• Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.29-35
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• 2005

It has been suggested that dietary fat increases the risk of breast cancer by elevating serum estrogen concentrations. However, studies on a relationship between fat intake and breast cancer risk have shown contradictory results, possibly because the levels of fat intake in study populations were too high to observe differences. Also, the effect of other dietary factors may present. The present study was performed to investigate the relationship between diet and estrogen metabolism in premenopausal women whose usual fat intake is relatively low compared to their western counterparts. Twenty lacto-ovo vegetarians (LOV) and twenty omnivores participated in the study. Three day food records including a Saturday or a Sunday were used to estimate nutrient intake. Serum lipids, estradiol, sex-hormone binding globulin, and urinary estradiol were measured. Study results showed $24.8\%$ and $20.9\%$ of energy intake were provided from fat in omnivorous and LOV subjects, respectively. Serum and urinary levels of estradiol were two times higher in omnivores. Fat intake was not related to either serum estradiol nor urinary estradiol when the Spearman correlation coefficient analysis was performed. Carbohydrate, total dietary fiber and soluble dietary fiber intakes were negatively related to serum estradiol concentration. Legumes, vegetables and fruit consumption showed significantly negative relationships with both serum and urinary estradiol concentrations. These results indicate lower estrogen availability may be associated with plant food­based diets in premenopausal women whose usual diets contain less than $25\%$ of energy as fat.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.3371-3376
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• 2015

Pigmented rice bran has been suggested to be a valuable source of beneficial phytochemicals. We investigated genotoxic and anti-genotoxic effects of purple rice bran extract (PRBE) in rats using a liver micronucleus assay. Purple rice bran was extracted with methanol, obtaining large amounts of phenolic compounds, including anthocyanins and small amounts of gamma-oryzanol. The experimental protocols were divided into two sets. Male rats were divided into three groups. Group 1 was a negative control, while Groups 2 and 3 were fed with 100 and 500 mg/kg bw of PRBE, respectively, for 28 days. PRBE had no effect on micronucleus formation or xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes in rat liver. Experiments concerning the effect of PRBE on $AFB_1$ showed that PRBE significantly lessened the amount of micronucleated hepatocytes in $AFB_1$ treated rats. Furthermore, it modulated metabolic activation of $AFB_1$ metabolism in the liver by suppressing activity and protein expression of CYP1A2, CYP3A and CYP 450 reductase, and enhancing phase II enzymes including GST and UGT. Overall, purple rice bran extract was not genotoxic in rats. It exhibited anti-genotoxicity by modulation some xenobiotic enzymes active in $AFB_1$ metabolism.

• International journal of thyroidology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.143-151
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• 2018

Background and Objectives: Sirtuins (SIRTs) play important roles in cellular and organismal homeostasis. They have distinct gene expression patterns in various cancers; however, the relationship between SIRT expression and the progression of thyroid cancer is unclear. We investigated the expression of SIRTs in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and their role as biomarkers for predicting the aggressiveness of this disease. Materials and Methods: We used immunohistochemical staining to evaluate the expression of SIRT1 and SIRT3 in tumor specimens from 270 patients with PTC. We also evaluated the potential association between SIRT expression and diverse clinicopathological features. Results: High SIRT1 expression was negatively correlated with lymphovascular invasion, central lymph node metastasis, and lateral lymph node metastasis. Multivariate analyses revealed that high SIRT1 expression was a negative independent risk factor for lateral lymph node metastasis. By contrast, high SIRT3 expression was positively correlated with locoregional recurrence. Interestingly, when patients were grouped by tumor SIRT expression patterns, the group with low SIRT1 expression and high SIRT3 expression was correlated with more aggressive cancer phenotypes including central lymph node metastasis and lateral lymph node metastasis. Conclusion: Our results suggest that SIRTs play dual roles in tumor progression, and the combination of decreased SIRT1 expression and increased SIRT3 expression is significantly associated with a poor prognosis in patients with PTC.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.2571-2575
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• 2013

AKT1 is a member of the serine/threoine AGC protein kinase family involved in thyroid cancer metabolism, growth, proliferation and survival. It is overexpressed in thyroid tumors. In this study, we designed two AKT1 specific DNAzymes (DRz1 and DRz2) that target AKT1 mRNA. The results showed that DRz1 could decrease the expression of AKT1 by 58%. Furthermore, DRz1 significantly inhibited cell proliferation, induced apoptosis and inhibited invasion in SW597 cells. In addition, down-regulation of survivin expression was associated with decreased caspase-3, VEGF and MMP2 in SW597 cells after 24 h. In our study, the efficacy of DRz1 in decreasing AKT1 protein levels were better than DRz2. AKT1-DRz1 might have anti-tumorigenic activity and may provide the basis for a novel therapeutic intervention in thyroid cancer treatment.

• BMB Reports
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• v.51 no.9
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• pp.425-426
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• 2018

As highly conserved signaling cascades of multicellular organisms, Wnt and Hippo pathways control a wide range of cellular activities, including cell adhesion, fate determination, cell cycle, motility, polarity, and metabolism. Dysregulation of those pathways are implicated in many human diseases, including cancer. Similarly to ${\beta}-catenin$ in the Wnt pathway, the YAP transcription co-activator is a major player in Hippo. Although the intracellular dynamics of YAP are well-known to largely depend on phosphorylation by LATS and AMPK kinases, the molecular effector of YAP cytosolic translocation remains unidentified. Recently, we reported that the Dishevelled (DVL), a key scaffolding protein between canonical and non-canonical Wnt pathway, is responsible for nuclear export of phosphorylated YAP. The DVL is also required for YAP intracellular trafficking induced by E-cadherin, ${\alpha}-catenin$, or metabolic stress. Note that the p53/LATS2 and LKB1/AMPK tumor suppressor axes, commonly inactivated in human cancer, govern the reciprocal inhibition between DVL and YAP. Conversely, loss of the tumor suppressor allows co-activation of YAP and Wnt independent of epithelial polarity or contact inhibition in human cancer. These observations provide novel mechanistic insight into (1) a tight molecular connection merging the Wnt and Hippo pathways, and (2) the importance of tumor suppressor contexts with respect to controlled proliferation and epithelial polarity regulated by cell adhesion.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.3163-3168
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• 2013

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) plays a central role in folate metabolism. This study with 381 esophageal cancer patients and 432 healthy controls was conducted to examine the association of MTHFR C677T and A1298C polymorphisms with susceptibility to esophageal cancer (EC) in a Chinese population. Compared with the CC genotype of MTHFR C677T, subjects carrying homozygote TT and variant genotypes (CT+TT) demonstrated reduced risk of EC with adjusted ORs (95% CI) of 0.44 (0.28-0.71) and 0.57 (0.37-0.88), respectively. However, no association was found between the MTHFR A1298C polymorphism and the risk of EC. Comparing to haplotype CA, haplotypes TA and TC could reduce the susceptibility to EC with adjusted ORs (95% CI) of 0.61(0.47-0.79) and 0.06 (0.01-0.43), respectively. In conclusion, the present study suggested that the MTHFR C677T polymorphism can markedly influence the risk of EC in Chinese.

• BMB Reports
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• v.56 no.7
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• pp.404-409
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• 2023

This study investigates the relationship between cancer cachexia and the gut microbiota, focusing on the influence of cancer on microbial composition. Lewis lung cancer cell allografts were used to induce cachexia in mice, and body and muscle weight changes were monitored. Fecal samples were collected for targeted metabolomic analysis for short chain fatty acids and microbiome analysis. The cachexia group exhibited lower alpha diversity and distinct beta diversity in gut microbiota, compared to the control group. Differential abundance analysis revealed higher Bifidobacterium and Romboutsia, but lower Streptococcus abundance in the cachexia group. Additionally, lower proportions of acetate and butyrate were observed in the cachexia group. The study observed that the impact of cancer cachexia on gut microbiota and their generated metabolites was significant, indicating a host-to-gut microbiota axis.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.67-70
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• 2011

The roots of Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. were extracted with 30% aqueous ethanol (EtOH), and the concentrated extract was partitioned with n-hexane, chloroform ($CHCl_3$), ethyl acetate (EtOAc), n-butanol (n-BuOH), and $H_2O$, successively. From the $CHCl_3$ fraction, four flavonoids were isolated through the repeated silica gel ($SiO_2$), octadecyl silica gel (ODS), and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatographies (c.c.). According to the results of spectroscopic data including nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry (NMR), electron ionization mass spectrometry (EI/MS), and infrared spectroscopy (IR), the chemical structures of the compounds were determined as glabrol (1), abyssinone II (2), glabridin (3), and isoliquiritigenin (4). The flavonoids were evaluated for cytotoxic effect against human cancer cell lines, HCT-116, HepG2, HeLa, SK-OV-3, SK-BR-3, MCF-7, and SK-MEL-5. Especially, glabrol (1) and glabridin (2) showed $IC_{50}$ values of lower than $25{\mu}M$.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.456-462
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• 2009

Adlay, barley and rice bran were extracted using various concentrations of methanol(10% and 80%) and chloroform : methanol(2 : 1) to examine the biological activities of these raw grains. Extraction with 80% methanol resulted in high Vitamin C Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity(VCEAC), in the order of barley > rice bran > adlay, as determined by DPPH and ABTS assays. In addition, the extracts of adlay and rice bran showed high cellular antioxidant activity in HepG2 cells possibly due to the presence of polyphenol glycosides in these grains. We examined the expression of glucose/fatty acid metabolizing genes in differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocyte cells. Glut1 was downregulated after treatment with rice bran and no changes in the expression of Glut4 was observed. In contrast, genes involved in fatty acid metabolism, CD36 and aP2, were upregulated. Since these physiological changes were matched with peroxisome proliferator activating receptor $\gamma$(PPAR $\gamma$) agonism, we suggest that the extracts from adlay, barley and rice bran may play preventive roles against aging and diabetes via antioxidant activity and increased uptake of fatty acids by adipocytes.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.1469-1476
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• 2018

Occurrence of the Warburg effect in solid tumors causes resistance to cancer chemotherapy, and targeting energy metabolisms such as aerobic glycolysis is a potential strategy for alternative treatment. Dichloroacetate (DCA), an inhibitor of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK), shifts glucose metabolism from aerobic glycolysis to oxidative phosphorylation (OxPhos) in many cancers. In this study, we investigated the anticancer effect of DCA on a human anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) cell line, 8505C. We found that DCA selectively inhibits cell proliferation of the 8505C line but not of a normal thyroid line. In 8505C, the cell cycle was arrested at the G1/S phase with DCA treatment as a result of decreased antiapoptotic proteins such as $HIF1{\alpha}$, PDK1, and Bcl-2 and increased proapoptotic proteins such as Bax and p21. DCA treatment enhanced the production of reactive oxygen species which consequently induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Interestingly, DCA treatment not only reduced lactate production but also increased the expression of sodium-iodine symporter, indicating that it restores the OxPhos of glucose metabolism and the iodine metabolism of the ATC. Taken together, our findings suggest that PDK inhibitors such as DCA could be useful anticancer drugs for the treatment of ATC and may also be helpful in combination with chemotherapy and radiotherapy.