• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.47-54
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• 2013

To overcome the difficulty of controlling stem cell fate and function in applications to regenerative medicine, a number of alternative approaches have been made. Recent reports demonstrate that a non-cellular niche modulating the biophysical microenvironment with chemical factors can support stem cell self-renewal. In our previous studies, early establishment was executed to optimize biophysical factors and it was subsequently found that the microgeometry of the extracellular matrix made huge differences in stem cell behavior and phenotype. We review here a three-dimensional, non-cellular niche designed to support stem cell self-renewal. The characteristics of stem cells under the designed system are further discussed.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.71 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2011

Many findings suggest that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) imposes an enormous burden on patients, health-care professionals and society. COPD contributes to morbidity and mortality and to a significant use of health-care resources. In spite of a higher prevalence of COPD in Korea, the result of COPD treatment is not effective. The purpose of this article was to review recent advances in the study of COPD in Korea with the aim of improving effective management. This review highlights articles pertaining to the following topics; prevalence, assessment of COPD, risk factors for hospitalization, co-morbid diseases, phenotypes, and treatment issues.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.157-162
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• 2006

Familial gigantiform cementoma is a rare fibre-cemento-osseous disease of the jaws which appears to be transmitted as an autosomal dominant trait with variable expressivity of the phenotype. A 7-year-old girl visited DKUDH complaining of the painless facial deformity. Clinically, significant facio-lingual expansion was observed at the left maxilla, left mandibular body and symphysis portion. Malposition of lower anterior teeth was found. Panoramic radiograph and CT scan showed the extensive expansile mixed lesion at maxilla and mandible. Bone scan revealed hot spot at the maxilla and left side of mandible. Histologic examination revealed moderately dense fibrous connective tissue with scattered masses resembling cementum. The patient's mother had a history of the mandibular resection due to benign tumor. Her younger brother had buccal expansion of right mandible. We report our finding of a family that has exhibited clinical, radiographic and histologic findings consistent with the familial gigantiform cementoma.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.174-176
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• 2013

Klinefelter syndrome is the most common genetic form of male hypogonadism, but the phenotype becomes evident only after puberty. It is characterized by infertility, small testes, sparse body and facial hair, increased body weight, gynecomastia, increased LH and FSH, and a low level of testosterone. Early recognition and treatment of Klinefelter syndrome can significantly improve the patient's quality of life and prevent serious consequences. Here, we report an infertile man with a rare variant of Klinefelter syndrome with a 47, XY, i(X)(q10) karyotype.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.357-359
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• 2002

Male pseudohermaphrodites is one of abnormalities of phenotypic sex and have an XY chromosome constitution and testes, but the internal or external genitalia are to some degree those of a female. We surveyed one case which were referred in Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital of Seoul National University. When patient was purchased, its phenotype was entirely female that have female external genitalia. However, from the age of 6 months, clitoris was gradually increased to Os clitoris, and patients showed male behavior. Critical clinical sign was trauma of protruded Os clitoris. In radiographic and ultrasonographic examination, he had normal vagina and urinary bladder. In chromosome examination, he had an XY chromosome constitution. This case was performed removal of Os clitoris and ovariohysterectomy.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.38-41
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• 2022

Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) is a single-gene disease caused by mutations in the neurogenic locus notch homolog protein 3 (NOTCH3) gene. The spectrum of clinical manifestations is broad, ranging from asymptomatic to typical ischemic stroke, and mainly depends on the location of the mutations. We describe the case of a 76-year-old female without apparent neurological deficits. However, brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed confluent lesions in the white matter. Direct sequencing of the NOTCH3 gene revealed a novel pathogenic mutation, c.811T>A, which results in a mild phenotype. Therefore, this report will expand the current knowledge in regards to the mutations that can cause CADASIL.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.841-845
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• 2003

In order for engineered tissues to find clinical utility, the engineered tissues must function appropriately. However, smooth muscle (SM) tissues engineered in vitro with a conventional tissue engineering technique may not exhibit contractile functions, because smooth muscle cells (SMCs) cultured in vitro typically revert from a contractile, differentiated phenotype to a synthetic, nondifferentiated phenotype and lose their ability to contract. SMCs in vivo typically reside in mechanically dynamic environments. We hypothesized that cyclic mechanical stretch induces the features of SMCs in in vitro engineered tissues to be similar to those of SMCs in native tissues. To test the hypothesis, aortic SMCs were seeded onto elastic, three-dimensional scaffolds and cultured in vitro under a cyclic mechanical stretching condition for 4 weeks. A significant cell alignment in a direction parallel to the cyclic stretching direction was found in the SM tissues exposed to cyclic stretching. The cellular alignment and alignment direction were consistent with those of native vascular SM tissues, in which SMCs in vivo align in the radial direction (parallel to stretching direction). In control tissues (SM tissues engineered without stretching), cells randomly aligned. The expression of SM ${\alpha}-actin$ and SM myosin heavy chain, phenotypic markers of SMCs in a contractile state, was upregulated in the stretched tissues by 2.5- and 2.0-fold, respectively, compared to SMCs in the control tissues. The cellular features of alignment and contractile phenotype of SMCs in the SM tissues engineered under a mechanically dynamic environment could allow the engineered SM tissues to exhibit contractile functions.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.20 no.5 s.94
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• pp.363-370
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• 2005

Neural stem cells (NSCs) of the central nervous system (CNS) have raised a great interest not only for their importance in basic neural development but also for their therapeutic potentials in neurologically degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer and stroke. During the CNS development, two molecular cascades determine specification of midbrain dopamine system. In one pathway, FGF-8, sonic hedgehog and transcription factor Nurr1 specify dopamine neurotransmitter phenotype. In the other, transcription factors $Lm{\times}lb\;and\;Pt{\times}3$ are required for induction of dopaminergic neurons. In Nurr1 knockout mouse, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) positive cells fail to appear in substantia nigra, indicating that Nurr1 is essential in specification of dopaminergic cell phenotype. In this study, we used the immortalized human NSCs retrovirally transduced with Nurr1 gene to probe the Nurr1 mediated mechanism to induce dopamine phenotype. While Nurr1 over-expression alone did not generate dopamine phenotype in NSCs, applications of retinoid and forskolin induced expression of TH and AADC mRNAs. In addition, co-cultures of Nurr1 expressing NSCs with human astrocytes induced a marked increase of TH expression. In this co-culture system, the addition of retinoid and forskolin dramatically increased expression of TH. These results indicate that the immortalized human NSCs with Nurr1 gene could have a clinical utility for cell replacement for the Parkinson patients.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.3793-3798
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• 2013

The role of protease-activated receptors (PARs) in lung tumors is controversial. Although PAR4 is preferentially expressed in human lung tissues, its possible significance in lung cancer has not been defined. The studies reported herein used a combination of clinical observations and molecular methods. Surgically resected lung adenocarcinomas and associated adjacent normal lung tissues were collected and BEAS-2B and NCI-H157 cell lines were grown in tissue culture. PAR4 expression was evaluated by RT-PCR, RT-qPCR, Western blotting and immunohistochemistry analysis. The results showed that PAR4 mRNA expression was generally decreased in lung adenocarcinoma tissues as compared with matched noncancerous tissues (67.7%) and was associated with poor differentiation (p=0.017) and metastasis (p=0.04). Western blotting and immunohistochemical analysis also showed that PAR4 protein levels were mostly decreased in lung adenocarcinoma tissues (61.3%), and were also associated with poor differentiation (p=0.035) and clinical stage (p=0.027). Moreover, PAR4 expression was decreased in NCI-H157 cells as compared with BEAS-2B cells. In conclusion, PAR4 expression is significantly decreased in lung adenocarcinoma, and down-regulation of PAR4 is associated with a more clinically aggressive phenotype. PAR4 may acts as a tumor suppressor in lung adenocarcinoma.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.253-260
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• 2020

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic and progressive neurodegenerative disease that can be described by the occurrence of dementia due to a decline in cognitive function. The disease is characterized by the formation of extracellular and intracellular amyloid plaques. Amyloid beta (Aβ) is a hallmark of AD, and microglia can be activated in the presence of Aβ. Activated microglia secrete pro-inflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, S100A9 is an important innate immunity pro-inflammatory contributor in inflammation and a potential contributor to AD. This study examined the effects of metformin and α-LA on the inflammatory response and NLRP3 inflammasome activation in Aβ- and S100A9-induced BV-2 microglial cells. Metformin and α-LA attenuated inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). In addition, metformin and α-LA inhibited the phosphorylation of JNK, ERK, and p38. They activated the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) pathway and the NOD-like receptor pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome. Moreover, metformin and α-LA reduced the marker levels of the M1 phenotype, ICAM1, whereas the M2 phenotype, ARG1, was increased. These findings suggest that metformin and α-LA are therapeutic agents against the Aβ- and S100A9-induced neuroinflammatory responses.