• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.72-80
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• 2017

Objective: The purpose of this study is to report the case of a patient with recurring non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) taking Samchilchoongcho-Jung with Afatinib. Methods: An NSCLC patient diagnosed with multiple bone and pulmonary metastasis was taking Afatinib (20 mg/day) and suffering from stomatitis caused by the Afatinib. The patient was treated with Samchilchoongcho-Jung (1,500 mg/ day) for 3 months. The tumor size was measured with computed tomography, and laboratory findings, including tumor markers (CEA, Cyfra 21-1), were also followed up. Stomatitis was measured by a numeric rating scale, and adverse events were evaluated using the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (NCI-CTCAE), version 4.0. Results: After combined treatment, stable disease was shown on computed tomography. The tumor marker levels of CEA and Cyfra 21-1 were decreased, and the stomatitis significantly improved. NCI-CTCAE 4.0 showed no adverse events. Conclusion: This case study suggests that Samchilchoongcho-Jung may have a synergic effect, in conjunction with Afatinib, on the treatment of patients with recurring NSCLC.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.271-277
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• 2000

This study was conducted to establish the optimal culture conditions for in vitro production of bovine embryos derived from slaughter house ovaries. Cumulus-oocyte- complexes (COCs) collected by aspiration from follicles of 2~7 mm in diameter were matured in Ham's F-10 medium supplemented with 0.01 $\mu\textrm{g}$/m1 epidermal growth factor (EGF) at 39$^{\circ}C$ in a humidified atmosphere of 5% $CO_2$in air. After 24 hrs of culture, the oocytes were co-cultured with epididymal sperm selected off by Percoll-density gradient in TALP medium for 24 hrs. The presumptive zygotes were cultured in HECM-6 medium for 3 d post-insemination, and followed by cultured in TCM199 medium until 7 to 10d post-insemination. The cultures were compared of their cleavage and development into later stage in culture medium by additions of different protein sources (PVA, BSA and BCS) and by different embryo density. The rates of cleavage and development rates into blastocyst were not significantly (P<0.05) different among the culture media containing with BSA (75.0% and 40.5%), BCS (76.7% and 38.0%) and PVA (72.5% and 42.2%), respectively. Significantly (P<0.05) higher blastocysts rates were obtained in culturing of 30 and 40 embryos in each 50$\mu$l droplets of culture medium than in 5, 10 and 20 embryos. These results indicate that the optimal density of embryos is 30~40 embryos in a 50$\mu$l droplet of culture medium. Furthermore there is no effect of different protein sources on early embryonic development.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.20-33
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• 2017

Objective: Superstimulatory treatment of one-month-old lambs can achieve synchronous development of numerous growing follicles. However, these growing follicles cannot complete maturation and ovulation. Oocyte maturation and competence are acquired during follicular development, in which granulosa cells play an essential role. Methods: In this study, we applied RNA sequencing to analyze and compare gene expression between prepubertal and adult superstimulated follicle granulosa cells in sheep. Results: There were more than 300 genes that significantly differed in expression. Among these differently expressed genes, many extracellular matrix genes (EGF containing Fibulin Like Extracellular Matrix Protein 1, pentraxin 3, adrenomedullin, and osteopontin) were significantly down-regulated in the superstimulated follicles. Ingenuity pathway and gene ontology analyses revealed that processes of axonal guidance, cell proliferation and DNA replication were expressed at higher levels in the prepubertal follicles. Epidermal growth factor, T-Box protein 2 and beta-estradiol upstream regulator were predicted to be active in prepubertal follicles. By comparison, tumor protein P53 and let-7 were most active in adult follicles. Conclusion: These results may contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms governing the development of granulosa cells in the growing follicle in prepubertal sheep.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.89-95
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• 2013

Dietary inorganic sulfur is the minor component in our diet, but some studies suggested that inorganic sulfur is maybe effective to treat cancer related illness. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effects of inorganic sulfur on cell proliferation and gene expression in MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells. MDA-MB-231 cells were cultured the absence or presence of various concentrations (12.5, 25, or 50 ${\mu}mol/L$) of inorganic sulfur. Inorganic sulfur significantly decreased proliferation after 72 h of incubation (P < 0.05). The protein expression of $ErbB_2$ and its active form, $pErbB_2$, were significantly reduced at inorganic sulfur concentrations of 50 ${\mu}mol/L$ and greater than 25 ${\mu}mol/L$, respectively (P < 0.05). The mRNA expression of $ErbB_2$ was significantly reduced at an inorganic sulfur concentration of 50 ${\mu}mol/L$ (P < 0.05). The protein expression of $ErbB_3$ and its active form, $pErbB_3$, and the mRNA expression of $pErbB_3$ were significantly reduced at inorganic sulfur concentrations greater than 25 ${\mu}mol/L$ (P < 0.05). The protein and mRNA expression of Akt were significantly reduced at an inorganic sulfur concentration of 50 ${\mu}mol/L$ (P < 0.05), but pAkt was not affected by inorganic sulfur treatment. The protein and mRNA expression of Bax were significantly increased with the addition of inorganic sulfur concentration of 50 ${\mu}mol/L$ (P < 0.05). In conclusion, cell proliferation was suppressed by inorganic sulfur treatment through the ErbB-Akt pathway in MDA-MB-231 cells.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.315-320
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• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the recurrence pattern and characteristics of patients based on the 2013 St. Gallen surrogate molecular subtypes after breast-conserving surgery (BCS) in Chinese women. Methods: This retrospective analysis included 709 consecutive breast cancer patients undergoing BCS from 1999-2010 at our institution. Five different surrogate subtypes were created using combined expression of the estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2. Locoregional relapse-free survival (LRRFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), and disease-free survival (DFS) rates were calculated. Results: The 5-year LRRFS, DMFS, and DFS rates were 90.5%, 88.2%, and 81.5%, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that young age, node-positive disease, and HER2 enrichment were independent prognostic factors in LRRFS patients. There was also an independent prognostic role of lymph node-positive disease in DMFS and DFS patients. Patients with luminal A tumors had the most favorable prognosis, with LRRFS, DMFS, and DFS rates of 93.2%, 91.5%, and 87.4% at 5 years, respectively. Conversely, HER-2-enriched tumors exhibited the highest rate of locoregional recurrence (20.6%). Conclusion: Surrogate subtypes present with significant differences in RFS, DMFS, and LRRFS. Luminal A tumors have the best prognosis, whereas HER2-enriched tumors have the poorest.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.1391-1396
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• 2014

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type of lung cancer and the most common cause of lung cancer death. Currently, the epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor gefitinib is used for its treatment; however, drug resistance is a major obstacle. Expression of Met has been associated with both primary and acquired resistance to gefitinib, but the mechanisms regulating its expression are not fully understood. Recently, miRNAs such as miR-130a have been shown to play a role in gefitinib resistance, but importance in NSCLC and relationships with Met have not been fully explored. Here we show that miR-130a is over-expressed in gefitinibsensitive NSCLC cell lines, but is low in gefitinib-resistant NSCLC cell lines. Moreover, miR-130a expression was negatively correlated with that of Met. Further analysis revealed that over-expression of miR-130a increased cell apoptosis and inhibited proliferation of NSCLC cells treated with gefitinib, whereas lowering the expression of miR-130a decreased cell apoptosis and promoted cell proliferation after treatment with gefitinib in both gefitinib-sensitive and -resistant NSCLC cell lines, suggesting that miR-130a overcomes gefitinib resistance. We also demonstrated that miR-130a binds to the 3'-UTR of Met and significantly suppresses its expression. Finally, our results showed that over-expressing Met could "rescue" the functions of miR-130a regarding cell apoptosis and proliferation after cells are treated with gefitinib. These findings indicate that the miR-130a/Met axis plays an important role in gefitinib resistance in NSCLC. Thus, the miR-130a/Met axis may be an effective therapeutic target in gefitinib-resistant lung cancer patients.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.14 no.8
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• pp.3843-3849
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• 2013

This study was conducted to determine the effects of fetal bovine serum (FBS), bovine serum albumin (BSA) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) on blastocoel formation, total cell number, apoptosis and apoptosis-related gene expression of porcine diploid parthenotes developing in vitro. The addition of 0.4% BSA to the culture medium enhanced the development of 2-cell stage parthenotes to the blastocysts stage (p<0.01). Treatment of FBS reduced cell numbers of blastocysts (p<0.01) and increased the percentage of apoptosis in blastocysts (p<0.001). However, BSA increased cell numbers, only in the presence of EGF reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction revealed that EGF enhanced the mRNA expression of Bcl-xL in the presence of 0.4% BSA but BSA and EGF alone had no effect. However, Treatment of FBS reduced Bcl-xL mRNA expression (p<0.05) and enhanced Bak expression. This result suggests that apoptosis related gene expression is significantly affected by supplements, which may result in alteration of apoptosis and embryo viability of porcine embryos developing in vitro.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.89-95
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• 2017

This study was conducted to determine the effects of biophoton treatment during in vitro maturation (IVM) and/or in vitro culture (IVC) on oocyte maturation and embryonic development in pigs. An apparatus capable of generating homogeneous biophoton energy emissions was placed in an incubator. Initially, immature pig oocytes were matured in the biophoton-equipped incubator in medium 199 supplemented with cysteine, epidermal growth factor, insulin, and gonadotrophic hormones for 22 h, after which they were matured in hormone-free medium for an additional 22 hr. Next, IVM oocytes were induced for parthenogenesis (PA) or provided as cytoplasts for somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). Treatment of oocytes with biophoton energy during IVM did not improve cumulus cell expansion, nuclear maturation, intraoocyte glutathione content, or mitochondrial distribution of oocytes. However, biophoton-treated oocytes showed higher (p < 0.05) blastocyst formation after PA than that in untreated oocytes (50.7% vs. 42.7%). In an additional experiment, SCNT embryos produced from biophoton-treated oocytes showed a greater (p < 0.05) number of cells in blastocysts (52.6 vs. 43.9) than that in untreated oocytes. Taken together, our results demonstrate that biophoton treatment during IVM improves developmental competence of PA- and SCNT-derived embryos.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.11
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• pp.4759-4768
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• 2015

Background: Several studies have investigated predictive and prognostic biomarkers for patients treated with anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) agents in lung cancer. However, the conclusion is controversial. Materials and Methods: A meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the associations of mutant K-ras, PIK3CA and PTEN deficiency with the efficacy of anti-EGFR agents in lung cancer. The primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR). The secondary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Results: A total of 61 studies were included in the final meta-analysis. The result showed that K-ras mutation was a good predictor for ORR (RR=0.42, 95%CI, 0.33-0.55, p=0.000) and an effective prognostic marker for OS (HR=1.37, 95%CI, 1.15-1.65, p=0.001) and PFS (HR=1.33, 95%CI, 1.05-1.69, p=0.019). However, PTEN deficiency or PIK3CA mutation did not show any significance predictive value for ORR (PTEN, RR=0.82, 95%CI, 0.56-1.19, p=0.286; PIK3CA, RR=1.08, 95%CI, 0.17-6.66, P=0.938). And PTEN deficiency or expression of PIK3CA did not show significance prognostic value for OS (PTEN, HR=0.88, 95%CI, 0.31-2.46,P=0.805; PIK3CA, HR=0.79, 95%CI: 0.23-2.68, P=0.706). Conclusions: Our meta-analysis showed that K-ras mutation may be an effective predictor in lung cancer patients treated with anti-EGFR agents. Whereas, the predictive and prognostic value of PTEN deficiency and PIK3CA mutation need to be further investigated.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.267-274
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• 2013

The impact of income and education level on the clinical and pathologic characteristics, implementation of clinical breast examination (CBE), and treatment patterns of a small population of Chinese female breast cancer patients was studeied in order to provide a theoretical basis and statistical reference for further nationwide research. We included 484 pathologically confirmed female primary breast cancer inpatients of the First Affiliated Hospital of Medical College of Xi'an Jiaotong University from February 2003 to January 2004. All cases were reviewed and relevant information was collected using a designed case report form (CRF). Chisquare tests, rank-sum tests, and Fisher's exact tests were used in the analysis. Our analysis showed that: (1) women in different occupation groups had significant differences in tumor size, pre-operative mammography, surgical options, post-operative estrogen receptor (ER), progestin receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (Her2) status, and post-operative radiotherapy and chemotherapy (P < 0.05); and (2) women with different education levels had statistically significant differences in tumor size, post-operative ER, PR and Her2 status, and post-operative chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and endocrine therapy (P < 0.05). In Xi'an, China, women in low-income occupations or with low education levels are more likely to have advanced tumor stages at presentation, lower implementation rate of clinical breast examination, and less treatment.