1.Effects of anti-obesity drugs, phentermine and mahuang, on the behavioral patterns in Sprague-Dawley rat model.
Ryeo Eun GO ; Kyung A HWANG ; Seung Hee KIM ; Min Young LEE ; Cho Won KIM ; So Ye JEON ; Yun Bae KIM ; Kyung Chul CHOI
Laboratory Animal Research 2014;30(2):73-78
According to WHO global estimates from 2008, more than 1.4 billion adults were overweight and among them, over 200 million men and 300 million women were obese. Although the main treatment modalities for overweight and obese individuals remain dieting and physical exercise, the synthetic anti-obesity medications have been increasingly used due to their perceived convenience. Generally, anti-obesity medications are classified as appetite suppressants or fat absorption blockers. In the present study, we examined the adverse side-effects in respect of behavior changes of phentermine and Ephedra sinica (mahuang) that are anti-obesity drugs currently distributed to domestic consumers. Phentermine is mainly classified as an anorexing agent and mahuang a thermogenic agent. Because phentermine and mahuang are considered to display effectiveness through the regulation of nerve system, their potential influences of on behavioral changes were examined employing animal experiments. From the results of experiments testing locomotor activity through the use of treadmill, rota-rod, and open field system, phentermine and mahuang were commonly revealed to induce behavioral changes of rats by reducing a motor ability, an ability to cope with an external stimulus, and a sense of balance or by augmenting wariness or excitement. These adverse effects of phenternime and mahuang in behavioral changes need to be identified in humans and anti-obesity medications such as phentermine and mahuang should be prescribed for only obesity where it is anticipated that the benefits of the treatment outweigh their potential risks.
Absorption
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Adult
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Animal Experimentation
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Animals
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Anti-Obesity Agents*
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Appetite Depressants
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Diet
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Diethylpropion
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Ephedra sinica
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Exercise
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Female
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Humans
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Male
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Models, Animal*
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Motor Activity
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Obesity
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Overweight
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Phentermine*
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Rats
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Rats, Sprague-Dawley*
2.Chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic effects of genistein, a soy isoflavone, upon cancer development and progression in preclinical animal models.
Seung Hee KIM ; Cho Won KIM ; So Ye JEON ; Ryeo Eun GO ; Kyung A HWANG ; Kyung Chul CHOI
Laboratory Animal Research 2014;30(4):143-150
Genistein is one of isoflavones mostly derived in a leguminous plant. It is well known as one of phytoestrogens that have structures similar to the principal mammalian estrogen. It has diverse biological functions including chemopreventive properties against cancers. Anticancer efficacies of genistein have been related with the epidemiological observations indicating that the incidence of some cancers is much lower in Asia, where diets are rich in soyfoods, than Western countries. This review deals with in vivo anticancer activities of genistein identified in animal studies being divided into its effects on carcinogenesis and cancer progression. Because animal studies have advantages in designing the experiments to suit the goals, they imply diverse information on the anticancer activity of genistein. The in vivo animal studies have adopted the specific animal models according to a developmental stage of cancer to prove the anticancer efficacies of genistein against diverse types of cancer. The numerous previous studies insist that genistein effectively inhibits carcinogenesis in the DMBA-induced animal cancer models by reducing the incidence of adenocarcinoma and cancer progression in the transgenic and xenograft animal models by suppressing the tumor growth and metastatic transition. Although the protective effect of genistein against cancer has been controversial, genistein may be a candidate for chemoprevention of carcinogenesis and cancer progression and may deserve to be the central compound supporting the epidemiological evidence.
Adenocarcinoma
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Animals
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Asia
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Carcinogenesis
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Chemoprevention
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Diet
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Estrogens
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Genistein*
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Heterografts
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Incidence
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Isoflavones
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Mice
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Mice, Transgenic
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Models, Animal*
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Phytoestrogens
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Plants
3.Neurocognitive Subtypes of Schizophrenia: with Emphasis on Frontal Lobe Functions.
Nam Hoon LEE ; Sung Kil MIN ; Kyung Ja OH ; Hyun Ju SONG ; Keyng Min BEYN ; Ryeo Won GO ; Tae Kyung KIM ; Ji Heum CHANG
Journal of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association 2003;42(5):580-589
OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to identify frontal lobe dysfunctions of schizophrenic group and to classify into subtypes accordingly. METHODS: Four neuropsychological tests (Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Word Fluency Test, Ruff Figural Fluency Test and Grooved Pegboard Test) were administered to 93 schizophrenia or schizophreniform patients diagnosed with the Korean version of SCID. Ten measures (WCST Total Number of Errors, WCST Number of Categories Completed, WCST Conceptual Level Responses, WCST Trials to Complete First Category, WCST Perseverative Responses, GPT Dominant Hand RT, GPT Nondominant Hand RT, Letter Fluency raw score, Category Fluency raw score, RFFT Total Unique Designs) from the four tests were selected by statistical procedure. Latent factors embedded in the frontal lobe function of schizophrenic patients were extracted from the factor analysis, and hierarchical and K-means clustering procedures were used to identify subtypes. To examine the differences among the subtypes, demographic variables, K-WAIS and PANSS were used. RESULTS: (1) The subjects in this study showed significant impairments in the four neuropsychological tests. (2) Through factor analysis, three factors were extracted: Conceptualization, Motor and Fluency. (3) Three cluster solution was considered optimal by cluster analysis. The preserved cluster (n=42) comprised of patients who showed relatively high function in all three factors. This group showed relatively higher function than the other two clusters. However, even the performance of the preserved cluster was 1SD below the norm of the normal people. The conceptualization deficit cluster (n=25) comprised of patients with deficit in conceptualization function. This group was characterized by the clinical symptoms of poor impulse control and active social avoidance suggesting a deficit in the ability to actively organize stimuli utilizing the feedback from the external environment. And finally, the fluency deficit cluster (n=19) showed impairment in fluency. This group was characterized by impairments in the use of abstract-symbolic thinking and the ability to pay attention to relevant stimuli suggesting a severe deficit in the efficiency and flexibility of information withdrawal. These three subtypes didn't differ significantly in age, duration of illness and current dosage of antipsychotics. However, the three groups differed significantly in years of education, IQ and on five items of PANSS. CONCLUSION: This study shows that schizophrenia can be characterized by frontal lobe dysfunctions and divided into three subtypes according to the profile of the frontal lobe dysfunctions. These neurocognitive heterogeneity of schizophrenia, not related to age, duration of illness and dosage of antipsychotic, suggest that different strategies need to be developed in diagnosing and planning rehabilitation programs for schizophrenc patients.
Antipsychotic Agents
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Education
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Frontal Lobe*
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Hand
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Humans
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Neuropsychological Tests
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Pliability
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Population Characteristics
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Rehabilitation
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Schizophrenia*
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Thinking
4.Gallic Acid Hindered Lung Cancer Progression by Inducing Cell Cycle Arrest and Apoptosis in A549 Lung Cancer Cells via PI3K/Akt Pathway
Eul-Bee KO ; Yin-Gi JANG ; Cho-Won KIM ; Ryeo-Eun GO ; Hong Kyu LEE ; Kyung-Chul CHOI
Biomolecules & Therapeutics 2022;30(2):151-161
This study elucidates the anti-cancer potential of gallic acid (GA) as a promising therapeutic agent that exerts its effect by regulating the PI3K/Akt pathway. To prove our research rationale, we used diverse experimental methods such as cell viability assay, colony formation assay, tumor spheroid formation assay, cell cycle analysis, TUNEL assay, Western blot analysis, xenograft mouse model and histological analysis. Treatment with GA inhibited cell proliferation in dose-dependent manner as measured by cell viability assay at 48 h. GA and cisplatin (CDDP) also inhibited colony formation and tumor spheroid formation. In addition, GA and CDDP induced apoptosis, as determined by the distribution of early and late apoptotic cells and DNA fragmentation. Western blot analysis revealed that inhibition of the PI3K/Akt pathway induced upregulation of p53 (tumor suppressor protein), which in turn regulated cell cycle related proteins such as p21, p27, Cyclin D1 and E1, and intrinsic apoptotic proteins such as Bax, Bcl-2 and cleaved caspase-3. The anti-cancer effect of GA was further confirmed in an in vivo mouse model. Intraperitoneal injection with GA for 4 weeks in an A549-derived tumor xenograft model reduced the size of tumor mass. Injection of them downregulated the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen and p-Akt, but upregulated the expression of cleaved caspase-3 in tumor tissues. Taken together, these results indicated that GA hindered lung cancer progression by inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, suggesting that GA would be a potential therapeutic agent against non-small cell lung cancer.