• Molecules and Cells
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• v.37 no.10
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• pp.759-765
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• 2014

N-myc downstream-regulated gene 2 (NDRG2), which is known to have tumor suppressor functions, is frequently down-regulated in breast cancers and potentially involved in preventing the migration and invasion of malignant tumor cells. In the present study, we examined the inhibitory effects of NDRG2 overexpression, specifically focusing on the role of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in the migration of breast cancer cells. NDRG2 overexpression in MDA-MB-231 cells inhibited the expression of the COX-2 mRNA and protein, the transcriptional activity of COX-2, and prostaglandin $E_2$ ($PGE_2$) production, which were induced by a treatment with phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA). Nuclear transcription factor-${\kappa}B$ (NF-${\kappa}B$) signaling attenuated by NDRG2 expression resulted in a decrease in PMA-induced COX-2 expression. Interestingly, the inhibition of COX-2 strongly suppressed PMA-stimulated migration and invasion in MDA-MB-231-NDRG2 cells. Moreover, siRNA-mediated knockdown of NDRG2 in MCF7 cells increased the COX-2 mRNA and protein expression levels and the PMA-induced COX-2 expression levels. Consistent with these results, the migration and invasion of MCF7 cells treated with NDRG2 siRNA were significantly enhanced following treatment with PMA. Taken together, our data show that the inhibition of NF-${\kappa}B$ signaling by NDRG2 expression is able to suppress cell migration and invasion through the down-regulation of COX-2 expression.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.167-180
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• 2017

Human adult stem cells have widely been examined for their clinical application including their wound healing effect in vivo. To function as therapeutic cells, however, cells must represent the ability of directed migration in response to signals. This study aimed to investigate the mechanism of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-induced migration of the human abdominal adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs) in vitro. A general matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) inhibitor or a MMP2 inhibitor significantly inhibited the PDGF-induced migration. PDGF treatment exhibited greater mRNA level and denser protein level of MMP1. The conditioned medium of PDGF-treated cells showed a caseinolytic activity of MMP1. Transfection of cells with siRNA against MMP1 significantly inhibited MMP1 expression, its caseinolytic activity, and cell migration following PDGF treatment. Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor reduced the migration by about 50% without affecting ERK and MLC proteins. Rho-associated protein kinase inhibitor mostly abolished the migration and MLC proteins. The results suggest that PDGF might signal hADSCs through PI3K, and MMP1 activity could play an important role in this PDGF-induced migration in vitro.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.195-208
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• 2015

This study explored general marriage migration for 180 unmarried Vietnamese immigrant women and identified differences in recognition after the choice of marriage. The methods used were frequency analysis, kai verification, and independent t verification were conducted. The findings were as follows. First, unmarried Vietnamese women showed a receptive attitude towards marriage migration with the less-educated group more likely to opt for marriage migration. Economic benefit expectations topped other factors in regards to the image of marriage migrant women and motivation. Dual national identity benefits were also indicated. Second, the perception of external and illusionary images of the spouses of marriage migrant women was low; however, the perception of good occupations and gender equality was high. A vague expectancy of marriage was also found. The perception was high that children from multi-cultural families would be global bilingual talents and adjust to school; however, the perception of social discrimination or prejudice was low. The perception of social discrimination was low concerning the perception of social integration towards marriage migrant women; however, the perception of identities, cultural differences and employment was present. By contrast, the group opting for marriage migration showed a significantly low perception of social discrimination and difficulty in employment. The suggested measures are to regulate and maintain forms of marriage type, reinforce prior training systems for Vietnamese immigrant women (and spouses), enhance multicultural recognition, and supplement multicultural policies.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.244-249
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• 2004

Background: Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone (CRH), an important regulator of stress response, has a potent immunoregulatory effect with the ability to promote the growth of various cancer through CRH receptor type 1 under stress. Although the metastasized cancers through cell migration are more aggressive than the primary cancers, little is known about the effect of CRH on cell migration. Gastric cancer is prone to metastasize to other tissues and it is reported that gastric cancer is response to various stresses such as oxidative stress. Herein, we studied the relationship between CRH and gastric cancer cell migration. Methods: We used gastric cancer cell line, MKN-28 and tested the CRH receptor type 1 expression on MKN-28 by RT-PCR. To examine the change in the ability of migration by CRH in MKN-28, cells were incubated with CRH and then migration ability was measured using a cell migration assay. Results: We confirmed that CRH receptor type 1 was expressed in MKN-28 and HaCaT cells. The migration ability of MKN-28 cells was increased by CRH in a time-, dose- dependent manner. Conclusion: These data suggest that CRH increases migration ability in gastric cancer cell line and that CRH may be a critical regulator in the metastasis of gastric cancer cell.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.40-60
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• 2020

Among Filipino entertainers in Japan, trans women (transgender women) or transpinay (Filipino trans woman) entertainers remain understudied compared to cisgender women. Though the number of entertainers has declined, transpinay entertainers remain relevant as transgender issues continue to be salient globally. This study explains the gendered experiences of the transpinay migrants, particularly in entertainment work and their relationships, which are different from cisgender Filipino women entertainers' experiences. Using grounded theory and drawing on concepts of performativity in interactions to analyze the narratives of transpinay entertainers, I delve into how transpinay entertainers negotiate their gender and migrant identities as they establish professional and personal relationships. Moreover, the transpinays' entertainment work is a significant contributing factor to their sense of belonging in Japan, as they form relationships with colleagues, clients, and partners who support them and, thereby, sustain their lifestyles as trans women. The transpinay entertainers' flows of migration between Japan and the Philippines reveal that they embrace various aspects of social remittances and use them to their advantage to create and enhance their transpinay identity in Japan. By examining the transpinays' migrant experiences, this study aims to elucidate the gendered experiences of transpinay entertainers, which involve significant negotiations in their migration pathways notably different from cisgender Filipino women entertainers, reveal resilience.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.728-734
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• 2017

After being subjected to different cooking methods, small black beans (Rhynchosia nulubilis) were investigated in order to assess the effects of the retained bioactive compounds. Using uncooked, pan broiled, boiled, steamed, and pressure cooked beans, the inhibitory effects of MCF-7 cell migration were evaluated at protein concentrations of 40, 160, and $640{\mu}m/mL$, using the Boyden's chamber assay. All protein concentrations (40, 160, and $640{\mu}m/mL$) of pan broiled beans showed significant reduction (59.83, 32.48, and 21.37%, respectively) in the rate of cell migration to the lower chambers (p-value less than 0.001). Estimated cell migration rates correlated to the exponential decay between experimentally measured cell migration rates and converted samples. The range of estimated cell migration rate for each 100 mg/mL of cooked sample was as follows: pan broiled (21.16%), boiled (22.48%), steamed (22.48%), pressure cooked (29.52%), and uncooked (35.03%) beans. Our study indicated that selective modifications of cooking methods for small black beans, such as pan broiling, ameliorated the inhibitory effects of MCF-7 cell migration. This suggests that optimized cooking methods increase the nutritional contents of the cooked food.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.519-535
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• 2008

The purpose of this study is to understand a migrant women's married life. The study examined migrant Filipino women's married lives, motives for marriage and migration to Korea, and their married life experiences. The results showed that these women get married to Korean men in pursuit of an economically better life to support their family in the Philippines through marriage migration. As for Filipino women's perceived difficulties in married life, they indicated hardships with redrawing the boundaries of nationality, as well as their husbands' faults or bad habits which are different from what they expected before marriage. Other difficulties mentioned were the peculiar culture of living with parents-in-law, and general difficulties in married life. This study showed that marriage migration results not from external pressure or motives but ultimately from their own decision in a social and cultural context. It was also implicated that Korea's superior position to the Philippines in international economic power has an effect on family relations. The boundaries of nationality are redrawn according to their married life. In addition, it was revealed that the Korean born children of migrant mothers who divorce because of difficulties in married life are in a very poor situation as their national identity depends on their mother's future marriage relations.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.894-913
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• 2008

This study examines scale issues in the contemporary feminist migration literature. Scale appears as important, yet poorly understood concept in this field of study. The increasing attention to the feminization of migration requires not only gendered, but also scalar-sensitive approaches. Feminists criticize the conventional approach to the migration as a gender-blind approach that privileges national scale around which migration processes are organized. Claiming multiscalar and interscalar analyses, they propose investigations ranging from macro to micro processes which include globalized gendered division of labor, transnational family networks, and reproduction which takes place in and through the bodies and homes of migrant women. The migrant women, the major actors in recent transnational migration, cross various borders: the national boundaries and the public and private divides, in particular. This crossover can unsettle patriarchal gender relations which have been established based on the physical and symbolic division of nation-states and public/private spheres. Blurring these divisions accompanies social construction of various scales. The transnational family networks of migrant women, for example, show the construction of a transnational scale by migrant women as well as globalization from below. This paper points out misunderstandings of scale in the feminist migration literature and attempts to fill the gaps by introducing the meanings and implications of scales developed mostly by feminist geographers. In so doing, it promotes the interdisciplinary communication.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.317-330
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• 2018

Objectives: This study explores the characteristics of family migration for North Korean defectors and classifies family migration by examining who initiated the migration and who followed. Method: We analyzed the family migration using detailed stories from fifty-five North Korean defectors who were interviewed between 2005 and 2011. Results: We found that 43 out of 55 cases were family migration and the remaining 12 cases were single person migration. We also found several characteristics typical of migration. First, family migration followed the process of step migration, which indicated a serial migration in numbers. Second, migration relied heavily on informal social networks. Finally, the process of earlier migration by North Koreans was incidental and unexpected; however, unexpectedness has diminished in recent migration. Looking at who initiated the migration, the most common type was 'mother-initiated' cases (14 cases) followed by 'child-initiated' cases (10 cases). The third most common type was 'mother-child accompanied' cases (7 cases). The migration process was various; however the most common type was when a married woman initiated the family migration process. This is most likely because married women have the responsibility to support families in the informal economy of North Korea. According to the range of family migrated, the most common type was 'nuclear-family only' cases (22 cases) followed by 'maternal extended family migration' cases (12 cases). Conclusions: The findings of this study provide information on the family dynamics of North Korean defectors.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.101-108
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• 2016

Previously we observed that human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs) could form aggregation during culture in the presence of human serum (HS). In the present study, we have examined if the aggregation might result from the cell migration and analyzed the difference of cell adhesivity after culture in various conditions. When cells were cultured in fetal bovine serum (FBS) alone, there was no morphological change. Similarly, cells pretreated with FBS for 1 day or cultured in a mixture of FBS and HS showed little change. In contrast, cells cultured in HS alone exhibited formation of cell-free area (spacing) and/or cell aggregation. When cells cultured in FBS or pretreated with FBS were treated with 0.06% trypsin, almost cells remained attached to the dish surfaces. In contrast, when cells cultured in HS alone were examined, most cells detached from the dish by the same treatment. Treatment of cells with forskolin, isobutylmethyl xanthine (IBMX) or LY294002 inhibited the formation of spacing whereas H89 or Y27632 showed little effect. When these cells were treated with 0.06% trypsin after culture, most cells detached from the dishes as cells cultured in HS alone did. However, cells treated with IBMX exhibited weaker adhesivity than HS alone. Based on these observations, it is suggested that HS treatment might decrease the adhesivity and induce three-dimensional migration of hADSCs, in the latter of which cAMP signaling could be involved.