• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.107-115
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• 2017

Human malignant melanoma is an aggressive skin cancer which has been rising at a greater rate than any other cancers. Although various new therapeutic methods have been developed in previous studies, this disease has properties of high proliferation and metastasis rate which remain obstacles that have lead to a poor prognosis in patients. It has been reported that a specific Lactobacillus extract has anti-cancer and -metastasis effect in vitro and in vivo. However, previous research has not specified precisely what effect the Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) extract has had on human malignant melanomas. In this study, we showed that the LGG extract has anti-cancer and -metastasis effects on the human malignant melanoma cell lines, A375P and A375SM. At first, it was found that, while the LGG extract affects human neonatal dermal fibroblasts slightly, it induced the dose-dependent anti-cancer effect on A375P and A375SM by a WST-1 proliferation assay. As a result of a real-time PCR analysis, the expression patterns of several genes related to cell cycle, proliferation, and apoptosis were modulating in a manner that inhibited the growth of both malignant melanoma cell lines after the treatment of the LGG extract. Furthermore, genes related to the epithelial-mesenchymal transition were down-regulated, and migration rates were also decreased significantly by the LGG extract. Our study showed that the LGG extract could be used as a potential therapeutic source.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.571-578
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• 2015

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. In this study, we investigated immune responses of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) against TRAMP-C2 prostate cancer cells after activation by dendritic cells (DCs) loaded with TRAMP-C2 freeze-thaw antigen and/or PEP-3 peptide in vitro. Bone marrow-derived DC from the bone marrow of the C57BL/6 were induced to mature by using the cytokine of rhGM-CSF and rhIL-4, and loaded with either the freeze-thaw antigen or PEP-3 peptide or both of them. Maturation of DCs was detected by flow cytometry. The killing efficiency of the CTLs on TRAMP-C2 cells were detected by flow cytometry, CCK8, colony formation, transwell migration, and wound-healing assay. The levels of the IFN-${\gamma}$, TNF-${\beta}$ and IL-12 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Compared with the unloaded DCs, the loaded DCs had significantly increased expression of several phenotypes related to DC maturation. CTLs activated by DCs loaded with freeze-thaw antigen and PEP-3 peptide had more evident cytotoxicity against TRAMP-C2 cells in vitro. The secretion levels of IFN-${\gamma}$, TNF-${\beta}$ and IL-12, secreted by DCs loaded with antigen and PEP-3 and interaction with T cells, were higher than in the other groups. Our results suggest that the CTLs activated by DCs loaded with TRAMP-C2 freeze-thaw antigen and PEP-3 peptide exert a remarkable killing efficiency against TRAMP-C2 cells in vitro.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.21
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• pp.9211-9216
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• 2014

CXCR7 is involved in tumor development and metastasis in multiple malignancies. However, the function and molecular mechanisms of action of CXCR7 in human cervical cancer are still unclear. In the present study a loss of-function approach was used to observe the effects of recombinant CXCR7 specific small interfering RNA pBSilence1.1 plasmids on biological behavior including proliferative activity and invasive potential, as indicated by MTT assays with the cervical cancer SiHa cell line in vitro. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting revealed that CXCR7 was downregulated in transfected compared with control cells, associated with inhibited cell growth, invasiveness and migration. The expression of CXCR7 and CXCL12 was also determined immunohistochemically in 152 paraffin-embedded, cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), or normal cervical epithelial to assess clinico-pathological pattern and CXCR7 status with respect to cell differentiation and lymph node metastasis in Uighur patients with CSCC. CXCR7 and CXCL12 expression was higher in cervical cancer than CIN and normal cervical mucosa, especially in those with higher stage and lymph node metastasis. CXCL12 appeared to be positively regulated by CXCR7 at the post-transcriptional level in CSCC. We propose that aberrant expression of CXCR7 plays a role in carcinogenesis, differentiation and metastasis of CSCC, implying its use as a potential target for clinical biomarkers in differentiation and lymph node metastasis.

• BMB Reports
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.41-47
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• 2008

Fe65 is characterized as an adaptor precursor (APP) through its PID2 element, as well as with the other members of the APP protein family. With the serum- and glucocorticoid-induced kinase 1 (SGK1) substrate specificity information, we found that the putative site of phosphorylation in Fe65 by SGK1 is present on its $Ser^{566}$ residue in $^{560}CRVRFLSFLA^{569}$(X60469). Thus, we demonstrated that Fe65 and the fluorescein-labeled Fe65 peptide $FITC-^{560}CRVRFLSFLA^{569}$ are phosphorylated in vitro by SGK1. Phosphorylation of the $Ser^{566}$ residue was also demonstrated using a $Ser^{566}$ phospho-specific antibody. The phospho Fe65 was found mainly in the nucleus, while Fe65 S556A mutant was localized primarily to the cytoplasm. Therefore, these data suggest that SGK1 phosphorylates the $Ser^{566}$ residue of Fe65 and that this phosphorylation promotes the migration of Fe65 to the nucleus of the cell.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.1151-1157
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• 2015

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is responsible for one of the most frequent sexually transmitted infections. The first phylogenetic analysis was based on a LCR region fragment. Nowadays, 4 variants are known: African (Af-1, Af-2), Asian-American (AA) and European (E). However the existence of sub-lineages of the European variant havs been proposed, specific mutations in the E6 and LCR sequences being possibly related to persistent viral infections. The aim of this study was a phylogenetic study of HPV16 sequences of endocervical samples from C${\acute{o}}$rdoba, in order to detect the circulating lineages and analyze the presence of mutations that could be correlated with malignant disease. The phylogenetic analysis determined that 86% of the samples belonged to the E variant, 7% to AF-1 and the remaining 7% to AF-2. The most frequent mutation in LCR sequences was G7521A, in 80% of the analyzed samples; it affects the binding site of a transcription factor that could contribute to carcinogenesis. In the E6 sequences, the most common mutation was T350G (L83V), detected in 67% of the samples, associated with increased risk of persistent infection. The high detection rate of the European lineage correlated with patterns of human migration. This study emphasizes the importance of recognizing circulating lineages, as well as the detection of mutations associated with high-grade neoplastic lesions that could be correlated to the development of carcinogenic lesions.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2001.11b
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• pp.197-200
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• 2001

In this letter, we report on the investigation of Ni/Si/Ni Ohmic contacts to n-type 4H-SiC. Ohmic contacts have been formed by a vacuum annealing and $N_2$ gas ambient annealing method at $950^{\circ}C$ for 10 min. The specific contact resistivity ( $\rho_{c}$ ), sheet resistance($R_s$), contact resistance($R_c$), transfer length($L_T$) were calculated from resistance($R_T$) versus contact spacing(d) measurements obtained from 10 TLM(transmission line method) structures. The resulting average values of vacuum annealing sample were $\rho_{c}=3.8{\times}10^{-5}\Omega cm^{3}$, $R_{c}=4.9{\Omega}$, $R_{T}=9.8{\Omega}$ and $L_{T}=15.5{\mu}m$, resulting average values of another sample were $\rho_{c}=2.29{\times}10^{-4}\Omega cm^{3}$, $R_{c}=12.9{\Omega}$ and $R_{T}=25.8{\Omega}$. The physical properties of contacts were examined using X-Ray Diffraction and Auger analysis, there was a uniform intermixing of the Si and Ni, migration of Ni into the SiC.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.470-478
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• 2012

Recent genome comparisons of E. coli B and K-12 strains have indicated that the makeup of the cell envelopes in these two strains is quite different. Therefore, we analyzed and compared the envelope proteomes of E. coli BL21(DE3) and MG1655. A total of 165 protein spots, including 62 nonredundant proteins, were unambiguously identified by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. Of these, 43 proteins were conserved between the two strains, whereas 4 and 16 strain-specific proteins were identified only in E. coli BL21(DE3) and MG1655, respectively. Additionally, 24 proteins showed more than 2-fold differences in intensities between the B and K-12 strains. The reference envelope proteome maps showed that E. coli envelope mainly contained channel proteins and lipoproteins. Interesting proteomic observations between the two strains were as follows: (i) B produced more OmpF porin with a larger pore size than K-12, indicating an increase in the membrane permeability; (ii) B produced higher amounts of lipoproteins, which facilitates the assembly of outer membrane ${\beta}$-barrel proteins; and (iii) motility- (FliC) and chemotaxis-related proteins (CheA and CheW) were detected only in K-12, which showed that E. coli B is restricted with regard to migration under unfavorable conditions. These differences may influence the permeability and integrity of the cell envelope, showing that E. coli B may be more susceptible than K-12 to certain stress conditions. Thus, these findings suggest that E. coli K-12 and its derivatives will be more favorable strains in certain biotechnological applications, such as cell surface display or membrane engineering studies.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.195-203
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• 1995

Carbon and small amounts of alloying elements were added in Fe-5.7% Al ferromagnetic damping alloy. The specific damping capacities(SDC) of these alloys were investigated in relation to the grain size and the magnetic hysteresis loops. The behavior of carbon was analysed by XRD and EDS. These alloys showed characteristic damping nature of ferromagnetic damping materials. The alloying elements decreased SDC and especially the carbon was remarkable. The SDC was observed to be not related with the grain size but with the magnetic hysteresis loop area. The remarkable decrease of SDC by carbon addition was attributed to the locking migration of $90^{\circ}$ magnetic domain wall by the interstitial carbon in Fe-Al solid solution. However, the carbides also seems to decrease the SDC.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.370-379
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• 2020

Econazole, a potent broad-spectrum antifungal agent and a Ca²⁺ channel antagonist, induces cytotoxicity in leukemia cells and is used for the treatment of skin infections. However, little is known about its cytotoxic effects on solid tumor cells. Here, we investigated the molecular mechanism underlying econazole-induced toxicity in vitro and evaluated its regulatory effect on the metastasis of gastric cancer cells. Using the gastric cancer cell lines AGS and SNU1 expressing wild-type p53 we demonstrated that econazole could significantly reduce cell viability and colony-forming (tumorigenesis) ability. Econazole induced G0/G1 phase arrest, promoted apoptosis, and effectively blocked proliferation- and survival-related signal transduction pathways in gastric cancer cells. In addition, econazole inhibited the secretion of matrix metalloproteinase- 2 (MMP-2) and MMP-9, which degrade the extracellular matrix and basement membrane. Econazole also effectively inhibited the metastasis of gastric cancer cells, as confirmed from cell invasion and wound healing assays. The protein level of p53 was significantly elevated after econazole treatment of AGS and SNU1 cells. However, apoptosis was blocked in econazole-treated cells exposed to a p53-specific small-interfering RNA to eliminate p53 expression. These results provide evidence that econazole could be repurposed to induce gastric cancer cell death and inhibit cancer invasion.

• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.109-122
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• 2013

The rapid rural urban migration and aging has generated an over-depopulation problems in rural areas since the 1980s. The purpose of this study constructs the marginal size of rural over-depopulated village through the analysis of the residential disparities such as farmer's ratio, basic life service accessibility, and levels of social and economic factors for each village community. This marginal scale could support evaluating diverse rural policies, which have been planned to apply to the rural development programs at the village level. The major challenges for over-depopulated villages are the lack of basic facilities, production infrastructures and inactive communities in the village. Therefore, the quantitative analysis of rural residential disparities according to rural village scale can provide the criteria for rural over-depopulated villages. We utilized Korea Agricultural Survey Data(2010) including specific residential condition of village level. The present study adopt multinomial-logit model for quantitative analysis of different village scales and decomposition techniques to separate the direct effect by the village scale factor from the endowment effects by regional or area characteristics, and residual effect by unknown factors. The present study found that the minimum scale of a rural over-depopulated village was 40 and 60 houses for the respective conditions of farmer's ratios less than 50% and greater than 75%. It was concluded based on the study findings that threshold scale could support evaluating the diverse rural policies, which have been planned to apply to the rural development programs at the village level.