• 대한본초학회지
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• 제27권6호
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• pp.131-137
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• 2012

Objectives : Cyclooxygenase (COX) plays a central role in the inflammatory cascade by converting arachidonic acid into prostaglandin. COX-2 is typically induced by inflammatory stimuli in the majority of tissues, it is responsible for propagating the inflammatory response and thus, considered as the best target for anti-inflammatory drugs. The present study investigated the modulatory effect of ginsenoside Rg3, a principle active ingredient in Panax ginseng, on COX-2 expression in the brain tissue induced by systemic lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment in C57BL/6 mice. Methods : Because systemic LPS treatment induces COX-2 expression immediately in the brain, ginsenoside Rg3 was treated orally with doses of 10, 20, and 30 mg/kg at 1 hour before the LPS (3 mg/kg, i.p.) injection. At 4 hours after the LPS injection, COX-2 mRNA was measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction method, COX-2 protein levels were measured by Western blotting. In addition, COX-2 expressions in brain tissue were observed with immunohistochemistry and double immunofluoresence labeling. Results : Ginsenoside Rg3 (20 and 30 mg/kg) significantly attenuates up-regulation of COX-2 mRNA and protein expression in brain tissue at 4 hours after the LPS injection. Moreover, ginsenoside Rg3 (20 mg/kg) significantly reduced the number of COX-2 positive neurons in the cerebral cortex and amygdala. Conclusion : These results indicate that ginsenoside Rg3 plays a modulatory role in neuroinflammation through the inhibition of COX-2 expression in the brain and suggest that ginsenoside Rg3 and ginseng may be effective on neurodegenerative diseases caused by neuroinflammation.

• 식품과학과 산업
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• 제55권3호
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• pp.276-283
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• 2022

비타민D3는 칼슘 대사를 조절하며 뼈의 건강을 담당하는 중요한 호르몬이지만 다양한 면역세포에 작용하여 면역반응을 조절할 수 있다는 것이 알려지면서 자가면역질환, 알레르기질환, 감염 등 여러 질병과의 상관관계에 대한 관심이 증가되었다. 비타민D3의 활성 형태인 1,25(OH)2D3는 면역세포에 의해 전환될 수 있으며 핵-호르몬 수용체인 VDR과 결합하여 세포 내 다양한 유전자 발현을 조절함으로써, 세포의 형질과 기능을 바꿀 수 있다. 특히, 최근 다양한 연구를 통해 과도한 면역 반응을 조절하는 Treg 세포의 분화를 증가시키고 그 기능을 향상시키는 기전을 통해 염증성 사이토카인을 감소시키며, 외부 병원균을 제거할 수 있는 AMP의 생산을 유도함으로써 자가면역질환, 알레르기, 감염성 질환 등 다양한 질환에 긍정적 역할을 할 수 있음이 확인되었다. 특히, 최근 COVID-19 에 의한 글로벌 팬데믹을 경험하면서, 중증 질환 및 사망에 이르는 환자들과 비타민D의 상관관계 연구, 다양한 나라들에서 시행된 비타민D 치료의 임상결과들을 통해, 비타민D 보충 기반의 면역조절의 전략이 유리할 수 있음을 알 수 있었다. 전세계 현대인들의 비타민D 결핍은 최근 50년 간 지속적으로 증가하고 있으며, 자외선 노출로 합성할 수 있는 비타민D의 양이 충분하지 않은 부분을 식품 또는 보충제의 형태로 섭취하는 것이 여러 자가면역질환과 알레르기, 감염성 질병을 예방하는데 도움이 될 것이다.

• 한국동물생명공학회지
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• 제37권4호
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• pp.292-297
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• 2022

Direct injection of CRISPR/Cas9 into zygotes enables the production of genetically modified nonhuman primates (NHPs) essential for modeling specific human diseases, such as Usher syndrome, and for developing novel therapeutic strategies. Usher syndrome is a rare genetic disease that causes loss of hearing, retinal degeneration, and problems with balance, and is attributed to a mutation in MYO7A, a gene that encodes an uncommon myosin motor protein expressed in the inner ear and retinal photoreceptors. To produce an Usher syndrome type 1B (USH1B) rhesus macaque model, we disrupted the MYO7A gene in developing zygotes. Identification of appropriately edited MYO7A embryos for knockout embryo transfer requires sequence analysis of material recovered from a trophectoderm (TE) cell biopsy. However, the TE biopsy procedure is labor intensive and could adversely impact embryo development. Recent studies have reported using cell-free DNA (cfDNA) from embryo culture media to detect aneuploid embryos in human in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics. The cfDNA is released from the embryo during cell division or cell death, suggesting that cfDNA may be a viable resource for sequence analysis. Moreover, cfDNA collection is not invasive to the embryo and does not require special tools or expertise. We hypothesized that selection of appropriate edited embryos could be performed by analyzing cfDNA for MYO7A editing in embryo culture medium, and that this method would be advantageous for the subsequent generation of genetically modified NHPs. The purpose of this experiment is to determine whether cfDNA can be used to identify the target gene mutation of CRISPR/Cas9 injected embryos. In this study, we were able to obtain and utilize cfDNA to confirm the mutagenesis of MYO7A, but the method will require further optimization to obtain better accuracy before it can replace the TE biopsy approach.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제33권9호
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• pp.754-765
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• 2023

엑소좀은 단백질, mRNA 및 miRNA를 포함하고 모든 유형의 세포에서 분비되는 세포 외 소포의 일종이다. 방출된 엑소좀은 인접하거나 멀리 있는 다른 세포에 의해 선택적으로 흡수되어 그 내용물을 방출하고 표적 세포를 재프로그래밍한다. 엑소좀은 세포에 의해 생성되는 작은 천연 소포이므로 무독성과 비면역원성의 특징이 있는 것으로 받아들여지고 있다. 최근에는 엑소좀이 중추신경계에 대한 약물 전달체로 과학적 관심을 받고 있다. 중추신경계에는 약물의 침투를 어렵게 하는 혈뇌장벽이 있고 이는 퇴행성신경질환의 치료제 개발에 큰 걸림돌이 되어왔다. 그러나 축적된 연구결과들을 볼 때, 엑소좀이 주로 트랜스사이토시스를 통해 혈뇌장벽을 통과할 수 있음이 제시되었다. 이러한 결과를 종합하면, 엑소좀은 혈뇌장벽을 넘어 뇌 실질조직에 약물을 전달할 수 있는 새로운 전달 수단이 될 것으로 기대된다. 또한 세포의 종류와 질병상태에 따라 분비되는 엑소좀의 종류가 다르기 때문에 엑소좀은 중추신경계 질환의 진단을 위한 바이오마커로도 활용될 수 있다. 본 총설 논문에서는 중추신경계 질환에 대한 바이오마커 및 치료 옵션으로서의 임상시험을 포함한 엑소좀에 대한 최근 연구동향을 정리하였다.

• 대한임상검사과학회지
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• 제55권2호
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• pp.105-112
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• 2023

Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2)는 파킨슨병과 같은 신경퇴행성 질환의 병태생리학적인 측면에서 중요한 역할을 하는 것으로 알려져 있고 주로 뇌뿐만 아니라 폐에서도 발현된다. 그러나 LRRK2 발현이 폐 편평세포암(lung squamous cell carcinoma, LUSC)과 같은 일반적인 폐암의 아형과 병인성이 있는지는 불분명하다. 본 연구에서는 Kaplan Meier 플로터 생물정보학 온라인 도구를 사용하여 폐 편평세포암종 내에서 LRRK2와의 예후 진단가치를 분석하였다. 폐 편평세포암종 환자는 LRRK2의 발현이 높아지면 더 나쁜 예후를 나타낸다고 알려져 왔다. LRRK2 발현이 높은 환자의 경우 종양 돌연변이 부담, 높은 신항원부하, 더 나쁜 생존율, 성별과 상관관계를 보였다. 더욱이, gene expression profiling interactive analysis 데이터분석에서 높은 LRRK2 발현을 가진 환자에서의 심각한 증상은 항염증성 사이토카인(예, IL-4, IL-10)의 높은 발현에 양의 상관관계를 보였지만 염증성 사이토카인은 상관성이 없었다. 이러한 결과에서 IL-10관련 유전자의 높은 발현은 더 나쁜 예후를 보이는 LRRK2-high 환자들에서 유의미하게 연관성을 보였다. 또한, tumor immunity estimation resource 데이터는 큰포식세포가 LRRK2-high LUSC환자에서 IL-10의 기원세포 중 하나임을 보여주었다. 본 연구를 통해 결과적으로 LRRK2-IL10 축의 가설이 LUSC 환자의 잠재적이 치료 표적과 예후 바이오 마커일 수 있음을 보여주었다.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• 제39권4호
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• pp.361-373
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• 2023

In plant-pathogen interactions, Magnaporthe oryzae causes blast disease on more than 50 species of 14 monocot plants, including important crops such as rice, millet, and most 15 recently wheat. M. oryzae is a model fungus for studying plant-microbe interaction, and the main source for fungal pathogenesis in the field. Here we report that MoJMJD6 is required for conidium germination and appressorium formation in M. oryzae. We obtained MoJMJD6 mutants (ΔMojmjd6) using a target gene replacement strategy. The MoJMD6 deletion mutants were delayed for conidium germination, glycogen, and lipid droplets utilization and consequently had decreased virulence. In the ΔMojmjd6 null mutants, global histone methyltransferase modifications (H3K4me3, H3K9me3, H3K27me3, and H3K36me2/3) of the genome were unaffected. Taken together, our results indicated that MoJMJD6 function as a nuclear protein which plays an important role in conidium germination and appressorium formation in the M. oryzae. Our work provides insights into MoJMJD6-mediated regulation in the early stage of pathogenesis in plant fungi.

• 대한한방내과학회지
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• 제44권6호
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• pp.1212-1242
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• 2023

Objectives: This study aims to explore the current usage status of orally administered Korean herbal medicine in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in the Journal of Korean Medicine and member journals using the CONSORT-Chinese Herbal Medicine Formulas 2017 (CONSORT-CHM 2017) checklist. Methods: We searched the OASIS, RISS, and KMBASE archives as well as the websites of the Journal of Korean Medicine and 45 member journals to identify RCTs that used herbal interventions. Two independent researchers searched and categorized the RCTs and performed a quantitative evaluation by journal, study design, and target disease, as well as qualitative evaluation of the literature using CONSORT-CHM 2017. Results: After the search, 66 articles were selected. The quantitative evaluation resulted in 13 articles (19.6%) that were published in the Journal of Korean Medicine and 12 articles (18.1%) in the Journal of Internal Korean Medicine. In terms of study design, 62 articles (93.9%) were parallel, 4 articles (6%) were crossover, and 2-arm parallel study designs were the most common in 45 articles (68.2%). In terms of the study participants, physiological characteristics and mechanisms in healthy individuals were the most common in 21 studies (31.8%) and obesity in 9 studies (13.6%). In terms of assessing completeness in the CONSORT-CHM 2017 items, 29 articles were rated high, 31 were rated moderate, and 6 were rated low. Items 4a, 6a, and 7a had low reporting rates (≤ 30%), while items 2a, 2b, and 12a were completely reported in all studies. Conclusion: Future RCTs using orally administered Korean herbal medicine need to be reported completely, and the CONSORT-CHM 2017 checklist can be a helpful tool for this purpose.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제47권3호
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• pp.100033.1-100033.13
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• 2024

Considering the recent increase in the number of colorectal cancer (CRC) cases in South Korea, we aimed to clarify the molecular characteristics of CRC unique to the Korean population. To gain insights into the complexities of CRC and promote the exchange of critical data, RNA-sequencing analysis was performed to reveal the molecular mechanisms that drive the development and progression of CRC; this analysis is critical for developing effective treatment strategies. We performed RNA-sequencing analysis of CRC and adjacent normal tissue samples from 214 Korean participants (comprising a total of 381 including 169 normal and 212 tumor samples) to investigate differential gene expression between the groups. We identified 19,575 genes expressed in CRC and normal tissues, with 3,830 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the groups. Functional annotation analysis revealed that the upregulated DEGs were significantly enriched in pathways related to the cell cycle, DNA replication, and IL-17, whereas the downregulated DEGs were enriched in metabolic pathways. We also analyzed the relationship between clinical information and subtypes using the Consensus Molecular Subtype (CMS) classification. Furthermore, we compared groups clustered within our dataset to CMS groups and performed additional analysis of the methylation data between DEGs and CMS groups to provide comprehensive biological insights from various perspectives. Our study provides valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying CRC in Korean patients and serves as a platform for identifying potential target genes for this disease. The raw data and processed results have been deposited in a public repository for further analysis and exploration.

• Korean Circulation Journal
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• 제52권1호
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• pp.47-59
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• 2022

Background and Objectives: The influence of pre-intervention coronary physiologic status on outcomes post percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is not well known. We sought to investigate the prognostic implications of pre-PCI fractional flow reserve (FFR) combined with post-PCI FFR. Methods: A total of 1,479 PCI patients with pre-and post-PCI FFR data were analyzed. The patients were classified according to the median values of pre-PCI FFR (0.71) and post-PCI FFR (0.88). The primary outcome was target vessel failure (TVF) at 2 years. Results: The risk of TVF was higher in the low pre-PCI FFR group than in the high pre-PCI FFR group (hazard ratio, 1.82; 95% confidence interval, 1.15-2.87; p=0.011). In 4 group comparisons, the cumulative incidences of TVF at 2 years were 3.8%, 4.1%, 4.8%, and 10.2% in the high pre-/high post-, low pre-/high post-, high pre-/low post-, and low pre-/low post-PCI FFR groups, respectively. The risk of TVF was the highest in the low pre-/low post-PCI FFR group among the groups (p values for comparisons <0.05). In addition, the high pre-/low post-PCI FFR group presented a comparable risk of TVF with the high post-PCI FFR groups (p values for comparison >0.05). When the prognostic value of the post-PCI FFR was evaluated according to the pre-PCI FFR, the risk of TVF significantly decreased with an increase in post-PCI FFR in the low pre-PCI FFR group, but not in the high pre-PCI FFR group. Conclusions: Pre-PCI FFR was associated with clinical outcomes after PCI, and the prognostic value of post-PCI FFR differed according to the pre-PCI FFR.

• Korean Circulation Journal
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• 제52권7호
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• pp.529-540
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• 2022

Background and Objectives: Limited data are available regarding long-term clinical outcomes of iliac artery endovascular therapy (EVT) in real-world practice. This study investigated long-term outcomes according to Trans-Atlantic Inter-Society Consensus (TASC) classifications. Methods: We analyzed data from 1,705 limbs of 1,364 patients from the retrospective cohort of the multicenter Korean Vascular Intervention Society Endovascular Therapy in Lower Limb Artery Disease registry. The primary endpoint was target lesion revascularization (TLR)-free survival. Results: TASC A, B, C, and D lesions were present in 19.4%, 26.2%, 28.7%, and 25.7% of the treated limbs, respectively. The technical success rate was 96.2% and did not differ between TASC lesion types. Complications occurred in 6.8% of cases and more occurred in TASC D (11.8%). Iliac artery EVT showed a 5-year TLR-free survival of 89.2%. The TASC D group had the lowest TLR-free rate of 79.3%. TASC D (hazard ratio [HR], 1.75; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.12-2.73; p=0.014), plain old balloon angioplasty (HR, 4.25; 95% CI, 2.03-8.88; p<0.001), current smoker (HR, 1.89; 95% CI, 1.26-2.83; p=0.002), previous bypass surgery (HR, 3.04; 95% CI, 1.28-7.19; p=0.011), combined femoropopliteal treatment (HR, 4.89; 95% CI, 3.19-7.50; p<0.001), combined below the knee treatment (HR, 2.20; 95% CI, 1.25-3.89; p=0.007), and complications (HR, 1.86; 95% CI, 1.07-3.24; p=0.028) were predictors for TLR. Conclusions: Iliac artery EVT achieved excellent technical success and 5-year TLR-free survival. TASC D showed a favorable but lower 5-year TLR-free survival rate and higher complication rate compared with other TASC groups.