• Hanyang Medical Reviews
• /
• v.33 no.1
• /
• pp.59-64
• /
• 2013

Cancer remains the leading cause of death worldwide despite intense efforts in developing innovative treatments. Current approaches in cancer therapy are mainly directed to a selective targeting of cancer cells to avoid potential side effects associated with conventional therapy. In this respect, Natural killer (NK) cells have gained growing attention and are now being considered as promising therapeutic tools for cancer therapy owing to their intrinsic ability to rapidly recognize and kill cancer cells, while sparing normal healthy cells. NK cells play a key role in the first line of defense against transformed and virus-infected cells. NK cells sense their target through a whole array of receptors, both activating and inhibitory. Functional outcome of NK cell against target cells is determined by the balance of signals transmitted from diverse activating and inhibiting receptors. Despite significant progress made in the role of NK cells attack as a pivotal sentinel in tumor surveillance, the molecular has been that regulate NK cell responses remain unclear, which restricts the use of NK cells as a therapeutic measure. Accordingly, current efforts for NK cell-based cancer therapy have largely relied on the strategies that are based on the manipulation of inhibitory receptor function. However, if we better understand the mechanisms governing NK cell activation, including those mediated by diverse activating receptors, this knowledge can be applied to the development of optimal design for cancer immunotherapy by targeting NK cells.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
• /
• v.32 no.6
• /
• pp.418-424
• /
• 2023

Natural killer (NK) cells play a crucial role in combating infections and tumors. However, their therapeutic application in solid tumors is hindered by challenges, such as limited lifespan, tumor penetration, and delivery precision. Our research introduces a novel ultrasonic actuation technique to navigate NK cells more effectively in the vascular system, particularly at vessel bifurcations where targeted delivery is most problematic. We use a hemispherical ultrasonic transducer array that generates phase-modulated traveling waves, focusing on an ultrasound beam to steer NK cells using blood-flow dynamics and a focused acoustic field. This method enables the precise obstruction of non-target vessels and efficiently directs NK cells toward the tumor site. The simulation results offer insights into the behavior of NK cells under various conditions of cell size, radiation pressure, and fluid velocity, which inform the optimization of their trajectories and increase targeting efficiency. The experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of this ultrasonic approach for enhancing NK cell targeting, suggesting a potential leap forward in solid tumor immunotherapy. This study represents a significant step in NK cell therapeutic strategies, offering a viable solution to the existing limitations and promising enhancement of the efficacy of cancer treatments.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.17 no.4 s.84
• /
• pp.587-592
• /
• 2007

Manipulation of the mouse genome by activating or inactivating the gene has contributed to the understanding of the function of the gene in the subset of cells during embryonic development or postnatal period of life. Most of all, gene targeting, which largely depends on the availability of mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells, is the milestone of development of animal models for human disease. Recombinase-mediated genome modification (Cre-LoxP and Flp-Frt etc) and the ligand-dependent regulation system, more accurate and elaborate manipulation tools, have been successfully developed and applied to dissect the mechanisms governing complex biological processes and to understand the role of protein in temporal-and spatial aspects of development. As technologies concerning refined manipulation of mouse genome are developed, they are expected to open new opportunities to better understand the diverse in vivo functions of genes.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.96-114
• /
• 2000

Genetically selected beef cattle are fed high-energy diets in intensive production systems developed in industrial countries. This type of feeding can induce rumen dysfunctions that have to be corrected by farmers to optimise cost-effectiveness. The risk of rumen acidosis can be reduced by using slowly degradable starch, which partly escapes rumen fermentation and goes on to be digested in the small intestine. Additives are proposed to stabilise the rumen pH and restrict lactate accumulation, thus favouring the growth of cellulolytic bacteria and stimulating the digestion of the dietary plant cell wall fraction. This enhances the energy value of feeds when animals are fed maize silage for example. Supplementation of lipids to increase energy intake is known to influence the population of rumen protozoa and some associated rumen functions such as cellulolysis and proteolysis. The end products of rumen fermentation are also changed. Lipolysis and hydrogenation by rumen microbes alter the form of fatty acids supplied to animals. This effect is discussed in relation with the quality of lipids in beef and the implications for human health. Conditions for optimising the amount of amino acids from microbial proteins and dietary by-pass proteins flowing to the duodenum of ruminants, and their impact on beef production, are also examined.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.51-56
• /
• 2015

A 8-week trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of photoperiod manipulation on the growth performance and hematological parameters of juvenile Caspian roach, Rutilus rutilus caspicus (average weight $1.46{\pm}0.12g$ mean${\pm}$SD) reared under five photoperiods (24 h Light, 24L; 18 h Light & 6 h Dark, 18L:6D; 12 h Light & 12 h Dark, 12L:12D; 6 h Light & 18 h Dark, 6L:18D; 24 h Dark, 24D) with constant light intensity 1,500 lx on the water surface. Triplicate of 20 fish were allocated into each of 15 fiberglass tanks of 50 L capacity and they were fed three times per day with the commercial feed (SFK, Co., Sari - Iran) contains 50.0% protein and 10.5% lipid. At the end of experimental period, final body weight, weight gain and specific growth rates of fish exposed to 24L were significantly higher than those of fish exposed to 12L:12D, 6L:18D and 24D (P < 0.05). Red blood cell and hemoglobin of fish exposed to 24L were significantly higher than those of fish exposed to 24D. No significant difference observed in hematocrit, white blood cell and plasma glucose among the different treatments groups. Therefore, these results demonstrated that the growth performance of juvenile Caspian roach can be significantly stimulated by using 24L and 18L:6D photoperiods without any measurable significant stress response such as plasma glucose concentration.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.1-6
• /
• 2008

Three types of clonal cell lines were isolated according to their size and phenotype from the adherent cell populations in long-term liquid cultures from the embryonic fibroblast cells of Zebrafish, Danio rerio. All kind of cell lines were well proliferated. The size and number of clonal cell lines derived colonies from stable embryonic cells were significantly increased in the presence of NAC and A2P conditioned medium from the cell lines. The stable cell lines and clonal cell lines were cap-able of well proliferation in vitro. These cell lines have been maintained in continuous culture without change in characteristics. A majority of the clonal cells (80%) was shown a normal chromosomal complement (50 chromosomes, 2N) in according with FACs analysis. Majority of cells were positive to vimentin staining and none of them were positive for nestin and Oct -4 by immunocytochemistry. These results indicate that the clonal cell lines obtained from cultured cells are fibroblasts and may be extremely useful in genetic manipulation for further nuclear transfer and fish cloning.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.20 no.5
• /
• pp.647-653
• /
• 2011

Sediment cell is renewable energy which produces electric energy using immanent ingredients or reducing power of marine sediment as natural resources. Also the cell has an advantage that environmental pollution can be reduced through conversion of organic and inorganic contaminants into inert matter with generation of the energy. In this paper, we compared characteristics of electricity generation of the two different sediment cells, and investigated the regeneration effect of the sediment cells with manipulation of the sediment such as mixing and re-positioning. The results showed that 14.1 $W/m^2$ of power was obtained with the aluminum electrode, and the mixing of the sediment could increase the power by 4 $W/m^2$ compared to the control. Also, mixing the sediment has kept electricity for 4 weeks at a relatively constant level, which implied 'fuel regeneration effect'. Meanwhile, the sediment cell was proved to be effective in reduction of COD, which was up to 28.6%.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
• /
• v.4 no.6
• /
• pp.455-461
• /
• 2010

The tumor microenvironment, particularly sufficient nutrition and oxygen supply, is important for tumor cell survival. Nutrition deprivation causes cancer cell death. Since apoptosis is a major mechanism of neuronal loss, we explored neuronal apoptosis in various microenvironment conditions employing neuroblastoma (NB) cells. To investigate the effects of tumor malignancy and differentiation on apoptosis, the cells were exposed to poor microenvironments characterized as serum-free, low-glucose, and hypoxia. Incubation of the cells in serum-free and low-glucose environments significantly increased apoptosis in less malignant and more differentiated N-type IMR32 cells, whereas more malignant and less differentiated I-type BE(2)C cells were not affected by those treatments. In contrast, hypoxia (1 % $O_2$) did not affect apoptosis despite cell malignancy. It is suggested that DLK1 constitutes an important stem cell pathway for regulating self-renewal, clonogenicity, and tumorigenicity. This raises questions about the role of DLK1 in the cellular resistance of cancer cells under poor microenvironments, which cancer cells normally encounter. In the present study, DLK1 overexpression resulted in marked protection from apoptosis induced by nutrient deprivation. This in vitro model demonstrated that increasing severity of nutrition deprivation and knock-down of DLK1 caused greater apoptotic death, which could be a useful strategy for targeted therapies in fighting NB as well as for evaluating how nutrient deprived cells respond to therapeutic manipulation.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.13 no.10
• /
• pp.4867-4871
• /
• 2012

Cervical cancer is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in women worldwide. Although the human papillomavirus (HPV) is considered the major causative agent of cervical cancer, yet the viral infection alone is not sufficient for cancer progression. The etiopathogenesis of cervical cancer is indeed complex; a precise understanding of the complex cellular/molecular mechanisms underlying the initiation, progression and/or prevention of the uterine cervix is therefore essential. Autophagy is emerging as an important biological mechanism in targeting human cancers, including cervical cancer. Furthermore, autophagy, a process of cytoplasm and cellular organelle degradation in lysosomes, has been implicated in homeostasis. Autophagic flux may vary depending on the cell/tissue type, thereby altering cell fate under stress conditions leading to cell survival and/or cell death. Autophagy may in turn govern tumor metastasis and subsequent carcinogenesis. Inflammation is a known hallmark of cancer. Vascular insufficiency in tumors, including cervical tissue, leads to depletion of glucose and/or oxygen perturbing the osmotic mileu causing extracellular acidosis in the tumor microenvironment that may eventually result in autophagy. Thus, targeted manipulation of complex autophagic signaling may prove to be an innovative strategy in identification of clinically relevant biomarkers in cervical cancer in the near future.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.57 no.1
• /
• pp.85-89
• /
• 2019

Cell-free protein synthesis utilizes the translational machinery in a cell extract. Unlike the conventional cell-based expression methods, not being affected by the conditions for cell growth, cell-free protein synthesis enables flexible manipulation of individual factors affecting the efficiency protein biosynthesis. However, the high cost and low stability of the energy sources to regenerate ATP have limited the use of cell-free synthesis for large-scale production of recombinant proteins. One of the approaches to address this problem is to use glucose as an alternative energy source to regenerate ATP through the glucose-metabolizing pathways in a cell extract. In this study, in an attempt to improve the efficiency of ATP regeneration by reinforcing oxidative phosphorylation process, we supplemented with cellular lipids to a glucose-fueled reaction mixture for cell-free protein synthesis. As a result of the lipid supplementation, the productivity of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase in a cell-free synthesis system using glucose increased more than 6 fold compared to when the lipid was not supplemented.