• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.5 no.4 s.20
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• pp.238-245
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• 2005

Purpose: Ghrelin, produced primarily in the gastrointestinal tract, including the stomach, has been reported to reflect nutritional status and to control homeostasis by influencing food intake and adiposity. The purpose of this study is to evaluate nutritional status, as well as plasma and gastric tissue ghrelin levels, in patients with gastric cancer who underwent a gastrectomy. Materials and Methods: Eighty patients were analyzed by the degree of weight loss $(weight\;loss{\geq}5%\;or\;<5%)$ and the extent of gastrectomy (subtotal or total gastrectomy). Blood samples were collected from all patients preoperatively and postoperatively especially at seven days. Gastric tissues, including tumor and normal tissues, were obtained from the resected stomach. levels of plasma and tissue ghrelin were measured with a commercial ELISA kit. Results: There were no significant differences in the clinical characteristics and ghrelin levels of plasma, gastric tumor tissue and normal tissue by the degree of weight loss. The ghrelin levels in plasma and tumor tissue showed no correlations with each other while the ghrelin level in tumor tissue was significantly lower than that in normal tissue. The degree of cellular differentiation also had an association with ghrelin production. A gastrectomy proved to decrease significantly plasma ghrelin levels, body mass index, and biochemical markers, regardless of the extent of gastric resection. Conclusion: These results show that gastric cancer affects the production of ghrelin in the gastric mucosa and that ghrelin is mainly produced in stomach even though it could be partially covered by endogenous ghrelin from other organs following a gastrectomy. However, we should further investigate which other factors have an impact on energy consumption, ghrelin secretion, and changes in ghrelin levels after a gastrectomy.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.9
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• pp.1226-1231
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• 2009

Enzyme substitution with recombinant phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL, EC 4.3.1.5) is currently being explored for treatment of phenylketonuria (PKU), an autosomal recessive genetic disorder with mutations of the gene encoding phenylalanine-4-hydroxylase (EC 1.14.16.1). However, oral administration of PAL is limited because of proteolytic digestion in the gastrointestinal tract. The aim of this study was to determine the biochemical properties of PAL and delinate the susceptibility of wild-type PAL to pancreatic proteolysis by exploring several mutants, and to develop therapeutic drugs with PAL for PKU. The specific activity of PAL was assayed and its optimal pH, temperature stability, and intestinal protease susceptibility were investigated. Its $V_{max}$ values for phenylalanine and tyrosine were 1.77 and $0.47{\mu}mol$/ min/mg protein, respectively, and its $K_m$ values were $4.77{\times}10^{-4}$ and $4.37{\times}10^{-4}\;M$, respectively. PAL showed an optimal pH at 8.5, corresponding to the average pH range of the small intestine. It showed no loss of activity at $-80^{\circ}C$ for 5 months and possessed 93.4% of its activity under $4^{\circ}C$ for 4 wks. PAL was susceptible to chymotrypsin digestion and, to a lesser extent, to trypsin, elastase, carboxypeptidase A, and B. The trypsin and chymotrypsin cleaving sites were mutated to investigate protection from pancreatic digestion and the specific activities of these mutants were evaluated. The six mutants displayed low specific activities compared to the wild-type, suggesting that the primary trypsin and chymotrypsin cleaving sites may be essential for catalytic reaction. The PAL mutants could therefore be applied as a pretreatment modality without susceptibility to proteolytic attack, however, additional modification for enhancing enzymatic activity is needed to reduce the Phe levels effectively.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.59-67
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• 2008

Purpose : According to the 2008 WHO report, incidence, prevalence, and mortality of tuberculosis are decreasing globally. The 7th National Tuberculosis Survey of 1995 in Korea showed that the prevalence of tuberculosis was also decreasing. This study was performed to review the hospitalized childhood tuberculosis in a children's hospital over a 20 year period. Methods : Medical records of children <16 years of age hospitalized with the diagnosis of tuberculosis at the Seoul National University Children's Hospital between 1988 and 2007 were reviewed retrospectively. Changes in number of patients and involved sites were also analyzed by four 5-year periods. Results : Out of the 186 hospitalized patients, 59.1% were male. Median age at diagnosis was 5.5 years old (range, 10 days-15 years). The main involved sites included the lung (n=54, 29%) or pleura (n=12, 6.5%), central nervous system (n=49, 26.3%), lymph node (n=15, 8.1 %), bone and joint (n=9, 4.8%), gastrointestinal tract (n=5, 2.7%) or peritoneum (n=5, 2.7%), pericardium (n=2, 1.1%) and others (n=3, 1.6%). Total 32 patients (17.2%) showed miliary pattern. The proportion of hospitalization with newly diagnosed tuberculosis among all cause hospitalization decreased from 0.61% to 0.09%, comparing the period of 1988-1992 and 2003-2007 (P<0.001) and the incidence of hospitalized tuberculosis of any involved organs also decreased with a statistical significance. Conclusion : The data from a single children's hospital suggest that the number of hospitalized childhood patients with tuberculosis has decreased over a 20 year period in Korea.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.361-369
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• 2000

Enterococcus is a normal inhabitant of the human oral cavity, the vagina, and the gastrointestinal tract. Four isolates of Enterococcus in this study were identified as E. durans. These bacteria were characterized and the interaction of these bacteria with the important oral bacteria as like S. mutans and S. oralis was studied as follows. 1. The carbohydrate fermentation test and biochemical test showed similar results in 4 isolates. 2. The susceptibility test against erythromycin, penicillin, tobramycin, ampicillin, teicoplanin, ciprofloxacin, vancomycin, gentamicin, kanamycin, and streptomycin showed to be susceptible in all four isolates. 3. The optical density of absorbance at 550 nm was 1.405 in the culture of S. mutans in disposable cuvette, whereas being 0.855, 0.867, 0.797, and 1.083 in the combined culture of S. mutans and each E. durans. 4. The mean weight of produced artificial plaque on the wires in the beaker was $1566{\pm}103mg$ in culture of S. mutans only, whereas being reduced to $44{\pm}5mg,\;41{\pm}12mg,\;34{\pm}7mg,\;and\;38{\pm}12mg$ in the combined culture of S. mutans and each E. durans. The viable cells were $2.0\times10^9$ per ml in the culture of S. mutans wheras being $2.0\times10^7\;to\;6.0\times10^7$ per ml in the combined culture S. mutans and E. durans. 5. The viable cells were $2.1\times10^8$ per ml in the culture of S. oralis, wheras being $1.4\times10^7\;to\;7.0\times10^7$ per ml in the combined culture of S. oralis and E. durans. 6. Plasmid of about 60 kb was isolated in three isolates of E. durans. These results suggested that E. durans isolated from the oral cavity inhibited the replication of S. mutans and formation of artificial plaque, while inhibiting the replication of S. oralis a little.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.207-215
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• 2009

Numerous factors can affect the activities of hypothalamus-pituitary-gonad (HPG) hormonal axis, resulting in alteration of reproductive capacity or status such as onset of puberty and menopause. Soon after the finding of leptin, a multifunctional hormone secreted from adipocytes, a close relationship between reproduction and body energy balance have been manifested. Ghrelin, another multifunctional hormone from gastrointestinal tract, is an endogenous ligand of growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR), and is thought to be a counterpart of leptin in the regulation of energy homeostasis. As expected, ghrelin can also modulate the reproductive capacity through the modulation of activities of HPG axis. This paper summarizes the current knowledge on the discovery, gene structures, tissue distribution and roles of ghrelin and GHSRs in mammalian reproduction in particular modulation of reproductive hormone secretion in HPG axis. Like POMC gene expression in pituitary gland, preproghrelin gene can generate a complex repertoire of transcripts which further undergo alternative splicing and posttranslational modifications. Concerning the roles of preproghrelin gene products in the control of body physiology except energy homeostasis, limited knowledge is available so far. Several lines of evidence, however, show the interplay of ghrelin between metabolism and reproduction. In rat and human, the distribution of ghrelin receptor GHSRs (GHSR1a and GHSR1b) has been confirmed not only in the hypothalamus and pituitary which were originally postulated as target of ghrelin but also in the testis and ovary. Expression of the preproghrelin gene in the brain and gonads was also verified, suggesting the local role (s) of ghrelin in HPG axis. Ghrelin might play a negative modulator in the secretions of hypothalamic GnRH, pituitary gonadotropins and gonadal steroids though the action on pituitary is still questionable. Recent studies suggest the involvement of ghrelin in regulation of puberty onset and possibly of menopause entry. It is now evident that ghrelin is a crucial hormomal component in 'brain-gut' axis, and is a strong candidate links between metabolism and reproduction. Opposite to that for leptin, ghrelin signaling is likely representing the 'hunger' state of body energy balance and is necessary to avoid the energy investment into reproduction which has not a top priority in maintaining homeostasis. Further researches are needed to gain a deep insight into the more precise action mechanism and role of ghrelin in reproduction, and to guarantee the successful biomedical applications.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.117-122
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• 2009

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of surfactin in combination with Bacillus subtilis BC1212 isolated from Korean soybean paste, on feed utilization and growth performance during 4 weeks in weaning piglets. Eighteen weaning piglets(Landrace$\times$Yorkshire$\times$Duroc; weighing $7.68{\pm}0.97\;kg$) were divided into control(n=9) and experimental groups(n=9). The treatments included a control group consisting of the basal diet with no additives(control) and an experimental group consisting of the basal diet supplemented with 1 g of surfactin C and $1.0{\times}10^9CFU$ of Bacillus subtilis BC1212/kg feed. Piglets fed Bacillus subtilis BC1212 increased in average daily weight gain and feed efficiency. In comparison with the control group, the fecal Bacillus subtilis were significantly increased and the fecal coliform bacteria were markedly reduced in the experimental group. In addition, Bacillus subtilis BC1212 had excellent acid and bile tolerance. The treatment of surfactin($50{\mu}g\;ml^{-1}$) in lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-stimulated swine peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs) for 6 h showed a significant inhibitory effect on INF-$\gamma$, TNF-$\alpha$ and NO secretion(p<0.05) in comparison with LPS treatment alone but not on IL-10 secretion, with levels of secreted IL-10 similar to those secreted by PBMCs stimulated with LPS alone. Supplementation with surfactin in combination with Bacillus subtilis BC1212 in diets improved the ecosystem of gastrointestinal tract by increasing probiotic population and enhanced the systemic immune response in weaned piglets.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.526-534
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• 2009

Purpose: We retrospectively investigated the diagnostic performance of $^{18}F$-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) and PET/CT for cancer detection in asymptomatic health-check examinees. Materials and Methods: This study consisted of 5091 PET or PET/CT conducted as part of annual health examination at one hospital from March 1998 to February 2008. To find the incidence of cancers, medical records of the subjects were thoroughly reviewed for a follow-up period of one year. The patterns of formal readings of PET and PET/CT were analyzed to assess the sensitivity and specificity for cancer detection. The histopathology and stage of the cancers were evaluated in relation to the results of PET. Results: Eighty-six cancers (1.7%) were diagnosed within one year after PET or PET/CT. When PET and PET/CT results were combined, the sensitivity was 48.8% and specificity was 81.1% for cancer detection. PET only had a sensitivity of 46.2% and a specificity of 81.4%, and PET/CT only had a sensitivity of 75.0% and a specificity of 78.5% respectively. There were no significant differences in cancer site, stage and histopathology between PET positive and PET negative cancers. In 19.3% of formal readings of PET and PET/CT, further evaluation to exclude malignancy or significant disease was recommended. Head and neck area and upper gastrointestinal tract were commonly recommended sites for further evaluation. Conclusions: PET and PET/CT showed moderate performance for detecting cancers in asymptomatic adults in this study. More experience and further investigation are needed to overcome limitations of PET and PET/CT for cancer screening.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.12
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• pp.1339-1344
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• 2014

Inflammatory bowel disease is an immune disorder associated with chronic mucosal inflammation and severe ulceration in the gastrointestinal tract. Antibodies against proinflammatory cytokines, including TNF${\alpha}$, are currently used as promising therapeutic agents against the disease. Stabilization of the transcript is a crucial post-transcriptional process in the expression of proinflammatory cytokines. In the present study, we assessed the expression and histological distribution of the HuR protein, an important transcript stabilizer, in tissues from experimental animals and patients with Crohn's disease. The total and cytosolic levels of the HuR protein were enhanced in the intestinal epithelia from dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-treated mice compared to those in control tissues from normal mice. Moreover, the expression of HuR was very high only in the mucosal and glandular epithelium, and the relative localization of the protein was sequestered in the lower parts of the villus during the DSS insult. The expression of HuR was significantly higher in mucosal lesions than in normal-looking areas. Consistent with the data from the animal model, the expression of HuR was confined to the mucosal and glandular epithelium. These results suggest that HuR may contribute to the post-transcriptional regulation of proinflammatory genes during early mucosal insults. More mechanistic investigations are warranted to determine the potential use of HuR as a predictive biomarker or a promising target against IBD.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.652-658
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• 2012

This study was carried out to identify the ACE (Angiotensin converting enzyme) inhibitory activity of casein hydrolysates for development of anti-hypertensive hydrolysates. Sodium caseinate was treated with six kinds of commercial proteases such as Flavourzyme, Protamex, Neutrase 1.5, Alcalase, Protease M, and Protease S for 8 h individually, and was then treated with the enzyme combination for 4 h at $45^{\circ}C$. The hydrolysate which had the highest ACE inhibitory effect was then hydrolysed successively with three digestive enzymes: pepsin, trypsin, and ${\alpha}$-chymotrypsin, at $37^{\circ}C$ for 4 h under conditions mimicking those of the gastrointestinal tract. UF (ultra filtration) treatment was applied to one of the secondary hydrolysates to determine ACE inhibitory activity. When sodium caseinate was hydrolysed by commercial proteases, the degree of hydrolysis (DH) showed 2.54 to 4.25% and after secondary hydrolysis, DH showed 4.30 to 5.22%. ACE inhibitory activity and $IC_{50}$ values decreased, and inhibition rates increased during hydrolysis. Protamex treatment showed the lowest $IC_{50}$ value ($516{\mu}g/mL$) and Flavourzyme hydrolysate showed the highest $IC_{50}$value ($866{\mu}g/mL$). As the first hydrolysate was treated with Flavourzyme, the ACE inhibitory activity increased. Neutrase hydrolysate had the highest activity with an $IC_{50}$ value ($282{\mu}g/mL$). When Neutrase plus Flavourzyme treatment was hydrolyzed by digestive enzymes, the $IC_{50}$ value ($597{\mu}g/mL$) was decreased statistically (p<0.05). As Neutrase plus Flavourzyme hydrolysate is treated by UF with MW cut-off 10,000, permeate showed $273{\mu}g/mL$ of $IC_{50}$ value, showed no difference, but retentate which has over MW 10,000 showed statistically different $IC_{50}$ value, $635{\mu}g/mL$ (p<0.05).

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.11-19
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• 2007

Purpose: Henoch-Sch$\"{o}$nlein purpura (HSP) is a systemic vasculitis involving the skin, joints, gastrointestinal tract, and kidney. Although the pathogenesis of HSP is still unclear, tumor necrosis factor (TNF-${\alpha}$) is regarded as an important cytokine contributing to the disease. The goal of this study was to determine the role of TNF-${\alpha}$ in the pathogenesis of HSP, and to evaluate the TNF-${\alpha}$ polymorphism for genetic susceptibility to HSP. Methods: From March 2004 to November 2005, 40 children with HSP and 32 healthy controls were included. Serum TNF-${\alpha}$ levels were measured using the ELISA method during the acute and convalescent phase of HSP. The genotypic and allelic frequencies of the TNF-${\alpha}$ gene polymorphisms at positions -308 and -238 were evaluated in patients and controls. Results: Serum TNF-${\alpha}$ levels were $23.17{\pm}11.31$ pg/mL in the acute phase of children with HSP and $10.56{\pm}5.59$ pg/mL in the convalescent phase (p=0.000). There was no significant correlation between the serum TNF-${\alpha}$ levels and the clinical scores of HSP (r=0.310, p=0.070). The genotypic frequency of the TNF-${\alpha}$ -308 polymorphism in children with HSP was not significantly different compared to healthy controls (GG 80%, GA 20% vs. GG 93.8%, GA 6.2%; p=0.094). The genotypic frequency of the TNF-${\alpha}$ -238 polymorphism in children with HSP was not significantly different (GG 97.5%, GA 2.5% vs. GG 93.8%, GA 6.3%; p=0.429). Conclusion: TNF-${\alpha}$ is assumed to be the main cytokine associated with the pathogenesis of HSP during the acute phase. However, the presence of TNF-${\alpha}$ gene polymorphisms at positions -308 and -238 did not distinguish children with HSP from normal controls.