• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.146-150
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• 1999

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is relatively rare ouuring as one of important autoimmune disease to affect neuromuscular junction. This study was clinically to evaluate total body irradiation (TBI) against two patients including 33-year and 39-year females for chronic MG with thymoma who hospitalized in the St. Mary's Hospital, Catholic University since 1994 as well as who showed no response by thymectomy, immunotherapy and hormonal therapy. TBI designed by the dose of 150$\~$180 cGy consisting of 10 cGy per fraction, three times a week, for 5~e weeks using linear accelerator of 6 MV. During the treatment of TBI, they did complain acute side effect such as vomiting and also appear improved physical condition from 4$\~$6 weeks after TBI. Through the follow-up period of 18 or 42 months after TBI, they did not have any symptomatic recurrence. Consequently, the results suggest that TBI can be used as an alternative tool for the patients concurrently for MG with thymoma who had been refractory to various conventional therapies like thymectomy, immunotherapy and hormonal therapy.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.893-900
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• 2011

Prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP) is one of the widely used biomarkers in the diagnosis of prostate cancer. It was initially identified in 1935 and is the most abundant phosphatase in the human prostate. PAP is a prostate-specific enzyme that is synthesized in prostate epithelial cells. It belongs to the acid phosphatase group that shows enzymatic activity in acidic conditions. PAP is abundant in prostatic fluid and is thought to have a role in fertilization and oligospermia. It also has a potential role in reducing chronic pain. But one of the most apparent functions of PAP is the dephosphorylation of macromolecules such as HER-2 and PI3P that are involved in the ERK1/2 and MAPK pathways, which in turn leads to inhibition of cell growth and tumorigenesis. Currently, clinical trials using PAP DNA vaccine are underway and FDA-approved immunotherapy using PAP is commercially available. Despite these clinically important aspects, molecular mechanisms underlying PAP regulation are not fully understood. The promoter region of PAP was reported to be regulated by NF-${\kappa}B$, TNF-${\alpha}$, IL-1, androgen and androgen receptors. Here, the features of PAP gene and protein structures together with the function, regulation and roles of PAP in prostate cancer are discussed.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2017

The rotavirus-induced diarrhea of human and animal neonates is a major public health concern worldwide. Until recently, no effective therapy is available to specifically inactivate the rotavirion particles within the gut. Passive immunotherapy by oral administration of chicken egg yolk antibody (IgY) has emerged of late as a fresh alternative strategy to control infectious diseases of the alimentary tract and has been applied in the treatment of diarrhea due to rotavirus infection. The purpose of this concise review is to evaluate evidence on the properties and performance of anti-rotavirus immunoglobulin Y (IgY) for prevention and treatment of rotavirus diarrhea in human and animal neonates. A survey of relevant anti-rotavirus IgY basic studies and clinical trials among neonatal animals (since 1994-2015) and humans (since 1982-2015) have been reviewed and briefly summarized. Our analysis of a number of rotavirus investigations involving animal and human clinical trials revealed that anti-rotavirus IgY significantly reduced the severity of clinical manifestation of diarrhea among IgY-treated subjects relative to a corresponding control or placebo group. The accumulated information as a whole depicts oral IgY to be a safe and efficacious option for treatment of rotavirus diarrhea in neonates. There is however a clear need for more randomized, placebo controlled and double-blind trials with bigger sample size to further solidify and confirm claims of efficacy and safety in controlling diarrhea caused by rotavirus infection especially among human infants with health issues such as low birth weights or compromised immunity in whom it is most needed.

• BMB Reports
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.556-561
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• 1995

The purpose of this study was to establish an in vitro culture method of tumor-specific T cells, and determine the efficacy of the cultured tumor-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL) as an agent of anti-tumor immunotherapy against a murine lymphoma, TIMI.4. Tumor-specific T-lymphocytes derived from C57BL/6 mice (thy-1.2) immune to TIMI.4 were activated by in vitro stimulation with the irradiated TIMI.4 cells, and expanded by restimulation with TIMI.4 in the presence of the concanavalin A-stimulated rat spleen culture supernatant, and splenic antigen-presenting cells. In vitro restimulation enhanced markedly the proportion of $CD8^+$, a predominant surface marker of CTL and the cytotoxic activity in the cultured immune T cell population. The resulting TIMI.4-specific T cells were adoptively transferred into nude mice. The tumor cells residing in the host after 7 days of adoptive transfer to B6.PL (thy-1.1) mice were quantified by use of an antibody directed to the thy-1.2 allele. The TIMI.4 cells in the recipient nude mice were decreased in a dose-dependent manner. Anti-tumor activity of the TIMI.4-specific T cells was also demonstrated by a survival test, where the tumor-bearing nu/nu mice which received the activated T-cells survived about 30% longer than the control mice which received the tumor cells alone. These suggest that adoptive transfer of TIMI.4-specific T cells could be a candidate for effective therapy of the murine lymphoma.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.7
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• pp.824-835
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• 2019

In recent decades, oncolytic viruses (OVs) have extensively been investigated as a potential cancer drug. Oncolytic viruses have primarily the unique advantage in the fact that they can only infect and destroy cancer cells. Secondary, oncolytic viruses induce the activation of specific adaptive immunity which targets tumor-associated antigens that were hidden during the initial cancer progression. In 2015, one genetically modified oncolytic virus, talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC), was approved by the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of melanoma. Currently, various oncolytic viruses are being investigated in clinical trials as monotherapy or in combination with preexistent cancer therapies like immunotherapy, radiotherapy or chemotherapy. The efficacy of oncolytic virotherapy relies on the balance between the induced anti-tumor immunity and the anti-viral response. Despite the revolutionary outcome, the development of oncolytic viruses for the treatment of cancer faces a number of obstacles such as delivery method, neutralizing antibodies and induction of antiviral immunity due to the complexity, variability and reactivity of tumors. Intratumoral administration has been successful reducing considerably solid tumors with no notable side effects unfortunately some tumors are not accessible (brain) and require a systemic administration of the oncolytic viruses. In order to overcome these hurdles, various strategies to enhance the efficacy of oncolytic viruses have been developed which include the insertion of transgenes or combination with immune-modulatory substances.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.709-722
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• 2019

Objective: The purpose of this study was to report the effect of traditional Korean medicine (TKM) in alleviating the side effects of lung cancer patient undergoing immunotherapy. Method: A 43-year-old man, who was diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer, received pembrolizumab treatments. The patient was treated with acupuncture and herbal medicine (Geoeoyangpye-tang) to control various uncomfortable symptoms. The degree of pain was measured by the numeric rating scale (NRS). The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire, Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) and the EORTC 13-item lung cancer-specific module (EORTC LC-13 questionnaire) were used to assess the change in the quality of life. Results: After the TKM treatment, the flank pain and arthralgia based on the NRS were significantly improved. Various uncomfortable symptoms such as fatigue, dyspnea, insomnia, and loss of appetite were also significantly improved, based on the EORTC QLQ-C30 and EORTC QLQ-LC13. The size of the primary tumor was decreased during treatment. The disease status was stable radiologically after two months from discharge.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.42.1-42.20
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• 2022

Vaccination with tumor peptide epitopes associated with MHC class I molecules is an attractive approach directed at inducing tumor-specific CTLs. However, challenges remain in improving the therapeutic efficacy of peptide epitope vaccines, including the low immunogenicity of peptide epitopes and insufficient stimulation of innate immune components in vivo. To overcome this, we aimed to develop and test an innovative strategy that elicits potent CTL responses against tumor epitopes. The essential feature of this strategy is vaccination using tumor epitope-loaded nanoparticles (NPs) in combination with polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (poly-IC) and anti-PD1 mAb. Carboxylated NPs were prepared using poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) and poly(ethylene/maleic anhydride), covalently conjugated with anti-H-2K^b mAbs, and then attached to H-2K^b molecules isolated from the tumor mass (H-2^b). Native peptides associated with the H-2K^b molecules of H-2K^b-attached NPs were exchanged with tumor peptide epitopes. Tumor peptide epitope-loaded NPs efficiently induced tumor-specific CTLs when used to immunize tumor-bearing mice as well as normal mice. This activity of the NPs significantly was increased when co-administered with poly-IC. Accordingly, the NPs exerted significant anti-tumor effects in mice implanted with EG7-OVA thymoma or B16-F10 melanoma, and the anti-tumor activity of the NPs was significantly increased when applied in combination with poly-IC. The most potent anti-tumor activity was observed when the NPs were co-administered with both poly-IC and anti-PD1 mAb. Immunization with tumor epitope-loaded NPs in combination with poly-IC and anti-PD1 mAb in tumor-bearing mice can be a powerful means to induce tumor-specific CTLs with therapeutic anti-tumor activity.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.43.1-43.11
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• 2020

Capicua (CIC) is a transcriptional repressor that regulates several developmental processes. CIC deficiency results in lymphoproliferative autoimmunity accompanied by expansion of CD44^hiCD62L^lo effector/memory and follicular Th cell populations. Deletion of Cic alleles in hematopoietic stem cells (Vav1-Cre-mediated knockout of Cic) causes more severe autoimmunity than that caused by the knockout of Cic in CD4⁺CD8⁺ double positive thymocytes (Cd4-Cre-mediated knockout of Cic). In this study, we compared splenic CD4⁺ T cell activation and proliferation between whole immune cell-specific Cic-null (Cic^f/f;Vav1-Cre) and T cell-specific Cic-null (Cic^f/f;Cd4-Cre) mice. Hyperactivation and hyperproliferation of CD4⁺ T cells were more apparent in Cic^f/f;Vav1-Cre mice than in Cic^f/f;Cd4-Cre mice. Cic^f/f;Vav1-Cre CD4⁺ T cells more rapidly proliferated and secreted larger amounts of IL-2 upon TCR stimulation than did Cic^f/f;Cd4-Cre CD4⁺ T cells, while the TCR stimulation-induced activation of the TCR signaling cascade and calcium flux were comparable between them. Mixed wild-type and Cic^f/f;Vav1-Cre bone marrow chimeras also exhibited more apparent hyperactivation and hyperproliferation of Cic-deficient CD4⁺ T cells than did mixed wild-type and Cic^f/f;Cd4-Cre bone marrow chimeras. Taken together, our data demonstrate that CIC deficiency at the beginning of T cell development endows peripheral CD4⁺ T cells with enhanced T cell activation and proliferative capability.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.528-533
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• 2007

In a previous study we generated an anti-Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) preS1 humanized antibody (HzKR127) that showed in vivo HBV-neutralizing activity in chimpanzees. However, the antigen-binding affinity of the humanized antibody may not be sufficient for clinical use and thus affinity maturation is required for better therapeutic efficacy. In this study, phage display technique was employed to increase the affinity of HzKR127. All six amino acid residues (Glu95-Tyr96-Asp97-Glu98-Ala99-Tyr100) in the heavy (H) chain complementary-determining region 3 (HCDR3) of HzKR127 were randomized and phage-displayed single chain Fv (scFv) library was constructed. After three rounds of panning, 12 different clones exhibiting higher antigen-binding activity than the wild type ScFv were selected and their antigen-binding specificity for the preS1 confirmed. Subsequently, five ScFv clones were converted to whole IgG and subjected to affinity determination. The results showed that two clones (B3 and A19) exhibited an approximately 6 fold higher affinities than that of HzKR127. The affinity-matured humanized antibodies may be useful in anti-HBV immunotherapy.

• Proceedings of the Ginseng society Conference
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• 2006.05a
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• pp.83-88
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• 2006

In this study we examined the potential for the synergistic augmentation of the activity of inflammatory mouse peritoneal macrophages by stimulation with RGAP combined with IFN-$\gamma$. The moderate augmentative effect induced by preincubation with RGAP was observed in the production of IL-1, IL-6 and NO but not TNF-$\alpha$. In addition, IFN-$\gamma$ had a low activating effect. Following preincubation with both RGAP A and IFN-$\gamma$, a marked enhancement of secretory activity and tumoricidal activity was noted in mouse peritoneal macrophages. Treatment of peritoneal macrophage with combination increased the generation of IL-1, IL-6, TNF-$\alpha$ and NO, whereas the production of reactive oxygen species were not altered. These results demonstrate the synergistic effects on macrophage function of RGAP in combination with IFN-$\gamma$ and suggest that the ability of IFN-$\gamma$ to prime macrophages to produce secretory molecules in response to RGAP may have implications for immunotherapy with this combination.