Alterations and Co-Occurrence of C-MYC, N-MYC, and L-MYC Expression are Related to Clinical Outcomes in Various Cancers

Background and Objectives@#MYC, also known as an oncogenic reprogramming factor, is a multifunctional transcription factor that maintains induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Although MYC is frequently upregulated in various cancers and is correlated with a poor prognosis, MYC is downregulated and correlated with a good prognosis in lung adenocarcinoma. MYC and two other MYC family genes, MYCN and MYCL, have similar structures and could contribute to tumorigenic conversion both in vitro and in vivo. @*Methods@#and Results: We systematically investigated whether MYC family genes act as prognostic factors in various human cancers. We first evaluated alterations in the expression of MYC family genes in various cancers using the Oncomine and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and their mutation and copy number alterations using the TCGA database with cBioPortal. Then, we investigated the association between the expression of MYC family genes and the prognosis of cancer patients using various prognosis databases. Multivariate analysis also confirmed that co-expression of MYC/MYCL/MYCN was significantly associated with the prognosis of lung, gastric, liver, and breast cancers. @*Conclusions@#Taken together, our results demonstrate that the MYC family can function not only as an oncogene but also as a tumor suppressor gene in various cancers, which could be used to develop a novel approach to cancer treatment.

Safety and photochemotherapeutic application of poly(-glutamic acid)-based biopolymeric nanoparticle

The safety of nanomaterials, a crucial consideration for clinical translation, is enhanced by using building blocks that are biologically nontoxic. Here, we used poly(-glutamic acid) (-PGA) and dopamine as building blocks of polymeric nanomaterials for carrying hydrophobic anticancer drugs. The introduction of phenylalanine onto -PGA enabled the resulting amphiphilic derivative of -PGA acid to self-assemble in the presence of the anticancer drug paclitaxel (PTX) to form PTX-encapsulated micelles. The surfaces of PTX-loaded micelles were then coated with polymerized dopamine (PDA). The PDA-coated, amphiphilic -PGA-based micelles (AM) carrying PTX (PDA/AM/P) exerted near-infrared-responsive photothermal effects. Near-infrared irradiation of cancer cells treated with PDA/AM/P nanoparticles produced a greater anticancer effect than that observed in other treatment groups, indicating a synergistic effect. Intravenous administration of PDA/AM/P completely ablated tumors and prevented their recurrence. Notably, the safety profile of PDA/AM/P nanoparticles allowed PTX to be delivered at a 3.6-fold higher dose than was possible with PTX solubilized in surfactant, and circumvented the side effects of the surfactant. These results support the multifunctional potential of PDA/AM for the delivery of various hydrophobic drugs and imaging dyes for safe translation of nanomaterials into the clinic.

Advances in Epidemiology, Biology and Laboratory Diagnosis of Zika Virus

Zika virus (ZIKV) was spread to both eastward and westward from Uganda where the virus was identified approximately in 1947 by a group of arbovirus researchers. In 2015, ZIKV reached Americas with major outbreaks in Brazil. Most countries with mosquito transmitted ZIKV infection are located in tropical and subtropical areas, where ZIKV is endemic with other flaviviruses, including JEV, dengue and yellow fever virus. Approximately 40 countries in Central and South Americas and territories in South Pacific Islands and South East Asia show autochthonous ZIKV endemics. American lineage of ZIKV is known significantly to be mutated in susceptibility to host and in pathogenicity from Asian and Asian lineages approximately since 2014. Early and specific identification of ZIKV infection is very important for the effective management of patients. First of all, optimal collection of specimens for the laboratory diagnosis is required for both nucleic acid testing (NAT) and serological tests. Specimens for NAT tests and serological tests should be determined by the available laboratory resources, work-flow in each laboratory and the geographic areas of specimen collected in addition to days after showing symptoms. Testing strategy for specific differentiation among flaviviruses will vary depending on the prevalence of viruses known to be circulating in the area where the patients were exposed. NAT will be employed for the patients presenting with onset of symptoms less than 7 days. Advanced diagnostic technologies should be continuously developed for the increase of specificity and sensitivity of ZIKV diagnosis.

Construction of the Porcine Endogenous Retrovirus Envelope Glycoprotein A and B Specific Antibody

Xenotransplantation using porcine organs could potentially associate with the risk of pathogenic infections, because human tropic porcine endogenous retrovirus (PERV) particles could be released from pig cells or organs. While there is no evidence of PERV transmission to human, safety issues become a paramount concern. For the prevention of this transmission, specific immunological tools must be provided for PERV transmission detection. In this study we described the expression of PERV envelope proteins and the production of a specific antibody against PERV envelope (Env) glycoprotein. The nucleotide sequence harboring the partial region of glycoprotein 70 was cloned into the pET vector and envelope protein was expressed in E. coli. Approximately 42 kDa recombinant Env protein (PERV Env-aa357) was purified by the Ni-affinity column. For antibody production, mice were immunized with the recombinant PERV Env-aa357. The generated anti-serum was tested using Western blot and immunocytochemical assay. We found that anti-PERV Env serum displayed the specificity against the PERV Envs (PERV-A and PERV-B) expressed not only in E. coli but also in mammalian cells, and PERV particles within the porcine cell lines (PK 15 and PK-1). Taken together, PERV antibody could be useful for detecting PERV infection or xenotransplantation transmission.

Development of Neutralization Assay using Murine Leukemia Virus (MuLV) Pseudotyped with Japanese encephalitis Virus (JEV) env Gene

The envelope (E) glycoprotein of JEV is the major antigen to elicit neutralizing antibody (NAb) against JEV infection. In order to develop a rapid and safe neutralization assay system for evaluation of the JEV vaccine strains, we constructed JEV-pseudotyped viruses with JEV env genes (Nakayama-NIH, Beijing-1). The titers of JEV-pseudotyped viruses with NK and BJ strains were 4.0x10(4) IFU/ml and 1.3x10(5) IFU/ml in Vero cell cultures, respectively. We have analyzed the neutralization activity of immunized mouse sera with JEV-NK and JEV-BJ pseudotyped viruses. The neutralizing antibody titers of NK and BJ (50% reduction of virus) were about 1:10,000 at each immunized sera. Compared with conventional plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT), the method using JEV-pseudotyped virus has desirable advantages such as more rapid, easier, and non-biohazardous. This neutralization assay system might be useful to evaluate NAb activity against JEV vaccine strains or vaccine candidates.

Neutralizing Antibody Induction and Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Response to Nakayama-NIH and Beijing-1 as Japanese Encephalitis Virus Vaccine Strains

The Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), a member of the Flaviviridae family and Flavivirus genus, is transmitted by mosquitoes. JEV, of which some 35,000 cases are recorded every year, is a positive RNA virus. Two types of JEV vaccines have been developed to prevent the onset of encephalitis in humans, namely formalin-inactivated and liveattenuated vaccines. JEV inactivated vaccines are usually made using the Nakayama-NIH or Beijing-1 strains of the JEV virus. In this study, the immunological response to the Nakayama-NIH and Beijing-1 strains was analyzed as part of the effort to compile basic data which could lead to the selection of a suitable vaccine strain. To this end, the virus titer of Beijing-1 was found to be two-fold higher than that of Nakayama-NIH by plaque assay. Moreover, Beijing-1-induced neutralizing antibodies showed a higher level of titers when confronted by Korean JEV isolates than Nakayama-NIH-induced neutralizing antibodies (1:320 vs. 1:160, respectively). However, as a minimum ratio of 1:10 neutralizing antibody titers are required to protect against JEV infection, both strains in effect exhibited a sufficient level of neutralizing antibody titers. What's more, Beijing-1 was found to induce a somewhat higher cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response than Nakayama-NIH. Taken together, this can be taken to mean that Beijing-1 may in fact be a more effective vaccine candidate strain when it comes to inducing a high level of protective immunity against JEV infection.

Molecular Characterization of Porcine Endogenous Retrovirus gag Genes from Pigs in Korea

Xenotransplantation, as a potential solution to the shortage of human organs, is associated with a number of concerns including immunologic rejection and xenogenic infection. While the pigs are considered the most suitable organ source for xenotransplantation, there is a potential public health risk due to zoonosis. Among the known porcine zoonotic microbes, Porcine Endogenous Retrovirus (PERV) is the most considerable virus. PERV belongs to the Gammaretrovirus and has been divided into three groups (A, B, and C). To characterize the gag of PERVs, we isolated the genomic DNAs from three pig breeds (Birkshire, Duroc, and Yorkshire) and two types of SPF miniature pigs. About 1.5 kb fragments covering full length of gag were amplified and cloned into T-vector. A total of 38 clones were obtained and sequenced. Nucleotide sequences were analyzed and phylogenetic trees were constructed from the nucleotide and deduced amino acids. PERV-A, -B and -C were present in the proportion of 47, 19 and 34%, respectively. Regardless of origin or subgroups, gag clones showed highly homology in nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences. Deduced amino acids sequence alignments showed typical conserve sequences, Cys-His box and processing sites. Among analyzed clones, about 28% of isolates had the correct open reading frame. To test the functional expression of Gag protein, gag was subcloned into expression vector and confirmed its expression in HeLa cell. This research provides the fundamental information about molecular characteristics of gag gene and functional Gag protein related xenotropic PERVs.

Molecular Cloning of PERV-A and PERV-B Envelope Genes from Miniature Pigs

Xenotransplantation of porcine organs has the potential to overcome the acute shortage of human tissues and organs for human transplantation. Swine represents an ideal source of such organs owing to their anatomical and physiological similarities to human besides their plentiful supply. However, this procedure is also associated with a number of safety issues related to zoonotic infections. Among such zoonotically important pathogens, porcine endogenous viruses (PERVs) represent the most concerned virus as they persist asymptomatically and show germline transmission in pigs. They belong to gamma retroviruses and are of three types viruses: A, B and C. In the present study, PCR based cloning was performed with chromosomal DNA extracted from miniature pigs to analyze the envelope gene of PERVs. Amplified PCR fragments of about 1.5 Kb, covering the partial env gene, were cloned into pCR2.1-TOPO vectors and sequenced. A total of 51 env clones were obtained from two miniature pigs, types M149 and T1111. Phylogenetic analysis of these genes revealed the presence of only PERV type A and B in the proportion of 45% and 55%, respectively. Among these, 9 clones had the correct open reading frame: eight were PERV type A and one PERV type B. Since both these PERV types are polytropic and have the capacity to infect human cells, our data raise a concern that proviral PERVs might have the potential to generate infectious viruses during or after xenotransplantation in humans.

Molecular Cloning of PERV-A and PERV-B Envelope Genes from Miniature Pigs

Xenotransplantation of porcine organs has the potential to overcome the acute shortage of human tissues and organs for human transplantation. Swine represents an ideal source of such organs owing to their anatomical and physiological similarities to human besides their plentiful supply. However, this procedure is also associated with a number of safety issues related to zoonotic infections. Among such zoonotically important pathogens, porcine endogenous viruses (PERVs) represent the most concerned virus as they persist asymptomatically and show germline transmission in pigs. They belong to gamma retroviruses and are of three types viruses: A, B and C. In the present study, PCR based cloning was performed with chromosomal DNA extracted from miniature pigs to analyze the envelope gene of PERVs. Amplified PCR fragments of about 1.5 Kb, covering the partial env gene, were cloned into pCR2.1-TOPO vectors and sequenced. A total of 51 env clones were obtained from two miniature pigs, types M149 and T1111. Phylogenetic analysis of these genes revealed the presence of only PERV type A and B in the proportion of 45% and 55%, respectively. Among these, 9 clones had the correct open reading frame: eight were PERV type A and one PERV type B. Since both these PERV types are polytropic and have the capacity to infect human cells, our data raise a concern that proviral PERVs might have the potential to generate infectious viruses during or after xenotransplantation in humans.

Expression of Genes Related to Multidrug Resistance and Apoptosis in Human Ovarian Cancer Cell Lines, Sensitive and Resistant to Cisplatin / 대한산부인과학회잡지

OBJECTIVE: The resistance mechanisms of tumor cells to chemotherapeutic drugs are known as the followings; the alterations in the drug transport and activation, the enhanced expression of the DNA repair and replication and the decreased apoptosis. The aim of this study is to examine a relative difference on the level of the mRNA expression of the multidrug resistance (MDR)-related and the apoptosis-associated genes between cisplastin-sensitive and cisplatin-resistant human ovarian cancer cell line. METHODS: MDR-associated genes (lrp, mdr1/p-glycoprotein, mrp) and PKC isozymes (alpha, beta1, beta2, epsilon, eta, theta), DNA mismatch repair (MMR) genes (hMLH1, hMSH2, hMSH3, hMSH6), DNA topology-related genes (topoisomerase IIalpha and beta) and apoptosis-related genes (p53, p21, mdm2, fas (Apo-1), trail (Apo-2L) were analyzed in cisplatin-sensitive ovarian cancer cell line A2780 and -resistant cell line A2780cp by complementary DNA polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: The mdr1 and PKC eta in mRNA level were expressed in A2780cp, but not in A2780. The mRNA expressions of lrp, p21 and mdm2 were more increased in A2780cp than drug sensitive variant A2780, but not significantly correlated. In contrast mRNA expression of hMLH1, a kind of DNA MMR gene, was remarkably decreased and mRNA expression of hMSH2 was slightly decrease in A2780cp. However, the levels of mrp, topo II alpha and beta, hMSH3, hMSH6, p53, fas and trail were not affected. CONCLUSION: These results showed that mdr1/p-gp expression may be an important determinant of MDR phenotype in resistant cell line to chemotherapeutic agents, and PKC isozymes and DNA MMR genes may be responsible for cisplatin resistant in ovarian cancer.

Detection of Mutations to Zidovudine in the pol Gene of Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 by Direct Sequencing

No abstract available.

The Evaluation of Immunochromatographic Assay kit for Rapid Detection of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen

We evaluated Immunochromatographic assay kit to screen HBsAg in human serum. When the reference HBsAg was applyed to ICA, HA and EIA kits, the limit of detection for HBsAg were found out to be 4, 2 and 0.25 ng/ml respectively. But ICA kit required 5 minutes to read the result whereas HA and EIA kit more than one hour. The sensitivity was 97% (29 of 30 samples) and the specificity 100% (45 samples) compared with conventional EIA. The ICA kit needs no instrument or machine to perform the test contrary to the conventional methods. Therefore, this rapid and sensitive ICA kit can be used for HBsAg-screening, especially in the emergency room and in the scene of the accident.

Sequence Analysis of C2-V3 Region of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 gp120 and its Correlation with Clinical Significance : the Effect of Long-Term Intake of Korean Red Ginseng on env Gene Variation

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) phenotype plays an important role in the pathogenesis of AIDS. The presence of syncytium-inducing (SI) HIV-1 isolates in infected persons is associated with a rapid decline of CD4+T cells (CD4+), rapid disease progression, and reduced survival time after AIDS diagnosis. We have reported the effects of Korean red ginseng (KRG) on HIV-1 infected patients. To investigate whether KRG affects HIV-1 at gene level and there is a correlation between genotype and decline of CD4+, the C2-V3 region of env gene from 65 HIV-1 isolates were cloned and sequenced. Distributions of subtype were subtype B 57 (88%), subtype A 4 (6%), subtype C 2 (3%), subtype G 1 (2%), and subtype H 1 (2%). The prevalences of SI according to the number of CD4+ are as follows; 40% (6/15) in CD4+ 200/ul. Seventy-five percent (6/8) of SI were detected in rapid progressor with the decline of CD4+ over 60/ul per year. The correlation between SI genotype and the detection of immune complex dissociated (ICD) p24 antigen was significant (p<0.001). In the 40 patients followed-up over 60 months by CD4+, there was significant correlation between annual decrease of CD4+ and duration of KRG intake (R=-0.380, p<0.01), whereas no correlation between CD4+ and zidovudine (ZDV) was observed. The intrapatient variation of amino acid level showed significant inverse correlation with the months of KRG intake (R=-0.47, p<0.01). These results suggest that the determination of genotype by C2- V3 sequencing may be used for the evaluation of prognosis of AIDS patient, and long-term intake of KRG may prevent or delay the progression from NSI to SI.

Epidemiological characteristics of HIV infected homosexuals in Korea(1992) / 예방의학회지

In order to investigate psychological and behavioral characteristics homosexuals and to present evidence that homosexuals are in danger of HIV infection in Korea, this study was done by self-administered questionnaire and then direct interview with the 28(35%) HIV infected homosexual/bisexuals of 79 HIV infected persons reported in 1992. Homosexuals without heterosexual activity were 9 and the others were bisexuals. Sixty-five percent of respondents had a guilty conscience for their homosexual activity. Twenty(71%) were in twenties and 5(18%) in thirties. Twelve(43%) were detected via health card checking by health office, 21% by blood donation, 18% by hospital visit, and 7% by partner notification. Motivations for homosexual activity were curiosity(36%), temptation or recommendation(14%) and compulsion(11%). Eighteen(72%) never used condom on anal sex. Nine of 26 respondents had experience for anal sex with foreigners. Fourteen(54%) of 26 respondents had history for sexually transmitted diseases. Fightly percent did not have sexual contact after HIV infection and the others usually used condom. It was confirmed that over 57% of the respondents were infected within 1 year before HIV diagnosis and over 82% within 2 years. These data suggest that HIV infection among homosexual group is rapidly spreading.

Effect of Korean red ginseng on the levels of serum p24 antigen, ?-microglobulin, and CD4+T cell counts in HIV infected patients treated with AZT(I)

No abstract available.

Correlation between the response of multitest@ CMI and CD4+ T cell count in HIV infected persons

No abstract available.

Hematoimmunological prognosis of AIDS patients in Korea / 감염

No abstract available.

Gunshot injury of head and neck / 대한이비인후과학회지

No abstract available.

Study on Changes of Attitude toward Ideal Number of Children and Value System for Children / 예방의학회지

This study is intended to comparison of the recent ideal number of children and artal approach for analyzing value system for children that form attitude affecting birth affecting birth control with earlier study conducted 10 years ago. In general the traditional fertility pattern of Korea may be considered as "early marriage and high fertility" backed by the confucian value system of a farming-oriented country. A selective attitude favoring sons contributes substantially to fertility. But Korea is now moving toward late marriage and fertility pattern. This has been due to the rapid introduction of western culture and a partial acceptance of western value systems, a relative weakening of traditional value systems, a gradual increase in infant and child survival rates through medicines, and a desire to avoid having too many children because of economic poverty. This study showed following results: Ideal number of sons and daughters in urban area was decreased by 0.2 respectively compared to earlier study. In rural area, the number of decrease of sons and daughters was 0.5 and 0.2 respectively. The conception concerning Happiness has changed to wealth from health in previous opinion. Regarding attitude toward having sons, 98 percent of them wanted to have sons positively, moreover 10 percent of them wanted two or more sons. Regarding reasons for the wanting sons, we see that line, are a principle concern of about 56 percent in both areas. The rate of dependence in old age was decreased conspicuously compare to previous study while the rate of holding rituals was increased remarkably in rural area. Among reasons for limiting family size, "for better living and for better education for their children were main reasons rated 46 percent in urban, 51 percent in rural area. The rates were not changed compare to previous study. Regarding attitude of those who have no son of children, the rate of re-marriage with second wife was decreased remarkably in rural area and the rate of living without special behavior for having son was increased compare to previous study.