• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.161-166
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• 2022

HIF-2α is a transcription factor activated mainly in hypoxic condition known to play crucial roles in a wide variety of pathophysiological events including cancer, metabolic syndrome, arthritis etc. In this context, a number of N'-aryl isonicotinolyhydrazides, in which known pharmacophores are included, have been selected from commercial chemical library and tested for the inhibitory activities targeting HIF-2α in cultured HTB94 cell. HRE-luciferase and HIF-2α were introduced into the cell by transfection and adenoviri infection, respectively and the reporter gene assay discovered the potency of 2-hydroxy-1-naphthyl structure. Accordingly, the scaffold has been adjusted based on this structure and subjected to anti-HIF-2α activity test, identifying 2 compounds as HIF-2α inhibitors. The activities were confirmed by false positive test. This study has been performed via the convergence of biology and chemistry and the results may be useful for discovering novel inhibitors and HIF-2α biology studies, and contribute to the development of therapeutic agents.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2023.04a
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• pp.52-52
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• 2023

Ageing has been known to be deeply related to oxidative activities. Furthermore, inflammation is a response initiated by conditions such as infection and injury. It has been known that complex connections occur between oxidative stress and the inflammatory response, however underlying mechanism needs to be investigated. Chinese resource plants have been widely used as functional food and medicine for a long time, however it is not studied well how many of these resource plants work. We first decided testing anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities with 95% ethanol extracts of the chinese resource plants, Boehmeria pilosinscula (Blume) Hassk., Carlemannia tetragona Hook f. and Clausena emarginata C.C.Huang. To measure anti-oxidant activity, we performed DPPH assay in Raw264.7 cells with 95% ethanol extracts. Clausena extracts showed significantly higher anti-oxidant activity than those of Boehmeria and Carlemannia. We then performed Nitric Oxide assay to measure the inflammation suppression levels with 95% ethanol extracts of these plants. Clausena extracts showed significantly higher suppression of nitric oxide production than those of Boehmeria and Carlemannia. This indicates that inflammation levels are significantly reduced by Clausena. After measuring anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, we then performed MTT assay to measure the cell survival rate of Raw264.7 cells treated with these extracts. Boehmeria showed much more cell survival rate than Carlemannia and Clausena. Taken together, this result suggests that Clausena extracts have more anti-oxidant and antiinflammatory activities than Boehmeria and Carlemannia, while Boehmeria extracts have more cell survival rate than Carlemannia and Clausena.

• Korean Circulation Journal
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.351-366
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• 2023

Along with the development of immunosuppressive drugs, major advances on xenotransplantation were achieved by understanding the immunobiology of xenograft rejection. Most importantly, three predominant carbohydrate antigens on porcine endothelial cells were key elements provoking hyperacute rejection: α1,3-galactose, SDa blood group antigen, and N-glycolylneuraminic acid. Preformed antibodies binding to the porcine major xenoantigen causes complement activation and endothelial cell activation, leading to xenograft injury and intravascular thrombosis. Recent advances in genetic engineering enabled knock-outs of these major xenoantigens, thus producing xenografts with less hyperacute rejection rates. Another milestone in the history of xenotransplantation was the development of co-stimulation blockaded strategy. Unlike allotransplantation, xenotransplantation requires blockade of CD40-CD40L pathway to prevent T-cell dependent B-cell activation and antibody production. In 2010s, advanced genetic engineering of xenograft by inducing the expression of multiple human transgenes became available. So-called 'multi-gene' xenografts expressing human transgenes such as thrombomodulin and endothelial protein C receptor were introduced, which resulted in the reduction of thrombotic events and improvement of xenograft survival. Still, there are many limitations to clinical translation of cardiac xenotransplantation. Along with technical challenges, zoonotic infection and physiological discordances are major obstacles. Social barriers including healthcare costs also need to be addressed. Although there are several remaining obstacles to overcome, xenotransplantation would surely become the novel option for millions of patients with end-stage heart failure who have limited options to traditional therapeutics.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.84 no.6
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• pp.1391-1396
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• 2023

Malignant lymphoma has various pulmonary manifestations on chest CT, including nodules, masses, areas of consolidation, and ground-glass opacity. These presentations can pose a diagnostic challenge, as they mimic other disease patterns. Herein, we report a case of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) manifesting as miliary nodules in a 67-year-old male initially presenting with dyspnea and fever. Radiologic findings included diffuse, bilateral, multiple tiny nodules consistent with metastasis, miliary tuberculosis, and fungal infection. However, further investigations, including laboratory tests, imaging, and biopsies, led to the diagnosis of DLBCL involving the lungs. Herein we reported a rare case of lymphoma involvement of the lung presenting as miliary nodules. Accurate diagnosis relies on a comprehensive evaluation of the clinical history, physical features, laboratory test results, and imaging findings.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.280-288
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• 2024

The fusogenic membrane glycoprotein (FMG) derived from the human endogenous retrovirus-W (HERV-W) exhibits fusogenic properties, making it a promising candidate for cancer gene therapy. When cells are transfected with HERV-W FMG, they can fuse with neighboring cells expressing the receptor, resulting in the formation of syncytia. These syncytia eventually undergo cell death within a few days. In addition, it has been observed that an HERV-W env mutant, which is truncated after amino acid 483, displays increased fusogenicity compared to the wild-type HERV-W env. In this study, we observed syncytium formation upon transfection of HeLa and TE671 human cancer cells with plasmids containing the HERV-W 483 gene. To explore the potential of a semi-replication-competent retroviral (s-RCR) vector encoding HERV-W 483 for FMG-mediated cancer gene therapy, we developed two replication-defective retroviral vectors: a gag-pol vector encoding HERV-W 483 (MoMLV-HERV-W 483) and an env vector encoding VSV-G (pCLXSN-VSV-G-EGFP). When MoMLV-HERV-W 483 and pCLXSN-VSV-G-EGFP were co-transfected into HEK293T cells to produce the s-RCR vector, gradual syncytium formation was observed. However, the titers of the s-RCR virus remained consistently low. To enhance gene transfer efficiency, we constructed an RCR vector encoding HERV-W 483 (MoMLV-10A1-HERV-W 483), which demonstrated replication ability in HEK293T cells. Infection of A549 and HT1080 human cancer cell lines with this RCR vector induced syncytium formation and subsequent cell death. Consequently, both the s-RCR vector and RCR encoding HERV-W 483 hold promise as valuable tools for cancer gene therapy.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.233-235
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• 2002

Hydroa vacciniforme (HV) is a disease of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated NK/T cell lymphoproliferative disorder, and patients with severe HV-like eruptions have a high risk to progress to various EBV-related hematological complications. Photosensitivity in HV might be a 'photo-Koebner' phenomenon mediated by infiltration of EBV-infected NK/T cells.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.207-217
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• 2015

Skin is the first line of defense for protecting our bodies against external perturbations, including ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, mechanical/chemical stress, and bacterial infection. Nutrition is one of many factors required for the maintenance of overall skin health. An impaired nutritional status alters the structural integrity and biological function of skin, resulting in an abnormal skin barrier. In particular, the importance of micronutrients (such as certain vitamins and minerals) for skin health has been highlighted in cell culture, animal, and clinical studies. These micronutrients are employed not only as active compounds in therapeutic agents for treating certain skin diseases, but also as ingredients in cosmetic products. Here, the author describes the barrier function of the skin and the general nutritional requirements for skin health. The goal of this review is to discuss the potential roles and current knowledge of selected micronutrients in skin health and function.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.10 no.12
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• pp.1119-1126
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• 2004

This paper presents optimized structured treatment interruption to reduce medication and establish long-term immune response against HIV-infection. Understanding HIV-related immune system control enables better HIV therapy without using full­treatments. Discrete regimen and continuous regimen characteristics are compared. Controllability of HIV-related immune system is analyzed for better understanding of optimal control in HIV therapy. Using optimal control provides more effective therapy than the full treatment without interruption in terms of controllability analysis. Case studies indicates that the proposed therapy induces long-erm non-progression while preserving high CD4 T-helper cell count and low virus load in HIV-infected patients.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.23-28
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• 2003

Background: Intracellular antibody specific to hepatitis B virus X protein (HBx) might be useful for studying the role of HBx in hepatocellular carcinogenesis and HBV replication. Methods: With variable region genes for H7 monoclonal anti-HBx Ab, we constructed a vector for bacterial expression of single chain Ab (scFv) and a vector for eukaryotic cell expression of it. The expression of H7 scFv and its binding activity against HBx was examined by immunoblotting and immunofluorescence microscopy. Results: H7 scFv expressed in bacterial cells retained reactivity to HBx. We demonstrated its intracytoplasmic expression in CosM6 eukaryotic cells. Conclusion: This is the first study showing the expression of intracellular anti-HBx Ab in eukaryotic cells. H7 scFv may be a good tool to study the function of HBx in HBV infection.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.143-151
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• 2017

The intestinal microbiota has been shown to have a vital role in various aspects of human health, and accumulating evidence has shown the beneficial effects of supplementation with bifidobacteria for the improvement of human health, ranging from protection against infection to various positive effects. However, maintaining bacterial cell viability during storage and gastrointestinal transit remains a challenge. Microencapsulation of probiotic bacterial cells provides protection against adverse conditions during processing, storage, and gastrointestinal passage. In this paper, we review the current knowledge, future prospects, and challenges of microencapsulation of probiotic Bifidobacterium spp.