• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.266-270
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• 1998

The management of malignant pleural effusion is a difficult problem. Tetracycline was probably the most commonly used sclerosing agent, but parenteral tetracycline is no longer available. This prospective study was designed to determine the efficacy of insufflated talc in producing plerodesisin patients with malignant pleural effusions. Fifteen patients managed between March 1995 and March 1997 underwent thoracoscopy and had 4 gm sterile asbestos-free talc insufflation throughout the pleural space. The mean interval between the procedure and last follow-up was 101 days(range: 25-233 days). The results of treatment were clinically and radiologically compared with pre-operative status. The results were as follows: 1. The patients were 6 men and 9 women with a mean age of 55.1 years(range: 31-74 years). The primary tumors were lung cancer in 10 patients, breast cancer in two, hepatoma in one, stomach cancer in one, and adenocarcinoma of unkown origin in one. 2. Cancer cell positive ratio was 36% in sputum cytology study and 100% in thoracoscopic biopsy. 3. Symptoms improved in 94% of patients treated by talc pleurodesis. 4. After 30 days of the procedure, there was radiologically no recurrence of plural fluid in 94% patients. 5. There were wound infection in one, respiratory failure in one. In conclusion, the insufflation of 4 gm sterile asbestos-free talc in the pleural space is an effective method to control malignant pleural effusions and patients selection is important factor for reexpansion the lung.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.337-344
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• 2018

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a major type of hepatoma, is associated with high recurrence and mortality because of its uncontrolled metastatic feature. Silymarin is a polyphenolic flavonoid from Silybum marianun (milk thistle) and exhibits anti-carcinogenic activity through modulation of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in several cancer cells. In this study, the inhibitory mechanism of silymarin against migration and invasion was investigated in the Huh7 HCC cell line. Wound healing and in vitro invasion assays were conducted to examine the effects of silymarin on migration and invasion. Western blot analysis was also applied to evaluate the inhibitory effects of silymarin on the EMT-related genes and their upstream signaling molecules. Silymarin inhibited the migratory and invasive activities of Huh7 cells. In addition, silymarin attenuated the protein expression levels of vimentin and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 as well as their transcription factors, Snail, and nuclear factor $(NF)-{\kappa}B$, while the expression of E-cadherin was increased by the silymarin treatment. Among the upstream signaling molecules, the phosphorylation of Akt was inhibited by the silymarin treatment, which was confirmed by the selective inhibitor, LY294002. Consequently, silymarin inhibited the invasive and migratory activities in Huh7 cells through the modulation of EMT-related gene expression by the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, which may have potential as a chemopreventive agent against HCC metastasis.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.127-137
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Yong-dam-sa-gan-tang (YST) on apoptosis in HepG2 cells, First of all. to study the cytotoxic effect of methanol extract of YST on HepG2 cells, the cells were treated with various concentrations of YST and then cell viability was determined by XTT reduction method and trypan blue exclusion assay. YST reduced proliferation of HepG2 cells in a dose-dependent manner. To confirm the induction of apoptosis, HepG2 cells were treated with various concentrations of YST. The cleavage of poly AD P-ribose polymerase (P ARP), a substrate for caspase-3 and a typical sign of apoptosis, and the activation of caspase-3, procaspase-8 and procaspase-8 were examined by western blot analysis. YST decreased procaspase-3, procaspase-8 and procaspase-9 levels in a dose-dependent manner and induced the clevage of PARP. YST triggered the mitochondrial apoptotic signaling by increasing the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria to cytosol. Furthermore, YST also downregulated the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 and upregulated the pro-apoptotic-Bax. Therefore, this result suggest that YST induced HepG2 cell death through the mitochondrial pathway. Sustained activation of the Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK cascade in cells results in a cell cycle arrest and has been implicated in the differentiation of certain cell types, in many cases acting to promote differentiation. YST decreased the activation of Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK cascade in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that YST is potentially useful as a chemo-therapeutic agent in HepG2.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.2753-2758
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• 2014

Background: GC-binding factor 2 (GCF2) is a transcriptional regulator that represses transcriptional activity of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) by binding to a specific GC-rich sequence in the EGFR gene promoter. In addition to this function, GCF2 has also been identified as a tumor-associated antigen and regarded as a potentially valuable serum biomarker for early human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) diagnosis. GCF2 is high expressed in most HCC tissues and cell lines including HepG2. This study focused on the influence of GCF2 on cell proliferation and apoptosis in HepG2 cells. Materials and Methods: GCF2 expression at both mRNA and protein levels in HepG2 cells was detected with reverse transcription (RT) PCR and Western blotting, respectively. RNA interference (RNAi) technology was used to knock down GCF2 mRNA and protein expression. Afterwards, cell viability was analyzed with a Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), and cell apoptosis and caspase 3 activity by flow cytometry and with a Caspase 3 Activity Kit, respectively. Results: Specific down-regulation of GCF2 expression caused cell growth inhibition, and increased apoptosis and caspase 3 activity in HepG2 cells. Conclusions: These primary results suggest that GCF2 may influence cell proliferation and apoptosis in HepG2 cells, and also provides a molecular basis for further investigation into the possible mechanism at proliferation and apoptosis in HCC.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.22
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• pp.9655-9660
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• 2014

Background: Nigella Sativa (NS) is an herb from the Ranunculaceae family that exhibits numerous medicinal properties and has been used as important constituent of many complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs). The ability of NS to kill cancer cells such as PC3, HeLa and hepatoma cells is well established. However, our understanding of the mode of death caused by NS remains nebulous. The objective of this study was to gain further insight into the mode and mechanism of death caused by NS in breast cancer MCF-7 cells. Materials and Methods: Human breast cancer cells (MCF-7) were treated with a methanolic extract of NS, and a dose- and time-dependent study was performed. The $IC_{50}$ was calculated using a Cell Titer $Blue^{(R)}$ viability assay assay, and evidence for DNA fragmentation was obtained by fluorescence microscopy TUNEL assay. Gene expression was also profiled for a number of apoptosis-related genes (Caspase-3, -8, -9 and p53 genes) through qPCR. Results: The $IC_{50}$ of MCF-7 cells was $62.8{\mu}L/mL$. When MCF-7 cells were exposed to $50{\mu}L/mL$ and $100{\mu}L/mL$ NS for 24h, 48h and 72h, microscopic examination (TUNEL assay) revealed a dose- and time-dependent increase in apoptosis. Similarly, the expression of the Caspase-3, -8, -9 and p53 genes increased significantly according to the dose and time. Conclusions: NS induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells through both the p53 and caspase pathways. NS could potentially represent an alternative source of medicine for breast cancer therapy.

• The Journal of the Korean bone and joint tumor society
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.133-138
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• 2001

Purpose : To analyze the clinical behaviors and survivorship of metastatic bone tumors. Materials and Methods : One hundred and ninty-eight metastatic bone tumors had been diagnosed from January 1982 to December 1998. Age and sex distribution, primary cancer types. metastatic sites, duration from diagnosed of primary tumors to bony metastases and survivorship were analysed. Results : Mean age was 57(24~86) years old. Lung(32.3%) and breast(16.2%) cancers were two most common primary foci. The spines was the most common site of metastases especially lumbar region(38%). Survivorship analysis was done in one hundred and fifteen patients who had been followed up. The mean survival period was 15.3 months. The survivorship of hepatoma(7.1 Mons), lung(8.72 Mons) and renal cell(4.8 Mons)cancers was relatively shorter and breast cancer(54.1 Mons) longest. Conclusion : The mean age of metastatic bone tumors of this study was older than the past reports. The axial skeletons especially spine was predominant metastatic site. The survivorship of metastatic bone tumor decreased sharply as time goes by, so early diagnosis is clue for longer survival after bony metastases.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.707-711
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• 2006

Phase 2 enzymes are transcriptionally induced by a wide variety of chemical agents and natural products, and their induction plays a critical role in protection against chemical carcinogens and other toxic xenobiotics. The activity of the methanol extract and fractions of paprika (Capsicum annuum L.) was examined in murine Hepa1c1c7 cells for the induction of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (phosphate) NAD(P)H/quinone reductase (QR). The ethyl acetate (EtOAc) fraction induced QR activity in a dose-dependent manner in the concentration range of 10 to $500\;{\mu}g/mL$ with a maximum of a 3.3-fold increase in induction. The EtOAc fraction also showed high QR induction potency in Ah-receptor-defective mutant of Hepa 1c1c7 cells ($BP^rcl$ cells), which indicates that this fraction is a monofunctional inducer of QR. These results suggest that useful cancer chemopreventive materials could be isolated from EtOAc fraction of Paprika.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.8
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• pp.4031-4036
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• 2012

Background: The negative signaling provided by interactions of the co-inhibitory molecule, programmed death-1 (PD-1), and its ligands, B7-H1 (PD-L1) and B7-DC (PD-L2), is a critical mechanism contributing to tumor evasion; blockade of this pathway has been proven to enhance cytotoxic activity and mediate antitumor therapy. Here we evaluated the anti-tumor efficacy of AAV-mediated delivery of the extracellular domain of murine PD-1 (sPD-1) to a tumor site. Material and Methods: An rAAV vector was constructed in which the expression of sPD-1, a known negative regulator of TCR signals, is driven by human cytomegalovirus immediate early promoter (CMV-P), using a triple plasmid transfection system. Tumor-bearing mice were then treated with the AAV/sPD1 construct and expression of sPD-1 in tumor tissues was determined by semi quantitative RT-PCR, and tumor weights and cytotoxic activity of splenocytes were measured. Results: Analysis of tumor homogenates revealed sPD-1 mRNA to be significantly overexpressed in rAAV/sPD-1 treated mice as compared with control levels. Its use for local gene therapy at the inoculation site of H22 hepatoma cells could inhibit tumor growth, also enhancing lysis of tumor cells by lymphocytes stimulated specifically with an antigen. In addition, PD-1 was also found expressed on the surfaces of activated CD8+ T cells. Conclusion: This study confirmed that expression of the soluble extracellular domain of PD-1 molecule could reduce tumor microenvironment inhibitory effects on T cells and enhance cytotoxicity. This suggests that it might be a potential target for development of therapies to augment T-cell responses in patients with malignancies.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.183-190
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• 2000

Medicinal plants with synergistic effects on growth inhibition of canter cells under oxidative stress were screened in this study. Methanol extracts from 51 natural medicinal plants which were reported to have anticancer effort on hepatoma stomach cancer or colon cancers which are frequently found in Korean, were prepared and screened for their synergistic activity on growth inhibition of cancer cells under chemically-induced oxidative stress by using MTT assay. Twenty seven samples showed synergistic activity on the growth inhibition in various extent under chemically-induced oxidative stress. Among those samples, eleven samples such as Melia azedarach, Agastache rugosa, Catalpa ovata, Prunus persica, Sinomenium acutum Pulsatilla koreana, Oldenlandia diffusa, Anthriscus sylvestris, Schizandra chinensis, Gieditsia sinensis, Cridium officinale, showed decrease in $IC_{50}$ values more than 50%, other 16 samples showed decrease in $IC_{50}$ values between 50-25%, compared with the value acquired when medicinal plant sample was used alone. Among those 11 samples, extract of Catalpa ovata showed the highest activity. $IC_{50}$ values were decrease to 61% and 28% when carcinoma cells were treated with Catalpa ovata extract in combination of 75 and 100 uM of hydrogen peroxide, respectively.

• BMB Reports
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.578-584
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• 1998

In a previous paper (Kim et al., 1996a), the immediate 5' -flanking region and coding region of the human UDP-N -acetylglucosamine:-D-mannoside-1,4-Nacetylglucosaminyltransferase III (N-acetylglucosaminyitransferase- III; GnT-III) gene was reported, isolated and analyzed. Herein, we report on amplification of a new 5' -noncoding region of the GnT-III mRNA by single-strand ligation to single-stranded cDNA-PCR (5' -RACE PCR) using poly(A)+ RNA isolated from human fetal liver cells. A cDNA clone was obtained with 5' sequences (96 bp) that diverged seven nucleotides upstream from the ATG (+1) start codon. A concensus splice junction sequence, TCTCCCGCAG, was found immediately 5' to the position where the sequences of the cDNA diverged. The result suggested the presence of an intron in the 5' -noncoding region and that the cDNA was an incompletely reversetranscribed cDNA product derived from an mRNA containing a new noncoding exon. When mRNA expression of GnT-III in various human tissues and cancer cell lines was examined, Northern blot analysis indicated high expression levels of GnT-III in human fetal kidney and brain tissues, as well as for a number of leukemia and lymphoma cancer cell lines. Promoter activities of the 5' -flanking regions of exon 1 and the new noncoding region were measured in a human hepatoma cell line, HepG2, by luciferase assays. The 5'-flanking region of exon 1 was the most active, whilst that of exon 2 was inactive.