionally, thymic epithelial cells have been divided into cortical and medullary epithelial cell types. In general, the thymic epithelium can be broadly subdivided into subcapsular, cortical and medullary epithelial cells, and Hassall's corpuscles by immunocytochemical methods. Although a few studies were performed on the ultrastructural characteristics of the different types of thymic epithelial cells, there is still some controversy about the classification of thymic epithelial cell subsets. Thus, the present study was performed to investigate the ultrastructural features of thymic epithelial cell subsets in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats, which are the most commonly used species of rat for biological researches, using transmission electron microscopy to shed more light on the heterogeneity of thymic epithelial cells. On the basis of ultrastructural features, we could identify and classify eight subsets of epithelial cells in normal rat thymus. In particular, this study provided a clear and easy way to identify the type 3 epithelial cells by their characteristic 'perinuclear arrangement pattern of relatively short bundles of tonofilaments'. This is an important finding since the type 3 epithelial cells has been considered to be the most difficult type to identify among various thymic epithelial cell types. The results of the present ultrastructural study of thymic epithelial cells provided more insight into the heterogeneity of thymic epithelial cells, and can contribute to the understanding of roles played by different types of thymic epithelial cells.
Adult ; Animals ; Classification ; Epithelial Cells* ; Epithelium ; Humans ; Male ; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission ; Population Characteristics ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Thymocytes ; Thymus Gland*

Preclinical cadaver fitting study is paramount in the development of various implantable medical devices. It helps to evaluate the fitness of the size, shape, structure of the devices in the human anatomy, to locate the most optimal site for implantation, and to develope the clinically available surgical techniques. The purpose of this study was to observe the anatomical feasibility of Korean artificial heart (AnyHeart) in 12 human cadavers after obtaining the permission from the Korea University Anatomical Research Committee. The observation was focused on proper position of the artificial heart in various thoracic incisions (median sternotomy, right thoracotomy, left thoracotomy, transsternal incision), localization of inflow as well and outflow tract, cannulation sites, and so on. Results showed that Korean artificial heart had excellent anatomical feasibility in the human body and that a novel surgical technique of right thoracotomy approach was proved to be clinically applicable. Conclusively, the above results will provide the rationales of clinical trial and demonstrate the significance of human cadaver study in development of implantable medical devices.
Cadaver* ; Catheterization ; Heart, Artificial* ; Human Body ; Humans ; Korea* ; Sternotomy ; Thoracotomy

In human skin, specific keratin markers reflect on normal differentiation and pathologic conditions. This experiment focused on the expressional pattern of keratin 10 (K10: normal differentiation marker), and keratin 8 & 13 (K8 & K13: pathologic differentiation marker) together with their cellular localization after treating HaCaT cells with 12-Otetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA). The cells were treated with TPA at 0, 0.1, 1 microgram/ml for 2 hours or 6 hours. Morphologic studies revealed that TPA treatment changed the shape of cells into the fibroblast-like cells with highly folded nuclear membrane and reduced number of the desmosome. The results of indirect immunofluorescent staining and Northern blotting analysis showed that TPA considerably down-regulated the expression of K10, while markedly up-regulating the expression of K8 and K13 both at protein and mRNA levels. Furthermore, by simultaneous staining for keratins and DNA content in flow cytometry, it was found that TPA increased the expression of K8 and K13 dramatically at the S-G2-M phase of the cells. In conclusion, these changes induced by TPA in HaCaT cells may indicate a close relationship between the morphologic change and the altered expression of keratin subfamilies. It also suggests that TPA known as a tumor promotor may directly induce the potentially malignant cells even without the support of tumor initiator.
Blotting, Northern ; Desmosomes ; DNA ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Keratin-10 ; Keratin-8 ; Nuclear Envelope ; RNA, Messenger ; Skin

Agmatine, a widely distributed molecule in mammalian tissues, shows neuroprotective effects in brain ischemia. We describe the neuroprotective effects of agmatine in the mouse MCAO model and the quantitative change of agmatine in ischemic injury. Brain ischemic injured mice were injected with agmatine (100 mg/kg of mouse, IP). Agmatine significantly reduced the infarct area after MCAO. Despite the similar patterns of agmatine change observed in control or agmatine injected animals, the agmatine levels of the penumbra were significantly higher than those of the striatum and the cerebral cortex during the early period (<1 hour after 2 hours of MCA occlusion). This suggests that the early period, during which agmatine levels increase in the brain, is the crucial period in terms of neuroprotective effect during ischemia.
Agmatine* ; Animals ; Brain Ischemia ; Brain* ; Cerebral Cortex ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid* ; Ischemia ; Mice ; Neuroprotective Agents ; Reperfusion