Publications by authors named "Hyo Jung Kwon"

Background: In rabbits, renal abscesses (pus-filled sores) are rare and diagnosis remains challenging. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to determine the clinical manifestation and diagnostic tests associated with renal abscess identification in rabbits.

Case Description: A four-and-a-half-year-old castrated male Lionhead rabbit with a history of poor appetite and abdominal distension was admitted to the animal hospital.

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  • * Researchers created liver-specific CAR knockout (KO) mice to explore CAR's role in the liver; although body weight didn't change, KO mice on a high-fat diet experienced more liver damage, inflammation, and lipid build-up compared to wild-type mice.
  • * The study identified a novel relationship between CAR and a protein called APOBEC3C, suggesting that CAR regulates lipid accumulation by affecting APOBEC3C levels
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  • Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterized by excessive fat accumulation in the liver and is often linked to unhealthy diets, particularly the overconsumption of soft drinks and Western diets.
  • The study explores the efficacy of hemp sprout-derived exosome-like nanovesicles (HSNVs) in preventing liver fibrosis and gut permeability issues associated with NAFLD by administering these nanovesicles to mice on a high-fat diet.
  • Results showed that HSNVs significantly reduced oxidative stress and fibrosis markers in liver tissues, as well as improved gut barrier function, suggesting their potential as a protective treatment against liver damage caused by poor dietary habits.
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Obesity is associated with an increased incidence of asthma. However, the mechanisms underlying this association are not fully understood. In this study, we investigated the role of thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP) in obesity-induced asthma.

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  • Green tea extract (GTE) has been shown to reduce inflammation in asthmatic mice, though the exact mechanisms are still not completely understood.
  • In a study, GTE was tested on mice with allergic asthma caused by ovalbumin (OVA) sensitization, showing decreased airway hyperresponsiveness and inflammatory cell counts compared to untreated groups.
  • The findings indicate that GTE effectively reduces key inflammatory markers and airway mucus production, suggesting its potential as a treatment for asthma.
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  • Akkermansia muciniphila is important for gut health as it aids in gut immunity, intestinal development, and barrier integrity.
  • The study focuses on a newly discovered protein, Amuc_1409, secreted by A. muciniphila, which enhances intestinal stem cell (ISC) growth and recovery in both lab models and aging male mice.
  • Amuc_1409 works by interacting with E-cadherin, activating Wnt/β-catenin signaling, and is suggested as a potential biological agent for promoting gut health.
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  • Dysregulation of liver sinusoidal endothelial cell (LSEC) function is linked to alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD), with a focus on impaired nitric oxide (NO) production.
  • The study reveals that thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP) is upregulated in ALD and is crucial for maintaining NO levels; decreased TXNIP in endothelial cells worsens liver damage and inflammation.
  • The interaction between TXNIP and the TAK1 pathway is significant; enhancing TXNIP may provide a new therapeutic strategy for treating ALD by restoring NO production and reducing liver injury.
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  • A male Korean raccoon dog was rescued with severe health issues including emaciation, dehydration, and skin problems.
  • Despite medical care, the raccoon dog died and underwent a postmortem examination, revealing unusual lesions in the lungs.
  • The findings included thickened pulmonary blood vessels with hyperplasia, leading to a diagnosis of intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia, a condition not previously reported in similar animals.
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Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) affects millions of people worldwide and is considered a significant risk factor for colorectal cancer. Recent in vivo and in vitro studies reported that ellagic acid (EA) exhibits important antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. In this study, we investigated the preventive effects of EA against dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced acute colitis, liver, and brain injury in mice through the gut-liver-brain axis.

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Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is damage to the liver and mainly caused by binge alcohol. ALD have decreased junctional protein expression and modulated intestinal permeability. We investigated whether plant-releasing exosome-like nanovesicles can prevent liver damage and leaky gut from binge alcohol.

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Plants-releasing exosome-like nanovesicles (PENs) contain miRNA, bioactive lipids, mRNAs, and proteins to exert antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and regenerative activity. Substances extracted from yams have been reported to promote osteoblast growth in bone regeneration, which prevent weak and brittle bones in osteoporosis. Herein, we describe the beneficial effects of yam-derived exosome-like nanovesicles (YNVs) on promoting differentiation and mineralization of osteoblasts for bone regeneration in ovariectomized (OVX)-induced osteoporotic mice.

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Feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a common heart disease affecting 10-15% of all cats. Cats with HCM exhibit breathing difficulties, lethargy, and heart murmur; furthermore, feline HCM can also result in sudden death. Among various methods and indices, radiography and ultrasound are the gold standards in the diagnosis of feline HCM.

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  • The study investigates the role of TXNIP (thioredoxin-interacting protein) in the transition of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) to osteochondrogenic cells, a process that contributes to calcification in atherosclerosis.
  • By using mouse models and analyzing single-cell RNA sequencing, the researchers found that TXNIP is downregulated in calcified atherosclerotic lesions, correlating with increased VSMC osteochondrogenic activity.
  • Suppressing TXNIP in cultured VSMCs promotes osteodifferentiation and influences pathways related to bone and cartilage formation, suggesting TXNIP plays a significant regulatory role in vascular calcification.
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Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is a common malignancy worldwide, with a major attribution to Helicobacter pylori. Interleukin (IL)-17A has been reported to be up-regulated in serum and tumor of GC patients, but the precise mechanisms underlying its involvement in gastric tumorigenesis are yet to be established. Here, we investigated the roles of IL-17A in the pathogenesis of H.

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  • A survey of mouse microbiological contamination was conducted over 6 years, involving 21,292 mice from 206 different facilities in Korea.
  • The most commonly detected contaminants were nonpathogenic protozoa (47.2%), with key pathogenic bacteria identified as Staphylococcus aureus, Pasteurella pneumotropica, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
  • The findings indicate that current contamination levels in mouse facilities primarily involve opportunistic pathogens, and there's a decrease in contamination by more significant pathogens categorized as B or C.
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The incidence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) increases in males aged >45 years, which indicates that androgens are associated with the development and/or progression of NAFLD, although excess dietary intake is the primary causative factor. However, it is uncertain how androgens are involved in the metabolic process of NAFLD, which is associated with the state of steatosis in hepatocytes. To investigate whether androgen receptor (AR) signaling influences NAFLD development, the state of steatosis was monitored in mouse livers and hepatocytes with or without androgens.

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Impaired macroautophagy/autophagy has been implicated in experimental and human nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). However, the mechanism underlying autophagy dysregulation in NASH is largely unknown. Here, we investigated the role and mechanism of TXNIP/VDUP1 (thioredoxin interacting protein), a key mediator of cellular stress responses, in the pathogenesis of NASH.

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Background: There are various species colonizing the stomachs of animals. Although usually cause asymptomatic infection in the hosts, clinical signs can occur due to gastritis associated with in animals. Among them, is strongly associated with chronic gastritis, gastric ulcers, and gastric cancers.

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Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is an age-related disease characterized by prostatic enlargement and is the most common urologic symptoms in elderly men 60 years of age and older. Previously, we documented that 70% ethanol (EtOH) seed extract of (QI) attenuates pathological condition of testosterone propionate (TP)-induced BPH rat model modulation of proliferation and apoptosis of prostate cells. Based on this potential of QI, we produced standardized seed extract of QI (HU-033) in order to prove further mechanisms.

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Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Lithospermi radix has been prescribed in traditional folk medicine to treat diverse diseases like cancer.

Aim Of The Study: The present study assessed the sub-chronic oral toxicity of an aqueous extract of lithospermi radix (WLR) in Fischer 344 rats over a period of 13 weeks.

Materials And Methods: The chemical compositions of WLR were analyzed using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC).

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Background: Insulin therapy, medical nutrition therapy, and physical activity are required for the treatment of type 1 diabetes (T1D). There is a lack of studies in real-life environments that characterize patient-reported data from logs, activity trackers, and medical devices (e.g.

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TXNIP is a potent tumor suppressor with reduced expression in various types of human cancer. The prognostic and predictive power of TXNIP has been recognized in human breast cancer. The aim of this study is to investigate the clinical relevance and functional roles of TXNIP downregulation in breast cancer.

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Isoimperatorin (IMP), an active natural furocoumarin, has numerous pharmacologic effects, including anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antispasmodic, and anticancer activities. This study aimed to evaluate the preventive activity of IMP in an ovalbumin (OVA)-induced murine model of asthma and to investigate its possible molecular mechanisms. Female BALB/c mice were sensitized on days 0 and 14 via intraperitoneal injection of 20μg OVA.

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Previous clinical reports have found elevated osteopontin (OPN) levels in tumor tissues to be indicative of greater malignancy in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the role of OPN on carcinogenesis and its underlying mechanism remain unclear. In the present study, we investigated the oncogenic role of OPN in diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced hepatic carcinogenesis in mice.

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meso-Dihydroguaiaretic acid (MDGA), which is a dibenzylbutane lignin isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction of Saururus chinensis, has various biological activities, including anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and neuroprotective effects. However, no report has examined the potential anti-asthmatic activity of MDGA. In this study, we evaluated the protective effects of MDGA on asthmatic responses, particularly airway inflammation and mucus hypersecretion in an ovalbumin (OVA)-induced murine model of asthma.

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