Adipocyte Signals in Energy Balance and Digestive Diseases / 대한소화기학회지

For the regulation of energy balance in various internal organs including gut, pancreas and liver, visceral adipose tissue and brain perform important sensing and signaling roles via neural and endocrine pathway. Among these, adipose tissue has been known as a simple energy-storing organ, which stores excess energy in triglyceride. However, it became apparent that adipocytes have various receptors related to energy homeostasis, and secrete adipocytokines by endocrine, paracrine and autocrine mechanisms. In this review, basic roles of adipocytes in energy homeostasis and the correlation between adipocyte signals and digestive diseases are discussed.

Paleopathologic Analysis of a Mummified Pregnant Woman of Papyung Yoon's Family

BACKGROUND: A mummy is a dead body of a human being or an animal that has been preserved artificially or naturally from decaying. Because the natural environment of Korea isn't appropriate for mummification and Korean people haven't artificially made mummies, mummies were rarely studied in Korea. METHODS: On September 6, 2002, a well-preserved female mummy was found in the grave of a family in Kyunggi-do. She was submitted to a thorough autopsy examination along with the review of genealogical documents. RESULTS: The mummy died in winter. She was pregnant and the fetal head was observed at the vaginal orifice. The uterine wall was ruptured, and the peritoneum was discolored, probably by hemorrhage. Histologically, the gastric mucosa was well preserved. On the smear cytology of gastrointestinal material and the fluid from the coffin, pollens and parasitic eggs were observed. The woman seemed to be death from hypovolemic shock due to uterine rupture during the 2nd phase of labor. CONCLUSION: From this case, we concluded the causes of the woman's mummification included the cold and dry circumstance at the time of her death, and the thick mortared wall of the grave that completely isolated the body from the outside.

A Case of Localized Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in A Native Korean / 대한피부과학회지

Localized cutaneous leishmaniasis is a chronic ulcerative, usually self-limiting skin disease, and one of the major tropical diseases. This disease is caused by an infection of genus Leishmania, transmitted by a sandfly, and there are some cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Koreans after travelling abroad in endemic areas, such as the Middle East and Africa. We report a case of localized cutaneous leishmania in a 70-year-old native Korean man without history of a trip abroad.

Myoblast Transfer Therapy on mdxMouse / 대한정형외과학회잡지

PURPOSE: To observe dystrophin formation and histological improvement in dystrophic muscle of mdx mouse after normal myoblast injection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cultured myoblasts from genetically normal rats were injected into the right quadriceps femoris of a 6-week-old mdx mouse (n=9). dPBS was injected into the left quadriceps femoris as a control. One, 2, and 3 months after injection, The control and experimental group were compared histologically and by dystrophin immunostaining. RESULTS: When compared with controls 3 months postoperatively, quadriceps femoris in the experimental group exhibited greater cross-sectional area and total fiber number, and the experimental animals contained more normal-appearing and less abnormalappearing fibers than the control group. Most of the fibers in the experimental group showed positive results in dystrophin immunostaining, whereas immunostaining of mdx muscle fibers in the control group was completely negative. CONCLUSION: This study shows that normal myoblast injection improved the muscle architecture histologically and produced dystrophin protein in dystrophic muscle.

Electron Microscopic Evaluation of Adhesion of Helicobacter pylori to the Gastric Epithelial Cells in Chronic Gastritis

BACKGROUND: The adhesion of H. pylori to the gastric epithelial cells may be an essential step for the pathophysiology of various H. pylori-induced gastrointestinal diseases. The purpose of this study was to investigate the ultrastructural relation of H. pylori and gastric epithelial cells in their adhesion. METHODS: Endoscopic biopsy of gastric antrum and body was performed from 15 patients (9 men, 6 women) with chronic gastritis and H. pylori infection. The specimens were processed for electron microscopy and observed with a transmission electron microscope (Hitachi H-600). RESULTS: On the basis of morphological appearances, the adhesions of H. pylori to the gastric epithelial cells were categorized into three types; filamentous connection, adhesion pedestals and membrane fusion. Coccoid and undetermined forms adhered mainly by the filamentous connection, whereas the bacillary forms adhered primarily by the adhesion pedestals and membrane fusion. CONCLUSION: Various types of adhesion were associated with H. pylori and gastric epithelium. Further studies are needed to evaluate the influence of different types of adhesion to the pathophysiology of H. pylori.

Developmental mRNA Expression of cdk5 and its Putative Regulators, p67 and p35, in Rat Brain / 대한해부학회지

Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (cdk5) is essential for brain development and p35 and p67 are the regulatory molecules for cdk5. In this study, we have investigated the expression of cdk5, p35, and p67 mRNAs in the developing rat brain with in situ hybridization histochemistry. The expression of cdk5 mRNA was already observed in embryonic day 12 (E12), start point of neurogenesis in rat brain, throughout the brain and gradually increased until postnatal day 3 (P3). At this period, strong expression of cdk5 mRNA was observed in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, dentate gyrus, thalamus, hypothalamus, and inferior colliculus. High level of cdk5 expression was maintained in the postnatal rat brain and prominent expression was observed in the hippocampus, dentate gyrus, cerebellum, and choroid plexus of adult rat brain. Strong expression of p35 mRNA was observed between E16 and E20 in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, dentate gyrus, thalamus, hypothalamus, and inferior colliculus as like as cdk5. After birth, the expression of p35 mRNA was gradually decreased and significant differences in the expression of cdk5 and p35 were observed in the thalamus, hypothalamus, midbrain, and cerebellum. In the embryonic period, the expression pattern of p67 was very similar with that of p35 but expression level was lower than p35. After birth, strong expression of p67 was observed in the areas where the expression of cdk5 was high. From these results, it is suspected that p35 may function in neuronal migration, and p67 in differentiation and maturation, as a major regulator for cdk5 in developing rat brain.

Electron microscopic study of adhesion between Helicobacter pylori and gastric epithelial cell / 대한내과학회지

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate the ultrastructural relation of H. pylori and gastric epithelial cells in their adhesion. METHODS: Endoscopic biopsy of gastric antrum and body was performed from 15 patients (9 men, 6 women) with chronic gastritis. These specimens were processed and observed by transmission electron microscope (Hitachi H-600). RESULTS: On the basis of morphological appearances, the different types of adhesion of the organism with the epithelial cells were categorized as filamentous connection, adhesion pedestals, membrane fusion. Coccoid and intermediate forms were associated with filamentous connection whereas bacillary forms were associated with adhesion pedestals and membrane fusion. CONCLUSION: Various types of adhesion were associated with H. pylori and gastric epithelium. Further studies are needed to investigate biophysiologic influence to epithelial cells by ultrastructural relationship.(Korean J Med 60:16-21, 2001)

Localization of phospholipase D genes on the human chromosome and various tissues of rat / 대한해부학회지

Phospholipase D (PLD) catalyzes the hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine to phosphatidic acid and choline. A variety of signal molecules such as hormones, neurotransmitters, extracellular matrix molecules, and growth factors are known to induce the activation of PLD in a wide range of cell types. Hence PLD is implicated in a broad spectrum of physio-logical processes and diseases, including mitogenesis, cell differentiation, metabolic regulation, secretion, neural and cardiac stimulation, inflammation, oncogenesis, and diabetes. The signal-dependent activation of PLD has been observed in a variety of brain and neural-derived cells. In this paper, human chromosomal locations and developmental neural expression patterns in rat of PLD1 and PLD2 were investigated with fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) and in situ hybridization histochemistry, respectively. The PLD1 was assigned to human chromosome 3q26 and expressed most strikingly in selected ventricular neural cells lining spinal cord and brain during neuronal differentiation and migration period. The PLD2 was assigned to human chromosome 17p13.1 and expressed in differentiating ventricular neural cells and multiple regions of the postnatal rat brain.

Effect of Exercise on Reinnervating Soleus Muscle after Sciatic Nerve Injury in Rats

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of exercise in the early phase of reinnervation after sciatic nerve injuries in the rat. METHOD: Thirty six rats, Sprague-Dawley (weight, 200 to 220 g), were divided into the normal control and experimental groups. Using a haemostatic forceps, crushing injuries to the bilateral sciatic nerves were induced in the experimental group. The experimental group was further divided into exercise groups by the duration of daily swimming and initiation (duration since injury) of exercise after nerve injury (A, 2 hours/day and day 1; B, 30 minutes/day and day 1; C, 2 hours/day and week 2; D, 30 minutes/day and week 2) and non-exercise group (E). After completion of 5-week program the test results were evaluated by 1) sciatic nerve motor conduction study recorded at the gastro-soleus muscles, 2) measurement of soleus muscle tension, and 3) hematoxylin-eosin stain & alkaline ATPase stain (pH 9.4) of the soleus muscles. RESULTS: Nerve conduction study revealed significantly prolonged latency in group C and decreased amplitude in the group C, D. Peak twich tension decreased significantly in group C, D & E. Maximal tetanic tension was increased significantly in the group A compared to C. Both type I and II muscle fibers atrophied significantly in all the experimental groups compared to the normal control group with no changes of the composition of two muscle fibers. CONCLUSION: Swimming applied from the early phase after sciatic nerve injury may be beneficial in early recovery of muscle tension. Overexercise in the early stage of reinnervation, however, may hamper the functional return of the damaged muscle by nerve injury.

Cytoskeletons of Cultured Rat Fetal Muscle Cells / 대한해부학회지

Myoblasts fuse together to form multinucleated myotubes. However, only a few studies have been reported on the cytoskeletal changes during the fusion process. To understand the change of cytoskeleton during the fusion process, isolated myoblasts from embryonic day 21 Sprague-Dawley rats were cultured on formvar-, carbon-, and gelatin-coated gold grids for electron microscopy. The cells were fixed and plasma membrane and cytoplasm were extracted with triton X-100 and observed directly with Hitachi H-600 transmission electron microscope without staining. Fusiform myoblasts have complex cytoskeletal networks at the center of the cells, which were too dense to be resolved, however the margins of myoblasts and myotubes have bundles of cytoskeletons running in the longitudinal direction with reticulated cytoskeletal networks in between. Lamellipodial ruffles at both ends of myoblasts were characterized by a cytoskeletal lattice at the base and a few radiating strands into the filopodia-like processes. Radiating cytoskeletons originated either from the longitudinally oriented cytoskeletal bundles or reticular lattice continuous to them. The fusion areas were characterized by thin filaments connecting adjacent cells and the connection of longitudinal filament bundles from the fusing cells. These results suggest the modification of cytoskeletons during myoblast fusion.

Immunohistochemical Localization of NCAM at Neuromuscular Contacts in Rat Muscle-Rat Nerve Cocultures / 대한해부학회지

Neuromuscular junction formation is one of the hot research area for understanding synapse formation, and the contact and adhesion between muscle and neurons during this procedure is regarded as one of important steps for synaptogenesis. The changes of neuronal cell adhesion molecules during nerve-muscle contats has not been revealed yet. In this study, we isolated skeletal muscle cells and ventral spinal cord neurons from Sprague-Dawley rats and observed the contact areas with a transmission electron microscpe and studied the presence of NCAM at the contact sites by immunohistochemistry. The ventral spinal cord neuronal processes contact intimately with skeletal muscle cells, some of which were submerged into the muscle surface and had synaptic vesicles. NCAM was expressed on neuronal processes, only sialylated form were associated with acetylcholine receptor aggregates. These results confirmed the significance of adhesion in neuromuscular junction formation and NCAM may participate in this process by preventing the separation of 2 cells at the contact site.

Axon Formation Follows Dendritic Differentiation in the Cultured Ventral Spinal Cord Neurons of Rat / 대한해부학회지

To understand the early cellular differentiation of neurons, we studied the differentiation of ventral spinal cord (VSC) neurons in culture. Immunofluorescence techniques with myelin associated protein 2 (MAP2) and phosphorylated neurofilament heavy chain were used with phase contrast microscopy. VSC neurons were best grown and differentiated on the coverslips coated with polyethylenimine or poly-L-Lysine. During 3 days of culture, VSC neurons changed from a round cell with no neurites to multipolar neurons with an axon and dendrites. The differentiating VSC neurons could be classified into 4 types based on the shape and length of processes. The process with axonal character, that is MAP2 negative and phosphorylated neurofilament positive, was first identified at the tip of dendritic process when one or more processes grew out. Our results suggest that the formation of an axon in VSC neurons may follow the formation of dendrites.

The Effects of Cytochalasin B and Colchicine on Fine Structure of Bile Canaliculi and Hepatocytes in Mouse Liver / 대한해부학회지

Bile canaliculi is closely related to the cytoskeleton; actin filament web, microtubules and cytokeratin intermediate filaments. To understand how cytoskeletal alteration affects bile canalicular structure, the investigators injected cytochalasin B and colchicine into mice intraperitoneally to inhibit the polymerization of actin filaments and microtubules respectively, and observed the structural changes of bile canaliculi and hepatocytes with transmission and scanning electron microscopes. Bile canaliculi were dilatated and microvilli were decreased in number and length after injection of cytochalasin B and colchicine. Some bile canaliculi branched irregularly after colchicine treatment. Actin filament web in the canalicular ectoplasm was disrupted leaving granular zone after cytochalasin B treatment, but was intact after colchicine treatment. Intermediate filament bundles located at angles to the canalicular membrane appeared after colchicine treatment. Intercellular junctions delimiting bile canaliculi were intact after colchicine treatment, however were disrupted after cytochalsin B treatment. Focal junctions resembling desmosome were formed between microvilli after colchicine treatment. In both cytochalasin B and colchicine treated groups, lumen of rough endoplasmic reticulum were dilated, Golgi apparatus became prominent, and lipid droplets were appeared in the cytoplasm. These results suggest that both intact actin filaments and microtubules are necessary to keep the structural integrity of bile canaliculi.

Morphometric Analysis of the Pedicle of Lumbar Vertebrae Based on Radiologic Images in Koreans / 체질인류학회지

The vertebral pedicle is an important structure used as an implant site for spinal instrumentation surgery. Since precise anatomical knowledge of lumbar pedicles in vivo is essential for risk - free surgery, we analyzed Korean vertebrae with radiologic imaging techniques. The authors analayzed 500 pedicles from L1 to L5 vertebrae with computerized tomograms (CT) and simple radiograms taken from patient free of vertebral abnormality. Five morphometric parameters: transverse pedicle width, transverse pedicle angle, sagittal pedicle width, sagittal pedicle angle depth to anterior cortex were measured. The transverse diameter and angle of pedicle increased gradually from L1 to L5, while the sagittal diameter and angle decreased from L1 to L5. The depth to anterior cortex from posterior elements was longer along the pedicle axis than along axis parallel to midline.

Effects of preconditioning against reperfusion injury in rat skeletal muscle / 대한해부학회지

No abstract available.

A quantitative ultrastructural study on the effects of preconditioning after ischemia and reperfusion in rat soleus muscle / 대한해부학회지

No abstract available.

A Case of VATER Syndrome with Situs Inversus Viscerum Totalis in a Newborn Korean Male Infant / 체질인류학회지

The present report describes a case of VATER syndrome with situs inversus viscerum totalis in a newborn Korean male infant who died immediately after his birth. The disposition of all the organs in thoracic and abdominal cavities formed a complete mirror picture of normal disposition. In addition, the following abnormalities were also present : 1) Unsegmented bar of the 12th thoracic vertebra fused with 11th thoracic vertebra at left side and 1st lumbar vertebra at right side, 2) Imperforated anus (Type 3 of Ladd and Grorss classification), 3) Tracheoesophageal fistula with upper esophageal atresia, 4) Patent ductus arteriosus connected to the descending aorta, 5) Atrial septal defect, septum primum type, 6) Slightly enlarged ureter, 7) Translocation of cecum with appendix beneath the liver, 8) Coiled appendix, 9) Incomplete oblique fissure of the right lung.