In vitro and in vivo inhibition of Helicobacter pylori by Lactobacilllus paracasei HP7 / 한국실험동물학회지

The efficacy of standard therapeutic strategies for Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is decreasing over time due to the emergence of drug-resistant strains. As an alternative, the present study investigated the capacity of Lactobacilllus paracasei (L. paracasei) HP7, isolated from kimchi, to inhibit H. pylori growth. The effects of L. paracasei HP7 on H. pylori adhesion and H. pylori-induced inflammation were examined in AGS human gastric adenocarcinoma epithelial cells and a mouse model of H. pylori SS1 infection. L. paracasei HP7 reduced H. pylori adhesion to AGS cells and suppressed the inflammatory response in infected cells by downregulating interleukin-8. H. pylori colonization in the stomach of C57BL/6 mice was demonstrated by rapid urease test, and results showed significant decrease in mice post-treated with L. paracasei HP7. Additionally, L. paracasei HP7 decreased gastric inflammation and epithelial lesions in the stomach of H. pylori-infected mice. These results demonstrate that L. paracasei HP7 treatment can inhibit H. pylori growth and is thus a promising treatment for patients with gastric symptoms such as gastritis that are caused by H. pylori infection.

The Expression of TGF-beta1 in Patients with Chronic Atrophic Gastritis / 대한소화기내시경학회지

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Mucosal atrophy is defined as the loss of appropriate glands in the gastric mucosa; such a finding suggests that this malady is associated with an excessive ratio of apoptotic cells to proliferating epithelial cells. However, exactly why the genesis and progression of the atrophic changes takes place in the gastric mucosa of some, but not all of the subjects infected with H. pylori, is seldom described. TGF-beta1 (transforming growth factor-beta1) is a potent growth inhibitor in epithelial tissues, and it also induces apoptosis of epithelial cells. We evaluated its role in the pathogenesis of atrophic gastritis by analyzing the expression of TGF-beta1. METHODS: The subjects were 14 patients with chronic atrophic gastritis and 43 patients with chronic gastritis. The exclusion criteria were as follows; those patients who had a previous history of gastrectomy, PPI, H. pylori eradication, NSAIDs, stomach cancer and/or a severe bleeding tendency. Biopsy specimens were obtained from the antrum, angle and body of the stomach, respectively and we performed RT-PCR for determining the expression of TGF-beta1 mRNA with using an additional angle specimen. RESULTS: The clinical parameters were similar in both groups. The rate of H. pylori infection was also similar in both groups. The TGF-beta1 levels were significantly higher for the chronic atrophic gastritis group than for the chronic gastritis group. CONCLUSIONS: The results that the TGF-beta1 levels are significantly higher in the chronic atrophic gastritis group suggest that TGF-beta1 is associated with the development of atrophic gastritis. The apoptotic process induced by TGF-beta1 may be linked to the development of atrophic gastritis.

Clinical Usefulness of Glucocorticoid Receptor beta Expression and NF-kappa B Activity in Patients with Ulcerative Colitis / 대한소화기학회지

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Glucocorticoid resistance poses a challenging clinical problem in inflammatory bowel disease because more than one fourth of patients with severe ulcerative colitis do not respond to anti-inflammatory steroids. Recently, it has been reported that glucocorticoid response is related to the expression of human glucocorticoid receptor beta (hGRbeta) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB) activity. The aims of this study were to clarify whether these factors may predict the responsiveness before treatment. METHODS: Total RNA was extracted from peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) and colonic mucosa in 17 patients of ulcerative colitis before steroid administration. RNA was reverse transcribed and the resulting complementary DNA was amplified using specific primers for hGR alpha and beta. Concomitantly, NF-kappaB activity in colonic mucosa was assessed by immunohistochemical stain. RESULTS: The expression of hGRbeta mRNA was detected in 10 patients (58.8%) in PBMC and 8 patients (47.1%) in colon, respectively. Operations were performed in 5 patients due to steroid unresponsiveness. Only 5 of 17 patients (29.4%) were consistent in the expression of hGRbeta between PBMC and colon. Seven of 15 patients (46.7%) showed an alteration in the expression of hGRbeta in PBMC after glucocorticoid treatment. NF-kappaB activity was found in both epithelial cell and lamina propria in 12, epithelial cell alone in 1, lamina propria alone in 1 and all negative in 3 patients, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The expression of hGRbeta was discordant between PBMC and colon in the same patient and showed a change in the expession after the glucocorticoid treatment in nearly half. The expression of hGRbeta and colonic NF-kappaB activity patterns do not provide useful information about glucocorticoid response in patients with ulcerative colitis.

Relationship between duodenal ulcers and cagA, vacA, and iceA genotypes of Helicobacter pylori / 대한내과학회지

BACKGROUND: The aims of this study were to evaluate whether genotypes of Helicobacter pylori are different between the gastric antrum and duodenal bulb in order to assess the roles of duodenal H. pylori strains in development of duodenal ulcer. METHODS: Forty-eight H. pylori infected patients (duodenal ulcer 28, chronic gastritis 20) were included for the study. Biopsy specimens were taken separately from the antrum and duodenal bulb for the histologic examination and H. pylori culture. cagA, vacA, and iceA genotypes of H. pylori were examined by polymerase chain reaction and H. pylori DNA subtypes by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) fingerprinting. RESULTS: H. pylori genotypes were not significantly different between antrum and duodenal bulb of the duodenal ulcer and chronic gastritis. RAPD fingerprinting showed different H. pylori strains between the gastric antrum and duodenal bulb in 2 patients with duodenal ulcer. Most prevalent genotype was cagA+ vacA s1/m1 iceA1 in duodenal ulcer (15/16). CONCLUSION: The host factor or other genotypes may play the major roles in duodenal ulcerogenesis compared with H. pylori genotype itself.

A Case of Duodenal Relapse of Epstein-Barr Virus-positive, CD56-negative Extranodal NK/T-cell Lymphoma, Nasal Type / 대한소화기내시경학회지

Mature T-cell and natural killer-cell neoplasms account for 10 to 15% of all non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. Of the various subtypes of mature T-cell and NK-cell lymphomas, extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type (nasal type NK/T-L) is relatively more common among Asians including Koreans. Nasal type NK/T-L is an aggressive, Epstein-Barr virus-associated lymphoma with characteristic expression of NK-cell antigen CD56. In this report, we present an unusual case of EBV(+), CD56(-) NK/T-L of oropharynx which recurred in duodenum after the period of complete remission lasting for 10 years. A 58-year-old woman presented with 3 months history of abdominal pain. Gastroduodenoscopy showed the diffuse wall thickening with multiple ulcerations in bulb and proximal second portion of the duodenum. Pathological examination revealed the infiltration of atypical lymphocytes, which was positive for CD3, CD4, CD5, TIA-1, and EBV and was negative for CD15, CD20, and CD56, consistent with NK/T-L of mature T-cell origin. The past medical history included the presence of oropharyngeal mass 10 years earlier, which was diagnosed as polymorphic reticulosis. The mass resolved completely after the radiation therapy, and she remained free of the disease for 10 years. Upon review, the oropharyngeal biopsy showed an identical morphology and immunophenotype with duodenal lesion. In conclusion, we experienced an unusal case of NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type recured in the duodenum.

Effect of Retinoic Acid on the Differentiation and Lysozyme Expression in Human Airway Epithelial Cells / 대한이비인후과학회지

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Retinoic acid (RA)-deprived cultures of normal human tracheobronchial epithelial (NHTBE) cells became squamous metaplastic, failed to produce mucin and instead secreted or released large amounts of lysozyme (LZ). The purpose of this study was to elucidate the relationship between RA-deficiency induced squamous metaplasia and increased LZ as a function of time. MATERIALS AND METHOD:The change of lysozyme protein and lysozyme mRNA was investigated over time in cultures using passage-2 normal human tracheobronchial epithelial (NHTBE) cells and passage-2 normal human keratinocytes (NHK). The amount of lysozyme and mucin was measured with dot blot, message of lysozyme with RT-PCR, and cornifin mRNA with Northern blot. RESULTS: Lysozyme message levels were consistently higher in RA-sufficient than RA-deficient cultures. Intracellular and extracellular LZ increased to a peak on the day 16 and thereafter decreased in the RA-deficient cultures. LZ gene expression in the RA-deficient cultures was barely detectable on the day 7 but was clearly expressed between days 10 and 14, but thereafter message levels decreased markedly. On day 12, large numbers of cells began to exfoliate in the RA-deficient cultures. Extracellular LZ appeared simultaneously at the apical surface, presumably released from the exfoliated cells, which contained high concentrations of LZ. Intracellular LZ levels were more than 11 fold less in NHK cells compared to NHTBE cells. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that cellular accumulation of lysozyme protein is a unique feature of metaplastic squamous differentiation. Further studies are needed to find out what mechanisms are involved.

Rate of Synthesis and Degradation of Lysozyme Protein by Retinoic Acid in Normal Human Airway Epithelial Cells / 대한이비인후과학회지

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: We considered two possible mechanisms that might be responsible for the increased accumulation of lysozyme in retinoic acid (RA)-deficient cultures, either increased lysozyme synthesis or decreased lysozyme degradation based on our previous data. This study was to determine whether the synthesis and decay rate of intracellular lysozyme in RA-sufficient cultures are different from those in RA-deficient cultures. MATERIALS AND METHOD: Passage-2 normal human airway epithelial cells were used. For synthesis rate of lysozyme, day 10 RA-deficient and RA-sufficient cultures, incubated over 6 hour period with 35S-methionine-cysteine and cell lysates, were collected. For decay rate, day 10 cultures grown in the presence or absence of RA were labeled with 35S-methionine-cysteine for 4 hours and the labeling media were then removed. Cell extracts were collected over 8 hours. Newly synthesized or labeled lysozyme was immunoprecipitated with anti-lysozyme antibody and separated by SDS-PAGE. RESULTS: Lysozyme synthesis rate in RA-sufficient cultures was higher than in RA-deficient cultures. In the RA-deficient cultures, the levels of newly synthesized lysozyme barely changed over the 8 hour post-labeling period. In contrast, in the RA-sufficient cultures, radiolabeled lysozyme levels decreased rapidly during the 8 hour post-labeling period, with a half-life of approximately 6 hours. CONCLUSION: Discrepancy in mRNA and protein of lysozyme in RA-deficient cultures is due to the increased stability of lysozyme protein in RA-deficient cultures.

A Case of a Granular Cell Tumor of the Stomach / 대한소화기내시경학회지

Granular cell tumors of the gastrointestinal tract are uncommon, and the esophagus is the gastrointestinal site most frequently affected. Such tumors are rarely seen in the stomach, colon, or rectum. Azzopardi first described a granular cell tumor of the stomach in 1956. Since then a few gastric granular cell tumors have been reported in corresponding literature. It is believed that there have been no reported case of a granular cell tumor of the stomach in Korea. Subsequently one case of a granular cell tumor of the stomach in 38 year-old female who complained epigastric soreness is herein reported, and was successfully managed by endoscopic resection.

A Case of Murine Typhus Acquired in a Laboratory / 감염

Rickettia typhi is an obligate intracellular organism and usually seen microscopically as gram-negative pleomorphic coccobacilli. Murine typhus is an acute febrile illness caused by R. typhi and transmitted to human by fleas. Fever, skin rash, headache, and myalgia characterize the clinical illness. The risk for laboratory personnel is from exposure to infectious aerosols, accidental inoculation, or exposure to bites by infected ectoparasites. A 27-year old man was admitted to the hospital because of fever and myalgia. He had worked with R. typhi in a laboratory and was exposed to R. typhi 10 days ago. The present illness began seven days before admission, when he developed high fever and conjunctival injection. One day before admission, he developed generalized erythematous skin rash and generalized edema. Immunofluorescence test with rickettsial antigen was positive at 1:4,096 on admission. He received 200 mg of doxycycline for 7 days and became afebrile on the third day after treatment.

Lectin binding patterns in the nasal epithelium of growing guinea pigs / 대한이비인후과학회지

No abstract available.

Immunohistochemical localization of lysozyme in the inferior turbinate mucosa / 대한이비인후과학회지

No abstract available.