• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.668-677
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• 2017

Embryo implantation is the crucial step for a successful pregnancy. Diverse factors, including adhesion molecules, growth factors, and cytokines are important for embryo implantation through improving endometrial receptivity. Benzoic acid (BA), a component of various plants, has been shown to have antifungal and antioxidant effects. However, the effect of BA on embryo implantation remains unknown. Here, we showed the contribution of BA for the enhancement of endometrial receptivity through the leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF)-dependent increase of integrin ${\alpha}V$, ${\beta}3$, and ${\beta}5$ expression. Furthermore, in vivo study using a mifepristone-induced implantation failure model showed that BA definitely improves the numbers of implantation embryos. Taken together, we suggest that BA has a novel function for embryo implantation through the up-regulation of LIF-mediated integrins, and may be a candidate for therapeutic medicine to increase the pregnancy rate.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.293-298
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• 2011

Objective : The extracellular matrix (ECM) and cell adhesion molecules play crucial roles in angiogenesis, apoptosis, thrombosis, and inflammation, and also contribute to the pathogenesis of stroke. Integrin, alpha 6 (ITGA6) is a member of ECM adhesion receptors. We investigated whether two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs11895564, Ala380Thr; rs2293649, Asp694Asp) of ITGA6 were associated with the development and clinical phenotypes of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and ischemic stroke (IS). Methods : We enrolled 199 stroke (78 ICH and 121 IS) and 291 control subjects. Stroke patients were divided into subgroups according to the scores of the National Institutes of Health Stroke Survey (NIHSS, <6 and ${\geq}6$) and Modified Barthel Index (MBI, <60 and ${\geq}60$). SNPStats, SNPAnalyzer, and Helixtree programs were used to calculate odds ratios, 95% confidence intervals, and p values. Multiple logistic regression models were used to analyze genetic data. Results : A missense SNP rs11895564 was associated with the development of ICH (p=0.026 in codominant2, p=0.013 in recessive, p=0.02 in log-additive models; p=0.041 in allele distributions). The A allele frequency of rs11895564 was higher in the ICH group (13.5%) than in the control group (8.1%). In the clinical phenotypes, rs11895564 and rs2293649 showed significant associations in the MBI scores of IS (p=0.014 in codominant1 model; p=0.02 in allele distributions) and NIHSS scores of ICH (p=0.017 in codominant2, p=0.035 in recessive, p=0.035 in log-additive models), respectively. Conclusion : These results suggest that ITGA6 may be associated with the development and clinical phenotypes of stroke in Korean population.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.501-505
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• 2009

In this study, we evaluated the effect of soluble EPCR(Soluble Endothelial Protein C Receptor, sEPCR) on the anti-inflammatory activities by activated protein C(APC) in endothelium. We demonstrated that sEPCR inhibited the barrier protective activity, the inhibition of neutrophils adhesion toward endothelial cells and the inhibition of transendothelial migration by APC in endothelial cells. Interestingly, sEPCR also blocked the mechanism by which APC inhibited the expression of cell adhesion molecules(CAM) by TNF-alpha in endothelial cells. These results suggested that the anti-inflammatory activities of APC was inhibited by sEPCR which blocked the binding motifs of Gla domain of APC to membrane bound EPCR. This finding will provide the important evidence in the development of new medicine for the treatment of severe sepsis and inflammatory diseases and good clue for understanding unknown mechanisms by which APC showed the anti-inflammatory activities in endothelium.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.184-195
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• 2008

We examined the role of c-FLIP in the motility of HeLa cells. A small interfering RNA (siRNA) directed against c-FLIP inhibited the adhesion and motility of the cells without affecting their growth rate. The long form of c-FLIP ($c-FLIP_L$), but not the short form ($c-FLIP_S$), enhanced adhesion and motility. Downregulation of $c-FLIP_L$ with siRNA decreased phosphorylation of FAK and ERK, while overexpression of $c-FLIP_L$ increased their phosphorylation. Overexpression of FAK activated ERK, and enhanced the motility of HeLa cells. FRNK, an inhibitory fragment of FAK, inhibited ERK and decreased motility. Inhibition of ERK also significantly suppressed $c-FLIP_L$-promoted motility. Inhibition of ROCK by Y27632 suppressed the $c-FLIP_L$-promoted motility by reducing phosphorylation of FAK and ERK. Overexpression of $c-FLIP_L$ increased the expression and secretion of MMP-9, and inhibition of MMP-9 by Ilomastat reduced $c-FLIP_L$- promoted cell motility. A caspase-like domain (amino acids 222-376) was found to be necessary for the $c-FLIP_L$-promoted cell motility. We conclude that $c-FLIP_L$ promotes the motility of HeLa cells by activating FAK and ERK, and increasing MMP-9 expression.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.8
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• pp.3741-3745
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• 2012

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most common cancer worldwide and the most common form of liver cancer. However, while it is associated frequently with hepatitis C virus (HCV) there is only an elementary understanding of its molecular pathogenesis. Methods: To gain insight into the molecular mechanisms of HCV-induced hepatocarcinogenesis, we performed microarray analysis on 75 surgical liver samples from 48 HCV-infected patients. Results: There were 395 differentially expressed geness between cirrhotic samples and HCC samples. Of these, 125 genes were up-regulated and 270 genes were down-regulated. We performed pathway enrichment analysis and screened as described previously. Conclusions: The differentially expressed genes might be involved in hepatocarcinogenesis through upregulating the pathways of ECM-receptor interaction, focal adhesion, cell adhesion molecules and other cancer-related pathways, and downregulating the pathways of "complement and coagulation cascades". We hope our results could aid in seeking of therapeutic targets for HCV-induced hepatocellular carcinoma.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.24
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• pp.10797-10801
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• 2015

Background: To explore the molecular mechanisms of metastatic osteosarcoma (OS) by using the microarray expression profiles of metastatic and non-metastatic OS samples. Materials and Methods: The gene expression profile GSE37552 was downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus database, including 2 human metastatic OS cell line models and 2 two non-metastatic OS cell line models. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified by Multtest package in R language. In addition, functional enrichment analysis of the DEGs was performed by WebGestalt, and the protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks were constructed by Hitpredict, then the signal pathways of the genes involved in the networks were performed by Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) automatic annotation server (KAAS). Results: A total of 237 genes were classified as DEGs in metastatic OS. The most significant up- and down-regulated genes were A2M (alpha-2-macroglobulin) and BCAN (brevican). The DEGs were significantly related to the response to hormone stimulus, and the PPI network of A2M contained IL1B (interleukin), LRP1 (low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1) and PDGF (platelet-derived growth factor). Furthermore, the MAPK signaling pathway and focal adhesion were significantly enriched. Conclusions: A2M and its interactive proteins, such as IL1B, LRP1 and PDGF may be candidate target molecules to monitor, diagnose and treat metastatic OS. The response to hormone stimulus, MAPK signaling pathway and focal adhesion may play important roles in metastatic OS.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.37-44
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• 2000

The corrosion behavior of aluminum pad coated with epoxy molding compound (EMC) was investigated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The impedance change was evaluated by the absorption of deionized water (DI water) to EMC coating and the interface between EMC and aluminum. During the absorption a decrease in resistance and thus an increase in capacitance of EMC as well as the interface of EMC/Al could be observed. Up to about 170 hours of absorption the EMC was saturated with the water molecules and ions generated from EMC. Subsequently the ionic water was penetrated to the interface and finally the corrosion of aluminum was occurred by the Dl water and ions. From measuring the adhesion strength with the Dl water absorption it was expected that the saturation of water and ions in the interface decreased the adhesion strength. The higher filler content of EMC should be necessary to inhibit the corrosion of aluminum electrode in microelectronic packages.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.22-29
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• 2002

UV curable coating system described here consists of double layers, namely under layer and top laser coatings. The former consists of organic-inorganic conductive materials and the latter consists of multifunctional acrylates. Transparent double layer coatings were prepared on the transparent substrates i.e. PMMA, PC, PET etc. by the wet and wet coating procedure. Their surface resistances and film properties were measured as a function of the top layer thickness and relative humidity. As the thickness of the top layer was less than $10{\mu}m$, the surface resistance in the range of $10^8{\sim}10^{10}{\Omega}/cm^2$ was obtained. The surface properties of the two-layer coating were remarkably improved compared with the single layer coating. The effects of migration of conducting materials on the film properties of multilayer coating were investigated by using contact angle and Fourier transform infrared/attenuated total reflection(FT-IR/ATR). It was found that the migration of dopant(dodecyl benzenesulfonic acid, DBSA) molecules were occurred from film-substrate interface to film-air interface in the organic conductive coating system but not in the inorganic one.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.161-168
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• 2014

New self-assembled discotic liquid crystals have been prepared through single hydrogen bonding between phenol and pyridine moieties, and their liquid crystalline properties were investigated. For the construction of discotic structure, we used phloroglucinol as a core molecule and trans-4-alkoxy-4'-stilbazoles with systematically varied alkyl chain lengths as peripheral units. FTIR results showed that the intermolecular hydrogen bonds between core and peripheral molecules are successfully formed, and the stability of the hydrogen bond is strongly influenced by molecular ordering. Discotic complexes exhibited different liquid crystalline phases depending on the length of alkyl chains around the discotic mesogen. The discotic complexes with longer alkyl chains showed hexagonal columnar mesophases, while the other complexes formed nematic columnar mesophases. These results indicated that the type of mesophase structure was strongly dependent on the alkyl chain length around the aromatic core.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.82-87
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• 2013

Preliminary studies on the synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles including nanoporous carbon materials have been done via a direct carbonization process from resol, ferric nitrate and triblock copolymer F127. The results show that the nanoporous magnetite/carbon ($Fe_3O_4$/carbon) with a low $Fe_3O_4$ content (1 wt%) possesses an ordered 2-D hexagonal (p6mm) structure, uniform nanopores (3.6 nm), high surface areas (up to 635 $m^2/g$) and pore volumes (up to 0.48 $cm^3/g$). Magnetite nanoparticles with a small particle size (10.2 nm) were confined in the matrix of amorphous carbon frameworks with superparamagnetic property (7.7 emu/g). The nanoporous magnetite/carbon showed maximum adsorption amount (995 mg/g) of ibuprofen after 24 h at room temperature. The nanoporous magnetite/carbon was separated from solution easily by using a magnet. The nanoporous magnetite/carbon material is a good adsorbent for hydrophobic organic drug molecules, i.e. ibuprofen.