• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.340-354
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• 2023

Purpose: Gastric cancer (GC) is the second most lethal cancer globally and is associated with poor prognosis. Fatty acid-binding proteins (FABPs) can regulate biological properties of carcinoma cells. FABP5 is overexpressed in many types of cancers; however, the role and mechanisms of action of FABP5 in GC remain unclear. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the clinical and biological functions of FABP5 in GC. Materials and Methods: We assessed FABP5 expression using immunohistochemical analysis in 79 patients with GC and evaluated its biological functions following in vitro and in vivo ectopic expression. FABP5 targets relevant to GC progression were determined using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Results: Elevated FABP5 expression was closely associated with poor outcomes, and ectopic expression of FABP5 promoted proliferation, invasion, migration, and carcinogenicity of GC cells, thus suggesting its potential tumor-promoting role in GC. Additionally, RNA-seq analysis indicated that FABP5 activates immune-related pathways, including cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction pathways, interleukin-17 signaling, and tumor necrosis factor signaling, suggesting an important rationale for the possible development of therapies that combine FABP5-targeted drugs with immunotherapeutics. Conclusions: These findings highlight the biological mechanisms and clinical implications of FABP5 in GC and suggest its potential as an adverse prognostic factor and/or therapeutic target.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.295-306
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• 2007

The growth and health of the fetus and neonate are directly influenced by the nutritional and physiological status of sows. Sows are often under catabolic conditions due to restrict feeding program during pregnancy and low voluntary feed intake during lactation. The current restrict feeding program, which aims at controlling energy intake during gestation, results in an inadequate supply of dietary protein for fetal and mammary gland growth. Low voluntary feed intake during lactation also causes massive maternal tissue mobilization. Provision of amino acids and fatty acids with specific functions may enhance the performance of pregnant and lactating sows by modulating key metabolic pathways. These nutrients include arginine, branched-chain amino acids, glutamine, tryptophan, proline, conjugated linoleic acids, docosahexaenoic acid, and eicosapentaenoic acid, which can enhance conception rates, embryogenesis, blood flow, antioxidant activity, appetite, translation initiation for protein synthesis, immune cell proliferation, and intestinal development. The outcome is to improve sow reproductive performance as well as fetal and neonatal growth and health. Dietary supplementation with functional amino acids and fatty acids holds great promise in optimizing nutrition, health, and production performance of sows and piglets. (Supported by funds from Texas Tech, USDA, NLRI-RDA-Korea, and China NSF).

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.10
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• pp.1378-1382
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• 2004

Zinc (Zn) is a micromineral and functions as a cofactor of many enzymes and its deficiency induces retardation of growth and dysfunction of the immune system in animals. This study was conducted to determine lipogenic activity of Zn in bovine intramuscular adipocytes. Preadipocytes were isolated from intramuscular fat depots of 26 month old Korean (Hanwoo) steers and cultured in media containing Zn. At confluence, the cells were treated with insulin, dexamethasone, and 1-methyl-3-isobutyl-xanthine to induce differentiation (accumulation of lipid droplets in cells). The sources of Zn were zinc chloride (${ZnCl}_2$) and zinc sulfate (${ZnSO}_4$), and the final concentrations of both Zn sources were 0, 5, 25, 50 and 100 ${\mu}$M. Glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) activity, an index of adipocyte differentiation, was increased as the concentration of Zn in media increased showing the highest activity (25.74 ng/min/mg protein) at 25 ${\mu}$M of ${ZnSO}_4$. Supplementation of Zn during differentiation of bovine intramuscular adipocytes tended to decrease the production of nitric oxide (NO). Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma 2(PPAR$\gamma$2) gene expression was increased 10 days after differentiation induction. The current results indicate that Zn has a strong lipogenic activity in cultured bovine intramuscular adipocytes with remarkable suppression of NO production.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.9
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• pp.4793-4799
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• 2012

Hypoxia is commonly featured during glioma growth and plays an important role in the processes underlying tumor progression to increasing malignancy. Here we compared the gene expression profiles of rat C6 malignant glioma cells under normoxic and hypoxic conditions by cDNA microarray analysis. Compared to normoxic culture conditions, 180 genes were up-regulated and 67 genes were down-regulated under hypoxia mimicked by $CoCl_2$ treatment. These differentially expressed genes were involved in mutiple biological functions including development and differentiation, immune and stress response, metabolic process, and cellular physiological response. It was found that hypoxia significantly regulated genes involved in regulation of glycolysis and cell differentiation, as well as intracellular signalling pathways related to Notch and focal adhesion, which are closely associated with tumor malignant growth. These results should facilitate investigation of the role of hypoxia in the glioma development and exploration of therapeutic targets for inhibition of glioma growth.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.98-103
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• 2014

Objectives: Advanced malignant melanoma (MM) has a poor prognosis, with an expected 2-year survival rate of 10 to 20%. It has long been recognized as an immunogenic tumor, and is worse for elderly patients. Many studies have suggested that herbal treatments improve immune functions, but few clinical studies have reported on this topic. Patients and History: We present two cases of female patients (72 and 77 years old, respectively) with advanced MM. The 72-year-old female patient was, at first, diagnosed with MM with multiple bone metastases. She received resection of the primary lesion, but refused further chemotherapy. The 77-year-old female patient was diagnosed with cutaneous MM of the left heel, with suspicion of sentinel node lymphadenopathy; however, she also refused any conventional treatment due to old age. Course of Therapy and Results: Both patients were exclusively treated with standardized allergen-removed Rhus verniciflua stokes (aRVS) extract combined with Bojungikki-tang (BT, Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Tang in Chinese or Hochu-ekki-to in Japanese). Both patients are still alive and doing well (Feb. 2014), demonstrating that the 72-year-old patient has lived for 27 months and the 77-year-old patient has lived for 31 months without disease progression since the aRVS and BT administration. Conclusion: We suggest that the combination of aRVS extract and BT could be a candidate for overcoming the cancer's immunoediting process especially for elderly MM patients intolerant of conventional treatment.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.237-243
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• 2004

Background: The normal functions of the cell cycle inhibitor p16INK4a are frequently inactivated in many human cancers. Over 80% of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cases lack a functional p16/Rb pathway. p16/Rb pathway, as well as p53 pathway, is considered as one of key components of tumor suppression. Methods: To study the roles of p16INK4a in HCC, a stable cell line expressing exogenous p16 was generated from SNU-449 hepatocellular carcinoma cells lacking endogenous p16, and suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) was performed in parallel with the control cells. Results: 1) SSH identifies fibronectin (FN1), crystallin ${\alpha}B$ (CRYAB), Rac1, WASP, RhoGEF, and CCT3 as differentially-expressed genes. 2) Among the selected genes, the up-regulation of FN1 and CRYAB was confirmed by Northern blot, RT-PCR and by proteomic methods. Conclusion: These genes are likely to be associated with the induction of stress fiber and stabilization of cytoskeleton. Further studies are required to clarify the possible role of p16 in the signal transduction pathway.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2015.08a
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• pp.63.2-63.2
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• 2015

Controlling and sensing spin states of magnetic molecules such as metallo-porphyrins at the single molecule level is essential for spintronic molecular device applications. Axial coordinations of diatomic molecules to metallo-porphyrins also play key roles in dynamic processes of biological functions such as blood pressure control and immune response. However, probing such reactions at the single molecule level to understand their physical mechanisms has been rarely performed. Here we present on our single molecule association and dissociation experiments between diatomic and metallo-porphyrin molecules on Au(111) describing its adsorption structures, spin states, and dissociation mechanisms. We observed bright ring shapes in NO adsorbed metallo-porphyrin compelxes and explained them by considering tilted binding and precession motion of NO. Before NO exposure, Co-porphryin showed a clear zero-bias peak in scanning tunneling spectroscopy, a signature of Kondo effect in STS, whereas after NO exposures it formed a molecular complex, NO-Co-porphyrin, that did not show any zero-bias feature implying that the Kondo effect was switched off by binding of NO. Under tunneling junctions of scanning tunneling microscope, both positive and negative energy pulses. From the observed power law relations between dissociation rate and tunneling current, we argue that the dissociations were inelastically induced with molecular orbital resonances. Our study shows that single molecule association and dissociation can be used to probe spin states and reaction mechanisms in a variety of axial coordination between small molecules and metallo-porphyrins.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.337-348
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• 1996

The proportion of leukocyte subpopulation in the host is of a great importance in understanding their functions and disease progress. Many methods have been developed to seperate leukocytes and to measure their activities. Characterization of immune cell subpopulations in Korean native cattle was performed using a set of monoclonal antibodies specific which are specific to bovine leukocyte differentiation antigen. Peripheral blood leukocytes from fifty Korean native and ten Holstein cattle were collected and analyzed for the investigation of leukocyte subpopulation by using monoclonal antibodies and flow cytometry. The result indicated that Korean native cattle have significantly higher proportion of leukocyte subpopulations expressing MHC class II molecules and BoCD4 than Holstein cattle.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.11-14
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• 2010

Human tumors, including those of the hepatobiliary system, express a number of specific antigens that can be recognized by T cells, and may provide potential targets for cancer immunotherapy. Dendritic cells (DCs) are rare leucocytes that are uniquely potent in their ability to capture, process and present antigens to T cells. The ability to culture sufficient numbers of DCs from human bone marrow or blood progenitors has attracted a great deal of interest in their potential utilization in human tumor vaccination. $CD34^+$ peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs) were obtained from a patient with a hepatocellular carcinoma. The PBSCs were cultured in the X-VIVO 20 medium supplemented with the Flt-3 Ligand (FL), GM-CSF, IL-4 and TNF-$\alpha$ for 12 days. The morphology and functions of the cells were examined. The generated cells had the typical morphology of DCs. When the DCs were reinjected into the same patient, an augmentation of the cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activity was observed. Concomitantly, an increase in the natural killer (NK) cell activity was also detected in the patient. These results suggest that DCs-based cancer immunotherapy may become an important treatment option for cancer patients in the future.

• BMB Reports
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.9-16
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• 2005

Transforming Growth Factor (TGF)-$\beta$ family, including TGF-$\beta$, bone morphorgenic protein (BMP), and activn, plays an important role in essential cellular functions such as proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, tissue remodeling, angiognesis, immune responses, and cell adhesions. TGF-$\beta$ predominantly transmits the signals through serine/threonine receptor kinases and cytoplasmic proteins called Smads. Since the discovery of TGF-$\beta$ in the early 1980s, the dysregulation of TGF-$\beta$/Smad signaling has been implicated in the pathogenesis of human diseases. Among signal transducers in TGF-$\beta$/Smad signaling, inhibitory Smads (I-Smads), Smad6 and Smad7, act as major negative regulators forming autoinhibitory feedback loops and mediate the cross-talking with other signaling pathways. Expressions of I-Smads are mainly regulated on the transcriptional levels and post-translational protein degradations and their intracellular levels are tightly controlled to maintain the homeostatic balances. However, abnormal levels of I-Smads in the pathological conditions elicit the altered TGF-$\beta$ signaling in cells, eventually causing TGF-$\beta$-related human diseases. Thus, exploring the molecular mechanisms about the regulations of I-Smads may provide the therapeutic clues for human diseases induced by the abnormal TGF-$\beta$ signaling.