• Molecules and Cells
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.506-514
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• 2018

The transcriptional regulation of genes determines the fate of animal cell differentiation and subsequent organ development. With the recent progress in genome-wide technologies, the genomic landscapes of enhancers have been broadly explored in mammalian genomes, which led to the discovery of novel specific subsets of enhancers, termed super-enhancers. Super-enhancers are large clusters of enhancers covering the long region of regulatory DNA and are densely occupied by transcription factors, active histone marks, and co-activators. Accumulating evidence points to the critical role that super-enhancers play in cell type-specific development and differentiation, as well as in the development of various diseases. Here, I provide a comprehensive description of the optimal approach for identifying functional units of super-enhancers and their unique chromatin features in normal development and in diseases, including cancers. I also review the recent updated knowledge on novel approaches of targeting super-enhancers for the treatment of specific diseases, such as small-molecule inhibitors and potential gene therapy. This review will provide perspectives on using super-enhancers as biomarkers to develop novel disease diagnostic tools and establish new directions in clinical therapeutic strategies.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.103-108
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• 2023

Enhancers are cis-elements to regulate transcription of cell/tissue-specific genes in multicellular organisms. These elements locate in upstream or downstream regions of target genes and are found in a long distance up to 100 Kb in some cases. Transcription factors and coactivators bind to enhancers in a chromatin environment. Enhancers appear to facilitate the transcription of target genes by communicating with promoters and activating them. As transcription activation mechanism of enhancers, chromatin looping between enhancers and promoters, tracking of enhancer activity to promoters along the intervening regions, and movement of enhancers and promoters into transcription condensates have been suggested based on various molecular and cellular biology studies. These mechanisms are likely to act together rather than exclusive each other for gene transcription. Understanding of enhancer action mechanism may provide a way to regulate the transcription of cell/tissue-specific genes relating with aging or various diseases.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.169-177
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• 2017

Tissue-specific transcription is critical for normal development, and abnormalities causing undesirable gene expression may lead to diseases such as cancer. Such highly organized transcription is controlled by enhancers with specific DNA sequences recognized by transcription factors. Enhancers are associated with chromatin modifications that are distinct epigenetic features in a tissue-specific manner. Recently, super-enhancers comprising enhancer clusters co-occupied by lineage-specific factors have been identified in diverse cell types such as adipocytes, hair follicle stem cells, and mammary epithelial cells. In addition, noncoding RNAs, named eRNAs, are synthesized at super-enhancer regions before their target genes are transcribed. Many functional studies revealed that super-enhancers and eRNAs are essential for the regulation of tissue-specific gene expression. In this review, we summarize recent findings concerning enhancer function in tissue-specific gene regulation and cancer development.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.141-144
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• 2003

The transdermal therapeutic system (TTS) of scopolamine has various advantages over its oral dosage forms. The ideal scopolamine TTS requires high skin permeation rate in short time after it is applied on the skin. In order to increase the initial skin permeation rate of scopolamine from TTS, various permeation enhancers were employed. Enhancers employed were fatty acids (oleic and linolenic acids), cyclic monoterpenes (menthol, camphor, cineole and limonene) and others (isopropyl myristate, sodium lauryl sulfate and glyceryl monostearate). The concentration of enhancers in the base were fixed to 5% (w/w). While fatty acids had little enhancing effect on the skin permeation of scopolamine, cyclic monoterpenes, isopropyl myristate and sodium lauryl sulfate resulted in $1.5{\sim}2.6-fold$ higher skin permeation rate of the drug compared to the control. However, lag time was not affected by enhancers studied.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.86-92
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• 2002

The enhancement of paracellular transport of heparin disaccharide using several absorption enhancers across Caco-2 cell monolayers was tested . The cytotoxicity of these enhancers was also examined. The enhancing effects by Quillaja saponin, diponin glycyrrhizinate, $18{\beta}-glycyrrhetinic$ acid, sodium caprate and taurine were determined by changes in transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) and the amount of heparin disaccharide transported across Caco-2 cell monolayers. Among the absorption enhancers, $18{\beta}-glycyrrhetinic$ acid arid taurine decreased TEER and increased the permeability of heparin disaccharide in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner with little or negligible cytotoxicity. Our results indicate that these absorption enhancers can widen the tight junction, which is a dominant paracellular absorption route of hydrophilic compounds . It is highly possible that these absorption enhancers can be applied as pharmaceutical excipients to improve the transport of macromolecules and hydrophilic drugs having difficulty in permeability across the intestinal epithelium.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.19-21
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• 2009

This study was performed to examine the possibility of increasing the level of furosemide permeation from the ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) matrix through the skin by incorporating various enhancers in the EVA matrix. The effects of the enhancers on the level of furosemide permeation through the skin were evaluated using Franz diffusion cells with intact excised rat skins. The enhancers examined were the fatty acids (saturated, unsaturated), the pyrrolidones, the propylene glycol derivatives, the glycerides and the non-ionic surfactants. Among the enhancers used, polyoxyethylene-2-oleyl ether (a non-ionic surfactant) showed the best enhancement. The polyoxyethylene 2-oleyl ether as a permeation enhancer could be used for development of furosemide-EVA transdermal matrix system.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.421-425
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• 2003

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of two phospholipid permeation enhancers, lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) and didecanoylphosphatidylcholine (DDPC), along with a fusidic acid derivative, sodium taurodihydrofusidate (STDHF) and ethanol (EtOH) on the buccal transport of propranolol hydrochloride (PPL) using an ex vivo buccal diffusion model. The permeation rate of [$^3 H$]PPL as measured by steady-state fluxes increased with increasing EtOH concentration. A significant flux enhancement (P＜0.05) was achieved by EtOH at 20 and 30 %v/v concentrations. At a 0.5 %w/v permeation enhancer concentration, the buccal permeation of [$^3 H$]PPL was significantly enhanced by all the enhancers studied (i.e., LPC, DDPC and STDHF) compared to the control (phosphate-buffered saline pH 7.4, PBS). LPC and DDPC displayed a greater degree of permeation enhancement compared with STDHF and EtOH-PBS mixtures with an enhancement ratio of 3.2 and 2.9 for LPC and DDPC, respectively compared with 2.0 and 1.5 for STDHF and EtOH:PBS 30:70 %v/v mixture, respectively. There was no significant difference between LPC and DDPC for the flux values and apparent permeability coefficients of [$^3$H]PPL. These results suggest that phospholipids are suitable as permeation enhancers for the buccal delivery of drugs.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.506-512
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• 2001

Ketoprofen (KP) was formulated as a transdermal patch using the percutaneous penetration enhancers sorbitan monmmleate(SMO), polyvinylpyrrolidone(PVP). The control patch without penetration enhancers showed a KP flux of 8.9$\pm$0.75$\mu\textrm{g}$/$\textrm{cm}^2$/h The flux was increased in proportion to the concentration of SMO added. Furthermore, lag times were decreased upon addition of SMO. Conversely; the skin flux of KP was decreased in proportion to the concentration of PVP added. Pharmacokinetic parameters including $C_{max}$, $T_{max}$, and AUC were increased when SMO was added. However, $C_{mas}$ significantly decreased by the addition of PVP. $T_{max}$ was not significantly different in 2%, 4%, and 8% PVP patches. Patches containing 4% PVP showed the highest AUC value (19.158$\mu\textrm{g}$.h/ml). We found that the effectiveness of the two percutaneous penetration enhancers for topical KP patches was similar, with the addition of appropriate amounts of HPC modifying both skin flux and lag time of KP in the patches. In conclusion, it is possible to manufacture KP patches exhibiting high AUC, high skin flux, and short lag time using percutaneous penetration enhancers of SMO and PVP.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.58 no.1
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• pp.11-16
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• 2023

Electronic skin (e-skin), devices that are mounted on or attached to human skin, have advanced in recent times. Yet, the development of a power supply for e-skin remains a challenge. A stretchable thermoelectric generator is a promising power supply for the e-skin patches. It is a safe and semi-permanent energy harvesting device that uses body heat for generating power. Carbon nanotube (CNT) clays are used in energy-harvesting e-skin patches. In this study, we report improved thermoelectric performance of CNT clays by using chemical doping and physical blending of thermoelectric enhancers. The n-type and p-type thermoelectric enhancers increase electrical conductivity, leading to increased power factors of the thermoelectric CNT clays. The blend of CNT clays and enhancers is intrinsically stretchable up to 50% while maintaining its thermoelectric property.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.97-104
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• 1992

The purpose of this study was (i) to determine whether protease inhibition by medium chain fatty acids such as sodium caprate, sodium caprylate and sodium laurate led to suppression of insulin proteolysis over a range of insulin concentrations and (ii) elucidate preventing effect of the enhancers on molecular self-association of insulin in pH 7.4 phosphate buffer isotonic solution. To this end, the rate of insulin proteolysis in nasal tissue supernatants of the albino rabbits was determined in the presence of $0.1{\sim}2%$ sodium caprylate, sodium caprate and sodium laurate at insulin concentrations ranging from $5\;to\;100\;{\mu}M$. At fatty acid salts concentration lower than 0.5%, insulin proteolysis was accelerated but the enhancers of high concentration (>1%) reduced the rate of insulin proteolysis. These effects were dependent upon insulin concentration and chain length of fatty acid salts. Circular dichroism spectra of insulin solutions were then determined. Monomer fraction of insulin was increased with increasing sodium caprate. Therefore, half-life decrease of insulin at low concentrations of the enhancers was attributed to deaggregation of insulin by the enhancers, increasing the proportion of monomers available for nasal proteolysis. And the increase of half-life at high concentration of the enhancers was attributed to inhibitory effect on protease rather than the effect of monomer fraction.