• Title/Summary/Keyword: Laboratory Medicine

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Urinary Biomarkers for the Noninvasive Detection of Gastric Cancer

  • Li, Dehong;Yan, Li;Lin, Fugui;Yuan, Xiumei;Yang, Xingwen;Yang, Xiaoyan;Wei, Lianhua;Yang, Yang;Lu, Yan
    • Journal of Gastric Cancer
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    • v.22 no.4
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    • pp.306-318
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    • 2022
  • Gastric cancer (GC) is associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. Thus, early diagnosis is important to improve disease prognosis. Endoscopic assessment represents the most reliable imaging method for GC diagnosis; however, it is semi-invasive and costly and heavily depends on the skills of the endoscopist, which limit its clinical applicability. Therefore, the search for new sensitive biomarkers for the early detection of GC using noninvasive sampling collection methods has attracted much attention among scientists. Urine is considered an ideal biofluid, as it is readily accessible, less complex, and relatively stable than plasma and serum. Over the years, substantial progress has been made in screening for potential urinary biomarkers for GC. This review explores the possible applications and limitations of urinary biomarkers in GC detection and diagnosis.

Clinical application of insect-based diet in canine allergic dermatitis

  • Lee, Kang-Il;Chae, Yeon;Yun, Taesik;Koo, Yoonhoi;Lee, Dohee;Kim, Hakhyun;So, Kyoung-Min;Cho, Woo Jae;Kim, Ha-Jung;Yang, Mhan-Pyo;Kang, Byeong-Teck
    • Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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    • v.61 no.4
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    • pp.36.1-36.8
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    • 2021
  • The objective of this study was to evaluate the beneficial effects of the short-term application of insect-based diet in canine allergic dermatitis. Total 19 atopic dogs with concurrent cutaneous adverse food reactions were enrolled and classified into 3 groups. The treatment group (n = 7) was fed insect-based diet, the positive control group (n = 6) was fed salmon-based diet, and the negative control group (n = 6) was fed commercial or homemade diet for 12 weeks. The degree of skin lesions was evaluated based on canine atopic dermatitis extent and severity index (CADESI-4). Additionally, transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and pruritus visual analog scale were evaluated. All indices were evaluated every 4 weeks after the initial administration of hypoallergenic diets. In the treatment group, significant decrease in the CADESI-4 score was observed at 8 weeks compared to the baseline score (p = 0.031). There were significant differences in the CADESI-4 score between the groups at 8 weeks (p = 0.008), 12 weeks (p = 0.012), and TEWL at 12 weeks (p = 0.022). This preliminary result demonstrates the potential hypoallergenicity of an insect-based diet through features that diminish cutaneous lesions and skin barrier dysfunction.

Cathelicidin-related Antimicrobial Peptide Contributes to Host Immune Responses Against Pulmonary Infection with Acinetobacter baumannii in Mice

  • Min-Jung Kang;Ah-Ra Jang;Ji-Yeon Park;Jae-Hun Ahn;Tae-Sung Lee;Dong-Yeon Kim;Do-Hyeon Jung;Eun-Jung Song;Jung Joo Hong;Jong-Hwan Park
    • IMMUNE NETWORK
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    • v.20 no.3
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    • pp.25.1-25.13
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    • 2020
  • Acinetobacter baumannii is known for its multidrug antibiotic resistance. New approaches to treating drug-resistant bacterial infections are urgently required. Cathelicidin-related antimicrobial peptide (CRAMP) is a murine antimicrobial peptide that exerts diverse immune functions, including both direct bacterial cell killing and immunomodulatory effects. In this study, we sought to identify the role of CRAMP in the host immune response to multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. Wild-type (WT) and CRAMP knockout mice were infected intranasally with the bacteria. CRAMP-/- mice exhibited increased bacterial colony-forming units (CFUs) in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid after A. baumannii infection compared to WT mice. The loss of CRAMP expression resulted in a significant decrease in the recruitment of immune cells, primarily neutrophils. The levels of IL-6 and CXCL1 were lower, whereas the levels of IL-10 were significantly higher in the BAL fluid of CRAMP-/- mice compared to WT mice 1 day after infection. In an in vitro assay using thioglycollate-induced peritoneal neutrophils, the ability of bacterial phagocytosis and killing was impaired in CRAMP-/- neutrophils compared to the WT cells. CRAMP was also essential for the production of cytokines and chemokines in response to A. baumannii in neutrophils. In addition, the A. baumannii-induced inhibitor of κB-α degradation and phosphorylation of p38 MAPK were impaired in CRAMP-/- neutrophils, whereas ERK and JNK phosphorylation was upregulated. Our results indicate that CRAMP plays an important role in the host defense against pulmonary infection with A. baumannii by promoting the antibacterial activity of neutrophils and regulating the innate immune responses.

Antifungal Susceptibility Tests and the cyp51 Mutant Strains among Clinical Aspergillus fumigatus Isolates from Korean Multicenters

  • Won, Eun Jeong;Joo, Min Young;Lee, Dain;Kim, Mi-Na;Park, Yeon-Joon;Kim, Soo Hyun;Shin, Myung Geun;Shin, Jong Hee
    • Mycobiology
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    • v.48 no.2
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    • pp.148-152
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    • 2020
  • We investigated the antifungal susceptibilities and the cyp51 mutant strains among Aspergillus fumigatus clinical isolates obtained from 10 university hospitals in Korea. Of the 84 isolates examined, two itraconazole-resistant isolates were found with no amino acid substitution in the cyp51A/cyp51B genes. However, 19 (23.2%) azole-susceptible isolates harbored amino acid substitutions: Nine isolates harbored one to five mutations in cyp51A with high polymorphism, and 11 isolates exhibited the same Q42L mutation in cyp51B. Overall, a low azole resistance rate and high frequency of cyp51A/cyp51B amino acid substitutions were observed in the azole-susceptible A. fumigatus isolates in Korea.