• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.372-376
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• 2008

Purpose : To identify clinical characteristics of severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in neonatal period and early infancy and provide information in clinical practice. Methods : Twelve neonates and young infants (<6 months) who were infected by respiratory syncytial virus and required mechanical ventilation between March 2005 and July 2007 were enrolled. Diagnosis of RSV infection was made based on the positive results by rapid antigen immunoassay or polymerase chain reaction. Results : There were four premature infants, of whom three were near-term. Birth weight of subject patients was $2.8{\pm}0.6kg$, gestational age was $37{\pm}2weeks$ and the age at the time of admission was $35{\pm}15days$. Nine of them showed apnea and in five patients, apnea itself was an indication for mechanical ventilation. In seven of the apneic patients, apnea was the first manifestation of RSV infection. In three of these seven apneic patients, apnea preceded definite respiratory distress signs or typical stethoscopic findings by 1-3 days. Mean duration of mechanical ventilation was $3{\pm}2days$, and mean duration of stay in intensive care unit was $6{\pm}2days$. Conclusion : RSV is a major cause of severe respiratory tract infection in term or near-term infant younger than 2 months. For apnea could be the first manifestation of the RSV infection, high level of suspicion is required in practice of neonates or young infants who show any upper respiratory infection symptoms during RSV season.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.99-106
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• 2013

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of supplementation of mulberry powder, mulberry extract and silkworm powder during the 8 weeks of resistance exercise on Androgen receptor(AR) mRNA and Myogenic regulatory factors(MRFs) expression of rats muscle. Fifty males, Sprague-Dawley rat, were randomly divided into 5 groups: CON(control group, n = 10), REG(resistance exercise group, n = 10), MP REG(mulberry powder intake and resistance exercise group, n = 10), ME REG(mulberry extract intake and resistance exercise group, n = 10) and SP REG(silkworm powder intake and resistance exercise group, n = 10). After climbing the ladder without weights during the 1 week of adaptation period, the rats in the resistance exercise group were trained to climb a 0.98-m vertical(80 degree incline) ladder with weights in their tail during 7 weeks(10 times each day, 2 days per week). After exercise, the skeletal muscle was extracted from the flexor hallucis longus. After separating the total ribonucleic acid (RNA) of each group, quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to analyze RNA quantitatively. AR mRNA and MRFs expression revealed that all of the treated groups had significantly difference. AR mRNA expression increased in ME REG $6.24{\pm}1.85$ and SP REG $9.68{\pm}0.28$ fold compared to CON. Myod mRNA expression increased in MP REG $6.04{\pm}0.47$, ME REG $4.31{\pm}1.58$ and SP REG $8.11{\pm}0.57$ fold compared to CON. And myogenin mRNA expression increased in MP REG $4.11{\pm}0.42$, ME REG $4.12{\pm}0.45$ and SP REG $6.50{\pm}0.61$ fold compared to CON. In conclusion, during the resistance exercise, providing mulberry and silkworm gives positive effect on AR mRNA and MRFs expression increase.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.299-306
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• 1999

Purpose : The human genetic disorder ataxia-telangiectasia (AT) is a multisystem disease characterized by extreme radiosensitivity. The recent identification of the gene mutated in AT, ATM, and the demonstration that it encodes a homologous domain of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-K), the catalytic subunit of an enzyme involved in transmitting signals from the cell surface to the nucleus, provide support for a role of this gene in signal transduction. Although ionizing radiation was known to induce c-fos transcription, nothing is known about how ATM or PKCI mediated signal transduction pathway modulates the c-fos gene transcription and gene expression. Here we have studied the effect of PKCI on radiation sensitivity and c-fos transcription in normal and AT cells. Materials and Methods: Normal (LM217) and AT (AT5BIVA) cells were transfected with PKCI expression plasmid and the overexpression and integration of PKCI was evaluated by northern blotting and polymerase chain reaction, respectively. 5 Gy of radiation was exposed to LM and AT cells transfected with PKCI expression plasmid and cells were harvested 48 hours after radiation and investigated apoptosis with TUNEL method. The c-fos transcription activity was studied by performing CAT assay of reporter gene after transfection of c-fos CAT plasmid into AT and LM cells. Results: Our results demonstrate for the first time a role of PKCI on the radiation sensitivity and c-fos expression in LM and AT cells. PKCI increased radiation induced apoptosis in LM cells but reduced apoptosis in AT cells. The basal c-fos transcription activity is 70 times lower in AT cells than that in LM cells. The c-fos transcription activity was repressed by overexpression of PKCI in LM cells but not in AT cells. After induction of c-fos by Ras protein, overexpression of PKCI repressed c-fos transcription in LM cells but not in AT cells Conclusion: Overexpression of PKCI increased radiation sensitivity and repressed c-fos transcription in LM cells but not in AT cells. The results may be a. reason of increased radiation sensitivity of AT cells. PKCI may be involved in an ionizing radiation induced signal transduction pathway responsible for radiation sensitivity and c-fos transcription. The data also provided evidence for novel transcriptional difference between LM and AT cells.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.40-46
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• 2006

Galactose joined to glucose by a $\beta(1\rightarrow4)$ glycosidic bond makes lactose and this disaccharide is rich in milk. It is known that lacotse is hydrolyzed to each monomeric sugar by either lactase in human or $\beta-galactosidase$ in bacteria. Ingestion of milk by lactase-deficient persons causes a temporary diarrhea and subsequent chronic diarrhea results in colitis with chronic inflammation. We isolated a $\beta-galactosidase$ producing psycrotolerant strain AS-20 from near cattle shed and investigated the growth at various temperature conditions. Whereas Escherichia coli strains did not grow at $10^{\circ}C$, the AS-20 strain could grow well at this low temperature and showed optimal growth at $30^{\circ}C$. The isolated strain was identified as 97% Hafnia alvei by biochemical properties. This strain could ferment glucose, lacotse, maltose, mannitol, xylose, ONPG, rhamanose and L-arabinose, and decarboxylate lysin and ornithine. To confirm the identity of isolated strain we amplified 16S rDNA by PCR and searched similarity of the 1426 bp DNA sequcence with Genbank database. The strain AS-20 showed 99% similarity with Hafnia alvei. The activity of $\beta-galactosidase$ was 1.5 times higher when the cell was grown at 10 or $20^{\circ}C$ than at $30^{\circ}C$. The highest enzyme activity of AS-20 was also much higher than that of E. coli, which was grown at $30^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.1-14
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• 2007

Backgrounds : Rheumatoid Arthritis(RA) is known as the chronic inflammatory diseasethat induces persistent inflammation in the joint cavity. The destruction of cartilage occurs as the result of bones destoyed by pannus, several influential cytokines induced by the synovial capsulitis, varieties of proteinases, $O_2$ radicals, and the secondary degenerative changes of articular cartilage. The type 2 collagen-induced arthritis model is used in recent experimental research on rheumatoid arthritis. Cervus elaphus sibiricus (Nockyong) has the effect of relieving pain by nourishing the muscles, joints, and bones. It is also known to be efficacious in promoting and enhancing the immune system. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of Cervus elaphus sibiricus herbal acupuncture to inhibit the generation of proinflammatory enzyme on type 2 collagen-induced arthritis. I investigated the inhibition of mRNA transcription of MIF(macrophage migration inhibitory factor), $TNF-{\alpha}$(Tumor necrosis $factor-{\alpha}$) and MMP-9 (matrix metalloproteinase-9) of Cervus elaphus sibiricus herbal acupuncture using an in vitro test. Also investigated was the inhibition of differentiation of Th 1 cells and activation of cytokines(MIF, $TNF-{\alpha}$, IL-6, MMP-9), which are known to cause initial RA ,and are also related to the morphology of the synovial membranes of the joint capsule, by an in vivo test, using CIA(collagen induced arthritis) model mice. Materials & methods : The laboratory animals used in this experiment were 4 week-old DBA female mice, weighing approximately 20 grams, and adjusted to the laboratory environment. The experiment was divided into the normal group(NOR)-no treated group, control group(CON)-CIA induced group, and sample group(SAM)-Cervus elaphus sibiricus herbal acupuncture treated group. RA was induced in the mice via injection of $50{\mu}{\ell}$ C II mixed CFA. The Cervus elaphus sibiricus herbal acupuncture solution was applied on $GB_{35}$(陽陵泉) for 26 days from the 3rd day of RA inducement. The concentration of the solution was determined via a MTT assay. To research the effect on the expression of MIF, $TNF-{\alpha}$ and MMP-9 mRNA, RT-PCR was performed on synovial membrane cells from the knee joint of CIA mice. C II induced RA knee joint's histo-chemical synovial membrane was observed using a specimen model via the Hematoxilin and Eosin dying technique. Results : The expression of mRNA of RA-related cytokines such as MIF, $TNF-{\alpha}$, and MMP-9 dosedependently decreased in the cell from the synovial membranes of the joint, which is treated with Cervus elaphus sibiricus herbal acupuncture solution. In mice treated with Cervus elaphus sibiricusherbal acupuncture, the damage of synovial membranes of the joint was lessened, and differentiation of Th 1 cells was suppressed. The activation of RA-related cytokines such as MIF was suppressed, and the generation of $TNF-{\alpha}$ and MMP-9 showed a statistically significant decreas. Conclusions : It is speculated that Cervus elaphus sibiricus herbal acupuncture has the therapeutic effect of palliating the damage of the tissue impaired by RA by inhibition of the initial RA progression and by regulating excessive differentiation of Th 1 cell as it suppresses the generation of RA-related cytokines during the highest stage of RA by acting on pro-inflammatory enzymes.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.8
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• pp.3785-3791
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• 2016

Background: Previous studies have assessed the association between the Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte Antigen-4(CTLA-4) polymorphism with the risk of malignant bone tumor, but the conclusions were inconsistent. We aimed to clarify association of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 polymorphisms with malignant bone tumors risk by performing a meta-analysis. Materials and Methods: The databases including PubMed, EMBase databases and the Cochrane Library were searched to identify the eligible studies prior to January 30 2016. Odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (95%CI) were used to estimate the strengths of the association between the CTLA-4 polymorphism and the malignant bone tumor risks. The meta-analysis was performed by STATA 12.0. Results: Four individual studies with a total of 1003 cases with malignant bone tumor and 1162 controls were included in our meta-analysis. The results of meta-analysis on those data demonstrated that CTLA-4 +49G>A polymorphism was associated with the risk of Ewing's sarcoma and osteosarcoma strongly (A vs. G: OR=1.36, 95%CI:1.20-1.54, p=0.000; AA+AG vs. GG: OR=1.35, 95%CI:1.14-1.61, p=0.001; AA vs. GG: OR=2.24, 95%CI:1.67-2.99, p=0.000; AA vs. AG+GG: OR=2.00, 95%CI:1.53-2.62, p=0.000), but CTLA-4 -318C/T polymorphism was not associated with the risk of malignant bone tumor (C vs. T: OR=0.76, 95%CI:0.76-1.08, p= 0.262; CC+CT vs. TT: OR=0.70, 95%CI:0.41-1.20, p= 0.198; CC vs. TT: OR=0.69, 95%CI:0.40-1.19, p= 0.183; CC vs. CT+TT: OR=0.92, 95%CI:0.75-1.13, p= 0.419). Subgroup analysis showed that there are significantly positive correlations between CTLA-4 +49G>A polymorphism and increased risks of malignant bone tumors in large size of sample (A vs. G: OR=1.347, 95%CI: 1.172,1.548, p=0.000; AA vs. GG: OR=2.228, 95%CI: 1.608,3.085, p=0.000), Ewing's Sarcoma or Osteosarcoma (A vs. G: OR=1.361, 95%CI: 1.201,1.540, p=0.000; AA vs. GG: OR=2.236, 95%CI: 1.674,2.986, p=0.000), and PCR-RFLP or Sequencing(A vs. G: OR=1.361, 95%CI: 1.201,1.540, p=0.000; AA vs. GG: OR=2.236, 95%CI: 1.674,2.986, p=0.000), but CTLA-4 -318C/T polymorphism was not associated with the risk of malignant bone tumors in diagnosis, genotype method, and sample size (all p>0.05). Conclusions: CTLA-4 +49A/G variant was associated with an increased risk of developing the malignant bone tumors, such as Ewing's sarcoma and osteosarcoma. However, it failed to show the association between CTLA-4 -318C/T polymorphism and the risk of malignant bone tumors. Future large-scale studies remain to be done to confirm our conclusions.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.25-29
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• 2015

Objectives: The pathophysiology of restless legs syndrome (RLS) has not been fully elucidated. Oxidative stress might play a role in the development of RLS and other antipsychotic-induced side effects such as tardive dyskinesia. In the present study, we investigated whether the glutathione S-transferase (GST) gene polymorphisms are associated with antipsychotic-induced RLS in schizophrenia. Methods: We assessed antipsychotic-induced RLS symptoms in 190 Korean schizophrenic patients using the diagnostic criteria of the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group. The GST-M1, GST-T1 and GST-P1 loci were analyzed using PCR-based methods. Results: We divided the subjects into 2 groups: those with RLS symptoms (n = 96) and those without RLS symptoms (n = 94). There were no significant differences in the distributions of the GST-M1 genotypes (${\chi}^2=3.56$, p = 0.059), GST-T1 (${\chi}^2=0.51$, p = 0.476) and GST-P1 (${\chi}^2=0.57$, p = 0.821) between the 2 groups. Comparison of the RLS score among genotypes of the GST-M1 (t = -1.54, p = 0.125), GST-T1 (t = -0.02, p = 0.985) and GST-P1 (F = 0.58, p = 0.560) revealed no significant difference. Conclusion: These data suggest that GST gene polymorphisms do not confer increased susceptibility to RLS symptoms in schizophrenic patients. Future studies are necessary to evaluate the possible influences of other candidate genes involved in the reactive oxygen species system.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.150-160
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• 1999

Background: The CREST syndrome is an indolent form of progressive systemic sclerosis. Although its clinical progress is indolent, pulmonary hypertension(PH) associated with CREST syndrome have grave prognosis with over 40 percent mortality rate at 2 year follow-up. But the pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension in this disease is not known, and classified as either primary or secondary PH. Clonality of endothelial cell proliferation in plexiform lesion is a molecular marker which allows distinction between primary and secondary PH. We performed this study to know whether the PH associated with CREST syndrome is a variant of primary PH or is a secondary PH. Methods: We assessed the X-chromosome inactivation based on the methylation pattern of the human androgen-receptor gene by PCR(HUMARA). Endothelial cells in plexiform lesions from female patients(n=3) with PH associated with CREST syndrome were microdissected from paraffin blocks. Vascular smooth muscle cells and lung parenchyma were also microdissected for clonality studies. Results: The proliferating endothelial cells in 14 plexiform lesions were all polyclonal. Similarly proliferated smooth muscle cells from 5 vessels with medial hypertrophy were also polyclonal. Conclusion: These results suggest that the pulmonary hypertension associated with CREST syndrome has different pathogenesis from primary PH and to be classified as secondary PH.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.668-675
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• 2001

Background : Non-smalll lung cancer(NSCLC) develops as a result of the accumulation of multiple genetic abnormalities. Loss of heterozygosity(LOH) is one of the most frequent genetic alterations that is found in NSCLC, and the chromosomal regions that display a high rate of LOH are thought to harbor tumor suppressor genes(TSGs). This study was done to determine the frequency of LOH in 21q with the aim of identifying potential TSG loci. Method : Thirty-nine surgically resected NSCLCs were analysed. Patients peripheral lymphocytes were used as the source of the normal DNA. Five microsatellite Inarkers of 21q were used to study LOH : 21q21.1(D21S1432, and D21S1994); 21q21.2-21.3(D21S1442) ; 21q22.1(21S1445) ; and 21q22.2-22.3(D21S266). The fractional allelic loss(FAL) in a tumor was calculated as the ratio of the number of markers showing LOH to the number of informative markers. Result : LOH for at least one locus was detected in 21 of 39 tumors(53.8%). Among the 21 tumors with LOH, 5(21.8%) showed LOH at almost all informative loci. Although statistically not significant, LOH was found more frequently in squamous cell carcinomas(15 of 23, 65.2%) than in adenocarcinomas(6 of 16, 37.5%). In the squamous cell carcinomas the frequency of LOH was higher in stage II-III (80.0%) than in stage I (53.8%). The FAL value in squamous cell carcinomas($0.431{\pm}0.375$) was significantly higher than that found in adenocarcinomas($0.l92{\pm}0.276$). Conclusion : These results suggest that LOH on 21q may be involved in the development of NSCLC, and that TSG(s) that contribute to the pathogenesis of NSCLC may exist on 21q.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.59 no.1
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• pp.39-46
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• 2005

Background : Even though it has been suggested that low-colony, scotochromogen nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are usually contaminants and not true pathogens, evidence for this hypothesis has not been provided. This study investigated the colony characteristics, organism identification, and clinical significance of low-colony scotochromogen. Methods : The laboratory cultured 6,898 respiratory clinical specimens for an examination of mycobacteria over a three-month period. A low-colony count was arbitrarily defined as ${\leq}20$ colonies. This study analyzed the recovery rate of the mycobacteria, the number of colonies and their gross characteristics, and their clinical significance. PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis was carried out to identify the NTM species. NTM pulmonary disease was defined according to the American Thoracic Society. Results : A total of 6,898 respiratory specimens for mycobacterium were cultured. Of these, 263 (3.8%) grew NTM, and 382 (5.5%) grew M. tuberculosis. Of the 263 cultured NTM specimens, 124 (47.1%) were scotochromogens. The smear-positive rate was significantly lower in these scotochromogens (4.8%) than in the non-scotochromogens (23.7%) (p<0.05). The most common isolates were M. gordonae (83/102, 81.4%) in the scotochromogens, and MAC (52/121, 43.0%) in the non-scotochromogens. Even though three out of 113 patients with a low-colony scotochromogen has been diagnosed with NTM pulmonary disease, the isolated scotochromogen was not considered to be the cause of the NTM disease but was just a contaminant. Conclusion : In this study, the most common isolate of a low-colony count scotochromogen was M. gordonae, which appeared to be contaminants and not true pathogens. Greater efforts in the quality control of a mycobacterium laboratory are needed in cases where there is a high recovery rate of low-colony count scotochromogen.