• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.260-275
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• 2022

Sterile alpha motif (SAM) domains bind to various proteins, lipids, and RNAs. However, these domains have not yet been analyzed as prognostic biomarkers. In this study, SAM domain containing 13 (SAMD13), a member of the SAM domain, was evaluated to identify a novel prognostic biomarker in various human cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Moreover, we identified a correlation between SAMD13 expression and immune cell infiltration in HCC. We performed bioinformatics analysis using online databases, such as Tumor Immune Estimation Resource, UALCAN, Kaplan-Meier plotter, LinkedOmics, and Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis2. SAMD13 expression in HCC samples was significantly higher than that in normal liver tissue; additionally, SAMD13 was higher in primary tumors, various stages of cancer and grades of tumor, and status of nodal metastasis. Higher SAMD13 expression was also associated with poorer prognosis. SAMD13 expression positively correlated with CD8+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, B cells, neutrophils, macrophages, and dendritic cells. In the analysis of SAMD13 co-expression networks, positively related genes of SAMD13 were associated with a high hazard ratio in different types of cancer, including HCC. In biological function of SAMD13, SAMD13 mainly include spliceosome, ribosome biogenesis in eukaryote, ribosome, etc. These results suggest that SAMD13 may serve as a novel prognostic biomarker for HCC diagnosis and provide novel insights into tumor immunology in HCC.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.338-345
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• 2001

An experiment was conducted to determine the optimal inclusion ratio of spray dried plasma protein (SDPP) and dried porcine solubles (DPS) for maximizing growth and improving immunity in weaned pigs. One hundred-fifty male (barrow) pigs were allotted in a completely randomized block design. Treatments were as follows: 1) control (6% SDPP), 2) S6D6 (6% SDPP+6% DPS), 3) S6D3 (6% SDPP+3% DPS), 4) S3D6 (3% SDPP+6% DPS) and 5) S3D3 (3% SDPP+3% DPS). Each treatment has 6 replicates with 5 pigs per replicate. Average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) were highest, but not significantly different when pigs were fed a diet contained 6% SDPP and DPS from d 0 to 7 after weaning. Pigs fed the S6D3 diet showed better weight gain and feed intake than other treatments, especially compared with pigs fed S3D6 diet (p<0.05) from d 8 to 21 after weaning. For the overall experimental period, pigs fed the S6D3 diet showed the best improvement in ADG and ADFI. The digestibilities of dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) were higher in pigs fed the S6D6 diet than other diets from d 0 to 7 after weaning. However, pigs fed S6D3 diet showed higher DM, CP and essential amino acids (except methionine and arginine) digestibilities than pigs fed other diets from d 8 to 21 after weaning, although there was no significant difference. From d 8 to 21 after weaning, threonine, valine, isoleucine and leucine digestibilites were higher in S6D6 group, and phenyalanine, histidine, lysine and arginine digestibility were higher in S6D3 group than other groups. The ratio of CD4 and CD8 positive lymphocytes during the overall experimental period was independent of the ratio of SDPP and DPS. However, CD4+:CD8+ ratio was numerically lowered in pigs fed diet the S6D3 diet. Therefore, the present study suggests that an optimal inclusion ratio for maximizing growth performance and maintaining low immune status is 6% of SDPP and 3% of DPS in weaned pigs.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.235-247
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• 2019

Serological monitoring has been conducted worldwide for early diagnosis of disease and monitoring of immune status in poultry. This study was conducted to evaluate the immune status of layers with sera submitted to the Avian Disease Laboratory, Chungbuk National University from 2015 to 2017. The test results were analyzed by the time submitted and by the age of the chicks. Low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) showed a low positive rate of antibody compared with those of Newcastle disease, indicating that domestic vaccination against LPAI was not sufficient. The antibody profile of infectious bronchitis (IB) depicted high level of titer and a low tendency of CV as compared to the uninfected control flocks, which indicated that most layer farms have been exposed to the field IB virus. In case of avian metapneumovirus infection (aMPV) and Mycoplasma synoviae (MS), since the introduction of the vaccine in 2011 and 2017, respectively, the positive rate and the titer level were higher than those in pevious times. No significant difference in the changes of seasonal result was observed, indicating proper vaccination and improvement in biosecurity and management.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.965-972
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• 2020

Objective: Astragalus membranaceus root is a well-known traditional Chinese herbal medicine with many biological active constituents. This study was conducted to examine the effects of Astragalus membranaceus root powder (AMP) on growth performance, serum antioxidant and immune response in finishing lambs. Methods: A total of thirty-six Guangling fat-tailed ram lambs (body weight = 19±2 kg, mean±standard deviation) were randomly assigned to one of six treatments for a 40 d feeding period, with the first 10 d for adaptation. Treatments consisted of the lambs' basal diets with addition of 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 g/kg of diet of AMP. Results: Response to supplementation level of AMP was quadratic (p≤0.032) for final weight and ADG with the greatest at 10 g/kg of diet, but dry matter intake was not affected (p≥0.227) by treatments. The increase of AMP supplementation resulted in a quadratic response in contents of triglyceride and creatinine (p<0.05), with the lowest values for 10 and 20 g/kg of diet, respectively. A linear and quadratic decrease was observed in activity of alkaline phosphatase in serum of lambs. As the AMP supplementation increased, the activities of total superoxide dismutase and total antioxidant capacity increased linearly (p≤0.018) and hydroxyl radical (OH^-) decreased linearly (p = 0.002). For catalase (CAT) and malondialdehyde (MDA), quadratic (p≤0.001) effects were observed among treatments, with the greatest CAT and lowest MDA values at 10 g/kg AMP. Additionally, supplementing AMP up to a level of 10 or 15 g/kg of diet quadratically increased immunoglobulin and interleukin contents in the serum. Conclusion: The results indicated that AMP can be used as natural feed additive in the ration of lambs to improve ADG, antioxidant status, and immune functions, and the optimal dose was 10 g/kg of diet under the condition of this experiment.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.250-256
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• 2016

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of graded levels of isomaltooligosaccharides (IMO) on the performance, immune function and intestinal microflora and intestinal mucosal morphology of weaned pigs. In a 28-day experiment, one hundred eighty, twenty eight-day-old, crossbred (Duroc${\times}$Large White${\times}$Landrace), weaned pigs, with an initial body weight of $8.19{\pm}1.45kg$, were fed either an unsupplemented corn-soybean meal based diet or similar diets supplemented with 0.2%, 0.4%, 0.6%, or 0.8% IMO added at the expense of corn. Each treatment was replicated six times with six pigs (three barrows and three gilts) per pen. From day 0 to 14, weight gain was linearly increased (p<0.05), while gain:feed (p<0.05) was linearly improved and diarrhea rate (p = 0.05) linearly declined as the IMO level increased. On d 14, the level of the immunoglobulins IgA, IgM, and IgG in the serum of pigs were linearly increased (p<0.05) with increasing IMO supplementation. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) was linearly (p<0.05) and quadratically (p<0.05) decreased as IMO intake increased. From day 15 to 28, there was a trend for weight gain to be linearly increased, and IL-2 was linearly (p<0.05) increased as IMO supplementation increased on d 28. Over the entire experiment, weight gain was linearly increased (p<0.05), while gain:feed (p<0.05) was linearly improved and diarrhea rate (p<0.05) was linearly decreased as the IMO level increased. Supplementation with IMO had no effect on the intestinal microflora of pigs in the ileum and cecum of pigs, as well as the villus height and crypt depth in the ileum and jejunum (p>0.05). These results indicate that dietary inclusion of IMO increases weight gain, gain:feed and enhanced the immune status of pigs, and could be a valuable feed additive for use in weaned pigs, particularly during the period immediately after weaning.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.483-494
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• 1994

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of nutritional status on the cell-mediated and humoral immunity in female college students. The nutritional status of twenty subjects was determined by six-days food records, anthropometric measurements, and biochemical assessments of serum nutrients. Cell-mediated and humoral immunity of the subjects was analyzed by in vivo and in vitro assessments. The results were summerized as follows : First, The average daily energy intake was 1437Kcal(CHO : PRO : FAT = 61:13:26), which corresponds to 71.9% of RDA. Anthropometric measurements showed that 50% of the subjects was under-weight(BMI<20), only 5% was over-weight(25

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.83 no.1
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• pp.14-19
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• 2020

Lung cancer remains the most common cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Although there are many possible treatments, including targeted therapies such as epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors and anaplastic lymphoma kinase inhibitors, new therapeutic strategies are needed to improve clinical outcomes. Immunotherapy through the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors has provided one of the most important breakthroughs in the management of solid tumors, including lung cancers, and has shown promising results in numerous clinical trials. This review will present the current status of immunotherapy for lung cancer and future perspectives on these treatments.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.136-148
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• 2020

A bispecific antibody (BsAb) is an artificial protein containing two kinds of specific antigen binding sites. BsAb can connect target cells to functional cells or molecules, and thus stimulate a directed immune response. Last several decades a wide variety of bsAb formats and production technologies have been developed. BsAbs are constructed either chemically or biologically, exploiting techniques like cell fusion and recombinant DNA technologies. There are over 100 different formats of bsAb so far developed, but they could be classified into the two main categories such as Fc-based (with a Fc region) bsAbs and fragment-based (without a Fc region) bsAbs. BsAb has a broad application prospect in tumor immunotherapy and drug delivery. Here, we present a brief introduction to the structure of antibody, pharmacological mechanisms of antibodies and the trend in the production technologies of therapeutic antibodies. In addition, we address a review on the current status of various bsAb format development and their production technologies together with global situation in the clinical studies of bsAb.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.4.1-4.18
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• 2021

The global outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is still threatening human health, economy, and social life worldwide. As a counteraction for this devastating disease, a number of vaccines are being developed with unprecedented speed combined with new technologies. As COVID-19 vaccines are being developed in the absence of a licensed human coronavirus vaccine, there remain further questions regarding the long-term efficacy and safety of the vaccines, as well as immunological mechanisms in depth. This review article discusses the current status of COVID-19 vaccine development, mainly focusing on antigen design, clinical trials in later stages, and immunological considerations for further study.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.107-111
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• 2017

Objectives: Radiation is one of the most important sources of free radical (such as reactive oxygen species) production, which plays an essential role in the etiology of over hundred diseases. The aim of the study was to investigate some immune parameters and hematological indices in healthy workers of the Radiology Department, University Hospital of Mashhad, Iran. Methods: The study was performed on 50 healthy workers: 30 radiology staff as the case group and 20 laboratory workers as the control group. The radiation dose received by the radiology staff participating in the study was less than the annual maximum permissible level, 50 millisievert. Hematological parameters, lymphocyte proliferation and cytokine production were studied in both groups. Results: Among healthy radiology workers, the hematological indices did not differ statistically; however, their proliferation indices and $IFN-{\gamma}$ levels showed significant increases in parallel with decreases in the IL-4 levels as compared to controls. The immune system of workers exposed to low-dose ionizing radiation was found to be shifted from a Type 2 to a Type 1 response to promote cellular immunity. Conclusion: Based on our data, exposure to low-dose ionizing radiation may decrease the prevalence, frequency, and recurrence of various cancers and infectious diseases because of an increase in Th1-cell-based response, thus leading to more protection of the human body against tumor cells and foreign agents and possibly increased longevity. However, due to high rate of fluoroscopy use for interventional radiology, we suggest continuing research projects on radiation protection and hazards to prevent irreversible damage. As a recommendation, in future studies, radiology staff with a weakened immunity due to high radiation exposure should be considered as good choices to be treated using acupuncture techniques because acupuncture has been demonstrated to enhance the function and the number of immune cells.