• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.105-112
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• 2011

We evaluated whether liver markers such as aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT), and bilirubin have a relationship with other physiological factors in the normal (n=115) and fatty liver subjects (n=122) and there are differences between the two populations. Body indices were higher in the fatty liver group than in the normal group. Liver markers and blood pressure (BP) were greater in the fatty liver group than in the normal group. AST and ALT levels were positively correlated with body indices in the fatty liver group, but not in the normal group. AST, ALT and GGT levels in the fatty liver group had positive relationship with cardiovascular indices (CI). ALP and bilirubin levels were negatively associated with some of CI. Liver markers were negatively or positively correlated with inflammatory markers, thyroid hormones, or several biochemical markers levels. These findings suggest that abnormal changes in liver markers may be useful tool for diagnosis or prognosis of development of cardiovascular and/or inflammatory diseases as well as metabolic syndrome.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.170-179
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• 2015

Purpose: To examine the relationships between self-care, social support, and biological markers in liver transplant recipients. Methods: The participants included 118 liver transplant recipients who visited outpatient clinic at Y University Hospital in Seoul from April to May, 2013. Questionnaires consisted of self-care and social support scales. The biological markers were collected by reviewing electronic medical records. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA with Scheff$\acute{e}$ post-hoc test, and Pearson's correlation. Results: The self-care score was significantly higher in a patient group within 6 months post-transplant when compared to a patient group post-transplant 3 to 5 years (F=3.10, p=.018). The self-care showed positive correlation with social support with statistical significance (r=.36, p<.001). Conclusion: As the self-care in liver transplant recipients had a positive correlation with social support from family and healthcare providers, the development of comprehensive long-term nursing intervention systems including counseling, education, and support in consideration of progress of time period after transplantation is necessary to enhance self-care behaviors among this population.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.345-350
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• 2019

Liver biopsy is the gold standard for diagnosing liver fibrosis, but it is invasive and has a risk for complications. For this reason, recently, study has been actively conducted on non-invasive liver fibrosis evaluation method. But, there is no established standard for the type of diffuse liver disease. Therefore, this study was suggest the usefulness and cut-off values of Fibroscan, FIB-4, APRI and AAR of patients with hepatitis C in Korea. According to the diagnosis, 240 people in hepatitis C are classified into fatty liver, chronic hepatitis, and liver cirrhosis. The statistical analysis was performed by ANOVA to verify difference between groups. The ROC curve was analyzed to determine the usefulness and practical cut-off value. As a result, for all diseases, the AUC value for Fibroscan was 0.8 over and the APRI was 0.7 over. Cut-off value of serum based liver fibrosis markers was increased in order of fatty liver, chronic hepatitis and liver cirrhosis. If Fibroscan and serological liver fibrosis markers are applied to predict liver fibrosis, it is expected that excessive liver biopsy can be reduced.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.248-256
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• 2014

Purpose: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in children has become an important public health issue because of its high prevalence and severity. Several noninvasive methods for estimating NAFLD are under investigation. We aimed to evaluate the usefulness of serum ferritin as a biomarker of severity of pediatric NAFLD patients. Methods: A total of 64 NAFLD patient were enrolled from Severance Children's Hospital from March 2010 to February 2013. Serum ferritin levels, liver related laboratory tests, liver magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (2-dimensional [2D] proton density-fat fraction) and NAFLD severity markers were compared between obese group and overweight group. Correlation analyses were performed between serum ferritin and laboratory values including NAFLD severity markers. Results: In obese group, serum ferritin, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), total bilirubin, international normalized ratio (INR), MRI 2D proton density-fat fraction, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) to platelet ratio index (APRI) and fibrosis- 4 (FIB-4) (an index score calculated from platelet count, ALT, AST and age) were significantly higher than those of overweight group. NAFLD severity markers, APRI and FIB-4, and liver specific important laboratory values, AST, ALT, INR, cholesterol, triglyceride and low density lipoprotein show significant correlation with serum ferritin in NAFLD patients. Conclusion: Serum ferritin concentrations could be a candidate of useful severity marker in the pediatric NAFLD patients.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.1328-1339
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• 2024

Cadmium (Cd) is a prevalent environmental contaminant that poses a potential hazard to the health of both humans and animals. In this study, biosynthesized selenium-enriched Lactobacillus plantarum and selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) were developed and evaluated for their protective effects against Cd-induced hepatic injury in mice through oral administration for 4 weeks. Cadmium exposure resulted in severe impairment of liver function, as evidenced by increased levels of serum markers of liver injury and, oxidative stress and significant damage to liver tissue, and a notable decrease in the diversity of the intestinal microbiota. Oral administration of Se-enriched L. plantarum (LS) reduced cadmium accumulation in the liver by 49.5% and, restored other cadmium-induced damage markers to normal levels. A comparison of the effects with those of L. plantarum (L) and SeNPs isolated from LS revealed that LS could more effectively alleviate hepatic oxidative stress and reduce the intrahepatic inflammatory responses of the liver, further protecting against cadmium-induced liver injury. These findings suggest that the development of LS may be effective at protecting the liver and intestinal tract from cadmium-induced damage.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Veterinary Pathology Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.16-16
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• 2003

Hepatic fibrosis is a common response to various chronic hepatic injuries and occurs as a consequence of the transformation of hepatic stellate cells into myofibroblasts (MFBs) producing abnormal extracellular matrix which is mainly induced by transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-${\beta}$), especially TGF-${\beta}$1 [1,2]. As the liver becomes fibrotic, there are both quantitative and qualitative changes in several pathological markers related to the hepatic fibrosis. These fibrotic markers in liver are mainly consisted of several proteins and cytokines, but sometimes included specific type cells. The aim of this study was to detect expression and change of markers (TGF-${\beta}$, mallory body, cytokeratin, ${\alpha}$-SMA, hypoxia, collagen) during hepatic fibrogenesis. (omitted)

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.177-187
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• 2021

Metabolic syndrome (MBS) is a widespread disease that has strongly related to unhealthy diet and low physical activity, which initiate more serious conditions such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes mellitus. This study aimed to examine the therapeutic effects of morin, as one of the flavonoids constituents, which widely exists in many herbs and fruits, against some metabolic and hepatic manifestations observed in MBS rats and the feasible related mechanisms. MBS was induced in rats by high fructose diet feeding for 12 weeks. Morin (30 mg/kg) was administered orally to both normal and MBS rats for 4 weeks. Liver tissues were used for determination of liver index, hepatic expression of glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2) as well as both inflammatory and fibrotic markers. The fat/muscle ratio, metabolic parameters, systolic blood pressure, and oxidative stress markers were also determined. Our data confirmed that the administration of morin in fructose diet rats significantly reduced the elevated systolic blood pressure. The altered levels of metabolic parameters such as blood glucose, serum insulin, serum lipid profile, and oxidative stress markers were also reversed approximately to the normal values. In addition, morin treatment decreased liver index, serum liver enzyme activities, and fat/muscle ratio. Furthermore, morin relatively up-regulated GLUT2 expression, however, down-regulated NF-κB, TNF-α, and TGF-β expressions in the hepatic tissues. Here, we revealed that morin has an exquisite effect against metabolic disorders in the experimental model through, at least in part, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-fibrotic mechanisms.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.64 no.1
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• pp.31-36
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• 2021

Background: The diagnosis of esophageal varices (EV) is based on the findings of esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD), biopsy, and serum markers. Thus, noninvasive cost-effective tests through which high-risk EV children can be diagnosed are needed. Purpose: This cross-sectional study aimed to identify the noninvasive markers for EV in children with liver cirrhosis. Methods: A total of 98 children with liver cirrhosis were evaluated in this study. The spleen size, platelet count, serum albumin, liver function test results, and risk scores were evaluated prior to endoscopy. The endoscopic investigations aimed to identify the presence of EV and red signs, and determine varices sizes. Results: Endoscopy revealed varices in 43 subjects (43.9%). The spleen size, platelet count, international normalized ratio, aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index (APRI), platelet count to spleen size ratio, and risk score differed significantly between patients with and without EV on univariate analysis; however, the logistic regression analysis showed no differences, indicating that none of these parameters were independently associated with the presence of EV. Conclusion: Platelet count, risk score, platelet count to spleen size, and APRI can be useful tools for the identification of high-risk patients with EV and might reduce the need for invasive methods like EGD.

• Anatomy and Cell Biology
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.94-108
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• 2023

Cancer cell heterogeneity is a serious problem in the control of tumor progression because it can cause chemoresistance and metastasis. Heterogeneity can be generated by various mechanisms, including genetic evolution of cancer cells, cancer stem cells (CSCs), and niche heterogeneity. Because the genetic heterogeneity of CSCs has been poorly characterized, the genetic mutation status of CSCs was examined using Exome-Seq and RNA-Seq data of liver cancer. Here we show that different surface markers for liver cancer stem cells (LCSCs) showed a unique propensity for genetic mutations. Cluster of differentiation 133 (CD133)-positive cells showed frequent mutations in the IRF2, BAP1, and ERBB3 genes. However, leucine-rich repeat-containing G protein-coupled receptor 5-positive cells showed frequent mutations in the CTNNB1, RELN, and ROBO1 genes. In addition, some genetic mutations were frequently observed irrespective of the surface markers for LCSCs. BAP1 mutations was frequently observed in CD133-, CD24-, CD13-, CD90-, epithelial cell adhesion molecule-, or keratin 19-positive LCSCs. ASXL2, ERBB3, IRF2, TLX3, CPS1, and NFATC2 mutations were observed in more than three types of LCSCs, suggesting that common mechanisms for the development of these LCSCs. The present study provides genetic heterogeneity depending on the surface markers for LCSCs. The genetic heterogeneity of LCSCs should be considered in the development of LCSC-targeting therapeutics.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.312-319
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• 2021

Objective: Stress-induced cytotoxicity caused by xenobiotics and endogenous metabolites induces the production of reactive oxygen species and often results in damage to cellular components such as DNA, proteins, and lipids. The cytochrome P450 (CYP) family of enzymes are most abundant in hepatocytes, where they play key roles in regulating cellular stress responses. We aimed to determine the effects of the antioxidant compound, methylsulfonylmethane (MSM), on oxidative stress response, and study the cytochrome P450 family 3 subfamily A (CYP3A) gene expression in fetal horse hepatocytes. Methods: The expression of hepatocyte markers and CYP3A family genes (CYP3A89, CYP3A93, CYP3A94, CYP3A95, CYP3A96, and CYP3A97) were assessed in different organ tissues of the horse and fetal horse liver-derived cells (FHLCs) using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. To elucidate the antioxidant effects of MSM on FHLCs, cell viability, levels of oxidative markers, and gene expression of CYP3A were investigated in H2O2-induced oxidative stress in the presence and absence of MSM. Results: FHLCs exhibited features of liver cells and simultaneously maintained the typical genetic characteristics of normal liver tissue; however, the expression profiles of some liver markers and CYP3A genes, except that of CYP3A93, were different. The expression of CYP3A93 specifically increased after the addition of H2O2 to the culture medium. MSM treatment reduced oxidative stress as well as the expression of CYP3A93 and heme oxygenase 1, an oxidative marker in FHLCs. Conclusion: MSM could reduce oxidative stress and hepatotoxicity in FHLCs by altering CYP3A93 expression and related signaling pathways.