Transgenic Expression of MsHsp23 Confers Enhanced Tolerance to Abiotic Stresses in Tall Fescue.

Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) is an important cool season forage plant that is not well suited to extreme heat, salts, or heavy metals. To develop transgenic tall fescue plants with enhanced tolerance to abiotic stress, we introduced an alfalfa Hsp23 gene expression vector construct through Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Integration and expression of the transgene were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction, northern blot, and western blot analyses. Under normal growth conditions, there was no significant difference in the growth of the transgenic plants and the non-transgenic controls. However, when exposed to various stresses such as salt or arsenic, transgenic plants showed a significantly lower accumulation of hydrogen peroxide and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances than control plants. The reduced accumulation of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances indicates that the transgenic plants possessed a more efficient reactive oxygen species-scavenging system. We speculate that the high levels of MsHsp23 proteins in the transgenic plants protect leaves from oxidative damage through chaperon and antioxidant activities. These results suggest that MsHsp23 confers abiotic stress tolerance in transgenic tall fescue and may be useful in developing stress tolerance in other crops.

A Case of Acroangiodermatitis with Multiple Noduloulcerative Lesions on Both Lower Legs / 대한피부과학회지

Acroangiodermatitis is a rare, self-limiting, angioproliferative disorder associated with congenital vascular malformations or acquired venous insufficiency. The clinical features of acroangiodermatitis are notably similar to those of Kaposi sarcoma, making it difficult to differentiate between the two diseases. A 57-year-old male patient presented with multiple violaceous to black, crusted, indurated plaques with ill-defined margins on both swollen lower legs. A venous Doppler study of the bilateral lower limbs was unremarkable. A histopathological examination showed a hyperplastic epidermis, a prominent proliferation of small dilated vessels lined by plump endothelial cells in the dermis, hemosiderin deposits, and lymphocytic infiltrate around vessels. Immunohistochemical analysis showed CD31＋ and podoplanin＋ staining in endothelial cells.

A Case of Acroangiodermatitis with Multiple Noduloulcerative Lesions on Both Lower Legs / 대한피부과학회지

Acroangiodermatitis is a rare, self-limiting, angioproliferative disorder associated with congenital vascular malformations or acquired venous insufficiency. The clinical features of acroangiodermatitis are notably similar to those of Kaposi sarcoma, making it difficult to differentiate between the two diseases. A 57-year-old male patient presented with multiple violaceous to black, crusted, indurated plaques with ill-defined margins on both swollen lower legs. A venous Doppler study of the bilateral lower limbs was unremarkable. A histopathological examination showed a hyperplastic epidermis, a prominent proliferation of small dilated vessels lined by plump endothelial cells in the dermis, hemosiderin deposits, and lymphocytic infiltrate around vessels. Immunohistochemical analysis showed CD31＋ and podoplanin＋ staining in endothelial cells.

The polysaccharide fraction AIP1 from Artemisia iwayomogi suppresses apoptotic death of the mouse spleen cells in culture.

A polysaccharide fraction, AIP1, purified from Artemisia iwayomogi was shown to have immunomodulating and anti-tumor activities in mice. In order to determine how the AIP1 fraction exhibits the immunomodulating activity, the effect of the fraction on the apoptosis of mouse spleen cells was investigated. Treatment of the mouse spleen cells with the AIP1 fraction resulted in the suppression of apoptotic death and an extension of cell survival in culture, indicating that the fraction might modulate the death of spleen cells. Treatment of the mice with the AIP1 fraction in vivo also resulted in less apoptosis of the spleen cells, which indicates the physiological relevance of the anti-apoptosis effect of the fraction in vitro. A mouse gene array was used to determine the profile of the gene expression change showing a pattern of up- and down-regulated genes by the AIP1 treatment. This study provides preliminary information regarding the immunomodulatory mechanism of the AIP1 fraction.

Survey of Awareness, Knowledge, Treatment and Behavior of Scalp and Hair Loss Disorders in Adults / 대한피부과학회지

BACKGROUND: Recently, the number of patients with scalp or hair loss disorder has rapidly been increasing and patient concerns are growing accordingly. With the flood of inadequate information available, many patients depend on treatments of which efficacy has not been proven. OBJECTIVE: To collect data on the awareness, knowledge, and behavior of scalp and hair loss disorders in Korean adults. METHODS: Between June 2015 and May 2016, a total of 1000 dermatologic outpatients, who visited St. Paul's Hospital and the Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong were asked to complete a questionnaire. RESULTS: Fifty-three percent of survey responders reported scalp-related symptoms and 44% of all responders indicated that they had alopecia. Most responders (90%) agreed that scalp and hair loss disorders should be treated, and more than 80% thought they should be treated by a dermatologist; although, they hesitated to visit dermatology clinics because of skepticism of treatment effectiveness or economic burden. It was observed that the patients rely heavily on scalp-related products such as shampoo, conditioners, and hair tonic, trusting their effects, which have not been verified to be effective. CONCLUSION: Although patients who have hair loss or scalp diseases need to be treated appropriately by confirmed diagnosis of dermatologists, they often depend on non-professional methods rather than visiting dermatologists. Therefore, dermatologists should concentrate their efforts on correcting the misunderstandings about scalp and hair loss disorders to reduce unnecessary social economic burden.

AIP1, a water-soluble fraction from Artemisia iwayomogi, suppresses thymocyte apoptosis in vitro and down-regulates the expression of Fas gene.

The AIP1 fraction, a small water-soluble fraction purified from Artemisia iwayomogi, was shown to increase antibody production and suppress transplanted tumor cell growth in mice. In order to understand its immuno-modulating activity, we have examined the effect of the AIP1 on mouse thymocytes in vitro. Treatment of mouse thymocytes in culture with the fraction resulted in the suppression of the cell death and the extension of the cell survival. A mouse gene array provided a profile of gene expression change showing the pattern of up- and down-regulated genes by the AIP1 treatment, suggesting that the Fas/FasL-dependent apoptosis pathway might be modulated by the fraction.

A carbohydrate fraction, AIP1, from Artemisia iwayomogi down-regulates Fas gene expression and suppresses apoptotic death of the thymocytes induced by 2,3,7,8-tectrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin.

Apoptotic death of mouse thymocytes in vitro, as induced by 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), involves the up-regulation of Fas gene expression, while a carbohydrate fraction, AIP1, from Artemisia iwayomogi suppresses the death of thymocytes in culture along with the down-regulation of Fas gene expression. We have now investigated whether the AIP1 fraction modulates TCDD-induced thymocyte death. When treated with TCDD and AIP1 fraction together, the thymocytes do not show apoptosis induced by the TCDD treatment. The AIP1 supplementation to the TCDD treatment also down-regulates the TCDD-induced Fas gene up-regulation. These findings indicate that the AIP1 fraction suppresses TCDD-induced thymocyte apoptosis through the modulation of Fas gene expression.

An oligosaccharide fraction from Korean mugwort herb suppresses death of the mouse thymocytes in culture by down-regulating the Fas death receptor gene.

Korean mugwort herb is a preparation of dried leaves from Artemisia species and has been used as a traditional medicine in Asia. An oligosaccharide fraction, AVF3, purified from the preparation promoted survival of the mouse thymocytes in culture. A mouse gene array study suggests that the AVF3 may modulate Fas/FasL dependent apoptotic cell death and thus has influence on the survival of the thymocytes in culture. RT-PCR analysis confirmed the down-regulation of the Fas gene by the AVF3 treatment, supporting that the AVF3 modulated thymocyte death by suppressing the Fas gene expression.

Clinical and statistical observation for very low birth weight infants

No abstract available.