Alcohol abuse and its medical and social consequences are a major health problem in many areas of the world. Korean red ginseng (KRG) has been traditionally used for the treatment of liver disease. This study was conducted to evaluate the hepatoprotective effects of KRG against hepatotoxicity in Sprague-Dawley rats treated with ethanol (EtOH). Administration of EtOH for 20 days induced significant changes in serum biochemical parameters (aspartate aminotransferase, alanine transaminase, and glucose) accompanied by histological changes in the liver tissue. Treatment with KRG prior to administration of EtOH inhibited the EtOH-induced biochemical and histological changes of the liver. In perfused rat livers, administration of EtOH caused an increase in lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release into the perfusate and activated the pro-apoptotic Bax protein but inhibited the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein. Pretreatment with KRG prior to administration of EtOH decreased the EtOH-induced LDH release and inhibition of Bcl-2 protein. These results suggest that KRG exerts anti-apoptotic effects and alleviated EtOH-induced liver injury in rats.

This research aimed to investigate the time-course effect of epichlorohydrin (ECH) on epididymal histopathology in Sprague-Dawley rats. Twenty-four male rats were randomly assigned to four groups with 6 rats in each group and were administered a single oral dose of ECH (70 mg/kg) or its vehicle. Six animals each were sacrificed on days 0 (control), 1, 2, and 7 after treatment. During the study period, clinical signs, body weights, reproductive organ weights, testicular spermatid count, epididymal sperm count, motility and morphology, and histopathology were examined. No treatment-related effects on body weights and reproductive organ weights were noted at any time point. On the contrary, sperm motility decreased slightly on days 1 and 2 after treatment and then decreased significantly on day 7 after treatment. The first signs of histological changes were the appearance of cell debris in the ducts and vacuolization of the epithelial cells observed in the proximal caput epididymis on day 1 after treatment. The incidences and grades of the histological changes including cell debris in the ducts, epithelial vacuolization, oligospermia, and epithelial disruption increased on day 2 and then decreased slightly on day 7 after treatment. These results show that a single oral dose of 70 mg/kg ECH to male rats results in cell debris in the ducts and vacuolization of the epithelial cells in the proximal caput epididymis, followed by reversible oligospermia, epithelial disruption, and decreased sperm motility.

The study was designated to investigate the electron microscopic findings following diethylnitrosamine (DEN) treatment in rats. Forty four male (Srague Dawley) rats were continuously given water containing 0.01% DEN for 13 weeks and livers of five rats with more tumor lesions at 16 and 17 weeks after initial treatment were used as EM materials. In transmission electron microscopic findings, most small-sized hepatocytes were active cells containing large mount of organelles, but light (pale staining) hepatocyte among small-sized hepatocytes were injured cells containg disorganized organelles. Tumor cells among small-sized hepatocytes were irregularly arranged and have ;leomorphic nuclei containing electron dense chromatin but the organelles in cytoplasm were swelled. Large-sized hepatocytes were active cells with condensed chromatin but the cytoplasm of these cells were pale due to be injured and dilated organelles. Dark hepatocytes were apoptotic cells with homogenous pyknotic nuclei and cytoplasm, and the cytoplasm of these cells contained dilated smooth endoplasmic reticulum (sER) but these sER were non-vesiculated. Cholangiocarninoma cells were crowed and were pale by far less number of organelles in cytoplasm and nuclei. In scanning electron microscopic findings, the lumens of portal veins, bile canaliculi, bile ductules, bile ducts and sinusoids were dilated and have irregular folded inner surface by protruded parenchyma.

The morphometrical characteristics such as external measurements and mandible size assessment in mice and rats have to be highly heritable and sufficiently variable between strains in order to calculate a strain specific profiles. The coat color of Korean wild rats were observed and morphometric analysis of external measurements were carried out on Korean wild rats compared to laboratory strains in order to clarify the genetic characteristics of Korean wild rats and to establish background data as a domestication of Korean wild rats for new laboratory strain. Korean wild rats were captured from Chunchon and Hoengsong. 4 inbred and 1 outbred strains of rats were used in this study for the comparison of genetic characteristics of Korean wild rats. Total body length, head length, tail length, hind foot length and ear length were measured and then statistical analysis were carried out by discrimiant analysis. The coat color of Korean wild rat showed golden white in ventral portion and dark agouti in dorsal portion. Korean wild rats could be distinguished from the other laboratory strains distinctly by morphogenetical analysis. There was sighificant variations among Korean wild rat compared to those of the other laboratory strains of rat. This study may provide that Korean wild rats have a unique genetic characterization compared to those other inbred strains of rats based on morphogenetical characteristics by external measurements.

The alkaline single-cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) assay, called the comet assay, has been applied to detect DNA damage induced by a number of chemicals and biological factors in vivo and in vitro. The DNA damage was analysed by tail moment (TM) and tail length (TL), which were markers of DNA strand breaks in SCGE. Human, mouse and rat peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) were irradiated with different doses of ∨60Co γ-rays, e.g. 1, 2, 4, and 8 Gy at a dose rate of 1 Gy/min. A dose-dependent increase in TM (p less than 0.01) and TL (p less than 0.01) was obtained at all the radiation doses (1-8 Gy) in human, mouse and rat PBLs.

This study was carried out to investigate the efficacy of rifampin with or without streptomycin in male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats experimentally inoculated with Brucella abortus. Thirty rats were intraperitoneally inoculated with 1.0×10∨9 colony-forming units of B. abortus. They were divided into 3 groups by treatment with antibiotic. 10 rats in Group A were orally administrated with rifampin, 10 rats in Group B with rifampin orally and with streptomycin intramuscularly over 12 weeks starting at 1 week post infection (PI).

The vasorelaxant effect of serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine was investigated in rat isolated thoracic aorta. Fluoxetine induced a concentration-dependent relaxation in aorta precontracted with phenylephrine (PE) and KCl. These relaxations were suppressed by removal of the endothelium (-E) or pretreatment of nitric oxide synthase inhibitors, N(G)-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA) and N(omega)-nitro-Larginine methyl ester (L-NAME), guanylate cyclase inhibitors, methylene blue (MB) and 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo [4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ), and Ca²+ channel blockers, nifedipine and verapamil, in PE-precontracted +E rings.