• Toxicological Research
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.187-193
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• 2004

This study aimed to determine the association of maternal oxidative stress and adverse pregnancy outcome with serum vitamin C concentration and a myeloperoxidase (MPO) genetic polymorphism during pregnancy. We investigated 450 pregnant women who visited Ewha Womans University Hospital for prenatal care during gestational weeks 24～28. During the second trimester, we measured serum vitamin C levels and urinary 8-hydroxyde-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and malondialdehyde (MDA) as an oxidative stress biomarker. We determined the presence of a maternal MPO polymorphism (G-to-A substitution at nucleotide 463) using a PCR-RFLP assay. We compared the level of oxidative stress and birth weight with the vitamin C concentration and the presence of the MPO polymorphism. The mean level of maternal oxidative stress tended to be higher and the birth weight lower for MPO type A/A than for types A/G and G/G. Vitamin C levels above the 75 percentiles were associated with reduced concentrations of urinary MDA and 8-OHdG but increased birth weight. Our data demonstrate that oxidative stress and neonatal birth weight are associated with the MPO genetic polymorphism, with the association modified by the maternal vita-min C levels.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.92-111
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• 2021

Purpose: Nephrotic syndrome (NS) is the most common form of glomerulopathy in children. Most pediatric patients respond to glucocorticosteroid treatment (steroid-sensitive NS, SSNS), while approximately 10-15% will remain unresponsive or later become steroid-resistant. There has been a long-standing effort to find biomarkers that may predict steroid responsiveness. Methods: We systematically reviewed current studies which investigated clinically relevant biomarkers for predicting steroid responsiveness in pediatric NS. We performed a PubMed and EMBASE search to identify eligible articles. We collected data on urinary markers, blood/serum markers (including cellular phenotypes and mRNA expression), genotypes and HLA allele frequency. Results: A total of 659 articles were identified following electronic and manual searches. After reviewing the titles, abstracts, and full texts, 72 eligible articles were finally included. Vitamin D-binding protein (VDBP) seemed to be significantly elevated in SRNS than in SSNS, in both serum and urine specimen, although further validation is required. Conclusions: The present paper narratively illustrates current understandings of potential biomarkers that may help predict steroid responsiveness. Further investigation and collaboration involving a larger number of patients are necessary.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.298-305
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• 2023

This study aimed to examine the effects of several essential oils on insomnia in dementia patients following transdermal treatment (aromatherapy). The mean change rates (%) of sleep biomarkers were compared between the single essential and jojoba (vehicle) oil massage groups in this study. The lavender (L) essential oil massage group demonstrated a significant decrease in the mean change rate (%) of 24-h urinary free cortisol, whereas the valerian (V) essential oil massage group demonstrated a significant increase in the mean change rate (%) of serum 5-hydroxytryptamine. In addition, a significant increase in the mean change rate (%) of 24-h urinary norepinephrine was observed in the chamomile (C) essential oil massage group only. Based on these results, valerian, lavender, and chamomile oils were mixed in different ratios to produce blending oils A (L:C:V=2:2:1), B (L:C:V=3:1:1) and C (L:C:V=1:3:1). The highest level of serum 5-hydroxytryptamine was observed after administering blending oil A. These results suggest that blending oil A might possess therapeutic effects against insomnia. Overall, it is hypothesized that the optimally blended essential oil will produce synergic effects when combined with hypnotic drugs.

• BMB Reports
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• v.56 no.12
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• pp.669-674
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• 2023

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection leads to various clinical symptoms including anemia. Lipocalin-2 has various biological functions, including defense against bacterial infections through iron sequestration, and it serves as a biomarker for kidney injury. In a human protein array, we observed increased lipocalin-2 expression due to parental SARS-CoV-2 infection in the Calu-3 human lung cancer cell line. The secretion of lipocalin-2 was also elevated in response to parental SARS-CoV-2 infection, and the SARS-CoV-2 Alpha, Beta, and Delta variants similarly induced this phenomenon. In a Calu-3 implanted mouse xenograft model, parental SARSCoV-2 and Delta variant induced lipocalin-2 expression and secretion. Additionally, the iron concentration increased in the Calu-3 tumor tissues and decreased in the serum due to infection. In conclusion, SARS-CoV-2 infection induces the production and secretion of lipocalin-2, potentially resulting in a decrease in iron concentration in serum. Because the concentration of iron ions in the blood is associated with anemia, this phenomenon could contribute to developing anemia in COVID-19 patients.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.353-358
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• 2006

Objectives: An increase in the serum gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) concentration has been regarded as a marker of alcohol drinking or liver disease. Some reports, however, have suggested that the serum GGT may be a sensitive and early biomarker for the development of prediabetes and diabetes. In this study we investigated whether serum GGT is a reliable predictor of the incident impaired fasting glucose (IFG), including diabetes. Methods: We performed a prospective study for two years (2002-2004). We analyzed the periodic health examination data from a total of 4,711 men. The examinations were done in the years 2002 and 2004. The analyzed data included a self-questionnaire, a physical examination and the laboratory results. Both IFG and diabetes were defined as a serum fasting glucose concentration of more than 100 mg/dL and 126 mg/dL, respectively. Results: A total of 738 cases (15.7%) of incident IFG and 13 cases (0.3%) of diabetes occurred. The mean serum GGT concentrations were quite different between the normal (38.0 IU) and incident IFG groups (50.3 IU), and the incident diabetes group (66.0 IU) (p<0.001). After multivariable adjustment, the relative risks for incident IFG or diabetes across the baseline GGT categories (<10th, 10th-20th, 30th-40th, 50th-60th, 70th-80th and >90th percentile) were 1.0, 1.172 (0.769-1.785), 1.107 (0.725-1.689), 1.444 (0.934-2.232), 2.061 (1.401-3.031) and 2.545 (1.784-3.631) (p-value for trend: <0.001). The risks significantly increased with increasing levels of GGT for 2 years; when comparing the increased groups (<10%, 10-20%, >20%) versus the decreased over 20% group of GGT, the risks for IFG or diabetes were 1.334 (1.002-1.776), 1.613 (1.183-2.199) and 1.399 (1.092-1.794). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that serum GGT concentrations within its normal range may be an early predictor of the development of IFG and diabetes. As serum GGT is a relatively inexpensive test and a reliable marker, it might have important implications in public health promotion.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Toxicology Conference
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.34-45
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• 2006

Chemical toxicants are metabolically converted to numerous metabolites in the body. Toxicokinetic characteristics of metabolites could be therefore used as biomarker of exposure for human risk assessment. Biologically based dose response (BBDR) model was proposed for future direction of risk assessment. However, this area has not been developed well enough for human application. Benzo(a)pyrene (BP), for example, is a well-known environmental carcinogen and may produce more than 100 metabolites and BPDE-DNA adduct, a covalently bound form of DNA with benzo(a)pyrene diolepoxides (BPDES), has been applied to qualitatively or quantitaively estimate human exposure to BP. In addition, di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), a widely used plasticize. in the polymer industry, is one of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and has been monitored in humans using urinary or serum concentrations of DEHP or its monomer MEHP for exposure and risk assessment. However, it is difficult to estimate the actual level of toxicants using these biomarkers in humans using. This presentation will discuss a methodology of exposure and risk assessment by application of metabolic profiling kinetics.

• Proceedings of the Korean Information Science Society Conference
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• 2006.10a
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• pp.22-27
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• 2006

압타머칩은 혈청(serum) 내의 지정된 단백질의 상대적 양을 직접 측정할 수 있는 바이오칩으로서, 의학적 질병 진단에 유용하게 사용할 수 있는 툴이다. 압타머칩 데이터 분석에는 기존의 마이크로어레이 분석기법을 그대로 적용할 수 있다. 본 논문에서는 Potential SVM(PSVM)을 이용하여, 심혈관질환 샘플 기반의 압타머칩 데이터에서 바이오마커 후보 단백질을 선정한 결과를 정리한다. PSVM은 분류 알고리즘으로서 뿐만 아니라 자질 선택(feature selection)에서도 우수한 성능을 보이는 알고리즘으로 알려져 있다. 심혈관 질환의 단계에 따라 구분한 4개 클래스, 135개 샘플로 구성된 3K 압타머칩 데이터에 대해 PSVM을 적용하여 자질을 선택하고 분류성능을 측정한 결과, 마이크로어레이에서의 자질 선택에 많이 사용되는 Gain Ratio 기법과 비교하여 보다 적은 수의 단백질 정보로 보다 나은 분류 성능을 보임을 확인하였다. 더불어, PSVM을 이용해 선택한 단백질군을 심혈관 질환 진단을 위한 바이오마커 후보로 제시한다.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.92-96
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• 2001

The present study was investigated effect of each water extract from Pueraria flos (PF) and Pueraria radix (PR) on serum several biomarkers in ethanol-treated rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into six groups: Normal (None-treated group); Ethanol (only ethanol-treated group); EPF I (ethanol-treated, supplemented group); EPR (ethanol-treated, PF II-supplemented group); EPR I (ethanol-treated, PR I-supplemented group) ; EPR (ethanoltreated, PR II-supplemented grou). Five groups of male Sprague-Dawley rats were orally administered 25% ethanol (5 g/kg body weight/day) and sacrified 5 weeks post treatment. Aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase and ${\gamma}-glutamyl$ transpeptidase activities were significiantly lowered by feeding of PF or PR than those of only ethanol-treated group. Whereas serum glucoseand liver glycogen contents were significantly decreased (p<0.05) by ethanol administration and increased decreased (p<0.05) by PF or PR supplement. This results indicate that Pueraria flos and radix water extract supplement improves alcoholic disorder.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.4161-4165
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• 2013

Objective: To investigate discriminating protein patterns and potential biomarkers in serum samples between pre/postoperative pancreatic cancer patients and healthy controls. Methods: 23 serum samples from PC patients (12 preoperative and 11 postoperative) and 76 from healthy controls were analyzed using matrix-assisted laser desorption and ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) technique combined with magnetic beads-based weak cation-exchange chromatography (MB-WCX). ClinProTools software selected several markers that made a distinction between pancreatic cancer patients and healthy controls. Results: 49 m/z distinctive peaks were found among the three groups, of which 33 significant peaks with a P < 0.001 were detected. Two proteins could distinguish the preoperative pancreatic cancer patients from the healthy controls. About 15 proteins may be potential biomarkers in assessment of pancreatic cancer resection. Conclusion: MB-MALDI-TOF-MS method could generate serum peptidome profiles of pancreatic cancer and provide a new approach to identify potential biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis of this malignancy.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.174-181
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• 2018

Objectives: The number of patients with medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) is increasing, but treatment remains controversial. Published papers and systematic reviews have suggested that surgical treatment is effective in patients with MRONJ. The purpose of this study was to determine whether preoperative University of Connecticut Osteonecrosis Numerical Scale (UCONNS), other serologic biomarkers, and size of necrosis are prognostic factors for outcome of surgical treatment in MRONJ. Materials and Methods: From January 2008 to December 2016, 65 patients diagnosed with MRONJ at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in College of Dentistry, Dankook University who required hospitalization and surgical treatment were investigated. Patient information, systemic factors, and UCONNS were investigated. In addition, several serologic values were examined through blood tests one week before surgery. The size of osteolysis was measured by panoramic view and cone-beam computed tomography in all patients. With this information, multivariate logistic regression analysis with backward elimination was used to examine factors affecting postoperative outcome. Results: In multivariate logistic analysis, higher UCONNS, higher C-reactive protein (CRP), larger size of osteolysis, and lower serum alkaline phosphate were associated with higher incidence of incomplete recovery after operation. This shows that UCONNS, CRP, serum alkaline phosphate, and size of osteolysis were statistically significant as factors for predicting postoperative prognosis. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that CRP, UCONNS, serum alkaline phosphate, and size of osteolysis were statistically significant factors in predicting the prognosis of surgical outcome of MRONJ. Among these factors, UCONNS can predict the prognosis of MRONJ surgery as a scale that includes various influencing factors, and UCONNS should be used first as a predictor. More aggressive surgical treatment and more definite surgical margins are needed when the prognosis is poor.