• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.12
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• pp.7085-7090
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• 2013

Objective: Published data have shown that microRNAs (miRNAs) could play a potential role as diagnostic and prognostic indicators in cancers. Data for the predictive value of microRNA-155 are inconclusive. The aim of the present analysis was therefore to evaluate the role of miR-155 in prognosis for patients with a variety of carcinomas. Methods: Relevant studies were identified by searching PubMed and EMBASE. Data were extracted from studies comparing overall survival (OS), recurrence-free survival (RFS) or cancer-specific survival (CSS) in patients with carcinoma with higher miR-155 expression and those with lower levels. The pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of miR-155 for clinical outcome were calculated. Results: A total of 15 studies were included. The pooled hazard ratio (HR) for OS of higher miR-155 expression in cancerous tissue was 1.89 (95% CI: 1.20-2.99, P=0.006), which could markedly predict poorer survival in general cancer. For RFS/CSS, elevated miR-155 was also associated with poor prognosis of cancer (HR=1.50, 95% CI: 1.10-2.05, P=0.01). On subgroup analysis, the pooled HR for OS in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was 2.09 (95% CI: 0.68-6.41, P > 0.05), but for RFS/CSS was 1.28 (95% CI: 1.05-1.55, P=0.015), with statistical significance; the pooled HRs for OS and RFS/CSS in digestive system neoplasms were 3.04 (95% CI: 1.48-6.24, P=0.003) and 2.61 (95% CI: 1.98-3.42, P<0.05), respectively. Conclusions: The results indicated that the miR-155 expression level plays a prognostic role in patients with cancer, especially NSCLCs and digestive system carcinomas.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.25-30
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• 2019

Purpose: The exact causes of burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is unclear so far. There are many studies to elucidate the relation between oral disease and genetic predisposition. In this study, we first tried to investigate salivary exosomal genetic components that could play an important role for diagnosing and elucidating the progression of BMS. Methods: We compared salivary exosomal micro RNAs (miRNAs) of BMS Patients to those of control using next generation sequencing (NGS). Unstimulated whole saliva from 15 patients with BMS and 10 control subjects were divided into two sets. Isolated exosomes and their total RNAs were subject to NGS for the screening of miRNAs. Results: There were up-regulated 10 exosomal miRNAs (hsa-miR-1273h-5p, hsa-miR-1273a, hsa-miR-1304-3p, hsa-miR-4449, hsa-miR-1285-3p, hsa-miR-6802-5p, hsa-miR-1268a, hsa-miR-1273d, hsa-miR-1273f, and hsa-miR-423-5p) and down-regulated 18 exosomal miRNAs (hsa-miR-27b-3p, hsa-miR-16-5p, hsa-miR-186-5p, hsa-miR-142-3p, hsa-miR-141-3p, hsa-miR-150-5p, hsa-miR-374a-5p, hsa-miR-93-5p, hsa-miR-29c-3p, hsa-miR-29a-3p, hsa-miR-148a-3p, hsa-miR-22-3p, hsa-miR-27a-3p, hsa-miR-424-5p, hsa-miR-19b-3p, hsa-miR-99a-5p, hsa-miR-548d-3p, and hsa-miR-19a-3p) in BMS patients comparing with those of control subjects. Conclusions: We show that there are 28 differential expression of miRNAs between the patients with BMS and those of control subjects. The specific function of indicated miRNAs should be further elucidated.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.342-354
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• 2021

Purpose: Obesity is a serious public health issue for the modern society and is considered a chronic health hazard. There are many surgical and pharmacological approaches to treat obesity. However, various potentially hazardous side effects remain the biggest challenge. Therefore, diets based on foods derived from natural products have gained increasing attention compared to anti-obesity drugs. Recently, research on edible insects as a food source has been a topic of considerable interest in the scientific communities. This study examined the anti-obesity effects of ingesting an edible insect by feeding a high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mouse models with a diet containing Tenebrio molitor larvae powder (TMLP). Methods: Six-week-old female C57BL/6J mice were divided into 4 groups according to treatment: 100% normal diet (ND), 100% HFD (HFD), HFD 99% + TMLP 1% (TMLP), and HFD 97% + TMLP 3% (TMLP 3%). TMLP was added to the HFD for 6 weeks for the latter two groups. Results: Compared to the HFD group, mice in the TMLP group showed weight loss, and micro-computed tomographic imaging revealed that the volume of the adipose tissue in the abdominal area also showed significant reduction. After an autopsy, the fat weight was found to be significantly reduced in the TMLP group compared to the HFD group. In addition, the degree of fat cell deposition in the liver tissue and the size of the adipocytes significantly decreased in the TMLP group. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis for the mRNA expression of adipogenesis-related genes namely CCAAT-enhancer-binding proteins (C/EBP-β, C/EBP-δ), and fatty acid-binding protein 4 (FABP4) showed that the expression levels of these genes were significantly reduced in the TMLP group compared to the HFD group. Serum leptin level also decreased significantly in the TMLP group in the comparison with the HFD group. In addition, total cholesterol, triglyceride, and glucose levels in mouse serum also decreased in the TMLP group. Conclusion: Taken together, our results showed that TMLP effectively inhibited adipocyte growth and reduced body weight in obese mice.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.207-210
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• 2008

Trichophyton erinacei is a dermatophyte pathogen that infects both humans and hedgehogs. A two-month old female four-toed hedgehog presented to the Chonbuk Animal Medical Center with pruritus, excoriation and crust on her face for ten days. The owner of the hedgehog also exhibited the clinical signs of scaly erythema with fine vesicles on her neck. A presumptive diagnosis of dermatophytosis was made based on the results of an acetate tape preparation in which hyphae and chains of arthroconidia were observed. The crusts from the lesions were then cultured on Sabouraud Dextrose Agar for identification. After 10 days of incubation, downy colored colonies that had a central umbo with a white granular surface and a yellow pigment ring in the reverse were observed. Microscopic analysis revealed the presence of numerous teardrop shaped microconidia singly attached to the sides of the hyphae. In addition, 2-6 roomed macroconidia that were somewhat irregular in shape and size were present, and abundant intermediate sized spores were observed between the micro and macro conidia. To confirm that the culture was T. erinacei, the internal transcribed spacer region of the 5.8S phase of the ribosomal RNA gene (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 rDNA) was amplified by PCR and then sequenced. A 679-base pair fragment of DNA was then compared with sequences in GenBank and found to be 99% homologous with sequences of T. erinacei (Z97997 and Z97996. The clinical signs were resolved after four weeks of treatment with oral and topical ketoconazole and chlorhexidine. To the best of our knowledge, this represents the first case of T. erinacei isolated from a four-toed hedgehog in Korea.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.2101-2107
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• 2014

Background: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) affecting microRNA (miR) sequences may influence carcinogenesis. Our current study primarily aimed to confirm previously conducted association studies between rs2910164 found on miR-146a, and rs11614913 located on miR-196a2 polymorphisms and cancer phenotypes in the Japanese elderly population. rs2910164 (G/C) and rs11614913 (T/C) polymorphisms were determined by genotyping on the samples collected from 1,351 consecutive autopsy cases registered in the Japanese SNPs for geriatric research (JG-SNP) data base. Cancer samples were systematically reviewed, pathologically verified and assessed with respect to miR-146a and miR-196a2 genotypic variation. The current study covered 726 males and 625 females with a mean age of $80.3{\pm}8.9$ years. The study included 524 subjects without cancer and 827 subjects with at least one type of cancer, such as gastric (n=160), lung (n=148), colorectal (n=116) or others. Males with cancers (n=467) were more numerous than females (n=360). Both rs11614913 (CT: TT adjusted odds ratio (OR) 95% confidence interval (95%CI)=0.98 (0.75-1.28), p=0.873, CC: TT adjusted OR (95%CI)=1.06 (0.76-1.47), p=0.737, CT+CC: TT, adjusted OR (95%CI)=0.99 (0.77-1.29), p=0.990), and rs2910164 (CG: CC adjusted OR (95%CI)=1.12 (0.87-1.44), p=0.383, GG: CC adjusted OR (95%CI)=1.03 (0.71-1.48), p=0.887, CG+GG: CC adjusted OR (95%CI)=1.10 (0.87-1.39), p=0.446) polymorphisms did not show significant association with overall cancer in all subjects. However, "CC" genotype in rs11614913 polymorphism was significantly associated with increased gastric cancer (n=160) in all subjects (CC: CT+TT, adjusted OR (95%CI)=1.50 (1.02-2.22), p=0.040). We found that rs11614913 and rs2910164 do not pose general cancer risk, but rs11614913 may influence gastric cancer in Japanese elderly population. Confirmation of our study results requires further investigations with larger subject populations.

• The Journal of Korean Society of Virology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.83-99
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• 2000

A defective HIV-1 helper virus DNA, pHyPC, was assembled by deleting the RNA packaging signal, env, nef and the 3'LTR sequences. HIV-1 like virus particles that carry the HIV-1 receptor, CD4 were generated by co expression of pHyPC and plasmid DNAs encoding different chimeric CD4 proteins. The CD4 particles, sharing the CD4 ectodomain, precisely fused to different membrane anchors. CD4(+) particles specifically bound to HIV-1 Env expressing cells, but any signs of infection into these cells were not detected. Binding was only partially blocked by either polyclonal anti-CD4 antibodies or by high concentrations of soluble CD4. Surprisingly, CD4(+) particles also adsorbed to HeLa, CHO, NIH3T3 and COS-7 cells in the absence of HIV-1 Env expression. Adsorption was comparable in strength and speed to the highly specific CD4-Env interaction. CD4(-) particles exhibited only background levels of binding. Cell binding was CD4. dependent, but it was independent of the cell type from which the CD4(+) particles originated. Interestingly, CD4-dependent/Env-independent binding was only found when CD4 was present on virus particles. This suggests that the micro-environment of CD4 on virus particles uniquely expose this new cell binding activity. Its high affinity could explain in part why infection of Env(+) cells by CD4(+) particles was not detected. Further experiments will be required to evaluate whether this strong membrane interaction could represent one step in the multiple-step viral entry process.