• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.19
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• pp.8351-8359
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• 2014

Background: Recent epidemiological data have implicated human papilloma virus (HPV) infection in the pathogenesis of head and neck cancers, especially oropharyngeal cancers. Although, HPV has been detected in varied amounts in persons with oral dysplasia, leukoplakias and malignancies, its involvement in oral tongue carcinogenesis remains ambiguous. Materials and Methods: HPV DNA prevalence was assessed by PCR with formalin fixed paraffin embedded sections (n=167) of oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma patients and the physical status of the HPV16 DNA was assessed by qPCR. Immunohistochemistry was conducted for p16 evaluation. Results: We found the HPV prevalence in tongue cancers to be 51.2%, HPV 16 being present in 85.2% of the positive cases. A notable finding was a very poor concordance between HPV 16 DNA and p16 IHC findings (kappa<0.2). Further molecular classification of patients based on HPV16 DNA prevalence and p16 overexpression showed that patients with tumours showing p16 overexpression had increased hazard of death (HR=2.395; p=0.005) and disease recurrence (HR=2.581; p=0.002) irrespective of their HPV 16 DNA status. Conclusions: Our study has brought out several key facets which can potentially redefine our understanding of tongue cancer tumorigenesis. It has emphatically shown p16 overexpression to be a single important prognostic variable in defining a high risk group and depicting a poorer prognosis, thus highlighting the need for its routine assessment in tongue cancers. Another significant finding was a very poor concordance between p16 expression and HPV infection suggesting that p16 expression should possibly not be used as a surrogate marker for HPV infection in tongue cancers. Interestingly, the prognostic significance of p16 overexpression is different from that reported in oropharyngeal cancers. The mechanism of HPV independent p16 over expression in oral tongue cancers is possibly a distinct entity and needs to be further studied.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.411-429
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• 2015

The Korea Ministry of Environment has established an air quality standard for $PM_{2.5}$ in 2012 and it is effective from January 2015. In this study, we review various aspects of $PM_{2.5}$ in China, including its measurement, modeling, source apportionment, and health effect, and suggest future research directions for $PM_{2.5}$ studies in Korea. Measurements studies for $PM_{2.5}$ have examined organic marker compounds and $^{14}C$ as well as inorganic aerosols for distinguishing sources. Modeling results supported that the control of $PM_{2.5}$ pollution in big city needs effective cooperation between city and its surrounding regions. The major $PM_{2.5}$ sources in China have been identified to be secondary sulfur, motor vehicle emissions, coal combustion, dust, biomass burning, and industrial sources, however, they have seasonal dependency. Especially, the severe haze pollution event during January 2013 over eastern and northern China was driven to a large extent by secondary aerosol formation. Short-term exposure to $PM_{2.5}$ is strongly associated with the increased risk of morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, as well as total non-accidental mortality. Considered previous $PM_{2.5}$ studies in China, analysis of specific organic species using online measurement, chamber experiment for secondary aerosol formation mechanism, and development of parameterizing this process in the model are needed to elucidate factors governing the abundance and composition of $PM_{2.5}$ in Korea.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.85-93
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• 2007

The motion capture system has shown its great potential as a new image expression means for handling such challenging tasks as realistic animation of humans or animals in motion, which cannot be handled by the existing key frame method satisfactorily, and also projects involving a large scale or a burdensome economic expenses. Its applications also has been intensified and widened in the entertainment arena including motion pictures, TV, advertisements, documentaries, music videos, etc. centering around games. Despite of these merits, though, a number of issues have been surfaced in the digital image expression utilizing the motion capture system, such as a burdensome amount of preparatory work, the needs for attachment of markers and for remedial corrections of motion data, and the lack of trained manpower. We would like to present in this paper a new direction for making the digital image production more efficient, based on the extensive analysis of prior image production projects that used the motion capture system.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.478-489
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• 2020

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Morusin, a marker component of Morus alba L., possesses anti-cancer activity. The objective of this study was to determine autophagy-inducing effect of morusin in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells and investigate the underlying mechanism. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Autophagy induction and the expression of autophagy-related proteins were analyzed by LC3 immunofluorescence and western blot, respectively. The role of autophagy and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) was determined by treating NSCLC cells with bafilomycin A1, an autophagy inhibitor, and compound C, an AMPK inhibitor. Cytotoxicity and apoptosis induction were determined by MTT assay, trypan blue exclusion assay, annexin V-propidium iodide (PI) double staining assay, and cell cycle analysis. RESULTS: Morusin increased the formation of LC3 puncta in the cytoplasm and upregulated the expression of autophagy-related 5 (Atg5), Atg12, beclin-1, and LC3II in NSCLC cells, demonstrating that morusin could induce autophagy. Treatment with bafilomycin A1 markedly reduced cell viability but increased proportions of sub-G1 phase cells and annexin V-positive cells in H460 cells. These results indicate that morusin can trigger autophagy in NSCLC cells as a defense mechanism against morusin-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, we found that AMPK and its downstream acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) were phosphorylated, while mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and its downstream p70S6 kinase (p70S6K) were dephosphorylated by morusin. Morusin-induced apoptosis was significantly increased by treatment with compound C in H460 cells. These results suggest that morusin-induced AMPK activation could protect NSCLC cells from apoptosis probably by inducing autophagy. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that combination treatment with morusin and autophagy inhibitor or AMPK inhibitor might enhance the clinical efficacy of morusin for NSCLC.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.21
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• pp.9355-9360
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• 2014

Background: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remains as one of the most difficult malignancies to control because of its high propensity for local invasion and cervical lymph node dissemination. In this study, we evaluate the efficacy of our novel pH and temperature sensitive doxorubicin-methotrexate-loaded nanoparticles (DOX-MTX NP) in affecting HER2 expression profile in OSCC model in rat. Results: DOX-MTX- nanoparticle complexes caused significant decrease in mRNA level of HER2 compared to untreated cancers (p<0.05) and this finding was more pronounced with the IV mode (p<0.000). Surprisingly, HER2 mRNA was not affected in DOX treated as compared to the control group (p>0.05). On the other hand, in the DOX-MTX NP treated group, fewer tumors characterized with advanced stage and decreased HER2 paralleled improved clinical outcome (P<0.05). Moreover, the effectiveness of the oral route in the group treated with nanodrug accounted for the enhanced bioavailability of nanoparticulated DOX-MTX compared to free DOX. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in mRNA level of HER2 (p>0.05). Conclusions: Influence of HER2 gene expression is a new feature and mechanism of action observed only in dual action DOX-MTX-NPs treated groups. Down-regulation of HER2 mRNA as a promising marker and prognosticator of OSCC adds to the cytotoxic benefits of DOX in its new formulation. Both oral and IV application of this nanodrug could be used, with no preferences in term of their safety or toxicity. As HER2 is expressed abundantly by a wide spectrum of tumors, i DOX-MTX NPs may be useful for a wide-spectrum of lesions. However, molecular mechanisms underlying HER2 down regulation induced by DOX-MTX NPs remain to be addressed.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.18
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• pp.8461-8465
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• 2016

Gastric cancer (GC) as the fourth most common cause of malignancies shows high rate of morbidity appropriating the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Developmental pluripotency associated-2 (DPPA2), cancer-testis antigen (CT100), is commonly expressed only in the human germ line and pluripotent embryonic cells but it is also present in a significant subset of malignant tumors. To investigate whether or not DPPA2 expression is recalled in GC, our aim in this study was to elucidate DPPA2 protein expression in gastric cancer. Fifty five GC tumor and their related margin normal tissues were recruited to evaluate DPPA2 protein expression and its probable associations with different clinicopathological features of the patients. DPPA2 was overexpressed in GC cases compared with normal tissues (P < .005). While DPPA2 expression was detected in all GC samples, its high expression was found in 23 of 55 tumor tissues (41.8%). Interestingly, 50 of 55 normal samples (90.9%) were negative for DPPA2 protein expression and remained 5 samples showed very low expression of DPPA2. DPPA2 protein expression in GC was significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis (p = 0.012). The clinical relevance of DPPA2 in GC illustrated that high level expression of this protein was associated with lymph node metastasis supporting this hypothesis that alteration in DPPA2 was associated with aggressiveness of gastric cancer and may be an early event in progression of the disease. DPPA2 may be introduced as a new marker for invasive and metastatic GCs.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.279-284
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• 2015

Obatoclax, a pan-Bcl2 inhibitor, shows antitumor activities in various solid malignancies. Bcl2-deficient mice have shown the importance of Bcl2 in osteoclasts, as the bone mass of the mice was increased by the induced apoptosis of osteoclasts. Despite the importance of Bcl2, the effects of obatoclax on the proliferation and differentiation of osteoclast precursors have not been studied extensively. Here, we describe the anti-proliferative effects of obatoclax on osteoclast precursors and its negative role on fusion of the cells. Stimulation with low doses of obatoclax significantly suppressed the proliferation of osteoclast precursors in a dose-dependent manner while the apoptosis was markedly increased. Its stimulation was sufficient to block the activation of ERK MAP kinase by RANKL. The same was true when PD98059, an ERK inhibitor, was administered to osteoclast precursors. The activation of JNK1/2 and p38 MAP kinase, necessary for osteoclast differentiation, by RANKL was not affected by obatoclax. Interestingly, whereas the number of TRAP-positive mononuclear cells was increased by both obatoclax and PD98059, fused, multinucleated cells larger than $100{\pm}m$ in diameter containing more than 20 nuclei were completely reduced. Consistently, obatoclax failed to regulate the expression of osteoclast marker genes, including c-Fos, TRAP, RANK and CtsK. Instead, the expression of DC-STAMP and Atp6v0d2, genes that regulate osteoclast fusion, by RANKL was significantly abrogated by both obatoclax and PD98059. Taken together, these results suggest that obatoclax down-regulates the proliferation and fusion of osteoclast precursors through the inhibition of the ERK1/2 MAP kinase pathway.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.39 no.8
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• pp.625-630
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• 2016

The RNA-binding protein Rbfox3 is a well-known splicing regulator that is used as a marker for post-mitotic neurons in various vertebrate species. Although recent studies indicate a variable expression of Rbfox3 in non-neuronal tissues, including lung tissue, its cellular function in lung cancer remains largely unknown. Here, we report that the number of RBFOX3-positive cells in tumorous lung tissue is lower than that in normal lung tissue. As the transforming growth factor-${\beta}$ (TGF-${\beta}$) signaling pathway is important in cancer progression, we investigated its role in RBFOX3 expression in A549 lung adenocarcinoma cells. TGF-${\beta}1$ treatment inhibited RBFOX3 expression at the transcriptional level. Further, RBFOX3 depletion led to a change in the expression levels of a subset of proteins related to epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), such as E-cadherin and Claudin-1, during TGF-${\beta}1$-induced EMT. In immunofluorescence microscopic analysis, mesenchymal morphology was more prominent in RBFOX3-depleted cells than in control cells. These findings show that TGF-${\beta}$-induced RBFOX3 inhibition plays an important role in EMT and propose a novel role for RBFOX3 in cancer progression.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.9
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• pp.1342-1348
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• 2007

POU1F1 is a positive regulator for GH, PRL and TSH${\beta}$ and its mutations associate with production traits in ruminant animals. We described a DdeI PCR-RFLP method for detecting a silent allele in the goat POU1F1 gene: TCT (241Ser)>TCG (241Ser). Frequencies of $D_1$ allele varied from 0.600 to 1.000 in Chinese 801 goats. Significant associations of DdeI polymorphism with production traits were found in milk yield (*p<0.05), litter size (*p<0.05) and one-year-old weight (*p<0.05) between different genotypes. Individuals with genotype $D_1D_1$ had a superior performances when compared to those with genotype $D_1D_2$ (*p<0.05). Hence, the POU1F1 gene was suggested to the potential candidate gene for superior milk performance, reproduction trait and weight trait. Genotype $D_1D_1$, characterized by a DdeI PCR-RFLP detection, was recommended to geneticists and breeders as a molecular marker for better performance in the goat industry.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.9
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• pp.3973-3976
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• 2015

Objectives: To explore the expression of aquaporin 1 ($AQP_1$) in bladder uroepithelium cell carcinoma (BUCC) and its relevance to recurrence. Materials and Methods: Tissue samples from 45 BUCC patients who underwent total cystectomy or transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) and from 40 patients with non-bladder cancers who underwent special detection or treatments were collected. The level of expression of $AQP_1$ in BUCC tissues and normal bladder tissues was assessed by immunohistochemistry so as to analyze the relevance to pathological patterns and time of recurrence in BUCC patients. Results: The expression levels of $AQP_1$ normal bladder tissues and BUCC tissues were $2.175{\pm}0.693$ and $3.689{\pm}0.701$, respectively, and the difference was significant (t=9.99, P<0.0001). Marked increase was noted with BUCC histological grade and pathological stage (P<0.01). Moreover, the expression of $AQP_1$ was evidently higher in cancerous tissues with lymph node metastasis than in those without (P<0.01). With short-term recurrence, the positive cell expression rate of $AQP_1$ was higher in primary tissues, which increased obviously after recurrence. Additionally, the recurrent time of BUCC was negatively associated with the positive cell expression rate of $AQP_1$ and the difference between the expression of $AQP_1$ before and after recurrence (r=-0.843, F=39.302, P=0.000; r=-0.829, F=35.191, P=0.000). Conclusions: $AQP_1$, which reflects the grade, stage, lymph node metastasis and recurrence of BUCC, has potential guiding significance in the diagnosis and treatment of bladder cancarcinoma.