A Collaborative Study to Establish the Second Korean National Reference Standard for Snake Venom.

In 2015, a candidate for the second national reference standard (NRS) of Gloydius snake venom was produced to replace the first NRS of Gloydius snake venom. In the present study, the potencies of the candidate were determined by a collaborative study, and the qualification of the candidate was estimated. The potencies of the candidate were determined by measuring the murine lethal titers and lapine hemorrhagic titers of venom against the regional working reference standard (RWRS) for antivenom using the methods described in the previous report for the first NRS of Gloydius snake venom. Three Korean facilities contributed data from a total of 30 independent assays. Subsequently, two foreign national control research laboratories contributed to this collaborative study. The results were calculated using the Reed-Muench method for lethality and determined using a mixed-effects model for hemorrhage. The general common potencies of the lethal and hemorrhagic titers were obtained from the results of the 30 tests performed at three Korean facilities. The results are expressed in micrograms for 1 test dose (TD) with a 95% confidence interval as follows: a lethal titer of 90.13 µg/TD (95% confidence interval = 87.39~92.86 µg) and a hemorrhagic titer of 10.80 µg/TD (95% confidence interval = 10.46~11.14 µg). In addition, the candidate preparation showed good quality evaluation according to the results of the quality estimation of the candidate and is judged to be suitable to serve as the Korean NRS for snake venom. In conclusion, the second NRS of Gloydius snake venom was established in this study and will be used for national quality control, including a national lot release test of Korean antivenom products.

Corrigendum to "Expression of miRNA-122 Induced by Liver Toxicants in Zebrafish".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2016/1473578.].

Expression of miRNA-122 Induced by Liver Toxicants in Zebrafish.

MicroRNA-122 (miRNA-122), also known as liver-specific miRNA, has recently been shown to be a potent biomarker in response to liver injury in mammals. The objective of this study was to examine its expression in response to toxicant treatment and acute liver damage, using the zebrafish system as an alternative model organism. For the hepatotoxicity assay, larval zebrafish were arrayed in 24-well plates. Adult zebrafish were also tested and arrayed in 200 mL cages. Animals were exposed to liver toxicants (tamoxifen or acetaminophen) at various doses, and miRNA-122 expression levels were analyzed using qRT-PCR in dissected liver, brain, heart, and intestine, separately. Our results showed no significant changes in miRNA-122 expression level in tamoxifen-treated larvae; however, miRNA-122 expression was highly induced in tamoxifen-treated adults in a tissue-specific manner. In addition, we observed a histological change in adult liver (0.5 µM) and cell death in larval liver (5 µM) at different doses of tamoxifen. These results indicated that miRNA-122 may be utilized as a liver-specific biomarker for acute liver toxicity in zebrafish.

Synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of 3-aryl-3-azolylpropan-1-amines as selective triple serotonin/norepinephrine/dopamine reuptake inhibitors.

A series of 3-aryl-3-azolylpropan-1-amines was prepared and screened for its capability of inhibiting monoamine reuptake. Analogs with nanomolar potency, good human in vitro microsomal stability, and low drug-drug interaction potential were described. In vivo models were used to evaluate the compound 19r for antidepressive, anxiolytic, and analgesic activity.