• Molecules and Cells
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.174-185
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• 2006

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) were evolved to detect invading pathogens and to induce innate immune responses in order to mount host defense mechanisms. It becomes apparent that the activation of certain TLRs is also modulated by endogenous molecules including lipid components, fatty acids. Results from epidemiological and animal studies demonstrated that saturated and polyunsaturated dietary fatty acids can differentially modify the risk of development of many chronic diseases. Inflammation is now recognized as an important underlying etiologic condition for the pathogenesis of many chronic diseases. Therefore, if the activation of TLRs and consequent inflammatory and immune responses are differentially modulated by types of lipids in vivo, this would suggest that the risk of the development of chronic inflammatory diseases and the host defense against microbial infection may be modified by the types of dietary fat consumed.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.38 no.8
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• pp.677-684
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• 2015

Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most prevalent forms of joint disorder, associated with a tremendous socioeconomic burden worldwide. Various non-genetic and lifestyle-related factors such as aging and obesity have been recognized as major risk factors for OA, underscoring the potential role for epigenetic regulation in the pathogenesis of the disease. OA-associated epigenetic aberrations have been noted at the level of DNA methylation and histone modification in chondrocytes. These epigenetic regulations are implicated in driving an imbalance between the expression of catabolic and anabolic factors, leading eventually to osteoarthritic cartilage destruction. Cellular senescence and metabolic abnormalities driven by OA-associated risk factors appear to accompany epigenetic drifts in chondrocytes. Notably, molecular events associated with metabolic disorders influence epigenetic regulation in chondrocytes, supporting the notion that OA is a metabolic disease. Here, we review accumulating evidence supporting a role for epigenetics in the regulation of cartilage homeostasis and OA pathogenesis.

• Journal of Sport and Applied Science
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.11-23
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• 2022

New insights into the aetiology of anaemia in athletes have been discovered in recent years. From hemodilution and redistribution, which are thought to commit to so-called "sports anaemia," to iron deficiency triggered by higher requirements, dietary requirements, decreased uptake, enhanced losses, hemolysis, and sequester, to genetic factors of different types of anaemia (some related to sport), anaemia in athletes necessitates a careful and multisystem methodology. Dietary factors that hinder iron absorption and enhance iron bioavailability (e.g., phytate, polyphenols) should be considered. Celiac disease, which is more common in female athletes, may be the consequence of an iron deficiency anaemia that is unidentified. Sweating, hematuria, gastrointestinal bleeding, inflammation, and intravascular and extravascular hemolysis are all ways iron is lost during strength training. In training, evaluating the iron status, particularly in athletes at risk of iron deficiency, may work on improving iron balance and possibly effectiveness. Iron status is influenced by a healthy gut microbiome. To eliminate hemolysis, athletes at risk of iron deficiency should engage in non-weight-bearing, low-intensity sporting activities.

• BMB Reports
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.348-353
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• 2015

In the present study, we investigated the characteristics of drug efflux transporter expressions following status epilepticus (SE). In the hippocampus and piriform cortex (PC), vasogenic edema peaked 3-4 days after SE. The expression of breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP), multidrug resistance protein-4 (MRP4), and p-glycoprotein (p-GP) were decreased 4 days after SE when vasogenic edema was peaked, but subsequently increased 4 weeks after SE. Multidrug resistance protein-1 (MRP1) expression gradually decreased in endothelial cells until 4 weeks after SE. These findings indicate that SE-induced vasogenic edema formation transiently reduced drug efflux pump expressions in endothelial cells. Subsequently, during recovery of vasogenic edema drug efflux pump expressions were differentially upregulated in astrocytes, neuropils, and endothelial cells. Therefore, we suggest that vasogenic edema formation may be a risk factor in pharmacoresistent epilepsy. [BMB Reports 2015; 48(6): 348-353]

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.251-254
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• 2012

Purpose: To explore the relationship between auxiliary lymph node metastasis and clinical features, and to identify the factors that affect metastasis occurrence. Methods: A total of 164 cases of primary breast cancer were selected to investigate features such as age, concomitant chronic disease and pathologic diagnosis. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of the estrogen receptor (ER) and CerbB-2. Logistic regression was employed to analyze the factors that affect the incidence of lymph node metastases. Results: The incidence of lymph node metastases was 46.3% among elderly patients with breast cancer. Based on logistic regression, chronic disease, scale of tumor, age, and ER expression affected the occurrence of lymph node metastases; the ORs were 3.05, 2.18, 0.34, and 3.83, respectively. Between different pathologic diagnoses and the risk factors, the OR scores were 12.7 and 8.02, respectively, for aggressive ductal carcinoma and aggressive lobular carcinoma auxiliary lymph node metastases. Conclusion: The incidence of lymph node metastases is affected by chronic disease, scale of tumor, age, ER expression and pathologic diagnosis.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition Conference
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.271-274
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• 2004

Nutritional genomics is a new field of study of how nutrition interacts with an individual's genome or individual responds to individual diets. Systematic approach of nutritional genomics will likely provide important clues about responders and non-responders. The current interest in personalizing health stems from the breakthroughs emerging in integrative technologies of genomics and epigenomics and the identification of genetic and epigentic diversity in individual's genetic make-up that are associated with variations in many aspects of health, including diet-related diseases. Microarray is a powerful screen system that is being also currently employed in nutritional research. Monitoring of gene expression at genome level is now possible with this technology, which allows the simultaneous assessment of the transcription of tens of thousands of genes and of their relative expression of pathological cells such tumor cells compared with that of normal cells. Epigenetic events such as DNA methylation can result in change of gene expression without involving changes in gene sequence. Recent developed technology of DNAarray-based methylation assay will facilitate wide study of epigenetic process in nutrigenomics. Some of the areas that would benefitfrom these technologies include identifying molecular targets (Biomarkers) for the risk and benefit assessment. These characterized biomarkers can reflect expose, response, and susceptibility to foods and their components. Furthermore the identified new biomarker perhaps can be utilized as a indicator of delivery system fur optimizing health.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.99-106
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• 2017

Obesity is a critical risk factor for the hypertension. Although angiotensin II (Ang II) in obese individuals is known to be upregulated in obesity-induced hypertension, direct evidence that explains the underlying mechanism for increased vascular tone and consequent increase in blood pressure (BP) is largely unknown. The purpose of this study is to investigate the novel mechanism underlying Ang II-induced hyper-contractility and hypertension in obese rats. Eight-week old male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed with 60% fat diet or normal diet for 4 months. Body weight, plasma lipid profile, plasma Ang II level, BP, Ang II-induced vascular contraction, and expression of regulatory proteins modulating vascular contraction with/without Ang II stimulation were measured. As a result, high fat diet (HFD) accelerated age-dependent body weight gaining along with increased plasma Ang II concentration. It also increased BP and Ang II-induced aortic contraction. Basal expression of p-CPI-17 and myosin light chain (MLC) kinase was increased by HFD along with increased phosphorylation of MLC. Ang II-induced phosphorylation of CPI-17 and MLC were also higher in HFD group than control group. In conclusion HFD-induced hypertension is through at least in part by increased vascular contractility via increased expression and activation of contractile proteins and subsequent MLC phosphorylation induced by increased Ang II.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.8
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• pp.3959-3962
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• 2016

The ten-eleven-translocation-2 (TET2) gene is a novel tumor suppressor gene involved in several hematological malignancies of myeloid and lymphoid origin. Besides loss-of-function mutations and deletions, hypermethylation of the CpG island at the TET2 promoter has been found in human cancers. The TET2 encoded protein regulates DNA methylation. The present study aimed to examine DNA promoter methylation of TET2 in 100 childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cases and 120 healthy children in southeast Iran. In addition, mRNA expression levels were assessed in 30 new cases of ALL and 32 controls. Our ndings indicated that promoter methylation of TET2 signi cantly increases the risk of ALL (OR=2.60, 95% CI=1.31-5.12, p=0.0060) in comparison with absent methylation. Furthermore, the TET2 gene was signi cantly downregulated in childhood ALL compared to healthy children (p=0.0235). The results revealed that hypermethylation and downregulation of TET2 gene may play a role in predisposition to childhood ALL. Further studies with larger sample sizes and different ethnicities are needed to con rm our ndings.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.1-15
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• 2005

Cancer is still a major global health concern even after an everlasting strive in conquering this dread disease. Emphasis is now given to chemoprevention to reduce the risk of cancer and also to improve the quality of life among cancer afflicted individuals. Recent progress in molecular biology of cancer has identified key components of the cellular signaling network, whose functional abnormality results in undesired alterations in cellular homeostasis, creating a cellular microenvironment that favors premalignant and malignant transformation. Multiple lines of evidence suggest an elevated expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is causally linked to cancer. In response to oxidative/pro-inflammatory stimuli, turning on unusual signaling arrays mediated through diverse classes of kinases and transcription factors results in aberrant expression of COX-2. Population-based as well as laboratory studies have explored a broad spectrum of chemopreventive agents including selective COX-2 inhibitors and a wide variety of anti-inflammatory phytochemicals, which have been shown to target cellular signaling molecules as underlying mechanisms of chemoprevention. Thus, unraveling signaling pathways regulating aberrant COX-2 expression and targeted blocking of one or more components of those signal cascades may be exploited in searching chemopreventive agents in the future.

• Journal of the Korea Fashion and Costume Design Association
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.37-46
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• 2008

The purposes of this article are segmenting consumers by brand attachment motives and discovering the differences among the segmented groups in relation to clothing involvement and clothing behavior (ready-to-wear satisfaction, brand loyalty, purchased items, and purchased places). The subjects of this study were male and female consumers, who were residents in Seoul, Korea. The data had been collected during May, 2007, and statistical analyses used for the study were factor analysis, cluster analysis, t-test, and chi-square test. The results showed that brand attachment motive is composed of two factors: brand personality/individuality expression and conformity/status improvement. Based on cluster analysis, there were two brand attachment motive groups: individuality expression and status improvement segments. T-test showed that brand attachment motive segments were significantly different in terms of clothing involvement and clothing behavior (ready-to-wear satisfaction, brand loyalty and purchased items). For example, the individuality expression group was more interested in clothing, was more satisfied with ready-to-wear clothing, had higher brand loyalty, and usually purchased casual wear. Meanwhile, the status improvement group had a higher perceived risk in clothing involvement, was less satisfied with ready-to-wear clothing, had a lower degree of brand loyalty, and preferred to purchase formal wear. The results implied that brand attachment motive is an important variable in market segmentation, in which specific marketing strategies should be implemented for each targeted consumers.