To determine whether IL-4 is therapeutic in treating established experimental arthritis, a recombinant adenovirus carrying the gene that encodes murine IL-4 (Ad-mIL-4) was used for periarticular injection into the ankle joints into mice with established collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). Periarticular injection of Ad-mIL-4 resulted in a reduction in the severity of arthritis and joint swelling compared with saline- and adenoviral control groups. Local expression of IL-4 also reduced macroscopic signs of joint inflammation and bone erosion. Moreover, injection of Ad-mIL-4 into the hind ankle joints resulted in a decrease in disease severity in the untreated front paws. Systemic delivery of murine IL-4 by intravenous injection of Ad-mIL-4 resulted in a significant reduction in the severity of early-stage arthritis.
The pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is a promising source of functional food, which contains several phytochemicals that perform important roles in reducing the risk of pathological diseases. Chemical compositions, such as the total sugar, uronic acid, polyphenols, and anthocyanin contents, and radical scavenging activity were determined and compared among PEs from six different cultivation areas. Total anthocyanin contents (TAC) and total polyphenol contents (TPC) from various growing areas were detected in the following order, respectively: Spain (19.08 ㎍/mL)＞ Turkey (12.91 ㎍/mL)＞ Iran-A (6.67 ㎍/mL)＞ Taiwan (4.77 ㎍/mL)＞ Uzbekistan (1.88 ㎍/mL)＞ Iran-B (0.76 ㎍/mL) and Turkey (639.52 ㎍/mL)＞ Uzbekistan (502.19 ㎍/mL)＞ Spain (306.40 ㎍/mL)＞ Iran-B (249.20 ㎍/mL)＞ Taiwan (162.78 ㎍/mL)＞ Iran-A (143.93 ㎍/mL). PEs from six different cultivation areas were determined to vary in ellagic acid content from 8.90 ㎍/mL to 332.52 ㎍/mL. The amounts of total sugars in PE from Iran-A evidenced relatively high total sugar contents, but low uronic acid levels (11.92 ㎎/mL). DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging activities were as follows: Turkey＞ Uzbekistan ≫ Spain＞ Iran-B＞ Iran-A＞ Taiwan. ABTS [2,20-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)] radical scavenging activities were detected in the following order: Turkey≥ Uzbekistan≫ Spain＞ Iran-B＞ Iran-A＞ Taiwan. These results indicate that the PEs from Turkey with higher levels of TPC, TAC, ellagic acid, and higher radical scavenging activity may constitute a promising functional source for the prevention of several degenerative diseases.
To study the genetic variation of the HIV-1 strains prevalent in South Korea, we analyzed the nef sequences derived from 46 HIV-1-positive individuals living in various geographic regions in Korea. Phylogenetic analysis revealed four subtypes of HIV-1: A (3 patients), B (41 patients), D (1 patient), and a type that could not be clearly classified to any known subtype (1 patient). Thirty-five of the 41 Korean subtype B isolates formed a distinct monophyletic clade that is not related to any of the international sequences from the Los Alamos Database or GenBank as of June 1997. Indeed, the presence of unique conserved sequences was identified among the Korean isolates in this Korean subtype B group. The variations in the nucleotide sequences of a majority (32 of 35) subtype B samples within the Korean clade were 1.9% to 8.8%, and amino acid sequences varied from 3.9% to 15.5%. These results suggest that HIV-1 strains currently present in South Korea might have originated from a few sources or might be developing through a certain selective pressure. This is the first report on the molecular nature of the HIV-1 infection present in South Korea.This study examines the genetic variation of the HIV-1 strains prevalent in South Korea. It analyzes the nef sequences derived from 46 HIV-1 positive individuals living in various geographic regions of Korea. Phylogenetic analysis revealed four subtypes of HIV-1: A (3 patients), B (41 patients), D (1 patient), and a type that could not be clearly classified as any known subtype (1 patient). About 35 of the 41 Korean subtype B isolates formed a distinct monophyletic clade that is not related to any of the international sequences from the Los Alamos Database or GenBank as of June 1997. Indeed, the presence of unique conserved sequences was identified among the Korean isolates in this Korean subtype B group. The variations in the nucleotide sequences of a majority (32 of 35) of the subtype B isolates within the Korean clade were 3.9% to 15.5%. These results suggest that HIV-1 strains present in South Korea might have originated from a few sources or might be developing through a certain selective pressure.
'%3e%3cg id='b'%3e%3cpath id='a' stroke='%23000' stroke-width='2' d='M-6-25H6m-12 3H6m-12 3H6'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' y='44'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3cpath stroke='%23fff' d='M0 17v10'/%3e%3ccircle r='12' fill='%23cd2e3a'/%3e%3cpath fill='%230047a0' d='M0-12A6 6 0 0 0 0 0a6 6 0 0 1 0 12 12 12 0 0 1 0-24z'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3cg transform='rotate(-123.69)'%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23b'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23fff' d='M0-23.5v3M0 17v3.5m0 3v3'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/svg%3e)
