• Molecules and Cells
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.490-495
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• 2008

Thrombophilia and hypofibrinolysis have been implicated in the pathogenesis of osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH). Tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI), a multivalent protease inhibitor, is an important regulator of the tissue factor-mediated blood coagulation pathway. Mutations of the TFPI gene can increase the risk of thrombin generation and venous thrombosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of TFPI gene polymorphisms with ONFH. All exons and their boundaries of the TFPI gene, including the -1,500 bp promoter region, were directly sequenced in 24 Korean individuals and four sequence variants were identified. These four polymorphisms [-51096 G > A (C-399T), -50984A > G (T-287C), + 24999A > G (Int7 -33T > C), + 37339T > A] were genotyped in 474 ONFH patients and 349 control subjects. The association of genotyped SNPs with ONFH was not found in the present study. The haplotype AAAT of TFPI was significantly associated with total, alcohol-induced, and idiopathic ONFH (p = 0.003, 0.021, and 0.007, respectively), and the haplotype GAAT was significantly associated with total and alcohol ONFH (p = 0.022 and 0.009, respectively). In addition, a new SNP + 37339 T > A in the 3'-UTR of the TFPI gene, was found in the Korean population. To date, this study is the first to show that haplotypes of the TFPI gene are associated with an increased susceptibility for ONFH. The results suggest that genetic variations in TFPI may play an important role in the pathogenesis and risk factors of ONFH.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.18
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• pp.7603-7609
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• 2014

Glutathione is a thiol compound that plays an important role in the antioxidant defense system of the cell and its deficiency leads to an increased susceptibility to oxidative stress and, thus, progression of many disease states including head and neck cancer. In the present study, alterations of glutathione levels were investigated in study cohort of 500 samples (cohort 1 containing 200 head and neck cancer blood samples along with 200 healthy controls and cohort II with 50 head and neck squamous cell carcinoma tissue samples along with 50 control tissues) by high performance liquid chromatography. The results indicated that mean blood glutathione levels were significantly reduced in head and neck cancer patients (p<0.001) compared to respective controls. In contrast, the levels of glutathione total (p<0.05) and glutathione reduced (p<0.05) were significantly elevated in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma tissues compared to the adjacent cancer-free control tissues. In addition to this, pearson correlation performed to correlate different tissue glutathione levels (GSH) with clinical/pathological parameters demonstrated a significant negative correlation between pT-stage and GSH level ($r=-0.263^{**}$; p<0.01), C-stage and GSH level ($r=-0.335^{**}$; p<0.01), grade and GSH ($r=-0.329^{**}$; p<0.01) and grade versus redox index ($r=-0.213^{**}$; p<0.01) in HNSCC tissues. Our study suggests that dysregulation of glutathione levels in head and neck cancer has the potential to predict metastasis, and may serve as a prognostic marker.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.11 no.sup2
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• pp.59-66
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• 2008

Genome-wide association studies using large case-control samples and several hundred thousand genetic markers efficiently and powerfully assay common genetic variations. The application of these studies to inflammatory bowel disease has led to the identification of susceptibility genes and affirmed the importance of innate and adaptive immunity in the pathogenesis of disease. Efforts directed towards the identification of environmental factors have implicated commensal bacteria as determinants of dysregulated immunity and inflammatory bowel disease. Host genetic polymorphisms most likely interact with functional bacterial changes to stimulate aggressive immune responses that lead to chronic tissue injury.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.129-132
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• 2004

Causative agents of mastitis were isolated from glandular tissues of 101 culled Holstein cow udders and tested with antimicrobials by standardized disc diffusion method. Pathogens most commonly isolated were coagulase-negative staphylococci (43.9%) and streptococci (21.4%). Most of the udders (88.5%) showed mixed infections with more than two species of bacteria. Antimicrobial sensitivity tests revealed that 90.0% and 84.5% of the isolated organisms were susceptible to amoxicillin and gentamicin, while most organisms were resistant to erythromycin. Coliforms were resistant to ampicillin, cephalothin, cefazolin, erythromycin, kanamycin, neomycin, penicillin and tetracycline and streptococci to erythromycin, kanamycin, neomycin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and tetracycline.

• Korean Journal of Plant Tissue Culture
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.387-393
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• 2000

The process by which Agrobacterium tumefaciens genetically transforms plants involves a complex series of reactions communicated between the pathogen and the plants. To identify plant factors involved in agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation, a large number of T-DNA inserted Arabidopsis thaliana mutant lines were investigated for susceptibility to Agrobacterium infection by using an in vitro root inoculation assay. Based on the phenotype of tumorigenesis, twelve T-DNA inserted Arabidopsis mutants(rat) that were resistant to Agrobacterium transformation were found. Three mutants, rat1, rat3, and rat4 were characterized in detail. They showed low transient GUS activity and very low stable transformation efficiency compared to the wild-type plant. The resistance phenotype of rat1 and rats resulted from decreased attachment of Agrobacterium tumefaciens to inoculated root explants. They may be deficient in plant actors that are necessary for bacterial attachment to plant cells. The disrupted genes in rat1, rat3, and rat4 mutants were coding a arabinogalactan protein, a likely cell wall protein and a cellulose synthase-like protein, respectively.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2009

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a leading cause of nosocomial infections, has been increasingly recognized in communities of the United States. This article will review the clinical spectrum and treatment of MRSA infections in children in the context of recent epidemiological changes of MRSA infections. In general, community-associated (CA) MRSA most frequently causes skin and soft tissue infections and has an increased association with invasive infections, particularly pneumonia and musculoskeletal infections. Hospital-associated (HA) MRSA strains tend to be associated with bloodstream infections, pneumonia, and surgical site infections. Different from the United States, CA-MRSA infections are not common in Korea (only 5.9%); however, there are some CA-MRSA clones that are different from HA-MRSA clones in Korea and from CA-MRSA clones in other countries. The treatment of MRSA infections should be guided by antimicrobial susceptibility testing, the site of infection, and the infection severity. Vancomycin is the treatment of choice for invasive MRSA infections. Other agents such as trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, clindamycin, linezolid, quinupristin-dalfopristin, and daptomycin have been used for some conditions.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.3.1-3.12
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• 2021

Functional interpretation of noncoding genetic variants associated with complex human diseases and traits remains a challenge. In an effort to enhance our understanding of common germline variants associated with lung cancer, we categorize regulatory elements based on eight major cell types of human lung tissue. Our results show that 21.68% of lung cancer-associated risk variants are linked to noncoding regulatory elements, nearly half of which are cell type-specific. Integrative analysis of high-resolution long-range chromatin interactome maps and single-cell RNA-sequencing data of lung tumors uncovers number of putative target genes of these variants and functionally relevant cell types, which display a potential biological link to cancer susceptibility. The present study greatly expands the scope of functional annotation of lung cancer-associated genetic risk factors and dictates probable cell types involved in lung carcinogenesis.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.213-217
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• 2015

To report problems found in a patient who has implemented stent implantation and then conducted a perfusion MRI using ASL(Arterial Spin Labeling), in order to suggest a solution to them. The perfusion MRI was conducted, using pCASL among ASL methods. Data from pCASL(Pseudo Continuous Arterial Spin Labeling) was acquired together with the structural image simply by changing position(labeling gap 15 mm, 170 mm) of the labeling pulse to avoid stent. Data was processed through the ASLtbx. When perfusion MRI was acquired using pCASL, it showed that the position of the conventional labeling pulse (labeling gap 24 mm) was overlapped with that of stent, which made signal intensity in right brain tissue appear as if it were void. When the labeling pulse was positioned (labeling gap 15 mm) to avoid stent, high signal intensity images were acquired. In labeling pulse (labeling gap 170 mm), the signal intensity was more reduced due to relaxation before labeled blood arrived at the imaging slice. pCASL can be stably repeated measurements because it does not use a contrast agent. And it should be selected with the appropriate image acquisition parameters for the high quality image.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.17
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• pp.7419-7424
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• 2014

Gliomas are the most common type of primary brain tumors. The XRCC1 Arg194Trp variant affects the proliferating cell nuclear antigen(PCNA) binding region, which suggests that this mutation may contribute to gliomagenesis and a number of articles have examine the association between XRCC1 Arg194Trp and the susceptibility to glioma. However, the results were conflicting. Test of heterogeneity, sensitivity analysis, meta-analysis, and assessment of publication bias were all performed in our present meta-analysis, covering a total of 5,407 patients and 7,715 healthy persons. In the overall analysis the XRCC1 Arg194Trp polymorphism showed a significant association with glioma susceptibility in a recessive mode l(for TrpTrp vs ArgArg+ArgTrp: OR=1.918, 95%CI=1.575-2.336, $I^2$=2.3%). In addition, analysis of subgroups presented an increased risk in Asians and populations-based on hospitals. The results suggested that the XRCC1 Arg194Trp polymorphism is a genetic risk factor for glioma, especially in Asian population. To further evaluate gene-gene and gene-environment interactions on XRCC1 polymorphisms and glioma risk, thousands of subjects and tissue-specific biochemical characterizations are required.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.3369-3375
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• 2016

MicroRNAs, a novel class of small non-coding RNAs, are key players in many cellular processes, including cell proliferation, differentiation, invasion and regeneration. Tissue and circulatory microRNAs could serve as useful clinical biomarkers and deregulated expression levels have been observed in various cancers. Gene variants may alter microRNA processing and maturation. Thus, we aimed to investigate the association of MIR-196a2 rs11614913 (C/T), MIR-499a rs3746444 (A/G) polymorphisms and their combination with cancer susceptibility in an Egyptian population. Sixty five renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and 60 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients and 150 controls were enrolled in the study. They were genotyped using real-time polymerase chain reaction technology. Both $miR-196a2^*T$ and $miR-499a*G$ were associated with RCC risk, but only $miR-196a^*T$ was associated with HCC development. Carriage of the homozygote combinations ($MIR196a2^*TT+MIR499a^*AA$) and ($MIR196a2^*CC+MIR499a^*GG$) was associated with 25 and 48 fold elevation of likelhood to develop RCC, respectively. The miR-196a2 SNP was also linked with larger tumor size in RCC and advanced tumor stage in HCC. miR-196a2 and miR-499a combined genotypes were associated with RCC and HCC. Further functional analysis of SNPs is required to confirm relationships between genotypes and phenotypes.