• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.1519-1529
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• 2016

Background: Matrix metalloproteinase -2 (gelatinase-A, Mr 72,000 type IV collagenase, MMP-2) and -9 (gelatinase-B, Mr 92,000 type IV collagenase, MMP-9) are key molecules that play roles in tumor growth, invasion, tissue remodeling, metastasis and stem-cell regulation by digesting extracellular matrix barriers. MMP-2 and -9 are well known to impact on solid cancer susceptibility, whereas, in hematological malignancies, a paucity of data is available to resolve the function of these regulatory molecules in bone marrow mononuclear cells (BM-MNCs) and stromal cells of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate mRNA expression and gelatinase A and B secretion from BM-MNCs in vitro and genotypic associations of MMP-2 (-1306 C/T; rs243865), MMP-9 (-1562 C/T; rs3918242), tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase -1 (TIMP-1) (372T/C; rs4898, Exon 5) and TIMP-2 (-418G/C; rs8179090) in MDS and AML. Results: The study covered cases of confirmed MDS (n=50), AML (n=32) and healthy controls (n=110). MMP-9 mRNA expression revealed 2 fold increased expression in MDS-RAEB II and 2.5 fold in AML M-4 (60-70% blasts). Secretion of gelatinase-B also revealed the MMP-9 mRNA expression and ELISA data also supported these data. We noted that those patients having more blast crises presented with more secretion of MMP-9 and its mRNA expression. In contrast MMP-9 (-1562 C/T) showed significant polymorphic associations in MDS (p<0.02) and AML (p<0.02). MMP-9 mRNA expression of C/T and T/T genotypes were 1.5 and 2.5 fold increased in MDS and AML respectively. In AML, MMP-2 C/T and T/T genotypes showed 2.0 fold mRNA expression. Only MMP-9 (-1306 C/T) showed significant 4 fold (p<0.001) increased risk with chemical and x-ray exposed MDS, while tobacco and cigarette smokers have 3 fold (p<0.04) risk in AML. Conclusions: In view of our results, MMP-9 revealed synergistic secretion and expression in blast crises of MDS and AML with 'gene' polymorphic effects and is significantly associated with increased risk with tobacco, cigarette and environmental exposure. Release and secretion of these enzymes may influence hematopoietic cell behavior and may be important in the clinical point of view. It may offer valuable tools for diagnosis and prognosis, as well as possible targets for the treatments.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.239-246
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• 2015

Two fungal strains were isolated from rods of Quercus sp. (NAAS02335) and Pinus densiflora (NAAS05299) in Korea. These strains were identified as Gyrodontium sacchari by their morphological and mycological characteristics. The optimal growth temperature of NAAS02335 and NAAS05299 are $25^{\circ}C$ and $30^{\circ}C$, respectively. Production of cellulase, xylanase, and ligninase was tested on agar media supplemented dyes or substrates. Production of cellulase and xylanase of NAAS05299 was higher than those of NAAS02335, however ligninase activity of NAAS02335 was higher than that of NAAS05299. The activities of cellulase, xylanase, and amylase of strain NAAS05299 were estimated at 6.7~10.2 times higher than that of NAAS02335. Laccase activity was only estimated by strain NAAS02335. The lignocellulytic enzymes are induced by substrates such as rice straw, wooden chips of pine, oak, and poplar. The NAAS05299 was able to degrade filter paper completely after 4 weeks of culturing in liquid media containing a piece of filter paper at $28^{\circ}C$ with continuous shaking. NAAS05299 was able to degrade rice straw, pine chips, and oak chips after 4 months in solid culture, however NAAS02335 decomposed only rice straw among tested 4 kinds of biomass.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.387-393
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• 2017

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of hot water extract of Welsh onion root (HEWO) on growth of lactic acid bacteria and fermentative characteristics of yogurt. The physiochemical characteristics of HEWO such as pH, soluble solid, reducing sugar, total polyphenol content and DPPH radical scavenging activity were studied. The lactic bacterial count in brain heart infusion (BHI) broth with HEWO was about 1 log cycle higher than in control for 24 h at $37^{\circ}C$. The pH of yogurt prepared with HEWO (WY100) and 50% HEWO (WY50) was gradually decreased significantly but increased the viscosity of yogurt with increasing HEWO concentration during fermentation. The viable cells of lactic acid bacteria after fermentation for 24 h were 8.03 (control), 8.77 (WY50), 8.84 (WY100) log CFU/mL, respectively. The DPPH radical scavenging activity of yogurt increased with increasing HEWO concentration. Sensory quality of yogurt prepared with HEWO was higher than that of control. The pH and lactic acid bacteria of all tested yogurts decreased during storage for 10 days at $4^{\circ}C$ but lactic bacterial count of yogurt prepared with HEWO maintained $10^8CFU/mL$ during storage. These results indicated the potential use of HEWO as a valuable resource to improve fermentation and functionality of yogurt.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.366-375
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• 2021

Objective: To evaluate the radiological tumor response patterns and compare the response assessments based on immune-based therapeutics Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (iRECIST) and RECIST 1.1 in metastatic clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (mccRCC) patients treated with programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) inhibitors. Materials and Methods: All mccRCC patients treated with PD-1 inhibitors at Henan Cancer Hospital, China, between January 2018 and April 2019, were retrospectively studied. A total of 30 mccRCC patients (20 males and 10 females; mean age, 55.6 years; age range, 37-79 years) were analyzed. The target lesions were quantified on consecutive CT scans during therapy using iRECIST and RECIST 1.1. The tumor growth rate was calculated before and after therapy initiation. The response patterns were analyzed, and the differences in tumor response assessments of the two criteria were compared. The intra- and inter-observer variabilities of iRECIST and RECIST 1.1 were also analyzed. Results: The objective response rate throughout therapy was 50% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 32.1-67.9) based on iRECIST and 30% (95% CI: 13.6-46.4) based on RECIST 1.1. The time-to-progression (TTP) based on iRECIST was longer than that based on RECIST 1.1 (median TTP: not reached vs. 170 days, p = 0.04). iRECIST and RECIST 1.1 were discordant in 8 cases, which were evaluated as immune-unconfirmed PD based on iRECIST and PD based on RECIST 1.1. Six patients (20%, 6/30) had pseudoprogression based on iRECIST, of which four demonstrated early pseudoprogression and two had delayed pseudoprogression. Significant differences in the tumor response assessments based on the two criteria were observed (p < 0.001). No patients demonstrated hyperprogression during the study period. Conclusion: Our study confirmed that the iRECIST criteria are more capable of capturing immune-related atypical responses during immunotherapy, whereas conventional RECIST 1.1 may underestimate the benefit of PD-1 inhibitors. Pseudoprogression is not rare in mccRCC patients during PD-1 inhibitor therapy, and it may last for more than the recommended maximum of 8 weeks, indicating a limitation of the current strategy for immune response monitoring.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.2043-2049
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• 2015

Background: Serum Golgi protein 73 (GP73) as a novel and potential marker for diagnosing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have been found to be elevated in HCC patients and associated with clinical variables representing tumor growth and invasiveness. The aim of this study was to prepare a pair of monoclonal antibodys (mAbs) against GP73 and develop a newly designed double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (s-ELISA), which would be used in the detection of serum GP73 (sGP73) as well as in the diagnosis of HCC. Materials and Methods: Produced by prokaryotic expression, the purified recombinant GP73 (rGP73), produced by prokaryotic expression, was used to immunize the Balb/c mice. Two hybridoma cell lines against GP73 were obtained by fusing mouse Sp2/0 myeloma cells with spleen cells from the immunized mice. The titers of anti-GP73 mAb reached 1:243,000. Western blotting analysis and Immunohistochemistry staining revealed that anti-GP73 mAb could recognize GP73 protein. The double-antibody s-ELISA was successfully established and validated by 119 HCC and 103 normal serum samples. Results: showed that the detection limit of this method could reach 1.56 ng/ml, and sGP73 levels in HCC group (mean=190.6 ng/ml) were much higher than those of in healthy controls (mean=70.92 ng/ml). Conclusions: Results of our study not only showed that sGP73 levels of HCC patients were significantly higher than those of healthy controls, but also indicated that the laboratory homemade anti-GP73 mAbs could be the optimal tool used in evaluating sGP73 levels, which would provide a solid foundation for subsequent clinical applications.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.165-169
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• 2018

The main objective of this experiment was to investigate effects of two different feeding systems on body weight, milk yield, milk composition, and mineral and fatty acids content of Holstein dairy cows' milk. Sixteen of 25 months-old Holstein dairy cows were assigned to two groups (n=8) to study effects of the feeding system for 150 days. Two feeding systems were compared for five months; Group 1 was housed indoors and mainly fed a concentrate diet, Group 2 was maintained outdoors for five-seven hours/day on various kinds grass in a pasture. The experiment was conducted June-October 2017. Results revealed the indoor-fed cows had higher body weight, that was significant compared with the outdoor-based feeding system of Holstein dairy cows (p<0.05). Indoor-raised milking cows had higher milk yield (32.45 kg) as compared with pasture-raised milk yield (26.44 kg). Cows fed indoors significantly increased milk yield, total protein content, lactose, citric acid level, and lowered level of total solid and free fatty acids relative to the pasture-fed milking cows (p>0.05). There were higher levels of mineral content and fatty acid content in the milk of indoor-fed dairy cows than the pasture-raised dairy cows (p>0.05). Our study results demonstrated the potential benefits of the indoor feeding system for increased body weight, milk yield, mineral and fatty acids content summer through autumn when low pasture growth rates and quality may otherwise limit production.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.879-885
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• 2012

This study was carried out to investigate the quality characteristics of white bread made with flour of wheat cultured with Pleurotus ostreatus(POW). The property of the wheat used for the solid-state cultivation of the Pleurotus ostreatus was examined. The hydration time of wheat with cold water was 10 hours, with a final moisture content of 39%, which was much less than the optimum moisture content for mycelial growth. However, hot water soaking reduced the required hydration time of the wheat, and elevated the moisture content to 65% within 90~120 min. The POW was composed of 7.2% moisture, 15.4% protein, 1.1% fat, 1.7% ash and 2.9% fiber. The POW was substituted for wheat flour in white bread recipes at weight percentages of 0%, 2.5%, 5%, 7.5% and 10%. The weight, volume and fermentation of the dough tended to decrease with increasing POW content. The color of the bread crust and crumb darkened with increasing POW content. A sensory evaluation showed a high preference for the white bread made with 5% POW, indicating that the addition of 5% POW to flour for bread dough could improve the quality characteristics of white bread. These study results also provide useful information for using the flour of wheat cultured with Pleurotus ostreatus as an ingredient source for food processing.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.381-392
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• 2004

Arsenic trioxide($As_2O_3$) was introduced into the treatment of refractory or relapsed acute promyelocytic Ieukemia. Some investigators have reported that arsenic trioxide had induced apoptosis in a variety of solid human tumor cell lines, including non-small cell lung cancer. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs(NSAIDs) are powerful chemopreventive agents for gastrointestinal cancers and the growth of established tumors are reduced by inducing apoptosis. It's also reported that NSAIDs enhanced tumor response to chemotherapeutic drugs or radiation. In this study, we aimed to determine whether combination of arsenic trioxide with sulindac augmented its apoptotic potential in NCI-H157 human lung cancer cells. The human lung cancer cell line NCI-H157 was treated with arsenic trioxide and sulindac. Cell viability was measured by the MTT assay. Apoptosis was measured by nuclear staining and flow cytometric analysis. The catalytic activity of the caspase families were measured by the fluorogenic cleavage of biosubstrates. The western blotting were also performed to define the mechanical basis of apoptosis. Combination treatment of arsenic trioxide and sulindac decreased the viability of NCI-H157 human lung cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner. The catalytic activity of caspase-3, 8 and 9 proteases were increased after combination treatment. Consistently PARP was cleaved from 116kDa to 85kDa fragments, and the expression of ICAD was decreased by time-dependent manner. Also combination treatment increased the expression of Fas and Fas/L. Combination therapy of arsenic trioxide with sulindac augments cell death and induces apoptosis via the activation of caspase cascade in NCI-H157 human lung carcinoma cells.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2017.06a
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• pp.233-233
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• 2017

Algal communities are important to maintain the aquatic ecosystems function. Algae have short life cycles, they respond quickly to environmental change and their diversity and density can indicate and the quality of their habitat. The bloom forms before the rice seedings have emerged, it may present a physical barrier that prevents the seedlings from penetrating the floodwater. Wind may also move the algal bloom, pushing the young plants beneath the surface. Another harmful action develops when the water dries up and the algae form a layer at the bottom of the field. The layer envelops the seedlings, which are not yet deeply rooted, and drag them to the surface when the water is let in again. Soil utilization pattern can be the mail facter affecting soil physico-chemical properties, especially in soil phosphorus (P). Solid content of the algae culture solution increased with the increase in the nitrogen rather the phosphors concentration. Phosphoric acid was treated with conventional treatments (100-0%, before transplanting time-tillering stage), 50-50%, 0-100%, and un-treated. The herbicide was treated on the 7 DAT (day after transplanting). Green algae samples were collected 20 DAT. Total phosphoric acid was the highest at 0.06 in 50-50% treatment in 20 DAT. The amount of green algae was about twice (9.8 mg/20ml) that of un-treated. Total number of green algae was 54 species(Green algae 35 species, Euglena 9 species, Stone wheel 10 species). Among the phosphoric acid treatment methods, the number of occurrences of green algae were the highest with 39 species in 0-100%, followed by 50-50%, 28 species, conventional treatments, 22 species, non-treatment, 18 species, respectively. Rice Yield was not significantly different by phosphoric treatment time, but slightly higher than un-treated. The maximal algal biomass was observed about 2weeks or 1 month after transplanting; the subsequent decrease of the biomass was related to the consumption by grazers and to a deficient light under the rice canopy. Maximal algal growth was observed just before tillering. To estimate the suitable method of phosphorus application in puddled-soil drill seeding of rice, available phosphorus appearance of algal water bloom, and rice yield were investigated in paddy soil of rice-barley double cropping system.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.347-352
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• 2019

We analyzed the correlation among fruit bearing branch (FBB) and shoot and fruit characteristics in order to select the length of FBB suitable for producing high-quality fruits of 'Soomee', a peach tree developed in Korea. The length and diameter of FBB were 26.1 cm and 6.1 mm, respectively, shoot and leaf number per FBB were 3.2 and 38.6, respectively. Of these, the coefficient of variation was very high in the shoots and leaf number. The average weight and soluble solid content (SSC) of fruit were 298.6 g and 12.2 Brix, respectively, and coefficient of variation of the fruit weight was 18.0 %, which was higher than that of SSC. As the FBB of 10-20 cm and 20-30 cm length per tree were 27.1 % and 25.4 %, respectively, the sum of short and middle FBB frequency per tree was more than 50 %. Fruits of 250-350 g and 11.0-13.0 Brix per tree were distributed in 68.6 % and 74.0 %, respectively. As a result of correlation analysis, fruit weight and shoot number were affected by the length of FBB. In particular, length of FBB showed the relation of fruit weight with $y=-0.0482x^2+2.4512x+277.36$. As a result, the length of FBB that can maximize fruit weight was analyzed as 25.4 cm. Therefore, in the filed, the suitable FBB for producing 'Soomee' peach is estimated to be about 20-30 cm.