• Genomics & Informatics
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.39.1-39.8
• /
• 2021

Tamoxifen (TAM) is an anticancer drug used to treat estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer. However, its ER-independent cytotoxic and antifungal activities have prompted debates on its mechanism of action. To achieve a better understanding of the ER-independent antifungal action mechanisms of TAM, we systematically identified TAM-sensitive genes through microarray screening of the heterozygous gene deletion library in fission yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe). Secondary confirmation was followed by a spotting assay, finally yielding 13 TAM-sensitive genes under the drug-induced haploinsufficient condition. For these 13 TAM-sensitive genes, we conducted a comparative analysis of their Gene Ontology (GO) 'biological process' terms identified from other genome-wide screenings of the budding yeast deletion library and the MCF7 breast cancer cell line. Several TAM-sensitive genes overlapped between the yeast strains and MCF7 in GO terms including 'cell cycle' (cdc2, rik1, pas1, and leo1), 'signaling' (sck2, oga1, and cki3), and 'vesicle-mediated transport' (SPCC126.08c, vps54, sec72, and tvp15), suggesting their roles in the ER-independent cytotoxic effects of TAM. We recently reported that the cki3 gene with the 'signaling' GO term was related to the ER-independent antifungal action mechanisms of TAM in yeast. In this study, we report that haploinsufficiency of the essential vps54 gene, which encodes the GARP complex subunit, significantly aggravated TAM sensitivity and led to an enlarged vesicle structure in comparison with the SP286 control strain. These results strongly suggest that the vesicle-mediated transport process might be another action mechanism of the ER-independent antifungal or cytotoxic effects of TAM.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
• /
• v.39 no.1
• /
• pp.77-80
• /
• 2022

Fistulas between the arteries and the gastrointestinal tract are rare but can be fatal. We present a case of an ilioenteric fistula between the left external iliac artery and sigmoid colon caused by radiotherapy for cervical cancer, which was treated with endovascular management using a stent graft. A 38-year-old woman underwent concurrent chemoradiotherapy for cervical cancer recurrence. Approximately 9 months later, the patient suddenly developed hematochezia. On her first visit to the emergency room of our hospital, computed tomography (CT) images did not reveal extravasation of contrast media. However, 8 hours later, she revisited the emergency room because of massive hematochezia with a blood pressure of 40/20 mmHg and a heart rate of 150 beats per minute. At that time, CT images showed the presence of contrast media in almost the entire colon. The patient was referred to the angiography room at our hospital for emergency angiography. Inferior mesenteric arteriography did not reveal any source of bleeding. Pelvic arteriography showed contrast media extravasation from the left external iliac artery to the sigmoid colon; this was diagnosed as an ilioenteric fistula and treated with a stent graft. When the bleeding focus is not detected on visceral angiography despite massive arterial bleeding, pelvic arteriography is recommended, especially in patients with a history of pelvic surgery or radiotherapy.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
• /
• v.53 no.3
• /
• pp.359-369
• /
• 2023

Purpose: This study evaluated the internal structure (structural validity, internal consistency, and measurement invariance) of the Health-Related Quality of Life Instrument with Eight Items (HINT-8), developed to measure Korean people's health-related quality of life. Methods: A secondary analysis was conducted using data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, involving 6,167 adults aged over 18 years. The structural validity of the HINT-8 was assessed using exploratory graph analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Internal consistency and measurement invariance were analyzed using McDonald's omega (ω) and multigroup confirmatory factor analysis, respectively. Results: The HINT-8 had a single dimension and good internal consistency (ω =.804). The one-dimension HINT-8 exhibited matric invariance but not scalar invariance across sociodemographic groups (sex, age, education, and marital status). Further, it exhibited scalar or partial scalar invariance across medical condition groups (hypertension, diabetes, depressive symptoms, and cancer). Conclusion: The study finds that the HINT-8 demonstrated satisfactory structural validity and internal consistency, indicating its suitability for practice and research. However, the HINT-8 scores cannot be compared across different groups regarding sex, age, education, and marital status, as the interpretation varies within each sociodemographic category. Conversely, interpretation of the HINT-8 is consistent for individuals with and without hypertension, diabetes, depressive symptom, and cancer.

• International Journal of Stem Cells
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.108-116
• /
• 2023

γδ T cells are a rare and unique prototype of T cells that share properties with natural killer cells in secondary lymphoid organs. Although many studies have revealed the function and importance of adult-derived γδ T cells in cancer biology and regenerative medicine, the low numbers of these cells hamper their application as therapeutic cell sources in the clinic. To solve this problem, pluripotent stem cell-derived γδ T cells are considered alternative cell sources; however, few studies have reported the generation of human pluripotent stem cell-derived γδ T cells. In the present study, we investigated whether lymphoid lineage γδ T cells were successfully generated from human pluripotent stem cells via hemogenic endothelium under defined culture conditions. Our results revealed that pluripotent stem cells successfully generated γδ T cells with an overall increase in transcriptional activity of lymphoid lineage genes and cytolytic factors, indicating the importance of the optimization of culture conditions in generating lymphoid lineage γδ T cells. We uncovered an initial step in differentiating γδ T cells that could be applied to basic and translational investigations in the field of cancer biology. Based on our result, we will develop an appropriate method to purify γδ T cells with functionality and it helpful for the study of basic mechanism of γδ T cells in pathophysiologic condition as well as clinic application.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.13-18
• /
• 2010

Purpose: Omental infarction (OI) following laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy (LAG) for gastric cancer could become more common in the future because the indications for LAG are expected to expand. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical characteristics of OI following LAG. Materials and Methods: Three hundred ninety patients who underwent LAG for T1 or T2 gastric cancer from April 2003 to November 2007 were enrolled. OI was diagnosed by two radiologists using the patients' abdominal 16 row-detector CT scans. The clinicopathologic characteristics were retrospectively evaluated in the omental infarction (OI) group and the non-omental infarction (non-OI) group using the gastric cancer database of Dong-A University Medical Center and the medical record. Results: Nine omental infarctions (2.3%) of 390 LAGs were diagnosed. All the OIs could be discriminated from omental metastasis on the initial or follow up CT images. The location of the omental infarctions was on the epigastrium in 3 patients and in the left upper quadrant in 3 patients. The mean size of the OIs was 4.1 cm. Most patients with OI had no signs or symptoms. The body mass index of the OI group was higher than that of the non-OI group (P=0230), and OI was more common in patients who underwent total gastrectomy than in the patients who underwent subtotal gastrectomy (P=0.0011). Conclusion: Laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy (LAG) with partial omentectomy for gastric cancer can be a cause of secondary OI. Omental infarction after LAG has different clinical characteristics and CT findings that those of other omental infarctions or postoperative omental metastases. Further multicenter study will be needed to evaluate in detail the clinical features of omental infarction after LAG.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
• /
• v.3 no.1
• /
• pp.29-37
• /
• 2003

Background: CC chemokine receptor (CCR) 7 and cognate CCR7 ligands, CCL21 (formerly secondary lymphoid tissue chemokine [SLC]) and CCL19 (formerly Epstein-Barr virus-induced molecule 1 ligand chemokine [ELC]), were known to establish microenvironment for the initiation of immune responses in secondary lymphoid tissue. As described previously, coadministration of DNA vaccine with CCR7 ligand-encoding plasmid DNA elicited enhanced humoral and cellular immunity via increasing the number of dendritic cells (DC) in secondary lymphoid tissue. The author hypothesized here that CCR7 ligand DNA could effectively expand memory CD4+ T cells to protect from viral infection likely via increasing DC number. Methods: To evaluate the effect of CCR7 ligand DNA on the expansion of memory CD4+ T cells, DO11.10.BALB/c transgenic (Tg)-mice, which have highly frequent ovalbumin $(OVA)_{323-339}$ peptide-specific CD4+ T cells, were used. Tg-mice were previously injected with CCR7 ligand DNA, then immunized with $OVA_{323-339}$ peptide plus complete Freund's adjuvant. Subsequently, memory CD4+ T cells in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) were analyzed by FACS analysis for memory phenotype ($CD44^{high}$ and CD62 $L^{low}$) at memory stage. Memory CD4+ T cells recruited into inflammatory site induced with OVA-expressing virus were also analyzed. Finally, the protective efficacy against viral infection was evaluated. Results: CCR7 ligand DNA-treated Tg-mice showed more expanded $CD44^{high}$ memory CD4+ T cells in PBL than control vector-treated animals. The increased number of memory CD4+ T cells recruited into inflammatory site was also observed in CCR7 ligand DNA-treated Tg-mice. Such effectively expanded memory CD4+ T cell population increased the protective immunity against virulent viral infection. Conclusion: These results document that CCR7 and its cognate ligands play an important role in intracellular infection through establishing optimal memory T cell. Moreover, CCR7 ligand could be useful as modulator in DNA vaccination against viral infection as well as cancer.

• Journal of the Korean neurological association
• /
• v.36 no.4
• /
• pp.294-301
• /
• 2018

Background: Neuroimaging can play a crucial role in discovering potential abnormalities to cause secondary headache. There has been a progress in the fields of headache diagnosis and neuroimaging in the past two decades. We sought to investigate neuroimaging findings according to headache disorders, age, sex, and imaging modalities in first-visit headache patients. Methods: We used data of consecutive first-visit headache patients from 9 university and 2 general referral hospitals. The International Classification of Headache Disorders, third edition, beta version was used in headache diagnosis. We finally enrolled 1,080 patients undertook neuroimaging in this study. Results: Among 1,080 patients (mean age: $47.7{\pm}14.3$, female: 60.8%), proportions of headache diagnosis were as follows: primary headaches, n=926 (85.7%); secondary headaches, n=110 (10.2%); and cranial neuropathies and other headaches, n=43 (4.1%). Of them, 591 patients (54.7%) received magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Neuroimaging abnormalities were found in 232 patients (21.5%), and their proportions were higher in older age groups and male sex. Chronic cerebral ischemia was the most common finding (n=88, 8.1%), whereas 76 patients (7.0%) were found to have clinically significant abnormalities such as primary brain tumor, cancer metastasis, and headache-relevant cerebrovascular disease. Patients underwent MRI were four times more likely to have neuroimaging abnormalities than those underwent computed tomography (33.3% vs. 7.2%, p<0.001). Conclusions: In this study, the findings of neuroimaging differed according to headache disorders, age, sex, and imaging modalities. MRI can be a preferable neuroimaging modality to identify potential causes of headache.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
• /
• v.16 no.7
• /
• pp.843-849
• /
• 2022

In this study, the probability of secondary carcinogenesis was analyzed by measuring the exposure dose of surrounding normal organs during radiosurgery using a gamma knife. A pediatric phantom (Model 706-G, CIRS, USA) composed of human tissue-equivalent material was set to four tumor volumes of 0.25 cm³, 0.51 cm³, 1.01 cm³, and 2.03 cm³, and the average dose was 18.4 ± 3.4 Gy. After installing the Rando phantom on the table of the gamma knife surgical equipment, the OSLD nanoDot dosimeters were placed in the right eye, left eye, thyroid, thymus gland, right lung, and left lung to measure each exposure dose. The probability of cancer occurrence due to radiation exposure of surrounding normal organs during gamma knife radiosurgery for acoustic schwannoma disease was 4.08 cancers per 100,000 at a tumor volume of 2.03 cm³. This study is expected to be used as useful data in relation to stochastic effects in the future by studying the risk of secondary radiation exposure that can occur during stereotactic radiosurgery.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.221-231
• /
• 2004

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the need for child hospice care programs in families of children with cancer. Methods: The survey of 104 families who were taking care of children with cancer was conducted. This survey was conducted from February 2004 to July 2004 at two general hospitals in Seoul. The data were collected through a self-reporting questionnaire of 22 items. The items were classified into five areas by factor analysis to identify the construct validity. The reliability of the tool was established by Cronbach's alpha as .94 and the data collected were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test and ANOVA. Results: 1) The degree of need for hospice care of the subjects showed a high average of 3.40 (${\pm}3.8$). The need for 'emotional care of children' showed the highest mean (M=3.55), 'management of terminal physical symptoms'(M=3.49), 'control of secondary physical problems' (M=3.41), 'acceptance of the family's difficulty' (M=3.20), 'spiritual care for preparing for death'(M=3.17), respectively. 2) With respect to the demographic characteristics of the subjects, there were statistically significant differences in hospice care needs, according to the child's mother's age (F==4.980, P=.009), whether or not there were cancer patients among their siblings or relatives (t=2.423, P=.017). Conclusion: The family of children with cancer have a heavy burden of ambivalence, especially in relieving the anxiety and fear of their children, communicating about death, and managing physical symptoms. Child hospice care must be provided considering the needs of families of children with cancer. Thus popular needs as well as hospice nurses' higher concern and support for hospice care of children require further education and program development to meet the current demands.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetic Resonance Society
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.26-33
• /
• 2018

Xanthium sibiricum is used as a traditional folk medicine for the treatment of cancer, fever, headache, nasal sinusitis, and skin pruritus. This study aimed to identify components from Xanthium sibiricum extracts using an SPE-800MHz NMR-MS hyphenated system. The simultaneous acquisition of MS and NMR spectra from the same chromatographic peaks significantly increases the depth of information acquired for the compound and allows the elucidation of structures that would not be possible using MS or NMR data alone. LC -NMR analysis was conducted using a HPLC separation system coupled to 800 MHz spectrometer equipped with a cryoprobe, and a SPE unit was used to automatically trap chromatographic peaks using a HPLC pump. LC-MS analysis was conducted with a Q-TOF MS instrument using ESI ionization in the negative ion mode. Using the hyphenated analysis, several secondary metabolites were identified, such as 3',5'-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid, 1',5'-O-dicaffeoyl- quinic acid, and ethyl caffeate. These results demonstrate that the SPE-800MHz NMR-MS hyphenated system can be used to identify metabolites within natural products that have complex mixtures.