• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.220-229
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• 2016

Background: The treatment goal for patients with chronic hepatitis B infection is to prevent progression of the disease to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Current therapies include standard and pegylated interferon-alfa and nucleoside/nucleotide analogues: lamivudine, adefovir, entecavir, telbivudine, clevudine, and tenofovir. This study aims to analyze changes in the prescribing patterns of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) medications in South Korea between 2013 and 2014. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using National Patients Sample data compiled by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service from 2013 and 2014. Patients with CHB were identified with Korean Standard Classification of Diseases code-6 (B18.0 and B18.1) and those who were maintaining active prescriptions with CHB medications covering the index date (December $1^{st}$, each year) were included. The utilization of antiviral therapy was investigated during 2013 and 2014. Results: A total of 4,204 and 4,552 patients in 2013 and 2014 respectively, were included in the analysis. The proportion of male patients was two of third and the patients 41-60 years old accounted for 60% of all analyzed patients. The most utilized drug was entecavir (55.1% in 2013 and 44.8% in 2014) and the second most utilized drug was tenofovir in both years (18.8% in 2013 and 29.0% in 2014). The percentage of combination therapy was 13.6% and 13.1% in 2013 and 2014, respectively. The proportion of tenofovir prescriptions was increased in 2014 compared with 2013. Conclusion: With the development of new drugs and the changes in clinical practice guidelines, the prescription pattern of the antiviral agents for patients with CHB has changed. The rate of utilization of tenofovir has increased.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.418-425
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• 2017

Interferon-${\gamma}$-inducible protein 10 (IP-10), also known as chemokine C-X-C motif ligand (CXCL) 10, is closely associated with antiviral immunity and the progression of chronic hepatitis B (CHB). However, the value of baseline serological and histological IP-10 expression levels in predicting the efficacy of the antiviral response to nucleoside/nucleotide analogues (NAs) is still unknown. In our research, intrahepatic and peripheral IP-10 expression levels were systemically examined before and after treatment with entecavir (ETV). Baseline serological and histological IP-10 expression levels were significantly increased in patients with CHB, particularly in patients with higher degrees of liver inflammation and liver fibrosis. Moreover, higher baseline intrahepatic IP-10 levels indicated better prognoses in patients with CHB after entecavir therapy. The baseline IP-10 level was also positively associated with several clinical parameters, including baseline levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA, and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), and with the decrease in HBsAg levels after treatment. In addition, monocyte-derived IP-10 was expressed at higher levels in patients with CHB than in patients with liver cirrhosis (LC) and healthy controls (HC). According to the results of our in vitro experiments, IP-10 directly promoted hepatocyte apoptosis. Based on these findings, baseline serological and histological IP-10 levels might predict CHB severity and the decrease in HBsAg levels after entecavir therapy.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.198-204
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• 2004

Tumor cell proliferation is considered to be a useful prognostic indicator of tumor aggressiveness and tumor response to therapy but in vitro measurement of individual proliferation is complex and tedious work. PET imaging provides a noninvasive approach to measure tumor growth rate in situ. Early approaches have used $^{18}F$-FDG or methionine to monitor proliferation status. These 2 tracers detect changes in glucose and amino acid metabolism, respectively, and therefore provide only an indirect measure of proliferation status. More recent studies have focused on DNA synthesis itself as a marker of cell proliferation. Cell lines and tissues with a high proliferation rate require high rates of DNA synthesis. $[^{11}C]Thymidine$ was the first radiotracer for noninvasive imaging of tumor proliferation. The short half-life of $^{11}C$ and rapid metabolism of $[^{11}C]Thymidine$ in vivo make the radiotracer less suitable for routing use. Halogenated thymidine analogs such as 5-iodo-2-deoxyuridine (IUdR) can be successfully used as cell proliferation markers for in vitro studies because these compounds are rapidly incorporated into newly synthesized DNA. IUdR has been evaluated as a potential in vivo tracer in nuclear medicing but the image qualify and the calculation of proliferation rates are impaired by its rapid in vivo degradation. Hence, the thymidine analog $3'-deoxy-3'-^{18}F-fluorothymidine$ (FLT) was recently introduced as a stable proliferation marker with a suitable nuclide half-life and stable in vivo. $[^{18}F]FLT$ is phosphorylated to 3-fluorothymidine monophosphate by thymidine kinase 1 and reflects thymidine kinase 1 activity in proliferating cell. $[^{18}F]FLT$ PET is feasible in clincal use and well correlates with cellular proliferation. Choline is a precursor for the biosynthesis of phospholipids (in particular, phosphatidylcholine), which is the essential component of all eukaryotic cell membranes and $[^{11}C]choline$, which is a new marker for cellular proliferation.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.40-47
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• 1999

To search for less toxic antiherpetic agents, the inhibitory effects of natural hesperetin on the plaque formation of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2) in Vero cells were examined by the plaque reduction assay in vitro. Hesperetin inhibited plaque formations of HSV-1 and HSV-2 in a dose dependent manner. It also exhibited more potent antiherpetic activity on HSV-2 with selectivity index (SI) of 9.8 than on HSV-1 with SI of 8.4. The combined antiherpetic effects of hesperetin with nucleoside antiherpetic agents, acyclovir and vidarabine, were examined on the multiplication of these two strains of herpesviruses in Vero cells by the combination assay. The results of combination assay were evaluated by the combination index (CI) that was calculated by the multiple drug effect analysis. The combinations of hesperetin with acyclovir on HSV-1 and HSV-2 showed synergistic effects with CI values of $0.29{\sim}0.73$ for 50%, 70%, 90% effective levels and those with vidarabine showed partially synergistic or additive effects with CI values of $0.83{\sim}1.33$.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.1089-1092
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• 2013

Background: Elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) have a poor outcome because of co-morbidities, poor tolerance to intensive chemotherapy and inherently more resistant disease. Clofarabine is a second generation nucleoside analogue which has shown promising activity in elderly patients with AML. This study was conducted to review the outcome of treatment with clofarabine in a group of such patients. Methods: The records of 5 elderly patients who were diagnosed to have AML and treated with clofarabine over a 12 month period were reviewed retrospectively. Results: There were 2 female and 3 male patients with a median age of 68 years (range 65-82). At the time of treatment, 2 patients had newly diagnosed AML not considered suitable for intensive therapy, while 3 patients had partial or no response to conventional chemotherapy. The overall response rate was 100%, all patients achieving a complete remission. Induction and consolidation were well tolerated. All patients developed neutropenia with a median duration of 20 days (range 17-42). One patient developed hand and foot syndrome and a generalized rash but recovered. There was no mortality and all patients remained in remission after a median follow-up of 5.2 months (Range 3-10). Conclusion: Clofarabine (alone or in combination) is active in elderly AML patients with an acceptable safety profile and should be considered a potential option in this group.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.495-500
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• 2005

The nucleoside analogue gemcitabine (2', 2-difluorideoxycytide) is potential against a wide variety of solid tumors and considered to be one of the most active drugs in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In this study, we investigated the signals of gemcitabine-induced apoptosis, especially in point of caspase pathway in A549. We exposed A549 cells to gemcitabine for dose/time dependent manner and the results showed that gemcitabine induced apoptotic cell death in a time/dose-dependent manner. We also treated to gemcitabine and Z-VAD-fmk as a pan-caspase inhibitor for 24 hours. Gemcitabine alone induced 35.3% cell death, and co-treatment with gemcitabine and Z-VAD-fmk induced 15.1% apoptotic cell death. Our results demonstrated that Z-VAD-fmk as a pan-caspase did not completely block the gemcitabine-induced apoptosis. Western blotting analysis showed that gemcitabine increased caspase-3, active caspase-8, p21 and p53 protein expressions in A549. Co-treatment with Z-VAD-fmk completely blocked caspase-3 and active caspase-8 protein expressions, but did not change the level of p21 and p53 protein expressions. Our data indicate that gemcitabine induced apoptosis through caspase-dependent and -independent pathways in A549.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.13-30
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• 1983

[ $1-{\beta}-D-Arabinofuranosylcytosine$ ](ara-C), which is a pyrimidine nucleoside analog is cytotonic to mammalian cells in culture and is active in vitro and in vivo against a variety of DNA viruses. The precise mechanism of action of ara-C has not been determined, although ara-C is thought to act as an antimetabolite, interfering with the synthesis of deoxyribonucleic acid(DNA). Cytosine arabinoside originally seemed to act principally by inhibiting the conversion of cytidine to deoxytidine, thus inhibiting DNA synthesis. But recent data suggest that effects upon DNA polymerase and effects via incorporation into DNA and RNA may well be of equal importance. The author have demonstrated the effect of cytosine arabinoside on the hepatocytes of albino mice treated with ara-C, observing changes in the cytoplasmic organelles of the hepatocytes. A total of 120 healthy male albino mice were divided into the control and ara-C treated groups. The animals of the ara-C group were given 10mg. per kg of body weight of mouse ara-C in physiological saline solution and the animals of control group were given physiological saline solution, intraperitoneally. After an administration of ara-C or physiological saline solution, the animal were killed at. interval of 6, 12, and 24 hours. The specimens, which were obtained from the left anterier lobe of the liver, were stained with uranyl acetate and lead citrate and observed with JEM 100B electron microscope. The results were obtained as follow: A pronounced dilatation, sacculation and fragmentation of the cisterane of rough endoplasmic reticulum with dissociation of membrane bound-ribosomes, disaggregation of free ribosomes in the cytoplasm, proliferation of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum associated with depletion of glycogen paracles, atrophies of Golgi complex, production of numerous lipid droplets, and formation of antophagic vacuoles, multivesicular bodies and residual bodies are recognized in the hepatocytes of ara-C treated mice. Consequently it is suggested that cytosine arabinoside would induce a changes of the cytoplasmic organelles of the hepatocytes in albino mice.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.31 no.11
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• pp.3309-3312
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• 2010

D-[$^{18}F$]FMAU and L-[$^{18}F$]FMAU are F-18 labeled nucleoside analogue which have been efficiently synthesized in order to be a PET imaging probe. D-[$^{18}F$]FMAU and L-[$^{18}F$]FMAU were compared as PET imaging agents using HSV1-TK gene expressing tumor-bearing mice. Their cellular uptake profiles were also compared using MCA and MCA-TK cell lines. D-[$^{18}F$]FMAU demonstrated higher cellular uptake and higher accumulation in MCA-TK tumor regions than L-[$^{18}F$]FMAU. On the other hand, L-[$^{18}F$]FMAU showed higher MCA-TK/MCA ratio of %ID/g than that of D-[$^{18}F$]FMAU. L-[$^{18}F$]FMAU can be utilized as a good candidate for HSV1-TK PET imaging. It can be used for antiviral drug evaluation.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.984-991
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• 1997

New tumor suppressor gene, snm23, homologous to human nm23/NDP kinase (human nucleoside diphosphate kinase) gene whose product has a tumor metastasis inhibitory activity, was first cloned from Korean tiger shark (Scyliorhinus forazame) skin cDNA library constructed by using a $\lambda$ ZAP-II cDNA synthesis kit. About $1\times10^5$ plaques were screened and several positive plaques were isolated and confirmed by second screening. The phagemid containing a positive clone from the Uni-Zap XR vector was excised in vivo and the gene containing the tumor metastasis suppressor protein was named as snm23. Cloned gene, snm23, was sequenced with ABI-PRISM 310 Genetic Analyzer. The nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of snm23 have shown an open reading frame consisting of 450 base pairs that correspond to a protein of 150 amino acid residues, with a calculated molecular mass of 16.8 kDa. Sequence comparison of snm23 with human nm23/NDP kinase was performed by using Blast protein data base of National Center for Biotechnology Information. In order to determine tissue specificity, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used. Good expression level of snm23/NDP kinase was detected at the tissues from skin, cartilage, and liver of Korean tiger shark.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.23 no.12
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• pp.1790-1800
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• 2002

The DNA nucleosides(dA, dC, dG, dT)bound to gold nanoparticles (~13 nm) in aqueous solution has been studied as a probe by the SERS and their coordination structures have been proposed on the basis of them. According to UV-Visible absorption of gold nanoparticles after modifying with DNA nucleosides, the rates of absorption of dA, dC, and dG were much faster than that of dT as monitored by the aggregation kinetics at 700 nm. These data indicated that the nucleosides dA, dC, and dG had a higher affinity for the gold nanoparticles surface than nucleoside dT. As the result of SERS spectra, the binding modes of each of the nucleosides on gold nanoparticles have been assigned. A dA binds to gold nanoparticles via a N(7) nitrogen atom of the imidazole ring, which the C(6)-$NH_2$ group also participates in the coordination process. In the case of dC, it binds to the gold surface via a N(3) nitrogen atom of the pyrimidine ring with a partial contribution from the oxygen of C(2)=O group. A coordination of dG to the gold surfaces is also proposed. Although the dG has the two different nitrogens of a pyrimidine ring and the amino group, the N(1) nitrogen atom of a pyrimidine ring has a higher affinity after the hydrogen migrates to the amino group. Conversely, dT binds via the oxygen of the C(4)=O group of the pyrimidine ring. Accordingly, these data suggest that the nitrogen atom of the imidazole or the pyrimidine ring in the DNA nucleosides will bind more fast to the gold nanoparticles surfaces than the oxygen atom of the carbonyl group.