• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.121-128
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• 2023

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the recent age distribution of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in patients with respiratory infections and the differences in diagnostic usefulness according to the methods used in these patients. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients aged ≤18 years with respiratory infectious diseases who underwent polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or a specific immunoglobulin M (IgM) test between July 2016 and February 2019. The diagnosis of M. pneumoniae infection was confirmed by a positive result in the PCR or IgM test. Results: Of the 2,721 patients tested for M. pneumoniae, 2,197 underwent IgM, and 1,144 underwent PCR, with positivity rates of 17% and 20%, respectively. Among the 620 patients tested for both IgM and PCR tests simultaneously, 35% had M. pneumoniae infection, with 14% under 1 year old and 13% under 1-2 years old. The positive rate increased with age in both tests. Higher positive rates were observed in the IgM test before 3 years of age and in the PCR test after 3 years of age. The agreement rate between the two tests was 77.9% (Cohen's kappa 0.402). Conclusions: As age increased, the rates of M. pneumoniae infection also increased. In patients under 2 years of age, 4¬-14% of infections were confirmed depending on the method used. The moderate agreement between the PCR and IgM tests suggests that the simultaneous use of PCR and the IgM test for the early diagnosis should be approached with caution.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.465-474
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• 2021

Corona-19, a disease caused by 'Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)', was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020, and a real-time polymerase chain reaction test is performed as a diagnostic test for screening and confirmation in most countries. However, not only the target genes and protocols differ by countries, but also the procedures for reading the diagnosis results are diverse, so the criteria for confirmed patients differ by country. Therefore, in this review, we discussed the target genes, test techniques, and diagnostic criteria for each country notified by WHO. And the specificity and sensitivity, limits of detection, positive and negative controls, false positive bacteria candidates, and specimens, and the specifics of the control setting were also described. In addition, the characteristics of Korea's test were compared to each country's one. Finally, in order to obtain the same diagnosis result for SARS-CoV-2 in the future, standardized diagnosis methods and result interpretations for Corona-19 diagnosis were proposed.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2007

We describe a multiplex PCR method that can detect and differentiate simultaneously four different kinds of DNA viruses, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) and parvovirus B19 (B19). Primers for the multiplex PCR reaction were designed to amplify specific regions of the EBV (pol), CMV (pol), HBV (pol) and B19 (ns) viral genomes and used to simultaneously detect individual viruses. In order to achieve optimal sensitivity and specificity for multiplex PCR, the thermo-cycling parameters, primer sequences, and concentration of each reaction components were optimized systematically. The sensitivity of the detection method ranged between 5 and 10 copies of viral genome with a mixture of multiple primer pairs. Furthermore, this highly sensitive test showed no cross-reactivity among the four viruses. Thus, the results obtained in this study provide evidence that the assay system is a good tool for supporting the diagnosis of viral infection and contamination.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.171-178
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• 2007

Purpose : We investigated clinical characteristics of real-time PCR proven EBV viremia patients who were not serologically diagnosed but clinically suspected, and compared it to serologically proven EBV infected patients. Methods : The study population consisted of 45 patients, who were suspected acute EBV infection at Wonju Christian Hospital Department of Pediatrics, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine from Jan. 2004 to Dec. 2006. real-time PCR of cell free serum was performed to prove EBV viremia. Then we chose $102.5copies/{\mu}g$ DNA as a suitable cutoff level for EBV associated diseases. Results : There are 4 patients diagnosed as EBV infection by serologically and 15 patients diagnosed as EBV viremia by real-time PCR quantitative measurement. The most common presenting symptoms and signs of EBV viremia was fever in 11 cases (73%). Atypical lymphocytosis was found in 4 cases (27%). Increased AST, ALT levels were observed in 13 cases (87%), 12 cases (80%), respectively. We could diagnose 5 cases of EBV viremia younger than one year of age. They revealed clinical symptoms which could be found in EBV infection. The serologically diagnosed patients had hepatomegaly and splenomegaly in 3 cases (75%). All serologically confirmed patients have leukocytosis above $20,000/mm^3$, among them 2 cases (50%) had higher percentage (>15%) of atypical lymphocytes. The AST/ALT level above 50 IU/L were demonstrated in all cases. Conclusion : Serologically unproven real-time PCR EBV viremia patients revealed similar clinical findings with that of serologically proven EBV infected patients. So, it is meaningful to perform EBV real-time PCR for the diagnosis of EBV infection especially for the cases younger than 1 year of age.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.1001-1008
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• 1996

Staphylococcal food poisoning is the major cause of bacterial food poisoning occurring in this country. Therefore government regulates commercial foods through Official Dictionary of Food that there should be free of enterotoxigenic Staphylococcus aureus in Korean rice cakes, bread, and a box lunch. Since at least 5 days are required to identify the S. aureus by the official method in the Dictionary it is difficult to prevent the food poisoning and the investigation of the outbreaks. In this report an improved determination method of the S. aureus has been developed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. Sense and antisense primers for specific amplification of genes encoding staphylococcal enterotoxins were designed and synthesized for the PCR. Rapid chromosomal DNA isolation method was also developed from S. aureus using lysostaphin. The PCR condition was developed as follows. Reaction solution $(50\;{\mu}l)$ consisted of target DNA $2\;{\mu}l$ (about 20ng), 10X buffer $5\;{\mu}l$, primer 100pmole, dNTP (10 mM) $4\;{\mu}l$ and Taq DNA polymerase 2.5 unit in a thin-wall tube. Operation condition of the PCR was 5 min pre-denaturation at $94^{\circ}C$, 15 sec denaturation at $94^{\circ}C$, 15 sec annealing at $50^{\circ}C$, 20 sec extension at $72^{\circ}C$, and 5 min post-extension at $72^{\circ}C$, and 30 cycles of denaturation-annealing- extension. Using the PCR with Perkin Elmer GeneAmp PCR system 2400, types of enterotoxigenic S. aureus could be identified from Ddok or bread in a day.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.275-287
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• 2010

Deep caries may induce pulpitis and the pulpal tissue interacts with microbial invasion. The immune response to protect the pulpal tissue can be mediated by cellular signal molecules produced by the pulpal cells. The understanding of these processes is important to find future therapeutic method for the diseased pulp. The pulp tissue from sound teeth was set as control group (n=30) and the pulp tissue from decayed teeth was set as test group (n=30). Total RNA was extracted from the pulp of each group and it was used for cDNA microarray and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR). The expression of TGF-${\beta}1$ was studied by immunohistochemistry. The results were as follows: 1. cDNA microarray analysis identified 520 genes with 6-fold or greater difference in expression level with 143 genes more abundant in health and 377 genes more abundant in disease. 2. The RT-PCR analysis was done for randomly selected 14 genes and the results supported the result of cDNA microarray assay. 3. TGF-${\beta}1$ was highly expressed in the carious pulp and it was found in odontoblast by immunohistochemistry. In conclusion, many cytokines were found to be significantly changed their expression in the diseased pulp(/M/>1.6).

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.201-205
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• 2001

For evaluating the effect of triple therapy on eradication of gastric Helicobacter species infection in dogs, 7 dogs that had naturally acquired Helicobacter spp. infections were administered amoxicillin, metronidazole and omeparazole orally for 14 days. Changes of infection state were determined by urease test for gastric biopsies and Helicobacter specific PCR analysis for gastric biopsies and fecal samples at 7, 14 days after triple therapy and 30 days after cessation of triple therapy. Although negative results for urease test were obtained 6 of 7 dogs at 14 days after starting triple therapy, PCR analysis for gastric biopsies and fecal samples showed negative results in 3 and 4 dogs respectively. At 30 days after cessation of triple therapy, all tests showed negative results in 3 dogs. Based on these results, diagnostic tests for detercting Helicobacter spp. infection are recommended in dogs having chronic gastritis sign (usually intermittent vomiting) and triple therapy described in this study can be applied for eradicating the organism if the animals were proved to be infected.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.43-56
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• 1998

A multiplex PCR method was designed by employing primers specific for the eaeA gene, conserved sequences of Shiga-like toxins (SLT-I.II), and the 60-MDa plasmid of enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) O157:H7 strain. A set of six synthetic oligonucleotide primers derived from sequences of the SLT-I.II, eaeA, and 60-MDa plasmid genes of E. coli O157:H7 were used in a multiplex PCR amplification procedure to detect these genes in the same enteric pathogens. In two enterohemorrhagic E. coli O157:H7 (ATCC 35150, ATCC 43894) reference strains, PCR products of 317bps (eaeA), 228bps (SLT-I.II), and 167bps (60-MDa plasmid) were successfully amplified simultaneously in a single reaction. However, the specific PCR products were not amplified in control strains of other enteric bacteria. The sensitivity of the multiplex PCR assay for detection of the SLT-I.II, eaeA, and 60-MDa plasmid genes of E. coli O157:H7 was found to be 2.5$\times$10$^{6}$ of bacteria in diarrheal stool to amplify all three bands. The multiplex PCR technology will allow large-scale screening of many clinical specimens or contaminated foods, and will be a very useful method for the detection of a wide range of microorganisms present in the environment, including EHEC O157:H7 in various types of specimens. The multiplex PCR assay has the potential to be used as a specific and rapid method for clinical diagnosis of disease caused by EHEC O157:H7.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.62 no.3
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• pp.184-191
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• 2007

Background: For the diagnosis of pleural tuberculosis, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of pleural effusion specimens has shown very low sensitivity, which might be due to the small number of bacilli in the samples. The purpose of this investigation is to determine whether the sensitivity of PCR testing can be improved when increasing the amount of pleural effusion specimens. Methods: We prospectively analyzed pleural effusion specimens obtained from 53 patients for whom the exclusion of the possibility of tuberculous pleural effusion was necessary. We performed Mycobacterium tuberculosis PCR testing using the Cobas Amplicor MTB test (Roche Diagnostic Systems) with three different amounts (10ml, 25ml, and 50ml) of pleural effusion specimen in each patient. Pleural tuberculosis was defined as having one of the following: culture-positive pleural fluid sample, histopathologic finding consistent with tuberculosis on pleural biopsy, culture-positive sputum specimen, and/or positive response to anti-tuberculous medication without other possible causes of pleural effusion. Results: Of the 53 patients, 26 received the diagnosis of pleural tuberculosis. The sensitivities of AFB smearing, Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture of pleural effusion specimen, pleural biopsy, and measurement of ADA were 3.8%, 15.4%, 84.6%, and 88.5%, respectively. The results of PCR testing were positive for 3 (11.5%), 4 (15.4%), and 3 (11.5%) of the 26 patients when using 10ml, 25ml, and 50ml of pleural effusion specimens, respectively. These results did not show a statistically significant difference in the sensitivity of PCR testing when increasing the amount of pleural effusion samples (p>0.05, symmetry exact test). Conclusion: For specimens such as pleural effusion, in which the bacillary load is very low, the clinical utility of PCR testing seems highly limited with the kits designed for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis. An increased amount of pleural effusion sample does not improve the sensitivity of PCR testing.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.133-152
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• 2005

1. 목적 Prostaglandin은 치주질환과 관련된 국소적 골 대사에 중요한 역할을 한다. ${\Delta}^{12}PGJ_2$는 생체 내에서 혈장의 존재 하에 형성되는 천연 $PGD_2$ 대사산물이며 peroxisome- proliferator에 의해 활성화되는 감마 수용체 (PPAR ${\Gamma}$)에 대해 높은 친화성을 갖는 리간드로서 핵 수용체군에 속하는 전사조절인자이다. 이 연구의 목적은 골화 과정에서 ${\Delta}^{12}PGJ_2$의 역할을 규명하기 위해, 조골세포주의 증식과 분화에 미치는 영향과 그에 관련된 세포기전을 조사하는 데에 있다. 2. 방법 인간 골육종세포주인 Saos-2 (ATCC.HTB 85)와 쥐의 조골세포주 (MC3T3-E1)를 배양한 후 실험군에 농도가 각각 $10^{-5}$, $10^{-6}$, $10^{-7}$, $10^{-8}$, $10^{-9}$ 몰인 ${\Delta}^{12}PGJ_2$와 ciglitazone (합성 PPAR 감마 길항체)를 첨가하였다. 조골세포에서 PPAR 감마의 발현을 관찰하기 위해 역전사효소-중합효소연쇄반응(RT-PCR)을 특정한 primer를 이용하여 시행하였다. 세포 증식은 1일, 2일, 3 일째에 MIT 분석법으로 측정하였고, 2 일째에 알칼리성 인산효소 (ALPase) 생산을 측정하였다. 위의 결과에서 얻은 적정한 농도에서 다양한 조골세포 분화의 표지자들-제 1 형 교원질, 알칼리성 인산효소, osteopontin 및 bone sialoprotein-에 대한 간이 정량적 역전사효소-중합효소연쇄반응 (semiquantitative RT-PCR)을 실시하였으며 골결절 형성에 대한 효과를 알아보고자 석회화 분석도 시행하였다. 3. 결과 ${\Delta}^{12}PGJ_2$와 ciglitazone 모두 Saos-2 세포주의 증식을 촉진시켰다 .$10^{-8}$ 몰의 ${\Delta}^{12}PGJ_2$와 $10^{-6}$몰의 ciglitazone을 첨가한 실험군을 대조군과 비교했을 때, 시간에 비례하여 세포 증식률이 증가되었다. 알칼리성 인산효소의 활성화 검사에서도 증식률에서와 유사한 결과를 보여주었다. 간이 정량적 RT-PCR에서는 ${\Delta}^{12}PGJ_2$로 처리한 군의 경우 제 1 형 교원질, 알칼리성 인산효소, osteopontin, 그리고 bone sialoprotein의 상대적 mRNA 수준이 유의하게 높았다. 석회화 분석에서는 MC3T3-E1 세포를 $10^{-6}$ 몰의 ${\Delta}^{12}PGJ_2$로 처리한 군과 $10^{-5}$ 몰의 ciglitazone으로 처리한 군에서 현저한 골결절 형성을 보였다. 이러한 결과들은 ${\Delta}^{12}PGJ_2$가 유용한 골 유도물질이 될 수 있으며 또한 그 작용기전이 PPAR 감마-의존형 경로와 연관되어 있음을 보여준다.