• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.257-263
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• 2014

Background: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), an endothelial cell specific mitogen, has been implicated as a critical factor influencing tumor related angiogenesis. The aim of present study was to evaluate the relationship between VEGF +936C>T and +405C>G polymorphisms of VEGF with risk of breast cancer in Punjab, India. Materials and Methods: We screened DNA samples of 192 sporadic breast cancer patients and 192 unrelated healthy, gender and age matched control individuals for VEGF +936C>T and +405C>G polymorphisms using the PCR-RFLP method. Results: For the VEGF +405C>G polymorphism, we observed significantly increased frequency of GG genotype in cases as compared to controls and strong association of +405GG genotype was observed with three fold risk for breast cancer (OR=3.07; 95%CI 1.41-6.65; p=0.003). For the +936C>T polymorphism, significant associations of CT and combined CT+TT genotypes were observed with elevated risk of breast cancer (p=0.021; 0.023). The combined genotype combinations of GG-CC and GG-CT of +405C>G and +936C>T polymorphisms were found to be significantly associated with increased risk of breast cancer (p=0.04; 0.0064). Conclusions: The findings of the present study indicated significant associations of VEGF +936C>T and +405C>G polymorphisms with increased breast cancer risk in patients from Punjab, North India.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.11
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• pp.4965-4971
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• 2016

Objective: Breast cancer is global female health problem worldwide. Most of the currently used agents for breast cancer treatment have toxic side-effects. Ginseng root, an oriental medicine, has many health benefits and may exhibit direct anti-cancer properties. This study was performed to assess the effects of ginseng on breast cancer cell lines. Materials and Methods: Cytotoxicity of ginseng extract was measured by MTT assay after exposure of MDA-MB-231, MCF-10A and MCF-7 breast cancer cells to concentrations of 0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 and 2.5 mg/well. Expression levels of p21WAF, p16INK4A, Bcl-2, Bax and P53 genes were analyzed by quantitative real time PCR. Results: The treatment resulted in inhibition of cell proliferation in a dose-and time-dependent manner. p53, p21WAF1and p16INK4A expression levels were up-regulated in ginseng treated MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cancer cells compared to untreated controls and in MCF-10A cells. The expression levels of Bcl2 in the MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells were down-regulated. In contrast, that of Bax was significantly up-regulated. Conclusion: The results of this study revealed that ginseng may inhibit breast cancer cell growth by activation of the apoptotic pathway.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.21
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• pp.9217-9223
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• 2014

Background: Today, leukemia is one of the biggest problems worldwide. The Wilms' tumor gene (WT1) and the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene are highly expressed in patients with various cancers. This study concerned the relationship between expression of WT1 and VEGF in patients with acute leukemia. Materials and Methods: We evaluated expression of WT1 mRNA and VEGF mRNA using real-time quantitative RT-PCR in the peripheral blood (PB) of 8 newly diagnosed AML and 4 newly diagnosed ALL patients, serially monitored for 2 months. A further 12 normal PB samples served as controls. Results: In the patient group, in comparison with the normal ranges, WT1 and VEGF gene expression was increased, the average values for the expression of these two genes being $0.2852{\pm}0.11$ and $0.2029{\pm}0.018$, respectively. While was no significant relevance between the two genes pre-treatment, a positive link between the two genes in 75% of patients with AML was noted during the procedure of chemotherapy, whereas in 75% of patients with ALL an antiparallel association was observed. Conclusions: Leukemia is associated with production of WT1, which may affect the expression of VEGF.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.15
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• pp.6445-6449
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• 2015

Background: NSCLC is a disease involving uncontrolled cell growth, which could result in metastases into nearby tissues beyond the lungs. Materials and Methods: The aim of the present study was to analyze the influence of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene expression on metastasis and survival in NSCLC patients. The present case-control study included 100 cases of NSCLC patients and 100 age and sex matched controls. EGFR gene expression was analyzed by quantitative real time PCR using serum RNA. Association with NSCLC patient survival was analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method. Results: We analyzed EGFR gene expression and observed mean increased gene expression of 13.5 fold in NSCLC patients. Values reflected overall survival of patients with a median of 15.8 months in the cases of <13 fold increased gene expression vs 6.7 months with >13 fold increased EGFR gene expression (p=0.005). Distant metastatic patients with <13 fold increased EGFR gene expression had 7.9 months of median survival time while>13 fold increased EGFR gene expression had only 5 months of median survival time (p=0.03). Non metastatic patients with <13 fold increased EGFR gene expression had 18 months of median survival time as compared to only 7.1 months with >13 fold increased expression. Conclusions: Higher cell free EGFR mRNA expression may play an important role in causing distant metastases and reducing overall survival of NSCLC patients in the Indian population.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2017.06a
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• pp.341-341
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• 2017

Abiotic stress adversely affects crop growth worldwide. Drought of the major abiotic stresses have the most significant impact on all of the crop. The main objective of this study was to assess the effects of drought stress on photochemical performance and vitality of maize (Zea mays L.). The photochemical characteristics were analyzed in the context of period of drought stress during the maize growth. Drought experiment was carried out for four weeks, thereafter, the drought treated maize was re-watered. The polyphasic OJIP fluorescence transient was used to evaluate the behavior of photosystem II (PSII) and photosystem I (PSI) during the entire experiment period. In drought stress, the performance Index (PI) level was reached earlier when compared to the controls. For the screening of drought stress tolerance the drought factor index (DFI) of each variety was calculated as follow DFI= log(A) + 2log(B). All the fourteen cultivars show DFI ranged from -0.69 to 0.30, meaning less useful in selection of drought tolerant cultivars. PI and electron transport flux values of fourteen cultivars were to indicate reduction of photosynthetic performance during the early vegetative stage under drought stress. In conclusion, DFI and energy flux parameters can be used as photochemical and physiological index.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.67 no.4
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• pp.79-101
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• 2015

What is the role of welfare discourse? Michel Foucault suggests the power and knowledge relation that power in a particular society and period controls the society and members by creating knowledge affecting the formation of cognitive and normative systems. Having the formation of exclusions(constraint of cognition), and materiality and reality(normative system) as an analytical framework, this article attempts the exploration of welfare discourse analyses with public statements relating to welfare subjects of the four former Korean presidents. As a result, It is found that dominant epistemic system is formed by balancing welfare and growth and regarding jobs as the best welfare(the linkage of welfare-growth-employment), emphasizing individual economic responsibility and self-reliance, pursuing welfare selectivism, and excluding comprehensive welfare provisions. At the same time, it is observed that power is not always formulating systematic knowledge and that there is a gap between cognition and norm. While the Foucauldian discourse analysis provides a causal inference about low social welfare expenditure, excessive focus on the role of power as knowledge generator and infuser causes a question of how to accommodate contemporary changes into knowledge system.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.20
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• pp.8705-8708
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• 2014

Disrupted transforming growth factor-${\beta}$ (TGF-${\beta}$) signaling is involved in the development of various types of cancer and the TGF-${\beta}$ receptor II (TGFBR2) is a key mediator of TGF-${\beta}$ growth inhibitory signals. It is reported that the G-875A polymorphism in TGFBR2 is implicated in risk of various cancers. However, results for the association between this polymorphism and cancer remain conflicting. To derive a more precise estimation, a meta-analysis of 3,808 cases and 4,489 controls from nine published case-control studies was performed. Our analysis indicated that G-875A is associated with a trend of decreased cancer risk for allele A versus(vs.) allele G [odds ratio (OR) =0.64, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.55-0.74], as well as for both dominant model [(A/A+G/A) vs. G/G, OR=0.76, 95% CI: 0.64-0.90] and recessive model [A/A vs. (G/G+G/A), OR=0.74, 95% CI: 0.59-0.93). However, larger scale primary studies are required to further evaluate the interaction of TGFBR2 G-875A polymorphism and cancer risk in specific cancer subtypes.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.818-823
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• 2012

Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) is an important cool season forage plant that is not well suited to extreme heat, salts, or heavy metals. To develop transgenic tall fescue plants with enhanced tolerance to abiotic stress, we introduced an alfalfa Hsp23 gene expression vector construct through Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Integration and expression of the transgene were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction, northern blot, and western blot analyses. Under normal growth conditions, there was no significant difference in the growth of the transgenic plants and the non-transgenic controls. However, when exposed to various stresses such as salt or arsenic, transgenic plants showed a significantly lower accumulation of hydrogen peroxide and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances than control plants. The reduced accumulation of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances indicates that the transgenic plants possessed a more efficient reactive oxygen species-scavenging system. We speculate that the high levels of MsHsp23 proteins in the transgenic plants protect leaves from oxidative damage through chaperon and antioxidant activities. These results suggest that MsHsp23 confers abiotic stress tolerance in transgenic tall fescue and may be useful in developing stress tolerance in other crops.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2014

Early growth response 1 (Egr1) is a zinc-finger transcription factor to direct second-wave gene expression leading to cell growth, differentiation and/or apoptosis. While it is well-known that Egr1 controls transcription of an array of targets in various cell types, downstream target gene(s) whose transcription is regulated by Egr1 in the uterus has not been identified yet. Thus, we have tried to identify a list of potential target genes of Egr1 in the uterus by performing multi-step in silico promoter analyses. Analyses of mRNA microarray data provided a cohort of genes (102 genes) which were differentially expressed (DEGs) in the uterus between Egr1(+/+) and Egr1(-/-) mice. In mice, the frequency of putative EGR1 binding sites (EBS) in the promoter of DEGs is significantly higher than that of randomly selected non-DEGs, although it is not correlated with expression levels of DEGs. Furthermore, EBS are considerably enriched within -500 bp of DEG's promoters. Comparative analyses for EBS of DEGs with the promoters of other species provided power to distinguish DEGs with higher probability as EGR1 direct target genes. Eleven EBS in the promoters of 9 genes among analyzed DEGs are conserved between various species including human. In conclusion, this study provides evidence that analyses of mRNA expression profiles followed by two-step in silico analyses could provide a list of putative Egr1 direct target genes in the uterus where any known direct target genes are yet reported for further functional studies.

• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.321-333
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• 2000

High production of milk and its components are necessary to allow maximal growth of developing piglets. In this study, transgenic pigs were produced containing the $\alpha$ -lactalbumin gene, whose product is a potential limiting component in the production of milk. Two lines of transgenic pigs were produced to analyze the effects that overproduction of the milk protein $\alpha$ -lactalbumin may have on milk production and piglet growth. Transgenic pigs were produced through microinjection of the bovine $\alpha$ -lactalbumin gene. The gene construct contained 2.0 kb of 5'flanking region, the 2.0 kb coding region and 329 bp of 3'flanking region. Sows hemizygous for the trans gene produced as much as 0.9 g of bovine $\alpha$-lactalbumin per liter of pig milk. The production of the bovine protein caused approximately a 50% increase in the total $\alpha$ -lactalbumin concentration in pig milk throughout lactation. The concentration of bovine $\alpha$ -lactalbumin was highest on day 0 and 5 of lactation and decreased as lactation progressed. The ratio of bovine to porcine $\alpha$ -lactalbumin changed during the sow's lactation. This ratio was 4.3 to 1 on day 0 of lactation, but by day 20 of lactation the ratio was 0.43 to 1. This suggested that the bovine transgene and the endogenous porcine gene were under slightly different control mechanisms. The higher level of total $\alpha$-lactalbumin present on day 0 of lactation was correlated with higher lactose percentage on day 0 in transgenic sows (3.8%) as compared to controls (2.6%) (P＜0.01). Although there was also a trend for higher lactose percentage in transgenic sows on day 5 and 10 of lactation, no significant differences were observed. These data suggest that $\alpha$ -lactalbumin is limiting early in lactation of swine. Furthermore, higher concentrations of $\alpha$ -lactalbumin early in lactation may boost milk output.