• Journal of Practical Agriculture & Fisheries Research
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.5-13
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• 2020

The identify of biomarkers in living tissues is useful to understand the characteristics and functions of the cells. Proteins such as protein gene product 9.5, promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger, NANOG, and stage-specific embryonic antigen-1 have been identified as markers for porcine undifferentiated spermatogonia. In this study, the expression of insulin-like growth factor binding proteins (IGFBPs), a newly discovered porcine spermatogonia marker and pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A), a protein regulator of IGFBPs, were characterized in 5-day-old porcine testis. To analyze the function of IGFBPs, RT-PCR was performed. IGFBP 2, 3, 4, and 6 were detected in porcine spermatogonia and PAPP-A was detected in basement regions in 5day old porcine seminiferous tubules. PAPP-A was not expressed in spermatogonia, but it was expressed in Sertoli cells. These results suggest that the expression of PAPP-A protein in Sertoli cells may regulate the development and differentiation of testicular cells through the IGF axis in porcine neonatal testis.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.247-265
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• 2008

Objectives: Many types of liver diseases can damage regenerative potential of mature hepatocytes, hepatic progenitor cells or oval cells. In such cases, a stem cell-based therapy can be an alternative therapeutic option. We examined whether human amnion-derived mesenchymal stem cells (HAM) and human umbilical cord-derived stem cells (HUC) could differentiate into hepatocyte-like cells as therapeutic cells for the liver diseases. Methods: HAM and HUC were isolated from the amnion and umbilical cord of the volunteers after a caesarean section with informed consent. In order to differentiate these cells into hepatocyte-like cells, cells were cultivated in hepatogenic medium using culture plates coated with fibronectin. Effects of hepatocyte growth factor, L-ascorbic acid 2-phosphate, insulin premixture fibroblast growth gactor 4, dimethylsulfoxide, oncostatin M and/or dexamethasone were examined on the hepatic differentiation. After differentiation, the cells were analyzed by RT-PCR, immunocytochemistry, immunoblotting, albumin ELISA, urea assay and periodic acid-schiffs staining. Results: Initial fibroblast-like appearance of HAM and HUC changed to a round shape during culture in the hepatogenic medium. However, in all hepatogenic conditions examined, HUC secreted more amounts of albumin or urea into medium than HAM. Expression of some of hepatocyte-specific genes increased and expression of new genes were observed in HUC following cultivation in hepatogenic medium. Results of immunocytochemistry and immunoblotting analyses demonstrated that HUC secreted albumin into the culture medium. PAS staining further demonstrated that HUC could store glycogen inside of the cells. Conclusions: Both HUC and HAM could differentiate into albumin-secreting, hepatocyte-like cells. Under the same hepatogenic conditions examined, HUC more efficiently differentiated into hepatocyte-like cells compared with the HAM. The results suggest that HUC and HAM could be used as sources of stem cells for the cell-based therapeutics such as in liver diseases.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.49 no.9
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• pp.977-982
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• 2006

Purpose : There has been an increasing amount of literature concerning the association between Mycoplasma pneumoniae and asthma pathogenesis. Interleukin(IL)-6 stimulates the differentiation of monocytes, and can promote Th2 differentiation and simultaneously inhibit Th1 polarization. IL-8 is a potent chemoattractant and, it has been suggested, has a role in asthma pathogenesis. Nitric oxide (NO) synthesized by airway epithelium may be important in the regulation of airway inflammation and reactivity. Vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) has been reported to be a mediator of airway remodeling in asthma. We investigated the effects of M. pneumoniae on IL-6, IL-8, NO and VEGF production in human respiratory epithelial cells. Methods : A549 cells were cultured and inoculated with M. pneumoniae at a dose of 20 cfu/cell. After infection, the presence of M. pneumoniae in epithelial cell cultures was monitored by immunofluorescence and confirmed by polymerase chain reaction(PCR) detection. IL-6, IL-8 and VEGF were determined by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. NO was measured using the standard Griess reaction. Results : In A549 cells, M. pneumoniaeinduced IL-6, IL-8, NO and VEGF release in time-dependent manners. It also induced mRNA expression of IL-6, IL-8 and VEGF in similar manners. Conclusion : These observations suggest that M. pneumoniae might have a role in the pathogenesis of the allergic inflammation of bronchial asthma.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.130-135
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• 1997

Purpose : Interleukin-6(IL-6), a multifunctional cytokine, has been found to have growth and differentiation activities on a wide variety of tissues and cells, including mesangial cells. It has been known that IL-6 is an autocrine growth factor for the proliferation of mesangial cells. Several studies have been performed for revealing the clinical significance of IL-6 in mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis. Methods : The author measured serum and urinary IL-6 in 30 patients with $Henoch-Sch\"{o}nlein$ purpura (HSP), 18 patients with HSP nephritis, and 10 normal children as a control group. Results : The serum level of IL-6 was increased significantly in the patients with HSP and HSP nephritis compared to normal control. The level of urinary IL-6 was increased significantly in the patients with HSP nephritis compared to both HSP and normal control groups. The level of urinary IL-6 was not correlated with the level of serum. Conclusion : IL-6 was correlated with the amount of proteinuria. These data suggest that IL-6 may be involved in the pathological proliferation of mesangial cell in HSP nephritis.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.34-39
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• 2005

Purpose: KLF6, a member of the KLF family, is a ubiquitous zinc finger tumor suppressor protein that is mutated in several human cancers. Our aim was to determine whether the expression pattern of KLF6 might be associated with gastric cancer development and, if so, to determine to which pathologic parameter it is linked. Materials and Methods: For the construction of the gastric cancer tissue microarray, 85 paraffin-embedded tissues containing gastric cancer areas were cored 3 times and transferred to the recipient master block. The expression pattern of KLF6 was examined on tissue microarray slides by using immunohistochemistry and was compared with pathologic parameters, including histologic type, depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis, and peritoneal dissemination. Results: The KLF6 protein was expressed on superficial and foveolar epithelial cells in the gastric mucosa. We found loss of KLF6 expression in 28 ($32.9\%$) of the 85 gastric cancer tissues. There was a significant correlation between loss of KLF6 expression and lymph-node metastasis. However, other pathologic parameters, such as histologic type, depth of invasion, and peritoneal dissemination, were not statistically associated with loss of KLF6 expression. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that loss of KLF6 expression may contribute to abnormal regulation of gastrointestinal epithelial cell growth and differentiation and to the development and/or progression of Korean gastric cancer.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.891-900
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• 2003

Cellular FOS(c-fos) protein is a transcription factor that forms heterodimers mostly with c-jun family and stimulates the transcription of genes containing AP-1 regulatory elements. This c-fos expression can control growth and differentiation of various precursor cells including myoblasts. The controls by c-fos gene have been identified for affecting skeletal muscle fiber traits which are the key determinants of meat quality in pigs. As a first step for identifying the relationship between c-fos gene and meat quality traits in cattle, we fully sequenced 1,443 bp of Hanwoo c-fos mRNA and analyzed expression patterns from various organs and muscle tissues. The sequence identities of Hanwoo c-fos with that of human, pig and mouse showed 89.8%, 93.3% and 87%, respectively. Analyses of the northern blot showed high c-fos expressions were obtained in spleen and rib muscle from 7 organs and 9 different parts of muscles investigated. These results presented here can be used as a valuable marker for meat quality related traits in cattle with further verification.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.1589-1595
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• 2014

Objective: Forkhead box C2 (FOXC2) is a member of the winged helix/forkhead box (Fox) family of transcription factors. It has been suggested to regulate tumor vasculature, growth, invasion and metastasis, although it has not been studied in cervical cancer. Here, we analyzed FOXC2 expression in cervical tissues corresponding to different stages of cervical cancer development and examined its correlation with clinicopathological characteristics. In addition, we examined the effects of targeting FOXC2 on the biological behavior of human cervical cancer cells. Methods: The expression of FOXC2 in normal human cervix, CIN I-III and cervical cancer was examined by immunohistochemistry and compared among the three groups and between cervical cancers with different pathological subtypes. Endogenous expression of FOXC2 was transiently knocked down in human Hela and SiHa cervical cells by siRNA, and cell viability and migration were examined by scratch and CCK8 assays, respectively. Results: In normal cervical tissue the frequency of positive staining was 25% (10/40 cases), with a staining intensity (PI) of $0.297{\pm}0.520$, in CIN was 65% (26/40cases), with a PI of $3.00{\pm}3.29$, and in cancer was 91.8% (68/74 cases), with a PI of $5.568 {\pm}3.449$. The frequency was 100% in adenocarcinoma (5/5 cases) and 91.3% in SCCs (63/69 cases). The FOXC2 positive expression rate was 88.5% in patients with cervical SCC stage I and 100% in stage II, showing significant differences compared with normal cervix and CIN. With age, pathologic differentiation degree and tumor size, FOXC2 expression showed no significant variation. On transient transfection of Hela and SiHa cells, FOXC2-siRNA inhibition rates were 76.2% and 75.7%; CCK8 results showed reduced proliferation and relative migration (in Hela cells from $64.5{\pm}3.16$ to $49.5{\pm}9.24$ and in SiHa cells from $60.1{\pm}3.05$ to $44.3{\pm}3.98$) (P < 0.05). Conclusion: FOXC2 gene expression increases with malignancy, especially with blood vessel hyperplasia and invasion degree. Targeted silencing was associated with reduced cell proliferation as well as invasion potential.

• Journal of Distribution Research
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.1-34
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• 2010

Introduction As consumers' purchase behavior change into a rational and practical direction, the discount store industry came to have keen competition along with rapid external growth. Therefore as a solution, distribution businesses are concentrating on developing PB(Private Brand) which can realize differentiation and profitability at the same time. And as improvement in customer loyalty beyond customer satisfaction is effective in surviving in an environment with keen competition, PB is being used as a strategic tool to improve customer loyalty. To improve loyalty among PB users, it is necessary to develop PB by examining properties of a customer group, first of all, quality level perceived by consumers should be met to obtain customer satisfaction and customer trust and consequently induce customer loyalty. To provide results of systematic analysis on relations between antecedents influenced perceived quality and variables affecting customer loyalty, this study proposed a research model based on causal relations verified in prior researches and set 16 hypotheses about relations among 9 theoretical variables. Data was collected from 400 adult customers residing in Seoul and the Metropolitan area and using large scale discount stores, among them, 375 copies were analyzed using SPSS 15.0 and Amos 7.0. The findings of the present study followed as; We ascertained that the higher company reputation, brand reputation, product experience and brand familiarity, the higher perceived quality. The study also examined the higher perceived quality, the higher customer satisfaction, customer trust and customer loyalty. The findings showed that the higher customer satisfaction and customer trust, the higher customer loyalty. As for moderating effects between PB and NB in terms of influences of perceived quality factors on perceived quality, we can ascertain that PB was higher than NB in the influences of company reputation on perceived quality while NB was higher than PB in the influences of brand reputation and brand familiarity on perceived quality. These results of empirical analysis will be useful for those concerned to do marketing activities based on a clearer understanding of antecedents and consecutive factors influenced perceived quality. At last, discussions about academical and managerial implications in these results, we suggested the limitations of this study and the future research directions. Research Model and Hypotheses Test After analyzing if antecedent variables having influence on perceived quality shows any difference between PB and NB in terms of their influences on them, the relation between variables that have influence on customer loyalty was determined as Figure 1. We established 16 hypotheses to test and hypotheses are as follows; H1-1: Perceived price has a positive effect on perceived quality. H1-2: It is expected that PB and NB would have different influence in terms of perceived price on perceived quality. H2-1: Company reputation has a positive effect on perceived quality. H2-2: It is expected that PB and NB would have different influence in terms of company reputation on perceived quality. H3-1: Brand reputation has a positive effect on perceived quality. H3-2: It is expected that PB and NB would have different influence in terms of brand reputation on perceived quality. H4-1: Product experience has a positive effect on perceived quality. H4-2: It is expected that PB and NB would have different influence in terms of product experience on perceived quality. H5-1: Brand familiarity has a positive effect on perceived quality. H5-2: It is expected that PB and NB would have different influence in terms of brand familiarity on perceived quality. H6: Perceived quality has a positive effect on customer satisfaction. H7: Perceived quality has a positive effect on customer trust. H8: Perceived quality has a positive effect on customer loyalty. H9: Customer satisfaction has a positive effect on customer trust. H10: Customer satisfaction has a positive effect on customer loyalty. H11: Customer trust has a positive effect on customer loyalty. Results from analyzing main effects of research model is shown as