• Experimental and Molecular Medicine
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• 제50권12호
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• pp.10.1-10.11
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• 2018

Cancer growth and progression are associated with immune suppression. Cancer cells have the ability to activate different immune checkpoint pathways that harbor immunosuppressive functions. Monoclonal antibodies that target immune checkpoints provided an immense breakthrough in cancer therapeutics. Among the immune checkpoint inhibitors, PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA-4 inhibitors showed promising therapeutic outcomes, and some have been approved for certain cancer treatments, while others are under clinical trials. Recent reports have shown that patients with various malignancies benefit from immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment. However, mainstream initiation of immune checkpoint therapy to treat cancers is obstructed by the low response rate and immune-related adverse events in some cancer patients. This has given rise to the need for developing sets of biomarkers that predict the response to immune checkpoint blockade and immune-related adverse events. In this review, we discuss different predictive biomarkers for anti-PD-1/PD-L1 and anti-CTLA-4 inhibitors, including immune cells, PD-L1 overexpression, neoantigens, and genetic and epigenetic signatures. Potential approaches for further developing highly reliable predictive biomarkers should facilitate patient selection for and decision-making related to immune checkpoint inhibitor-based therapies.

• 약학회지
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• 제41권4호
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• pp.433-438
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• 1997

MT 51005 as a potent inhibitor of phospholipase C(PLC) was purified from the culture broth of a fungal strain No. 51005 isolated from soil. It was identified as a benzaldehyde d erivative, anguillosporal. by the physico-chemical properties and spectroscopic data. Anguillosporal showed the inhibitory activity against purified PLC with an $IC_{50}\;of\;13{\mu}g/ml$. And it also inhibited the formation of inositol phosphates($IP_t$) in platelet-derived growth factor(PDGF)-stimulated $NIH3T3{\gamma}1$ cells with an $IC_{50}\;of\;0.8{\mu}g/ml$.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• 제28권12호
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• pp.1337-1340
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• 2005

A lignan derivative, (-)-(7R, 8S)-dihydrodehydrodiconiferyl alcohol (DHDA), was isolated from Kalopanax septemlobus L. and was observed to have neuritogenic activity. DHDA at 50 $\mu$M caused a marked induction of neurite outgrowth and an enhancement of nerve growth factor (NGF)-mediated neurite outgrowth from PC12 cells. However, it did not exhibit any neurotrophic action. At 50 $\mu$M, DHDA enhanced NGF-induced neurite-bearing activity. This activity was partially blocked by the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitor PD98059 and by GF109203X, a protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor. These results suggest that DHDA can induce neurite outgrowth and enhance NGF-induced neurite outgrowth from PC12 cells by amplifying up-stream steps such as MAPK and PKC.

• 대한의생명과학회지
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• 제27권3호
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• pp.134-141
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• 2021

c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs) have a Janus face, regulating both cell apoptosis and survival. The present study focused on understanding the function of JNK in tumor development and the chemoresistance underlying JNK-mediated cancer cell survival. We identified an inhibitor of JNK1, an important regulator of cancer cell survival. Kinase assay data showed that JNK1-dependent c-Jun phosphorylation was inhibited by indirubin derivatives. In particular, indirubin-3-monoxime (I3M) directly inhibited the phosphorylation of c-Jun in vitro, with a half inhibition dose (IC₅₀) of 10 nM. I3M had a significant inhibitory effect on JNK1 activity. Furthermore, we carried out assays to determine the viability, migration, and proliferation of breast cancer cells. Our results demonstrated that cell growth, scratched wound healing, and colony forming abilities were inhibited by the JNK inhibitor SP600125 and I3M. The combination of SP600125 and I3M significantly decreased cancer cell proliferation, compared with either SP600125 or I3M alone. Our studies may provide further support for JNK1-targeting cancer therapy using the indirubin derivative I3M in breast cancer.

• 대한의사협회지
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• 제61권11호
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• pp.662-669
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• 2018

The cutaneous melanoma has been regarded as rare disease entity in Korea for long time but it shows a silent growth recently. Furthermore the management of cutaneous melanoma including staging system, surgical principle, sentinel lymph node biopsy and subsequent complete node dissection and, most importantly, immunotherapy and target therapy against cutaneous melanoma recently. The incidence of cutaneous melanoma is steadily increasing in Korea but its increase is rapid recent 2 decades to 4.3 times and should be greater soon according to the steeper increase of life expectancy. New staging system proposed by American Joint Committee on Cancer (2017) includes changes in individual TNM category and stage groups, particularly from a prognostic viewpoint. Dermoscopy has been successfully introduced in the differential diagnosis of pigmented skin lesion focusing on cutaneous melanoma by non-invasive simple diagnostic tool. Sentinel lymph node biopsy was a issue of long debate whether survival benefit is real or not. Temporary conclusion about this question is reached after two large scale studies and immediate complete node dissection should be performed in a certain situations. Most important change is drug therapy focusing on immunotherapy and target therapy. Braf- and MEK-inhibitor, immune checkpoint inhibitor and PD-1 blocker has been proved to be effective as a sole or combination regimen against advanced and/or high-risk adjuvant setting of cutaneous melanoma. In conclusion, these remarkable changes will be reviewed shortly here.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제31권4호
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• pp.425-433
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• 2023

During liver injury, hepatic stellate cells can differentiate into myofibroblast-like structures, which are more susceptible to proliferation, migration, and extracellular matrix generation, leading to liver fibrosis. Anaerobic glycolysis is associated with activated stellate cells and glyceraldehyde (GA) is an inhibitor of glucose metabolism. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the anti-fibrotic effects of GA in human stellate LX-2 cells. In this study, we used cell viability, morphological analysis, fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), western blotting, and qRT-PCR techniques to elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying the anti-fibrotic effects of GA in LX-2 cells. The results showed that GA significantly reduced cell density and inhibited cell proliferation and lactate levels in LX-2 cells but not in Hep-G2 cells. We found that GA prominently increased the activation of caspase-3/9 for apoptosis induction, and a pan-caspase inhibitor, Z-VAD-fmk, attenuated the cell death and apoptosis effects of GA, suggesting caspase-dependent cell death. Moreover, GA strongly elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and notably increased the phosphorylation of ERK and JNK. Interestingly, it dramatically reduced α-SMA and collagen type I protein and mRNA expression levels in LX-2 cells. Thus, inhibition of ERK and JNK activation significantly rescued GA-induced cell growth suppression and apoptosis in LX-2 cells. Collectively, the current study provides important information demonstrating the anti-fibrotic effects of GA, a glycolytic metabolite, and demonstrates the therapeutic potency of metabolic factors in liver fibrosis.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제58권2호
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• pp.120-128
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• 2005

연구배경 : 인슐린 양 성장 인자 결합 단백질-3 (IGF binding protein-3, IGFBP-3)는 생체내와 실험관내에서 인슐린 양 성장인자 매개 신호전달 체계를 억제하여 비소 세포성 폐암 세포의 증식을 조절하는 것으로 알려져 있다. 이에 본 연구에서는 비소세포성 폐암의 치료에 있어 IGFBP-3를 이용한 치료전략의 개발을 위하여 IGFBP-3(Ad5CMV-BP3)와 FTI SCH66336의 병용치료 상승작용을 분석하였다. 방 법 : 비소세포성 폐암 세포주의 성장에 Ad5CMV-BP3와 SCH66336의 병용투여가 미치는 효과를 측정하기 위하여 비소세포성 폐암 세포주와 IGFBP-3를 발현하는 recombinant adenovirus(Ad5CMV-BP3)를 이용하였고 흉선이 없는 nude mice의 등에 H1299 폐암 세포를 피하 주사한 후 Ad5CMV-BP3와 SCH66336의 병용치료 상승작용을 단일 치료와 비교 분석하였다. 결 과 : SCH66336과 Ad5CMV-BP3 병용처리는 단일 약제보다 더 큰 증식 억제효과 상승작용을 보였으며 nude mice에서도 병용치료 시 종양의 부피는 매우 의미 있는 감소를 보였다. 결 론 : 본 연구의 결과를 통하여 저자들은 SCH66336이 IGFBP-3와 병용투여시 실험실내와 생체내에서 비소 세포성 폐암세포의 세포자멸사에 상승적인 효과가 있다는 것을 처음으로 입증하였으며, 이는 비소세포성 폐암의 치료에 있어 Ad5CMV-BP3와 SCH66336의 병용치료가 임상적으로 사용될 수 있음을 시사하는 것이라 하겠다.

• Applied Microscopy
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• 제36권3호
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• pp.165-172
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• 2006

분비백혈구단백분해효소억제제 (SLPI)는 염증 부위에서 중성구 엘라스타제에 의한 손상 작용에 대해 조직을 보호하는 역할을 한다. SLPI의 새로운 기능에 대한 연구들은 단백질분해효소억제제 역할보다는 선천적 면역반응 작용에 주로 관여 할 것임을 보고하였다. 따라서 본 연구는 섬유모세포 세포주(NIH3T3)에서 박테리아성지질다당류(LPS)자극에 의한 SLPI의 기능을 확인하기 위하여 LPS처리에 따른 여러 성장 인자들과 비교하여 SLPI의 발현을 알아보았다. 역전사효소 중합반응(RT-PCR)과 면역학적 단백질 검출법 (Western blot)은 LPS 처리 후 SLPI와 몇몇 성장 인자들(VEGF, bFGF, PDGF)의 mRNA와 단백질의 검출을 위해 수행하였다. NIH3T3 세포주를 mL당 100ng의 LPS에 각각 30, 60, 90분, 24, 48시간 동안 노출시켰다. RT-PCR 결과 SLPI와 VEGF mRNA는 LPS처리와는 상관없이 강한 발현 양상을 보였다. bFGF mRNA는 대조군과 같이 약하게 발현하였고, PDGF mRNA는 LPS 노출 시간에 따라 점진적으로 증가하는 양상을 나타냈다. 그러나 세포질 용해액과 세포 배양액에서 SLPI단백질의 수준은 LPS처리에 의해 증가하였다. 또한 광학 현미경 관찰과 전자 현미경 관찰은 LPS가 NIH3T3세포주의 형태학적인 변화를 유발시킴을 증명하였다. 따라서 LPS는 NIH3T3세포에서 SLPI의 발현 증가를 조절하며, 분비된 SLPI는 세포분열과 이동을 자극할 것이라는 결론을 얻었다. SLPI가 세포분열과 세포이동에 어떻게 관여하는지는 아직까지 규명되지 않은 실정이므로-추후에 SLPI단백질이나 유전자 도입을 통하여 세포 이동에 관련된 실험이 진행되어야 할 것이다.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제24권6호
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• pp.572-580
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• 2016

3-Deoxysappanchalcone (3-DSC) has been reported to possess anti-allergic, antiviral, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. In the present study, we investigated the effects of 3-DSC on the proliferation of human hair follicle dermal papilla cells (HDPCs) and mouse hair growth in vivo. A real-time cell analyzer system, luciferase assay, Western blot and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were employed to measure the biochemical changes occurring in HDPCs in response to 3-DSC treatment. The effect of 3-DSC on hair growth in C57BL/6 mice was also examined. 3-DSC promoted the proliferation of HDPCs, similar to Tofacitinib, an inhibitor of janus-activated kinase (JAK). 3-DSC promoted phosphorylation of ${\beta}$-catenin and transcriptional activation of the T-cell factor. In addition, 3-DSC potentiated interleukin-6 (IL-6)-induced phosphorylation and subsequent transactivation of signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (STAT3), thereby increasing the expression of cyclin-dependent kinase-4 (Cdk4), fibroblast growth factor (FGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). On the contrary, 3-DSC attenuated STAT6 mRNA expression and IL4-induced STAT6 phosphorylation in HDPCs. Finally, we observed that topical application of 3-DSC promoted the anagen phase of hair growth in C57BL/6 mice. 3-DSC stimulates hair growth possibly by inducing proliferation of follicular dermal papilla cells via modulation of $WNT/{\beta}$-catenin and STAT signaling.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제43권6호
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• pp.581-589
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• 2020

Neurons have multiple dendrites and single axon. This neuronal polarity is gradually established during early processes of neuronal differentiation: generation of multiple neurites (stages 1-2); differentiation (stage 3) and maturation (stages 4-5) of an axon and dendrites. In this study, we demonstrated that the neuron-specific n-glycosylated protein NELL2 is important for neuronal polarization and axon growth using cultured rat embryonic hippocampal neurons. Endogenous NELL2 expression was gradually increased in parallel with the progression of developmental stages of hippocampal neurons, and overexpression of NELL2 stimulated neuronal polarization and axon growth. In line with these results, knockdown of NELL2 expression resulted in deterioration of neuronal development, including inhibition of neuronal development progression, decreased axon growth and increased axon branching. Inhibitor against extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) dramatically inhibited NELL2-induced progression of neuronal development and axon growth. These results suggest that NELL2 is an important regulator for the morphological development for neuronal polarization and axon growth.