Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression of several organs on the lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-injected rats and on excisional wound was observed by immunohistochemical methods to investigate iNOS-positive cells during inflammation. iNOS expression was induced in response to LPS in the brain and these reactions were observed in the choroidal epithelium, ependymal cells and a few of nerve cells and fiber. A more intensive reaction of nerve cell and fiber was mainly observed in the corpus callosum and hypothalamus. Induction of iNOS of the lung was observed in alveolar macrophage, smooth muscle, pneumocytes and inflammatory cells infilterated in the alveolar septum. iNOS expression of the liver was detected in Kupffer cells, hepatocytes, bile duct and inflammatory cells of spotty necrosis. The cardiac muscle and endothelial cell of the heart showed positive iNOS expression. In the excisional wound, inflammatory cells including macrophages, neutrophil and fibrobast showed iNOS expression and mainly detected necrobiotic layer. Collectively, iNOS expression was induced in the several cell types during inflammatory process. So for better understanding the function of iNOS, more research should be done in relation to each cell type of organ.
Animals ; Bile Ducts ; Brain ; Choroid ; Corpus Callosum ; Endothelial Cells ; Epithelium ; Heart ; Hepatocytes ; Hypothalamus ; Inflammation ; Kupffer Cells ; Lipopolysaccharides ; Liver ; Lung ; Macrophages ; Macrophages, Alveolar ; Muscle, Smooth ; Myocardium ; Necrosis ; Neurons ; Neutrophils ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II* ; Pneumocytes ; Rats* ; Shock* ; Wound Healing* ; Wounds and Injuries*

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is often accompanied by increased levels of circulating fatty acid. Elevations in fatty acids and glucose for prolonged periods of time have been suggested to cause progressive dysfunction or apoptosis of pancreatic beta cells in T2DM. However, the precise mechanism of this adverse effect is not well understood. METHODS: INS-1 rat-derived insulin-secreting cells were exposed to 30 mM glucose and 0.25 mM palmitate for 48 hours. RESULTS: The production of reactive oxygen species increased significantly. Pancreatic and duodenal homeobox 1 (Pdx1) expression was down-regulated, as assessed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analyses. The promoter activities of insulin and Pdx1 were also diminished. Of note, there was nucleocytoplasmic translocation of Pdx1, which was partially prevented by treatment with an antioxidant, N-acetyl-L-cysteine. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that prolonged exposure of beta cells to elevated levels of glucose and palmitate negatively affects Pdx1 expression via oxidative stress.
Apoptosis ; Blotting, Western ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Fatty Acids ; Genes, Homeobox ; Glucose ; Insulin ; Insulin-Secreting Cells ; Oxidative Stress ; Reactive Oxygen Species

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical outcome of coil embolization for unruptured intracranial aneurysm (UIA) with oculomotor nerve palsy (ONP) compared with surgical clipping. METHODS: A total of 19 patients presented with ONP caused by UIAs between Jan 2004 and June 2008. Ten patients underwent coil embolization and nine patients surgical clipping. The following parameters were retrospectively analyzed to evaluate the differences in clinical outcome observed in both coil embolization and surgical clipping : 1) gender, 2) age, 3) location of the aneurysm, 4) duration of the symptom, and 5) degree of ONP. RESULTS: Following treatment, complete symptomatic recovery or partial relief from ONP was observed in 15 patients. Seven of the ten patients were treated by coil embolization, compared to eight of the nine patients treated by surgical clipping (p = 0.582). Patient's gender, age, location of the aneurysm, size of the aneurysm, duration of symptom, and degree of the ONP did not statistically correlate with recovery of symptoms between the two groups. No significant differences were observed in mean improvement time in either group (55 days in coil embolization and 60 days in surgical clipping). CONCLUSION: This study indicates that no significant differences were observed in the clinical outcome between coil embolization and surgical clipping techniques in the treatment of aneurysms causing ONP. Coil embolization seems to be more feasible and safe treatment modality for the relief and recovery of oculomotor nerve palsy.
Aneurysm ; Humans ; Intracranial Aneurysm ; Oculomotor Nerve ; Oculomotor Nerve Diseases ; Retrospective Studies ; Surgical Instruments

BACKGROUND: Despite a recent breakthough in human islet transplantation for treating type 1 diabetes mellitus, the limited availability of donor pancreases remains a major obstacle. Endocrine cells within the gut epithelium (enteroendocrine cells) and pancreatic beta cells share similar pathways of differentiation during embryonic development. In particular, K-cells that secrete glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) have been shown to express many of the key proteins found in beta cells. Therefore, we hypothesize that K-cells can be transdifferentiated into beta cells because both cells have remarkable similarities in their embryonic development and cellular phenotypes. METHODS: K-cells were purified from heterogeneous STC-1 cells originating from an endocrine tumor of a mouse intestine. In addition, a K-cell subclone expressing stable Nkx6.1, called "Kn4-cells," was successfully obtained. In vitro differentiation of K-cells or Kn4-cells into beta cells was completed after exendin-4 treatment and serum deprivation. The expressions of insulin mRNA and protein were examined by RT-PCR and immunocytochemistry. The interacellular insulin content was also measured. RESULTS: K-cells were found to express glucokinase and GIP as assessed by RT-PCR and Western blot analysis. RT-PCR showed that K-cells also expressed Pdx-1, NeuroD1/Beta2, and MafA, but not Nkx6.1. After exendin-4 treatment and serum deprivation, insulin mRNA and insulin or C-peptide were clearly detected in Kn4-cells. The intracellular insulin content was also increased significantly in these cells. CONCLUSION: K-cells are an attractive potential source of insulin-producing cells for treatment of type 1 diabetes mellitus. However, more experiments are necessary to optimize a strategy for converting K-cells into beta cells.
Animals ; Blotting, Western ; C-Peptide ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 ; Embryonic Development ; Endocrine Cells ; Enteroendocrine Cells ; Epithelium ; Female ; Glucokinase ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Insulin ; Insulin-Secreting Cells ; Intestines ; Islets of Langerhans Transplantation ; Mice ; Pancreas ; Peptides ; Phenotype ; Pregnancy ; Proteins ; RNA, Messenger ; Tissue Donors ; Venoms

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was conducted to investigate the mean nRBC count in very low births weight infants (VLBWIs) and to determine the usefulness of the nRBC as an independent prognostic factors of perinatal complications in VLBWIs. METHODS: This study was conducted on 112 VLBWIs who were hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of the author's hospital within the period from March 2003 to and May 2008. Based on the infants' nucleated red blood cells (nRBC) counts at birth, on the third day after birth, on the seventh day after birth, in the second week after birth, and in the fourth week after birth in the medical records, the correlation between nRBC or absolute nRBC counts with birth weight, gestational age, and other perinatal outcomes were retrospectively investigated. RESULTS: In VLBWIs, their mean nRBC and absolute nRBC counts were showing a gradual decrease after birth, and they were consisteantly kept at low values since one week after and inversely proportional to the birth weights. The mean nRBC counts based on the stage after birth showed a significant correlation with perinatal death, necrotizing enterocolitis, and severe intraventricular hemorrhage. CONCLUSION: The increase in the nRBC count showed a significant correlation with having a severe intraventricular hemorrhage, necrotizing enterocolitis, and perinatal death in VLBWIs. If an increase or no decrease in the nRBC count after birth is observed, newborn-infant care precautions should be required.
Birth Weight ; Enterocolitis, Necrotizing ; Erythrocytes ; Gestational Age ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Infant, Very Low Birth Weight ; Intensive Care, Neonatal ; Medical Records ; Parturition ; Prognosis ; Reference Values ; Retrospective Studies

Objectives: This study aimed to analyze the treatment outcomes and to evaluate the clinicopathological prognostic factors of oral tongue cancer. Patients and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed treatment results and prognostic factors in 205 patients with oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma who were admitted to the National Cancer Center, South Korea, between January 2001 and December 2020. The patients were treated with surgery and postoperative, definitive radiotherapy (RT) or chemoradiotherapy (CRT). Results: Eighteen patients (8.8%) were treated with curative RT or CRT, while the rest (91.2%) were treated with surgery with or without postoperative RT or CRT. The median follow-up period was 30 months (range, 0-234 months). The 5-year overall survival (OS) and 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) were 72% and 63%, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that a positive neck nodal status (N1, N2-3) was significantly associated with poorer 5-year OS and DFS, while perineural invasion was associated with poorer 5-year DFS. Conclusion Cervical metastasis and perineural invasion are significant prognostic predictors, and combination treatments are necessary for improving OS and DFS in patients with these factors.

PURPOSE: Mycoplasma pneumoniae frequently causes lower respiratory illnesses in children, and is known to be associated with acute wheezing and the exacerbation of asthma. However, the mechanism by which this pathogen contributes to the development of wheeze- related symptoms is not fully understood. Previous studies have shown that ET-1 is a potent bronchoconstrictor and implicated in the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma. The aim of our study was to examine the serum ET-1 and other cytokines in M. pneumoniae pneumonia and investigate if there is any difference in relation to the presence of wheezing. METHODS: Patients admitted with pneumonia were divided into three groups: M. pneumoniae pneumonia with wheeze (group 1) and without wheeze (group 2), and patients with pneumonia due to other pathogens (group 3). The serum levels of ET-1, IL-18, IL-5 were measured by ELISA in patient groups and controls. RESULTS: Serum ET-1 increased significantly in the patients with M. pneumoniae pneumonia (groups 1 and 2) compared with group 3 and controls. ET-1 in group 1 was significantly higher than in group 2. IL-5 and IL-18 were higher in patient groups than in controls with no difference between groups. Serum total IgE was significantly higher in group 1 than in group 2. A positive correlation was observed between serum ET-1 and total IgE. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that ET-1 may be implicated in the pathogenesis of bronchoconstriction and allergic inflammation in the airways of the patients with M. pneumoniae pneumonia.
Asthma ; Bronchoconstriction ; Child* ; Cytokines ; Endothelins* ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin E ; Inflammation ; Interleukin-18 ; Interleukin-5 ; Mycoplasma pneumoniae* ; Mycoplasma* ; Pneumonia* ; Pneumonia, Mycoplasma* ; Respiratory Sounds

BACKGROUND: Physicians can play a crucial role in the knowledge that patients have about a disease and its prognosis. Recently, patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) are increasingly turning from western medicine to oriental herbal medicine. However, their awareness of AD and attitude toward Western medicine and oriental herbal medicine clinics are scarcely reported. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the understanding of AD among patients and their parents and to identify their awareness of and attitude toward Western medicine and oriental herbal medicine as treatments for AD. METHODS: An online questionnaire was administered to 500 consenting respondents with AD (age, 16~49 years) and parents of children with AD (age, 0~15 years). RESULTS: The mean percentage of correct answers to questions about AD was 52.54%. A parental history of AD was independently associated with higher respondent’s knowledge about the disease and its treatment. The satisfaction with treatment outcomes was highest among patients treated at private clinic of dermatology specialists (49.4%), while lowest among those treated at oriental herbal medicine clinics (38.4%). Many participants were aware that oriental herbal medicine requires a longer treatment period for a cure and does not burden the skin, while steroid phobia was seen in most of participants. CONCLUSION: Physicians need to educate AD patients and their parents about the disease and its treatment. Misconceptions for Western medicine and oriental herbal medicine among AD patients and parents should be corrected to improve their prognosis.
Adult* ; Child ; Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Dermatology ; Herbal Medicine ; Humans ; Parents* ; Phobic Disorders ; Prognosis ; Skin ; Specialization ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND: Topical tacrolimus is an effective anti-inflammatory therapy for acute and chronic states of atopic dermatitis (AD) in both adults and children. Topical tacrolimus has particular use at sensitive areas such as the face, anogenitals, and skin folds of neck and extremities. However, many AD patients also experience aggravated symptoms on trunk. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of topical tacrolimus for AD patients with truncal lesions. METHODS: AD patients with truncal lesions who were aged ≥2 years were recruited from 20 centres in Korea. They received treatment with topical tacrolimus ointment twice daily during 4 weeks. The primary end point was change of the local eczema area and severity index (EASI) of the trunk from baseline to day 28. The secondary end points were changes in the patient global assessment (PGA) score and itch visual analogue scale (VAS) score of the trunk between baseline and day 28. RESULTS: Two hundred and ninety-one patients were recruited, and 176 patients completed the full 4-week treatment course. By the end of the treatment, the mean local EASI of the trunk (2.2±4.71) was significantly decreased from that at baseline (4.71±4.03, p < 0.001). PGA (1.71±1.15) and itch VAS score of the trunk (2.61±2.19) on day 28 were also profoundly decreased compared with the baseline (2.96±1.07 and 5.15±2.47, respectively). No serious adverse events were observed during the study period. CONCLUSION: Topical tacrolimus is an effective and safe therapy for truncal lesions in AD patients.
Administration, Topical ; Adult ; Child ; Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Eczema ; Extremities ; Humans ; Korea ; Neck ; Skin ; Tacrolimus*