• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.251-258
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• 2012

Objectives: The purpose of this paper was to elucidate the potential methylation levels of adjacent normal and cancer tissues by comparing them with normal colorectal tissues, and to describe the correlations between the methylation and clinical parameters in Korean colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Methods: Hypermethylation profiles of nine genes (RASSF1, APC, $p16^{INK4a}$, Twist1, E-cadherin, TIMP3, Smad4, COX2, and ABCB1) were examined with 100 sets of cancer tissues and 14 normal colorectal tissues. We determined the hypermethylation at a given level by a percent of methylation ratio value of 10 using quantitative methylation real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results: Nine genes' hypermethylation levels in Korean CRC patient tissues were increased more higher than normal colorectal tissues. However, the amounts of $p16^{INK4a}$ and E-cadherin gene hypermethylation in normal and CRC tissues were not significantly different nor did TIMP3 gene hypermethylation in adjacent normal and cancer tissues differ significantly. The hypermethylation of TIMP3, Ecadherin, ABCB1, and COX2 genes among other genes were abundantly found in normal colorectal tissues. The hypermethylation of nine genes' methylation in cancer tissues was not significantly associated with any clinical parameters. In Cohen's kappa test, it was moderately observed that RASSF1 was related with E-cadherin, and Smad4 with ABCB1 and COX2. Conclusions: This study provides evidence for different hypermethylation patterns of cancer-associated genes in normal and CRC tissues, which may serve as useful information on CRC cancer progression.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.295-301
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• 1983

Among the many protein modifications methylation is being investigated actively with regard to bacterial chemotaxis, gene regulation, muscle contraction, cytochrome c methylation, and the synthesis of the acyl transporter, carnitine. In this study the activities of protein methylase I, II, and III in pancreatic tissues of rat, mouse, and guinea pig were examined. Furthermore, the effect of cholinergic agents on the activity of protein methylases in pancreatic fragment of guinea pig was also examined in order to test the relationship between protein methylation and pancreatic secretion. The results are as follows. 1) The activities of protein methylases were generally high in pancreatic tissues of guinea pig and mouse but low in the tissue of rat. 2) The cholinergic stimulants, acetylcholine and carbachol at a concentration of $10^{-5}M$ decreased the activities of protein methylase I, II, and III compared with unstimulated control. 3) The inhibitory effect of the cholinergic stimulant on the activities of protein methylases was not blocked by atropine at a concentration of $10^{-5}M$.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.46-54
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• 2007

PURPOSE Osteosarcoma occurring in the head and neck region is known as a malignant tumor that shows a relatively poor prognosis and, despite various treatments, clinicians have often been confounded by it. The existence or non-existence of the mutation of the gene $p16^{INK4a}$ has been used in prognosis assessment. In this study, author have attempted to determine whether methylation of the gene $p16^{INK4a}$ could be applied to forecast the progress of osteosarcomas in the head and neck region having been given poor prognoses in the diagnostic process and the early stage of treatment. RESEARCH SUBJECT AND METHOD Clinicopathologic investigations, immunohistochemical examinations, a methylation specific polymerase reaction (MSP) analysis, and a survival analysis were conducted on the tissues of 20 patients with mandibulofacial osteosarcoma. RESULTS Neither age, sex, size, smoking or non-smoking, nor region have showed a statistical significance with methylation or unmethylation of the gene $p16^{INK4a}$ and expression rates demonstrated by immunohisto- chemical examinations. A chi-square test indicated that recurrence inclination has no relation with the expression rate of p16 protein (p=0.6615), but it showed a statistical significance with methylation of the gene $p16^{INK4a}$ (p=0.0033). With respect to investigations of the survival rates, a Kaplan-Meier survival analysis found that the manifestation rate of p16 protein did not have an impact on survival (p=0.8864), but that the methylation of the gene $p16^{INK4a}$ resulted in significant differences in survival rates (p=0.0105). CONCLUSIONS The above results show that methylation of the gene $p16^{INK4a}$ could be one of the major factors that help determine the recurrence inclination and prognosis of osteosarcomas occurring in the head and neck region.

• BMB Reports
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.522-526
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• 2004

Prader-Willi (PWS) and Angelman (AS) are syndromes of developmental impairment that result from the loss of expression of imprinted genes in the paternal (PWS) or maternal (AS) 15q11-q13 chromosome. Diagnosis on a clinical basis is difficult in newborns and young infants; thus, a suitable molecular test capable of revealing chromosomal abnormalities is required. We used a variety of cytogenetic and molecular approaches, such as, chromosome G banding, fluorescent in situ hybridization, a DNA methylation test, and a set of chromosome 15 DNA polymorphisms to characterize a cohort of 27 PWS patients and 24 suspected AS patients. Molecular analysis enabled the reliable diagnosis of 14 PWS and 7 AS patients, and their classification into four groups: (A) 6 of these 14 PWS subjects (44%) had deletions of paternal 15q11-q13; (B) 4 of the 7 AS patients had deletions of maternal 15q11-q13; (C) one PWS patient (8%) had a maternal uniparental disomy (UPD) of chromosome 15; (D) the remaining reliably diagnoses of 7 PWS and 3 AS cases showed abnormal methylation patterns of 15q11-q13 chromosome, but none of the alterations shown by the above groups, although they may have harbored deletions undetected by the markers used. This study highlights the importance of using a combination of cytogenetic and molecular tests for a reliable diagnosis of PWS or AS, and for the identification of genetic alterations.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.158-167
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• 2018

Purpose: To investigate the surgical, perfusion, and molecular characteristics of glioblastomas which influence long-term survival after treatment, and to explore the association between MR perfusion parameters and the presence of MGMT methylation and 1p/19q deletions. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was approved by our institutional review board. A total 43 patients were included, all with pathologic diagnosis of glioblastoma with known MGMT methylation and 1p/19q deletion statuses. We divided these patients into long-term (${\geq}60\;months$, n = 7) and short-term (< 60 months, n = 36) survivors, then compared surgical extent, molecular status, and rCBV parameters between the two groups using Fisher's exact test or Mann-Whitney test. The rCBV parameters were analyzed according to the presence of MGMT methylation and 1p/19q deletions. We investigated the relationship between the mean rCBV and overall survival using linear correlation. Multivariable linear regression was performed in order to find the variables related to overall survival. Results: Long-term survivors (100% [7 of 7]) demonstrated a greater percentage of gross total or near total resection than short-term survivors (54.5% [18 of 33]). A higher prevalence of 1p/19q deletions was also noted among the long-term survivors (42.9% [3 of 7]) than the short-term survivors (0.0% [0 of 36]). The rCBV parameters did not differ between the long-term and short-term survivors. The rCBV values were marginally lower in patients with MGMT methylation and 1p/19q deletions. Despite no correlation found between overall survival and rCBV in the whole group, the short-term survivor group showed negative correlation ($R^2=0.181$, P = 0.025). Multivariable linear regression revealed that surgical extent and 1p/19q deletions, but not rCBV values, were associated with prolonged overall survival. Conclusion: While preoperative rCBV and 1p/19q deletion status are related to each other, only surgical extent and the presence of 1p/19q deletion in GBM patients may predict long-term survival.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.94-101
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• 1995

In order to evaluate the suppressive effects of galangin on the DNA damage induced by N-methyl-N-nitrosourea(MNU), in vitro sister chromatid exchange(SCE) test using Chinese Hamster ovary(CHO) cells was performed. Also the determinations of [$^{3}$H] MNU-induced total DNA binding and methylated DNA were performed to find out the mechanism of action by galangin. MNU-induced SCEs were significantly decreased by simultaneous and pretreatment of galangin when S-9 mix was added only. In post-treatment, however, the MNU-induced SCEs were not decreased when S-9 mix was added or not. [$^{3}$H] MNU-induced total DNA binding was significantly inhibited by the treatment of galangin in calf thymus DNA and CHO cells. HPLC analysis of DNA hydrolysates shows that galangin caused a dose-dependant decrease in calf thymus DNA, but not significant decrease in CHO cells. These results suggest that the inhibition of galangin on the MNU-induced SCEs is due to the decrease of DNA binding and methylation with MNU. Therefore, galangin may be useful as a chemopreventive agent of alkylating agents.

• BMB Reports
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• v.45 no.10
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• pp.545-553
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• 2012

Determination of the type and origin of the body fluids found at a crime scene can give important insights into crime scene reconstruction by supporting a link between sample donors and actual criminal acts. For more than a century, numerous types of body fluid identification methods have been developed, such as chemical tests, immunological tests, protein catalytic activity tests, spectroscopic methods and microscopy. However, these conventional body fluid identification methods are mostly presumptive, and are carried out for only one body fluid at a time. Therefore, the use of a molecular genetics-based approach using RNA profiling or DNA methylation detection has been recently proposed to supplant conventional body fluid identification methods. Several RNA markers and tDMRs (tissue-specific differentially methylated regions) which are specific to forensically relevant body fluids have been identified, and their specificities and sensitivities have been tested using various samples. In this review, we provide an overview of the present knowledge and the most recent developments in forensic body fluid identification and discuss its possible practical application to forensic casework.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.11
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• pp.4467-4474
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• 2014

Background: We aimed to comprehensively review the evidence for using sputum DNA to detect non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Materials and Methods: We searched PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, Chinese Biological Medicine (CBM), Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang, Vip Databases and Google Scholar from 2003 to 2013. The meta-analysis was carried out using a random-effect model with sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic odd ratios (DOR), summary receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC curves), area under the curve (AUC), and 95% confidence intervals (CI) as effect measurements. Results: There were twenty-two studies meeting the inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis. Combined sensitivity and specificity were 0.62 (95%CI: 0.59-0.65) and 0.73 (95%CI: 0.70-0.75), respectively. The DOR was 10.3 (95%CI: 5.88-18.1) and the AUC was 0.78. Conclusions: The overall accuracy of the test was currently not strong enough for the detection of NSCLC for clinical application. Dscovery and evaluation of additional biomarkers with improved sensitivity and specificity from studies rated high quality deserve further attention.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.19-24
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• 1999

Plants have been shown to contains $Ca^{2+}$/calmodulin-stimulated GAD and NAD kinase. To test how calmodulin and calmodulin methylation affect the activation of GAD and NAD kinase, GAD and NAD kinase were partially purified from tobacco plants. GAD was also partially purified from E. coli transformed with a plasmid carrying a cloned tobacco GAD gene. We find that GAD from the transformed E. coli showed 60-fold $Ca^{2+}$/calmodulin-dependent activation. However, GAD from tobacco plants was stimulated only about 3.8-fold by the addition of calmodulin in the presence of calcium, suggesting high background activity of the enzyme was possibly due to bound endogenous tobacco calmodulin. There were no significant differences in the tobacco GAD activator properties between calmodulins. A monoclonal antibody against petunia GAD interacted strongly with both GAD from tobacco plants and GAD from cloned gene. NAD kinase from tobacco plants showed a complete $Ca^{2+}$/calmodulin dependency for activity. Unmethylated calmodulins activated GAD in a manner similar to methylated calmodulin. However, the maximum level of NAD kinase activation obtained with unmethylated calmodulins is approximately 4-fold higher than methylated calmodutins. These data suggested that endogenous tobacco calmodulin may interact more tightly with GAD than NAD kinase and that calmodulin methylation affects the activator properties of calmodulins for tobacco NAD kinase but not for GAD.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.67-73
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• 2018

$[^{11}C]PIB$ synthesis has been performed by a loop-methylation and HPLC purification in our lab. However, this method is time-consuming and requires complicated systems. Thus, we developed an on-cartridge method which simplified the synthetic procedure and reduced time greatly by removing HPLC purification step. We compared 6 different cartridges and evaluated the $[^{11}C]PIB$ production yields and specific activities. $[^{11}C]MeOTf$ was synthesized by using TRACERlab FXC Pro and was transferred into the cartridge by blowing with helium gas for 3 min. To remove byproducts and impurities, cartridges were washed out by 20 mL of 30% EtOH in 0.5 M $NaH_2PO_4$ solution (pH 5.1) and 10 mL of distilled water. And then, $[^{11}C]PIB$ was eluted by 5 mL of 30% EtOH in 0.5 M $NaH_2PO_4$ into the collecting vial containing 10 mL saline. Among the 6 cartridges, only tC18 environmental cartridge could remove impurities and byproducts from $[^{11}C]PIB$ completely and showed higher specific activity than traditional HPLC purification method. This method took only 8 ~ 9 min from methylation to formulation. For the tC18 environmental cartridge and conventional HPLC loop methods, the radiochemical yields were $12.3{\pm}2.2%$ and $13.9{\pm}4.4%$, respectively, and the molar activities were $420.6{\pm}20.4GBq/{\mu}mol$ (n=3) and $78.7{\pm}39.7GBq/{\mu}mol$ (n=41), respectively. We successfully developed a facile on-cartridge methylation method for $[^{11}C]PIB$ synthesis which enabled the procedure more simple and rapid, and showed higher molar radio-activity than HPLC purification method.