• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.9
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• pp.3857-3860
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• 2015

Background: Recent studies revealed a relationship between ground-glass opacity (GGO) ratio on computed tomography (CT) and serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level in lung adenocarcinoma. Since an association between lepidic histologic pattern and GGO is well accepted, we investigated the link between histologic subtype and serum CEA level in resected lung adenocarcinoma. Materials and Methods: One hundred and eighty-one consecutive patients with resected lung adenocarcinoma were studied retrospectively. The histologic subtype was subdivided into 2 groups: lepidic dominant histologic subtype, including adenocarcinoma in situ, minimally invasive adenocarcinoma and lepidic predominant invasive adenocarcinoma versus other subtypes. Results: The 5-year survival of patients with s high serum CEA level was significantly more unfavorable than that with normal levels. Similarly, there was also a relationship between the patient survival and histologic subtype, with favorable survival found in patients with the lepidic dominant histologic subtype. There was a significant relationship between serum CEA level and lepidic dominant histologic subtype overall and in p-stage I patients. Conclusions: Lung adenocarcinomas with non-lepidic dominant histologic subtype are associated with high serum CEA levels.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.313-317
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• 2013

According to increase of travel, the cases of imported echinococcosis have been increasing in Korea. The present study was undertaken to develop a serodiagnostic system for echinococcosis in Korea. For diagnosis of echinococcosis, the fluid of Echinococcus granulosus hydatid cysts was collected from naturally infected sheep in Uzbekistan. Also serum samples of infected patients who were surgically confirmed were collected in a hospital in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. According to the absorbance of 59 echinococcosis positive and 39 negative control serum samples, the cut-off value was determined as 0.27. The sensitivity and specificity of ELISA with hydatid fluid antigen were 91.5% and 96%, respectively. The antigen cross-reacted with the serum of some cysticercosis or clonorchiasis patients. However, immunoblot analysis on the cystic fluid recognized antigenic proteins of 7-, 16-, and 24-kDa bands in their dominant protein quantity and strong blotting reactivity. In conclusion, the present ELISA system using hydatid cyst fluid antigen from Uzbekistan sheep is sensitive and specific for diagnosis of echinococcosis cases.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Life Science Conference
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• 2005.04a
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• pp.186-186
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• 2005

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.84 no.1
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• pp.253-262
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• 2023

Purpose To assess the clinicoradiological features of pulmonary cryptococcosis in immunocompetent patients. Materials and Methods This retrospective study included immunocompetent patients who had been diagnosed with pulmonary cryptococcosis on the histopathologic exam and underwent chest CT between January 2008 and November 2019. Imaging features were divided into major imaging patterns, distributions, and ancillary imaging findings. Univariable analysis was performed to evaluate clinicoradiological features according to the presence of serum cryptococcal antigen. Results Thirty-one patients were evaluated (mean age: 60 years, range: 19-78 years). A single nodular lesion confined to a single lobe was the most common imaging pattern (14/31, 45.2%). Serum cryptococcal antigen tests were performed in 19 patients (19/31, 61.3%). The presence of serum cryptococcal antigen was observed in six patients (6/19, 31.6%), all of whom showed a consolidation-dominant pattern. The presence of serum cryptococcal antigen was significantly associated with the consolidationdominant pattern compared to those associated with a nodule-dominant pattern (p = 0.011). Conclusion A combination of CT findings of consolidation and a positive serum cryptococcal antigen test may be helpful for diagnosing pulmonary cryptococcosis in immunocompetent patients.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.433-440
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• 2013

Toxocariasis is a worldwide zoonosis caused by larvae of ascarid nematodes of dogs or cats, Toxocara canis or T. cati. Diagnosis of human toxocariasis currently relies on serology that uses T. canis excretory-secretory antigen to detect specific IgG antibodies by ELISA. We investigated the serodiagnostic efficacy of ELISA using crude antigen of T. canis larvae (TCLA). Serum specimens of 64 clinically confirmed toxocariasis, 115 healthy controls, and 119 other tissue-invading helminthiases were screened by ELISA using TCLA. The ELISA using TCLA showed 92.2% (59/64 patient samples) sensitivity and 86.6% (103/119) specificity. Its positive diagnostic predictivity was 78.7% and negative predictivity was 97.8%. No serum of healthy controls reacted but that of anisakiasis (45.5%), gnathostomiasis (19.2%), clonorchiasis (15.8%), sparganosis (11.1%), and cysticercosis (6.3%) cross-reacted. Immunoblot analysis on TCLA recognized antigenic proteins of 28- and 30-kDa bands in their dominant protein quantity and strong blotting reactivity. The present results indicate that the ELISA using our TCLA antigen is acceptable by the sensitivity and specificity for serodiagnosis of human toxocariasis. ELISA with TCLA is recommended to make differential diagnosis for patients with any sign of organ infiltration and eosinophilia.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.44 no.1 s.137
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• pp.43-48
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• 2006

Experimental murine models with high, intermediate and low levels of genetically based susceptibility to Leishmania major infection reproduce almost entire spectrum of clinical manifestations of the human disease. There are increasing non-comparative studies on immune responses against isolated antigens of L. major in different murine strains. The aim of the present study was to find out whether there is an antigen that can induce protective immune response in resistant and susceptible murine strains. To do that, crude antigenic extract of procyclic and metacyclic promastigotes of L. major was prepared and subjected to SDS-PAGE electrophoresis. Western-blotting was used to search for antigen(s) capable of raising high antibody level of IgG2a versus IgG1 in the sera of both infected resistant and susceptible strains. Two novel antigens from metacyclic promastigotes of L. major (140 and 152 kDa) were potentially able to induce specific dominant IgG2a responses in BALB/c and C57BU6 mice. The 2 antigens also reacted with IgG antibody of cutaneous leishmaniasis patients. We confirm that 140 and 152 kDa proteins of L. major promastigotes are inducing IgG production in mice and humans.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.61-67
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• 2019

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) in sheep is a hazardous zoonotic parasitic disease that is caused by Echinococcus granulosus (Eg). At present, serological test is an important diagnostic method for Eg infection in domestic animals. Here, a fusion protein Eg mefAg-1 harboring 8 dominant B-cell epitopes of Eg such as antigen B, tetraspanin 1, tetraspanin 6, reticulon and Eg95 was produced in E. coli and evaluated for CE in sheep by indirect ELISA. Eg mefAg-1 showed in ELISA a high sensitivity (93.41%) and specificity (99.31%), with a coincidence rate of 97.02%. Overall, it is suggested that the Eg mefAg-1 could be a potential antigen candidate for CE serodiagnosis in sheep.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.134-139
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• 2016

Programmed death-1 (PD-1) is a strong negative regulator of T lymphocytes in tumor-microenvironment. By engaging PD-1 ligand (PD-L1) on tumor cells, PD-1 on T cell surface inhibits anti-tumor reactivity of tumor-infiltrating T cells. Systemic blockade of PD-1 function using blocking antibodies has shown significant therapeutic efficacy in clinical trials. However, approximately 10 to 15% of treated patients exhibited serious autoimmune responses due to the activation of self-reactive lymphocytes. To achieve selective activation of tumor-specific T cells, we generated T cells expressing a dominant-negative deletion mutant of PD-1 (PD-1 decoy) via retroviral transduction. PD-1 decoy increased IFN-γ secretion of antigen-specific T cells in response to tumor cells expressing the cognate antigen. Adoptive transfer of PD-1 decoy-expressing T cells into tumor-bearing mice potentiated T cell-mediated tumor regression. Thus, T cell-specific blockade of PD-1 could be a useful strategy for enhancing both efficacy and safety of anti-tumor T cell therapy.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.62-66
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• 2001

This study was performed to investigate antigenic expression patterns in the course of HSV-1 infection. In SDS-PAGE analysis, HSV-1 antigens were detected, and among them, antigens in the size of 39, 47, 63, 86, 101, 105, 135, 159, and 181 kDa appear to be expressed in the most dominant forms. BALB/c mice were infected with HSV-1 for 29 days and antigenic expression from HSV-1 was investigated by Western blot analysis using anti-HSV-1 sera collected every two days from BALB/c mice infected with HSV-1. Most of HSV-1 antigens appeared sporadically as the infection progressed. However, antigens in the sizes of 63kDa and 135kDa were expressed from day 1 and 3, respectively, and existed continuously during the course of infection for 29 days, suggesting that they are the most dominant antigens inducing immune response durign HSV-1 infection, and they could be the target antigens for the development of vaccines. The isotype levels of IgA, IgGl, and IgM increased till the 17 th day infection and then started to decrease. During this course. IgGl was the most dominant isotype. In an indirect immunofluorescent assay, antibodies exhibited surface binding to the Vero cell infected with HSV-1, demonstrating that HSV-1 antigens are expressed on the surface of Vero cells.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.100-106
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• 2011

Background: Disparities of Minor H antigens can induce graft rejection after MHC-matched transplantation. H60 has been characterized as a dominant antigen expressed on hematopoietic cells and considered to be an ideal model antigen for study on graft-versus-leukemia effect. Methods: Splenocytes from C57BL/6 mice immunized with H60 congenic splenocytes were used for establishment of H60-specific CTL clones. Then the clones were characterized for proliferation capacity and cytotoxicity after stimulation with H60. Clone #14, #15, and #23 were tested for the TCR binding avidity to H60-peptide/$H-2K^b$ and analyzed for TCR sequences. Results: H60-specific CTL clones showed different levels of proliferation capacity and cytotoxic activity to H60-stimulation. Clones #14, #15, and #23 showed high proliferation activity, high cytotoxicity, and low activities on both aspects, respectively, and have TCRs with different binding avidities to H60-peptide/$H-2K^b$ with $t_{1/2}$ values of 4.87, 6.92, and 13.03 minutes, respectively. The TCR usages were $V{\alpha}12D-3-01+J{\alpha}11-01$ and $V{\beta}12-1-01+D{\beta}1-01+J2-7-01$ for clone #14, $V{\alpha}13D-1-02+J{\alpha}34-02$ and $V{\beta}13-1-02+D{\beta}2-01+J{\beta}2-7-01$ for clone #15, and $V{\alpha}16D+J{\alpha}45-01$ and $V{\beta}12-1-01+D{\beta}1-01+J{\beta}2-5-01$ for clone #23. Conclusion: The results will be useful for modeling GVL and generation TCR transgenic mouse.