• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.2129-2144
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• 2015

Programmed cell death (PCD) or apoptosis is a mechanism which is crucial for all multicellular organisms to control cell proliferation and maintain tissue homeostasis as well as eliminate harmful or unnecessary cells from an organism. Defects in the physiological mechanisms of apoptosis may contribute to different human diseases like cancer. Identification of the mechanisms of apoptosis and its effector proteins as well as the genes responsible for apoptosis has provided a new opportunity to discover and develop novel agents that can increase the sensitivity of cancer cells to undergo apoptosis or reset their apoptotic threshold. These novel targeted therapies include those targeting anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family members, p53, the extrinsic pathway, FLICE-inhibitory protein (c-FLIP), inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) proteins, and the caspases. In recent years a number of these novel agents have been assessed in preclinical and clinical trials. In this review, we introduce some of the key regulatory molecules that control the apoptotic pathways, extrinsic and intrinsic death receptors, discuss how defects in apoptotic pathways contribute to cancer, and list several agents being developed to target apoptosis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.3505-3508
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• 2015

Background: Ras genes are thought to play an important role in human cancer since they have been found to be activated frequently in several types of tumors including breast cancer, where the overall incidence of K-RAS oncogene activation is 0-10%. Evaluation of K-RAS gene not only for mutational frequency but also for mutation types in this downstream signaling gene pathway is necessary to determine the mechanisms of action. The present study was conducted to test the hypothesis that K-RAS activation is involved in breast cancer risk of south Indian population. Materials and Methods: A total of 70 paired pathologically confirmed tumor and non-tumor tissues from the same breast cancer patients were analysed for most common K-RAS mutations of codon 12,13 and 61 by polymerase chain reaction followed by restriction digestion and direct nucleotide sequencing method. Results: We found that a high rate of homozygous and heterozygous mutations of codon 12, but not codon 13 and 61, may influence the invasive ductal carcinoma of breast risk in this study. Conclusions: Our study indicated that only codon 12 may be involved in initiating breast carcinogenesis in India.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.177-181
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• 2016

Mini-pigs have been widely employed in preclinical studies to explore new therapeutic strategies for diseases of the human urinary system; however, the normal reference of the renal artery has not been clearly investigated in the mini-pig model. Therefore, we aimed to establish a normal reference of the radiological morphology of the renal artery in mini-pigs by renal angiography via catheterization of the carotid artery. The renal angiographies obtained from 15 mini-pigs were evaluated to determine the orifice from the aorta, facing direction, size and the number of branches of renal arteries. Cranio-laterally facing renal arteries with 2 distal branches were mainly observed in the renal artery of mini-pigs. Both sides of the renal artery presented symmetrical sizes; however, the right renal artery orifice from the aorta was located more cranially than the left counterpart. The results of this study will contribute to radiological diagnosis of the renal artery as well as preclinical studies of mini-pigs.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.93-104
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• 2009

This short review was aimed to provide the information for the people who are interested in genetic counselor education and certification system in Korea. A large part of this study is indebted to HJ Kim's articles on the genetic counselor system, the global standards of genetic counseling curriculums, training program accreditation (TPA), and a certification process for genetic counselors (CPGC) in the US and Japan. The US and Japanese educational systems showed a high degree of similarities in curriculum, accreditation, and certification programs. Based upon this review, we hereby propose that the Korean Society for Medical Genetics should take a key role in providing the TPA and CPGC for non-MD genetic counselors. Requirement for the entrance to a Master's degree genetic counseling program should be open to successful four year undergraduate students for all areas, provided the candidates demonstrate the abilities to master the graduate level study in human genetics, statistics, psychology, and other required subjects. Besides accredited program graduates, eligibility for certification should also include the qualified candidates of genetic counseling with no formally approved education, but with a sufficient amount of clinical experience.

• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.97-99
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• 2003

With advances in determining the entire DNA sequence of the human genome, it is now critical to systematically identify the function of a number of genes in the human genome. These biological problems, especially those in human diseases including cancer, should be addressed in human cells in which genetic approaches have been extremely difficult to implement. To overcome this, my efforts have focused on the development of a novel “chemical genetic/genomic approach” that uses small molecules to “probe and identify” the function of genes in specific biological process or pathway in human cells. (omitted)

• The Journal of Korean Society of Virology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.383-391
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• 1998

A murine monoclonal antibody (mAb) specific for the envelope glycoprotein gp120 of human immunodeficiency virus type-I (HIV -1) was chemically coupled to pokeweed antiviral protein (PAP) from Phytolacca americana. The immunotoxin was purified by FPLC using S200 colum. The purified immunotoxin efficiently bound to HIV-infected T cells as evidenced by fluorescenceactivated cell sorter analysis. The immunotoxin selectively killed human T lymphoid lines infected with $HIV-1_{IIIB}$ at less than 250 pM of the immunotoxin cells, while PAP or mAb alone did not have any significant effect on infected cells. The uninfected control T cell lines were not affected. Human cells infected with HIV-2 or other HIV-1 strains were not killed, suggesting that the killing depends completely on the antibody used for coupling. These in vitro results suggest that the PAP-mAb conjugate may be used to selectively remove cells expressing viral antigens from individuals infected with HIV.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.23
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• pp.10433-10438
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• 2015

Background: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common cancer diagnosed in children and represents approximately 25% of cancer diagnoses among those younger than 15 years of age. Aim and Objectives: This study investigated substitutions in the ATP synthase subunit 6 gene of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) as a potential diagnostic biomarker for early detection and diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Based on mtDNA from 23 subjects diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, approximately 465 bp of the ATP synthase subunit 6 gene were amplified and sequenced. Results: The sequencing revealed thirty-one mutations at 14 locations in ATP synthase subunit 6 of mtDNA in the ALL subjects. All were identified as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with a homoplasmic pattern. The mutations were distributed between males and females. Novel haplotypes were identified in this investigation: haplotype (G) was recorded in 34% in diagnosed subjects; the second haplotype was (C) with frequency of 13% in ALL subjects. Neither of these were observed in control samples. Conclusions: These haplotypes were identified for the first time in acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients. Five mutations able to change amino acid synthesis for the ATP synthase subunit 6 were associated with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. This investigation could be used to provide an overview of incidence frequency of acute lyphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in Saudi patients based on molecular events.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.21
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• pp.9283-9289
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• 2014

Background: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common cancer diagnosed in children and represents approximately 25% of cancer diagnoses among those younger than 15 years of age. Materials and Methods: This study investigated alterations in the displacement loop (d-loop) region of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) as a risk factor and diagnostic biomarker for early detection and diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Using mtDNA from 23 subjects diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the first 450 bp of the d-loop region were amplified and successfully sequenced. Results: This revealed 132 mutations at 25 positions in this region, with a mean of 6 alterations per subject. The d-loop alterations in mtDNA in subjects were all identified as single nucleotide polymorphisms in a homoplasmic distribution pattern. Mutant alleles were observed in all subjects with individual frequency rates of up to 95%. Thirteen mutant alleles in the d-loop region of mtDNA occurred with a high frequency. Novel alleles and locations were also identified in the d-loop of mtDNA as follows: 89 G insertions (40%), 95 G insertions (13%), 182 C/T substitutions (5%), 308 C insertions (19%), and 311 C insertions (80%). The findings of this study need to be replicated to be confirmed. Conclusions: Further investigation of the relationship between mutations in mitochondrial d-loop genes and incidence of acute lymphoblastic leukemia is recommended.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.10
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• pp.4291-4295
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• 2015

Background: Chemokines and their receptors influence carcinogenesis and cysteine-cysteine chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) directs spread of cancer to other tissues. A 32 base pair deletion in the coding region of CCR5 that might alter the expression or function of the protein has been implicated in a variety of immune-mediated diseases. The action of antiviral drugs being proposed as adjuvant therapy in cancer is dependent on CCR5 wild type status. In the present study, distribution of CCR5${\Delta}32$ polymorphism was assessed in North Indian esophageal cancer patients to explore the potential of using chemokine receptors antagonists as adjuvant therapy. Materials and Methods: DNA samples of 175 sporadic esophageal cancer patients (69 males and 106 females) and 175 unrelated healthy control individuals (69 males and 106 females) were screened for the CCR5${\Delta}32$ polymorphism by direct polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: The frequencies of wild type homozygous (CCR5/CCR5), heterozygous (CCR5/${\Delta}32$) and homozygous mutant (${\Delta}32/{\Delta}32$) genotypes were 96.0 vs 97.72%, 4.0 vs 1.71% and 0 vs 0.57% in patients and controls respectively. There was no difference in the genotype and allele frequencies of CCR5${\Delta}32$ polymorphism in esophageal cancer patients and control group. Conclusions: The CCR5${\Delta}32$ polymorphism is not associated with esophageal cancer in North Indians. As the majority of patients express the wild type allele, there is potential of using antiviral drug therapy as adjuvant therapy.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.11
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• pp.3284-3288
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• 2013

This paper describes first development and validation of pentafluorophenylprophyl ligand-based liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (PFPLC-MS/MS) method to determine metformin, a highly polar compound, in human plasma. Metformin and Phenformin (internal standard) were extracted from human plasma 50 ${\mu}L$ with a single-step protein precipitation. The chromatographic separation was performed using a linear gradient elution of mobile phase involving 5.0 mM ammonium formate solution with 0.1% formic acid (A) and acetonitrile (B) over 3.0 min of run time on a Phenomenex Luna PFP column. The detection was performed using a triple-quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer (Waters Quattro micro) with electrospray ionization in the mode of positive ionization and multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM). The developed method was validated with 5.0 ng/mL of lower limit of quantification (LLOQ). The calibration curve was linear over 5-3000 ng/mL of the concentration range ($R^2$ > 0.99). The specificity, selectivity, carry-over effect, precision, accuracy and stability of the method met the acceptance criteria. The method developed in this study had had rapidness, simplicity and ruggedness. The reliable method was successfully applied to high throughput analysis of real samples for a practical purpose of a pharmacokinetic study.