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Hwaseon Lim

Sungkyunkwan University

About the Lab

Professor Hwaseon Lim's research lab focuses on the impact of environmental chemicals and metabolic stressors on human health, particularly in the context of metabolic disorders, reproductive toxicity, and developmental toxicity. The lab investigates metabolism-disrupting chemicals (MDCs), fungicides like tolylfluanid and flutriafol, and saturated fatty acids such as palmitic acid, examining their effects on cellular function, inflammation, and disease progression. A key focus is on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), placental development, and neuroinflammation using in vitro and zebrafish models. The lab also explores the therapeutic potential of marine algae, such as *Agarum clathratum*, in mitigating inflammatory and oxidative stress.

metabolism-disrupting chemicalsplacental toxicityinflammatory cytokinestrophic cell dysfunctionmarine algae

Research Overview

Papers
11
Total Citations
29
Papers (5y)
11
Primary Field

Research Output Trend

Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.

Publications per year (5y)
11total
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
Citations per year (5y)
29total
20222023202420252026

Selected Papers

11
1
Article|15 citations·2025
Overview of the hazardous impacts of metabolism-disrupting chemicals on the progression of fatty liver diseases
Garam An, Jisoo Song, Wei Ying, 임화선

Background Given the global increase in obesity, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is a major health concern. Because the liver is the primary organ for xenobiotic metabolism, the impact of environmental stressors on liver homeostasis and MASLD has garnered significant interest over the past few decades. The concept of metabolism-disrupting chemicals (MDCs) has been introduced to underscore the importance of environmental factors in metabolic homeostasis. Recent ep

2
Article|13 citations·2024
Tolylfluanid induces developmental toxicity via liver dysfunction in zebrafish embryos
홍태연, 박하현, Gwonhwa Song, 임화선

Background Tolylfluanid is a phenylsulfamide fungicide used to mitigate enormous losses in agriculture and coastal industries. Previous studies have reported that exposure to tolylfluanid causes metabolic dysfunction, such as fat accumulation. Additionally, exposure to tolylfluanid used to be detected in strawberries at levels exceeding the maximum residue limit. However, no studies on early developmental toxicity in zebrafish models have been reported. Objectives This study aimed to investiga

3
Article|1 citations·2025
Flutriafol disrupts trophoblast function: mitochondrial dysfunction mediated cell cycle arrest and apoptosis
김미지, 임화선, Gwonhwa Song, 박선우

Background Flutriafol, a triazole fungicide, is highly stable in the environment but can be harmful due to exposure to non-target species through different pathways. Objectives This study aims to investigate the effect of flutriafol on human trophoblast cells (HTR-8/SVneo) and human choriocarcinoma cells (JEG-3). Results Flutriafol reduced the survival rate of both cells in a concentration-dependent manner (0–100 μg/mL) and significantly inhibited their migration ability at 30 μg/mL. Flutria

4
Article|0 citations·2026
A brief guide to isolating primary hepatocytes from mice
임화선, Jisoo Song, Garam An, Wei Ying

The isolation of primary hepatocytes, which are liver parenchymal cells, is a valuable tool in biomedical research for exploring liver physiology and disease mechanisms. However, obtaining hepatocytes with high viability can be challenging owing to the technical complexity of the procedure and fragility of the cells. Here, we present an optimized protocol, along with key considerations, for isolating hepatocytes from mice with high yield and viability, thereby contributing to liver–related biome

5
Article|0 citations·2022
Palmitic acid induces inflammatory cytokines and regulates tRNA-derived stress-induced RNAs in human trophoblasts
양창원, 안가람, 송지수, 송권화, 임화선
https://www.e-jarb.org/journal/view.html?uid=2634&vmd=Full

High levels of proinflammatory cytokines have been observed in obese pregnancies. Obesity during pregnancy may increase the risk of various pregnancyrelated complications, with pathogenesis resulting from excessive inflammation. Palmitic acid (PA) is a saturated fatty acid that circulates in high levels in obese women. In our previous study, we found that PA inhibited the proliferation of trophoblasts developing into the placenta, induced apoptosis, and regulated the number of cleaved halves der

6
Article|0 citations·2022
Mecoprop-p interrupts the development of zebrafish via apoptosis and vascular damage
박준호, 안가람, 박하현, 홍태연, 송권화, 임화선
https://www.e-jarb.org/journal/view.html?uid=2626&vmd=Full

Mecoprop-p, a chlorophenoxy herbicide, has been widely used since the 1980s. Due to its high water solubility, it could be detected in the aquatic environment, as it has already been detected in the surface water or groundwater in several countries. The toxicity of other chlorophenoxy herbicides has been reported; however, there are few studies on the toxicity of mecoprop-p, one of the chlorophenoxy herbicides, on aquatic organisms. Here, we investigated the toxic effects of mecoprop-p using zeb

7
Article|0 citations·2022
Norflurazon causes developmental defects including cardiovascular abnormalities in earlystage zebrafish (Danio rerio )
안가람, 박하현, 홍태연, 송권화, 임화선
https://www.e-jarb.org/journal/view.html?uid=2628&vmd=Full

Norflurazon is widely used on agricultural lands and has a high potential to pollute water sources. However, its effects on fish have not been fully elucidated. The purpose of our study was to determine whether norflurazon adversely affects the developmental stage of zebrafish, which are frequently used as a model system to evaluate the environmental impact of pollutants. Norflurazon interfered with the hatching of zebrafish embryos and induced several sublethal deformities including body length

8
Article|0 citations·2023
Effects of Agarum clathratum extract on cell death and calcium ion levels of ovarian cancer cell
Kim Lihyun, 홍태연, 함지연, 임화선

Background In recent years, marine algae are receiving attention due to their health benefi ts such as anti-oxidative, antibacterial, anti-infl ammatory, and anti-cancer eff ects. Agarum clathratum is also known as sieve kelp. As a type of brown algae, it grows on rocks across northwest Pacifi c to the northwest Atlantic Ocean. A few studies have reported that Agarum clathratum possesses anti-infl ammatory and neuroprotective properties . However, unlike other marine algae such as Laminaria japo

9
Article|0 citations·2025
Female reproductive disease, endometriosis: From inflammation to infertility
Wonhyoung Park, 임화선, 김미지, 장혜원, Soo Jin Park, 송권화, Sunwoo Park

Despite the fact that endometriosis is a common gynecological disease that occurs in 10% of women of reproductive age, the pathogenesis and treatment strategy are not clear to date. Endometriosis patients are commonly characterized by adhesions in the pelvis or ovaries, which leads to prolonged inflammation in the abdominal cavity. To handle the chronic inflammation, changes of immune cells, including T cells, NK cells, and macrophage, are accompanied. Therefore, diverse cytokines and adhesions

10
Article|0 citations·2025
페룰산 및 감마-오리자놀 강화 발효미강추출물의 개발 및 항산화 활성
김성훈, 김윤현, 김승태, 박세진, 김정임, 이원종, 임화선

The aim of this study was to produce a fermented rice bran extract with enhanced ferulic acid γ-oryzanol contents and high antioxidant activities. The ferulic acid content in the freeze-dried extract of rice bran treated with plantase PT enzyme, increased by 4.1-fold compared to that of untreated sample, the DPPH radical scavenging activity also increased by 1.5-fold and 1.2-fold, respectively. The γ-oryzanol content of the dried powder prepared by inoculating Apergillus oryzae BOT1869 onto stea

11
Article|0 citations·2025
감마-오리자놀 고함유 미강추출물 및 쌀국수의 개발
김윤현, 김승태, 박세진, 김정임, 김성훈, 임화선

감마-오리자놀(γ-oryzanol)은 phytochemical의 한 종류로 항산화, 항염증, 항암, 항당뇨, 콜레스테롤 감소 등의 효능이 알려져 있다. 본 연구에서는 현미를 백미로 도정할 때 부산물로 발생하는 미강으로부터 생리활성물질 중의 하나인 γ-oryzanol 함량이 높은 추출조건에서의 분말을 제조하고, 이를 쌀국수에 첨가하여 항산화성이 개선된 국수를 제조하고자 하였다. 미강을 에탄올 농도 0, 20, 40, 80%의 에탄올로 추출한 결과 80% 에탄올로 추출한 추출분말에서 γ-oryzanol 함량이 가장 높았으며, DPPH 소거능과 ABTS 소거능이 가장 높았다. 미강추출분말의 γ-oryzanol의 함량을 높이기 위하여 Saccharomyces cerevisiae로 미강을 고상발효시킨 후 80% 에탄올로 추출하여 동결건조시킨 분말의 γ-oryzanol의 함량은 발효시키지 않은 미강을 추출분말보다 약 2.18배 증가하였으며, DPPH 소거능 및 ABTS 소거능, 단백질분해효능이

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