Delta-like Factor 1 as a Possible Therapeutic Target for Sarcomas

Background@#Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are cells characterized by their self-renewal and tumorigenic potential. The purpose of this study was to discover the role of the delta-like factor 1 (DLK1) in sarcoma. @*Methods@#mRNA expression of DLK1 from 13 sarcoma cell lines was examined. Isolated CSCs from the tumors were examined using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) with CD133, the CSC marker, or sphere-forming assay. The relationship between DLK1 and CSCs in sarcoma was examined using cell proliferation and cell invasion assays after they were treated with DLK1 short interfering RNA (siRNA). @*Results@#A high expression of DLK1 mRNA was observed in all sarcoma cell lines. However, CSCs were isolated from over expressed sarcomas of the DLK1 gene, and they have shown to be expressed lower than the wild type. The anti-cancer effects of DLK1 siRNA inhibited cell proliferation and invasion in U2OS, A204, and sw872. In addition, treatment with DLK1 siRNA inhibited cell invasion in sw872 CSCs. DLK1 gene induces tumorigenesis in various sarcoma cells and regulates the invasiveness of liposarcoma. These results suggest that DLK1 could serve as a possible therapeutic target for sarcoma. @*Conclusions@#Our study showed that the DLK1 gene induces tumorigenesis in various sarcomas and is associated with invasive mechanism in sarcoma. These results suggest DLK1 could serve as a possible therapeutic target in a variety of sarcomas.

Role of CD74 and Its Relationship with Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor in Osteosarcoma Tumorigenesis / 대한정형외과학회잡지

PURPOSE: CD74 (cluster of differentiation 74) is a type II transmembrane protein that associates with MHC-II (major histocompatibility complex-II) molecules and binds with the macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), which is known to be associated with tumorigenesis. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between CD74 with MIF and the role of CD74 in osteosarcoma tumorigenesis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A correlation between CD74 with MIF was examined using immunohistochemistry (IHC) of tissues from patients with osteosarcoma (n=45). The mRNA expression of CD74 from patient-derived primary cells of osteosarcoma (n=22) was examined by a real-time polymerase chain reaction. The role of CD74 and in cisplatin-resistance of osteosarcoma was examined using WST-1 and colony forming assay. RESULTS: Of the 45 patients, 25 patients (55.6%) had a high level of expression in both CD74 and MIF by IHC. High level of MIF expression was observed in 40 patients (88.9%). We detected that mRNA expression of CD74 was higher in cells of all osteosarcoma patients (n=22) examined than in the control cells (hFOb 1.19). After cisplatin treatment, the inhibition of cell proliferation and suppression of colony formation were reduced in osteosarcoma cells expressing CD74. Interestingly, the effect of inhibiting anchorage independent growth was activated after cisplatin treatment in the cells with very high expression CD74 mRNA. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the level of CD74 expression correlates with that of MIF expression. Moreover, CD74 might have a role in cisplatin resistance of osteosarcoma.

Effect on Glycemic, Blood Pressure, and Lipid Control according to Education Types

BACKGROUND: Diabetes self-management education and reinforcement are important for effective management of the disease. We investigated the effectiveness of interactive small-group education on glycemic, blood pressure, and lipid levels. METHODS: For this study, 207 type 2 diabetes patients with suboptimal glycemic control (HbA1c levels >6.5%) were enrolled. The conventional education group received an existing education program from April to November in 2006, and the interactive education group received a new small-group education program from December 2006 to July 2007. The two groups were comparatively analyzed for changes in blood sugar, glycated hemoglobin, lipid, and blood pressure at baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months and the proportion of patients achieving target goals at 12 months. RESULTS: After 12 months of follow-up, HbA1c levels in the interactive education group were significantly lower than in the conventional education group (6.7% vs. 6.4%, P<0.001). Fasting and 2 hour postprandial glucose concentrations, total cholesterol, and low density lipoprotein cholesterol were significantly lower in the interactive education group than in the conventional education group. The proportion of patients that achieved target goals was significantly higher in the interactive education group. CONCLUSION: The small-group educational method improved and re-established the existing group educational method. This finding suggests that the importance of education appears to be related to the method by which it is received rather than the education itself. Thus, the use of small-group educational methods to supplement existing educational methods established for diverse age levels should be considered in the future.

Eating Habits and Social Behavior in Korean Preschool Children

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the eating habits and social behavior of preschool children. Six hundred twenty seven children ranging in age from 4 to 7 and their mothers were asked to complete a questionnaire assessing the children''''s eating habits and kindergarten teachers were asked to rate the social behavior of their preschool children. The eating habits of children positively correlated to those of their mothers, primarily in meal regularity, breakfast frequency, unbalanced meals, overeating, eating delivery food and food preferences. The results showed that 33% of preschool children always had unbalanced meals and 50% sometimes had them. Children who had ice cream, cake, carbonated drinks or cookies as snacks more often, tend to have meals irregularly because they favored sweets and were possibly induced to have unbalanced meals. Sixty five percent of the children were graded as good in terms of having healthy eating habits and had good social behavior. The results indicate that the eating habits of children are related to problem behavior, especially social withdrawal and anxiety. That is, children who have undesirable eating habits are likely to be anxious or socially withdrawn.