• BMB Reports
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.44-58
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• 2021

Natural killer (NK) cells, key antitumor effectors of the innate immune system, are endowed with the unique ability to spontaneously eliminate cells undergoing a neoplastic transformation. Given their broad reactivity against diverse types of cancer and close association with cancer prognosis, NK cells have gained considerable attention as a promising therapeutic target for cancer immunotherapy. NK cell-based therapies have demonstrated favorable clinical efficacies in several hematological malignancies but limited success in solid tumors, thus highlighting the need to develop new therapeutic strategies to restore and optimize anti-tumor activity while preventing tumor immune escape. The current therapeutic modalities yielding encouraging results in clinical trials include the blockade of immune checkpoint receptors to overcome the immune-evasion mechanism used by tumors and the incorporation of tumor-directed chimeric antigen receptors to enhance NK cell anti-tumor specificity and activity. These observations, together with recent advances in the understanding of NK cell activation within the tumor microenvironment, will facilitate the optimal design of NK cell-based therapy against a broad range of cancers and, more desirably, refractory cancers.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.301-309
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• 2021

Background and objective: The purpose of this study is to analyze the case of healing experience for lifestyle and environmental diseases through life and activities in the forest from the perspecitive of critical realism, and how the causal power and mechanism of the healing experience relate to forest healing factors and programs. Methods: 93 video data of people who started living in the forest for disease treatment were analyzed using a qualitative content analysis method from the perspective of critical realism. Categories for analysis include general categories (age, duration, occupation, disease name), forest therapy categories (climate therapy, plant therapy, water therapy, diet therapy, kinesiotherapy, psychotherapy), and other categories (ecology, learning and management, life tools), etc., and the unit of analysis is the context unit. Results: 1) The diseases that motivated life in the forest were digestive system diseases, lung diseases, cardiovascular diseases, endocrine system diseases, and various lifestyle-related diseases and environmental diseases in similar proportions. This indicates that forest life does not have specificity to respond to specific diseases, but provides treatment and recovery for all lifestyle and environmental diseases. 2) Among the forest therapies, climate therapy and plant therapy are related to the climatic and residential environment in the forest where 'natural persons' live. And others such as water therapy, diet therapy, kinesiotherapy, psychotherapy indicate the change from the lifestyle that caused the disease to the lifestyle for treatment and recovery. Conclusion: Life and activities in the forest provide an environment for treatment and recovery in which the healing principles such as aromatherapy, nutritional and dietary therapy, kinesiotherapy, and emotional psychotherapy are integrated in the 'real world'.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.41-49
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• 2022

Background: In patients with forward head posture (FHP), the head is positioned forward, causing increased tension in the muscles and structures of the head, neck, and shoulders. This can result in joint dysfunction that may lead to abnormal afferent information. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect on foot pressure through the isometric hip abduction (IHA) bridge exercise using elastic bands in patients with FHP. Methods: Twenty patients with FHP were randomly assigned to a study group that applied joint mobilization, soft tissue mobilization, a deep neck flexor strengthening exercise, and the IHA bridge exercise using an elastic band. A control group was also constituted, and members were given joint mobilization, soft tissue mobilization therapies, and the deep neck flexor strengthening exercise. Ten patients were assigned to each group. The static foot pressure and dynamic foot pressure of each patient were measured before and after the intervention, and the interventions for each group were applied twice a week for 4 weeks. Results: Both the study group and the control group showed significant differences in static and dynamic foot pressure before and after the interventions (p<.05). There were no significant differences in foot pressure between the study and control groups. Conclusion: : The results of this study revealed that there were no significant differences between the group doing the IHA bridge exercise using the elastic band and the control group. However, the intervention methods applied to both the groups were effective in improving the body center control of FHP patients.

• Journal of Naturopathy
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.88-92
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• 2019

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to study the efficacy of qigong therapy for various illnesses. Methods: Healing of a variety of patients and people connected to a hospital at the East-West Medical Hospital in Vienna, Austria, was carried out. A total of 38 healers healed from 1,131 people in a total of 3 times in the hospital, and the evaluation of healing efficiency conducted by 134 physician evaluation teams in the hospital itself. Results: In 2002, 80% of the patients had a "good" healing efficiency for 96 patients treated at the first session in the hospital. In the second round of 2004, the satisfaction rate of healing efficiency was over 75%. In the third session in 2006, 71.6% were satisfied with the satisfaction level of "Good," and 1,131 people evaluated with an average of 75.5%. This result suggests that qigong healing is very efficient. Conclusions: The average healing efficiency of soojung qigong for various diseases was 75.5% or higher, indicating that qigong is one of the best natural healing therapies.

• 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.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.101-112
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• 2009

Objectives : This comparative study aimed to identify the effect of the Buddeumi(cupping-and-moxibustion device) therapy and moxibustion-only therapy on treating constipation of stroke patients who were admitted in the hospital of oriental medicine. The research design was a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. Methods : The subjects of the study consisted of 23 stroke patients, and they were divided into two groups : one was the experimental group of 11 patients and the other was the control group of 12 patients. The Buddeumi therapy and the moxibustion-only therapy were given respectively. Each Buddeumi and moxibustion-only therapies on the 天樞(ST25, right & left) in abdomen were administered to the each group for 40 minutes a total at 10 times. The posttest included the frequency of defecation with the Constipation Assessment Scale every day for one week after the experiment. The data were analyzed by the $x^2$ test, t-test, Fisher exact test, and repeated measures ANCOVA using SPSS/WIN 12.0 program. Results : The results were as follows : First, Hypothesis 1 : 'The patients who are given the Buddeumi therapy in the experimental group have a lower Constipation Assessment Scale than the control group.' was supported(F=4.367, P=0.049). Second, Hypothesis 2 : 'The patients who are given meridian acupressure in the experimental group have a higher frequency of defecation per week than the control group.' was supported(F=0.947, P=0.034). Accordingly, 'The patients who are given the Buddeumi therapy in experimental group have a higher effect on constipation than the control group.' was supported. Conclusion : The Buddeumi therapy reduced the constipation assessment scale of stroke patients and increased the frequency of their defacation per week. Therefore, the Buddeumi therapy could be an effective treatment for constipation of stroke patients.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.209-214
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• 2014

With the continuing demand for new solutions in the development of effective and safe candidiasis therapies, we investigated the efficacy of an antifungal agent from the marine brown alga Eisenia bicyclis. The methanolic extract of E. bicyclis evinced potential antifungal activity against Candida species. The ethyl acetate (EtOAc)-soluble extract from E. bicyclis demonstrated the strongest antifungal activity against Candida species among five solvent-soluble extracts. Indeed, the EtOAc-soluble extract showed minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranging from 4 to 8 mg/mL. Furthermore, the EtOAc-soluble extract considerably reversed high-level fluconazole resistance of Candida species. The MIC values of fluconazole against Candida species decreased substantially (from 64 to $4{\mu}g/mL$) in combination with the MIC of the EtOAc-soluble extract (4 mg/mL). The fractional inhibitory concentration indices of fluconazole ranged from 0.531 to 0.625 in combination with 4, 2, or 1 mg/mL of the EtOAc-soluble extract against Candida isolates, indicating that these combinations exert a marked synergistic effect against Candida isolates. These findings imply that compounds derived from E. bicyclis can be a potential source of natural antifungal agents against Candida species.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.21
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• pp.9049-9058
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• 2014

Casticin (3', 5-dihydroxy-3, 4', 6, 7-tetramethoxyflavone) is an active compound isolated from roots, stems, leaves, fruits and seeds of a variety of plants. It is well known for its pharmacological properties and has been utilized as an anti-hyperprolactinemia, anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotetective, analgesic and immunomodulatory agent. Recently, the anticancer activity of casticin has been extensively investigated. The resulkts showed that it exerts protective potential by targeting apoptosis, considered important for cancer therapies. In this article, our aim was to review the pharmacological and therapeutic applications of casticin with specific emphasis on its anticancer functions and related molecular mechanisms. Chemotherapeutic effects are dependent on multiple molecular pathways, which may provide a new perspective of casticin as a candidate anti-neoplastic drug. This review suggests that additional studies and preclinical trials are required to determine specific intracellular sites of action and derivative targets in order to fully understand the mechanisms of its antitumor activity and validate this compound as a medicinal agent for the prevention and treatment of various cancers.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.529-534
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• 2010

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized pathologically by the presence of intracellular neurofibrillary tangles and deposition of ${\beta}$-amyloid ($A{\beta}$) peptides, which are generated by processing of amyloid precursor protein (APP). It is urgent to develop effective therapies for the treatment of AD, since our society rapidly accelerate aging. $A{\beta}$ peptides have been believed to be neurotoxic and now are also considered to have effects on the mechanism of memory formation. Recently, we investigated that a quinoline compound from natural product reduced the secretion of $A{\beta}$ from the neuroblastoma N2a cells (NL/N cell line) overexpressing APPswe. In this study, 3-phenyl-1-isoquinolinamine, a synthetic isoquinoline compound was analyzed to determine its effects on the metabolism of APP. It inhibited the secretion of $A{\beta}$ peptides from the N2a NL/N cell line. Beta-site APP cleaving enzyme (BACE) fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) assay revealed that it inhibited BACE activity in a dose dependent manner. Immunoblotting study showed that it inhibited APP stabilization and expression and it slightly increased the stablization and the expression of ${\gamma}$-secreatase component from the N2a NL/N cell line. We suggest that 3-phenyl-1-isoquinolinamine inhibits APP metabolism and $A{\beta}$ generation by the means of BACE inhibitory mechanism. This is the first report that 3-phenyl-1-isoquinolinamine inhibits the secretion of $A{\beta}$ peptides from neuroblastoma cells.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.621-631
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• 2000

Objective : In this study, the medicine herbs above were directly treated to cultured normal lung cells and lung carcinoma cells, and the effects were investigated to develope new cancer treatments with increased anti-cancer efficiency as well as decreased side-effects and to suggest more useful clinical therapies. Materials and Methods : In the experiment, WI-26 VA lung normal cell line and A-427 lung carcinoma cell line were cultured. To observe the morphological change of the treated cells, were subjected to Giemsa staining and observed under Reflected Fluorescence microscope. To examine whether cell death occurred, cells observed under Reflected Fluorescence microscope, To investigate the degree of cell death in the nucleus, cells were screened by Laser cytometry ACAS 570. Results : Samgibopye-tang(Shenqibufei-tang) stimulated not only the growth of the normal cells but also that of the carcinoma cells, Wikyeung-tang(Weijing-tang) induced morphological change such as cytoplasmic constriction in the normal cells and the carcinoma cells, but it did not show any strong inhibitory effect on the cell growth. Samso-eum(Shensu-yin) caused severe cell damage in both cell lines, Eunkyo San(Yinqiao-san) significantly damaged the nuclei and caused weak cytoplasmic constriction in both cell lines, Normal cells treated with Gilgyeung-tang(Jingeng-tang) did not show any significant morphological change while some Gilgyeung-tang(Jingeng-tang) treated carcinoma cells were observed to have a normal cell-like shape, interestingly, conclusions : As the results above, Samgibopye-tang(Shenqibufei-tang), Wikyeung-tang(Weijing-tang), and Gilgyeung-tang(Jingeng-tang) helped the growth of both cell lines, and especially Samgibopye-tang(Shenqibufei-tang) showed the best effect, However, Samso-eum(Shensuyin) and Eunkyo-san(Yinqiao-san) caused lethal damage in the normal cells and also showed strong toxicity in the carcinoma cells.