Publications by authors named "Seung Jun Kwack"

Di--butyl phthalate (DBP) is a phthalate-based material used as a plasticizer to soften polyvinyl chloride, and classified as an endocrine disruptor with antiandrogen effects. Exposure to DBP induces oxidative stress in rat testes, resulting in testicular toxicity. Black ginseng (BG) exhibits a higher antioxidant activity than white or red ginseng following repeated heat treatment and processing.

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Article Synopsis
  • Body odor can indicate various diseases, but this study specifically aimed to identify odor biomarkers linked to chemical-induced liver damage in rats.
  • Researchers treated Sprague Dawley rats with different doses of 1,2,3-trichloropropane (TCP) and tracked changes in urine odors using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).
  • They discovered significant increases in several odors, particularly acrolein, which correlated with liver toxicity indicators and expressions of related metabolic enzymes, suggesting acrolein could serve as a new diagnostic marker for liver damage from TCP exposure.
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Cocamidopropyl betaine (CAPB) is a surfactant derived from coconut oil that is widely used in cosmetics and personal products for several purposes, such as a surfactant, foam booster, mildness, and viscosity control. Cocamidopropyl betaine is used at concentrations up to 30% in cosmetics. The acute toxicity, skin irritation, eye irritation, skin sensitization, repeated dose toxicity, genotoxicity, carcinogenicity, and phototoxicity of cocamidopropyl betaine were evaluated.

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Dodecamethylcyclohexasiloxane (D6) is a siloxane substance mainly used in cosmetics and personal care products. While octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4) and decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5) were once commonly used in personal care products, their usage has been restricted due to the classification as persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT)/very persistent and very bio-accumulative (vPvB) substances. While D6 has emerged as a substitute for D4 and D5, the risk assessment for D6 remains limited compared to the evaluations for D4 and D5.

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Benzophenone-3 (BP-3, 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone, oxybenzone) is one of the most widely used types of benzophenone organic sunscreen. However, this compound is a potentially harmful toxicant. The aim of this study was 2-fold to: (1) utilize a Hershberger bioassay in castrated male Sprague-Dawley rats to investigate the anti-androgenic activities of BP-3, and (2) use a methyl tetrazolium assay to compare the toxicity between Leydig cells (TM3 cells) and mouse fibroblast (NIH-3T3) cell lines.

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Cigarette smoking is a major cause of lung cancer. Although tobacco smoking-induced genotoxicity has been well established, there is apparent lack of abundance functional epigenetic effects reported On cigarette smoke-induced lung carcinogenesis. The aim of this study was to determine effects of intratracheal administration of 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) utilizing target gene expression DNA methylation patterns in lung tissues of mice following twice weekly for 8 weeks treatment.

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The aim of this study was to investigate changes in the intracellular metabolism resulting from cisplatin (CDDP)-induced nephrotoxicity in normal kidney tubular epithelial NRK-52E cells. Cytotoxicity, cell cycle analysis, and apoptotic cell death were all evaluated in NRK-52E cells treated with CDDP. Subsequently, proton nuclear magnetic resonance (H-NMR) spectroscopy was used to investigate cellular metabolic profiles.

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Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease, of which incidence is closely related to exposure to environmental pollutants and allergens. Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) plays an important role in the early stages of atopic dermatitis development by inducing Th2 immune responses. In addition, TSLP regulates activation of group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2), promoting the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis.

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Triclosan (TCS) is an antibacterial and antifungal agent used in many consumer products and exhibits a chemical structure similar to non-steroidal estrogen, which is known to induce endocrine disruption. Triclosan has been found in human plasma, urine, and breast milk, and the safety of TCS-containing products has been disputed. Although studies attempted to determine the estrogenic activity of TCS, no clear results have emerged.

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Risk assessment of cosmetic ingredients is a useful scientific method to characterize potential adverse effects resulting from using cosmetics. The process of risk assessment consists of four steps: hazard identification, dose-response assessment, exposure assessment, and risk characterization. Hazard identification of chemicals refers to the initial stage of risk assessment and generally utilizes animal studies to evaluate toxicity.

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Due to high consumption of cosmetics in modern society, people are always exposed to the risk of skin damage and complications. -phenylenediamine (P-PD), an ingredient of hair dye, has been reported to cause allergic contact dermatitis. However, the mechanism has not been well elucidated.

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Unlabelled: Di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) is frequently used as a plasticizer for wrapping films, in toys, and in medical devices. Previous studies demonstrated that DEHP in mouse reduced testicular and epididymis weights, suppressed levels of serum testosterone, luteinizing hormone, and follicle-stimulating hormone, and decreased synthesis of testosterone by Leydig cells. Due to these anti-androgenic effects of DEHP on the reproductive system, the aim of this study was to examine whether substitutes such as acetyl triethyl citrate (ATEC) and acetyl tributyl citrate (ATBC) also damaged the reproductive system.

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Sirtuin (SIRT) is known to prevent nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD); however, the role of SIRT4 in the progression of hepatic fibrosis remains unknown. We hypothesize that EX-527, a selective SIRT1 inhibitor, can inhibit the progression of high-fat diet (HFD)-induced hepatic fibrosis. We found that SIRT4 expression in the liver of NAFLD patients is significantly lower than that in normal subjects.

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Triclosan (TCS) is an antimicrobial compound used in consumer products. The purpose of current study was to examine toxicology and risk assessment of TCS based on available data. Acute toxicities of oral, transdermal and inhalation routes were low, and phototoxicity and neurotoxicity were not observed.

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Ethylhexyl dimethyl para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) is an oily yellow liquid derivative of water-soluble PABA commonly used in sunscreen. Ethylhexyl dimethyl PABA is widely used as an ingredient in many cosmetics at an average concentration of 1.25% (0.

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As the use of cosmetics has greatly increased in a daily life, safety issues with cosmetic ingredients have drawn an attention. Drometrizole [2-(2'-hydroxy-5'-methylphenyl)benzotriazole] is categorized as a sunscreen ingredient and is used in cosmetics and non-cosmetics as a UV light absorber. No significant toxicity has been observed in acute oral, inhalation, or dermal toxicity studies.

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The mixture of 5-chloro-2-methylisothiazol-3(2H)-one (CMIT) and 2-methylisothiazol-3(2H)-one (MIT), CMIT/MIT, is a preservative in cosmetics. CMIT/MIT is a highly effective preservative; however, it is also a commonly known skin sensitizer. Therefore, in the present study, a risk assessment for safety management of CMIT/MIT was conducted on products containing 0.

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Risk assessment and hormone evaluation were carried out for di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and dibutyl phthalate (DBP), endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), in 302 Korean children (n = 223) and adolescents (n = 79) (< age 19). Urinary and serum concentrations of DEHP, MEHP (mono(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate), DBP, MBP (monobutyl phthalate), and PA (phthalic acid, a common final metabolite of phthalates) were detected in children and adolescents. Daily exposure levels were estimated to be 16.

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N-nitrosamines and their precursors found in cosmetics may be carcinogenic in humans. Thus the aim of this study was to carry out risk assessment for N-nitrosamines (N-nitrosodiethanolamine [NDELA], N-nitrosodiethylamine [NDEA]) and amines (triethanolamine [TEA], diethanolamine [DEA]) levels in cosmetics determined using validated liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) procedures. NDELA and NDEA concentrations were present at levels of "not detected" (N.

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The heavy metal content of cosmetics may be a cause for concern in that exposure to these metals is associated with adverse consequences. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess consequences attributed to exposure to heavy metals in cosmetics as determined by non-cancer, cancer, and sensitization risks methodologies. The quantification and exposure assessments of aluminum (Al), chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), antimony (Sb), and titanium (Ti) were performed by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry.

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Triclosan (TCS), a common antimicrobial ingredient, is present in many consumer products, including soaps, shampoos, and toothpaste. Owing to its widespread use, potential adverse effects on animals and humans may arise from lifetime exposure, but data on chronic prepubertal exposure of TCS are still lacking. The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of subchronic TCS exposure (0.

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The objective of this study was to elucidate the effect of hepatic damage on cisplatin (CDDP)-induced acute kidney injury (AKI). Thioacetamide (TAA, 150 mg/kg), a hepatotoxicant, was intraperitoneally (i.p.

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Acute kidney injury (AKI) is associated with increased mortality rate in patients but clinically available biomarkers for disease detection are currently not available. Recently, a new biomarker, selenium-binding protein 1 (SBP1), was identified for detection of nephrotoxicity using proteomic analysis. The aim of this study was to assess the sensitivity of urinary SBP1 levels as an early detection of AKI using animal models such as cisplatin or ischemia/reperfusion (I/R).

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Zinc pyrithione (ZP) is commonly used to prevent dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis. Many consumers are exposed daily to high doses of ZP, causing serious concerns about its toxicity. The reproductive and developmental toxicities were previously reported in pregnant rats.

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Identifying novel biomarkers to detect nephrotoxicity is clinically important. Here, we attempted to identify new biomarkers for mercury-induced nephrotoxicity and compared their sensitivity to that of traditional biomarkers in animal models. Comparative proteomics analysis was performed in kidney tissues of Sprague-Dawley rats after oral treatment with HgCl (0.

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