Chemical modification of santonin into a diacetoxy acetal form confers the ability to induce differentiation of human promyelocytic leukemia cells via the down-regulation of NF-kappaB DNA binding activity.

Many sesquiterpene lactone compounds either induce or enhance the cell differentiation of human leukemia cells. However, we reported in a previous study that santonin, a eudesmanolide sesquiterpene lactone, exerts no effects on the differentiation of leukemia cells. In this report, to evaluate the possibility of chemically modifying santonin into its derivatives with differentiation inducing activity, we synthesized a series of santonin derivatives, and determined their effects on cellular differentiation in the human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cell system.

Fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy in patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma.

Objective: The purpose of our study was to evaluate the feasibility and treatment outcomes of fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) for primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: We enrolled 20 patients who had been histologically diagnosed as HCC patients and treated by fractionated SRT. Tumor size was 2-6.

Synthesis of diacetoxy acetal derivatives of santonin and their enhancing effects on HL-60 leukemia cell differentiation.

Several diacetoxy acetal analogues have been synthesized from santonin and assessed for their ability of inducing or enhancing the differentiation of human HL-60 leukemia cells. The compounds themselves had little effect on HL-60 cell differentiation. However, three analogues, 2a, 3a, and 5b, synergistically enhanced 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25-(OH)2D3]-induced HL-60 cell differentiation when combined with 5 nM of dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25-(OH)2D3], a well-known differentiation inducer.

Intracerebral hemorrhage-induced brain injury is aggravated in senescence-accelerated prone mice.

Background And Purpose: In cerebral stroke, the overall mortality rate of older individuals is higher than that of younger individuals. We therefore investigated aging-related changes in brain tissue damage and immune response in response to intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in mice.

Methods: ICH was induced by microinjecting autologous whole blood (5 microL) into the striatum of 4- or 14-month-old senescence-accelerated prone (SAMP8) mice or senescence-accelerated resistant (SAMR1) mice.

Genomic epidemiology cohorts in Korea: present and the future.

Human genome epidemiology involves the application of genetic technology to assess the impact of variations at the DNA level on health and disease. Recent developments in molecular biology allow epidemiologists to use biomarkers to determine an individuals predisposition to disease and to detect disease at an early stage. Moreover, advances in genomics and proteomics could play a central role in research into disease prediction and prevention.

Long-term growth of pediatric patients following living-donor liver transplantation.

In order to determine the influence of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) on long-term growth, we studied the progress of 36 children who had survived more than 5 yr after LDLT from 1994 to 1999. The median age at the transplantation was 1.5 yr (range: 6 months-15 yr) and the median follow-up period was 6.

Effect of nutrient intake and Helicobacter pylori infection on gastric cancer in Korea: a case-control study.

To examine the effects of dietary factor and Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection with emphasis on vitamin intake on the risk of gastric cancer (GC), we conducted a case-control study in South Korea, a high-risk area for GC. Trained dietitians interviewed 136 cases histologically diagnosed with GC.

Educational disparities in the metabolic syndrome in a rapidly changing society--the case of South Korea.

Background: Most of the evidence about socioeconomic inequalities in the metabolic syndrome comes from Western industrialized societies. The aim of this study is to examine how the inequalities appear and what could explain them in Korea, a rapidly changing society.

Methods: We analysed the nationwide survey data of 1998 and 2001 with a sample of 4630 men and 5896 women (> or = 25 years).

Familial amyloid polyneuropathy in Korea: the first case report with a proven ATTR Lys35Asn gene.

A 39-year-old man with progressive peripheral neuropathy and autonomic failure showed amyloid deposition on sural nerve biopsy. Direct DNA sequencing of the TTR gene revealed a G to T mutation, causing a Lys to Asn substitution at position 35. This is the first FAP case in Korea which was diagnosed by a DNA test.

Nitrosonium-catalyzed decomposition of s-nitrosothiols in solution: a theoretical and experimental study.

The decomposition of S-nitrosothiols (RSNO) in solution under oxidative conditions is significantly faster than can be accounted for by homolysis of the S-N bond. Here we propose a cationic chain mechanism in which nitrosation of nitrosothiol produces a nitrosated cation that, in turn, reacts with a second nitrosothiol to produce nitrosated disulfide and the NO dimer. The nitrosated disulfide acts as a source of nitrosonium for nitrosothiol nitrosation, completing the catalytic cycle.

Kunitz-type serine protease inhibitor from potato (Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Jopung).

An antifungal protein, AFP-J, was purified from tubers of the potato (Solanum tuberosum cv. L Jopung) by various chromatographic columns. AFP-J strongly inhibited yeast fungal strains, including Candida albicans, Trichosporon beigelii, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, whereas it exhibited no activity against crop fungal pathogens.

Iron porphyrins anchored to a thermosensitive polymeric core-shell nanosphere as a thermotropic catalyst.

A thermosensitive nanocatalyst was prepared in the reaction of water-soluble iron(III) porphyrins and thermosensitive polymeric nanospheres with a core-shell structure; its catalytic activity in cyclohexene oxidation by iodosylbenzene was dependent markedly on reaction temperatures in aqueous solution.

Two missense mutations of EGR2 R359W and GJB1 V136A in a Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease family.

During mutational analysis of Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) causative genes, we identified a CMT family with two missense mutations in different genes. A R359W mutation in EGR2 was shared by the affected daughter (proband) and her father. In addition, she had a V136A mutation in GJB1, which was determined to be a de novo mutation.

Comparison of serum lipid levels among Korean, Korean-Chinese, and Han-Chinese adolescents.

Purpose: To follow offspring of emigrants from Korea to China to assess the effects of obesity and urbanization/westernization on atherogenic risk profiles. Obesity and serum lipid levels during adolescence are associated with risk for atherosclerotic diseases during adulthood, but the effect of obesity on serum lipid levels in relatively lean populations is unclear, particularly among adolescents.

Methods: The correlation of anthropometric measures with serum lipids was assessed in 2345 adolescents aged 16 to 18 years (four study groups: Korean-Chinese, n = 701; Korean-Rural, n = 671; Korean-Urban, n = 523; and Han-Chinese, n = 450).

Developmental regulation and expression of the zebrafish connexin43 gene.

We cloned and sequenced the zebrafish (Danio rerio) connexin43 (Cx43alpha1) gene. The predicted protein sequence shows a high degree of sequence conservation. Transcript analyses revealed multiple transcription start sites and a potential alternative transcript encoding a N-terminally truncated Cx43alpha1 protein.

The diagnosis and management of benign hepatic tumors.

Benign hepatic tumors include a broad spectrum of regenerative and true neoplastic processes. Because of advances in imaging studies such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as well as progress in immunohistochemistry, accurate diagnosis can now be made in a large percentage of patients without surgical laparotomy or resection. This article will focus on the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and management of focal benign lesions of the liver.

Ciclopirox protects mitochondria from hydrogen peroxide toxicity.

1 The mitochondrial respiratory chain produces reactive oxygen species (ROS) during normal electron transport. Despite producing ROS, mitochondria are vulnerable to oxidative stress. Mitochondrial dysfunction has been associated with many degenerative diseases, making it important to identify compounds that protect mitochondria from ROS-mediated toxicity.

Plasma asymmetric dimethylarginine concentrations in newly diagnosed patients with acute myocardial infarction or unstable angina pectoris during two weeks of medical treatment.

A high concentration of plasma asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) has been associated with several risk factors for atherosclerosis, and this may increase the risk for acute coronary syndromes (ACSs). We measured plasma ADMA concentrations in patients who had newly diagnosed ACS (n = 48), and we followed the changes in ADMA concentrations during these patients' short-term medical therapy, which included various combination of drugs with or without percutaneous coronary interventions according to the needs of each patient. Concentrations of plasma ADMA were found to be high in patients who had ACS compared with 48 age-matched healthy control subjects (3.

Cotransplantation of marrow stromal cells may prevent lethal graft-versus-host disease in major histocompatibility complex mismatched murine hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Marrow stromal cells (MSC) produce a microenvironment supporting hematopoiesis and may contribute immune tolerance because of low immunogenicity and the suppressive effect of alloreactivity. We investigated whether cotransplantation of MSC could prevent lethal graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in major histocompatibility complex mismatched allogeneic murine hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) using female BALB/c (H-2d, recipient) and C3H/He (H-2k, donor) mice. MSC were obtained from C3H/He bone marrow cells (BMC).

Tcap gene mutations in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and dilated cardiomyopathy.

Objectives: We sought to explore the relationship between a Tcap gene (TCAP) abnormality and cardiomyopathy.

Background: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) cause severe heart failure and sudden death. Recent genetic investigations have revealed that mutations of genes encoding Z-disc components, including titin and muscle LIM protein (MLP), are the primary cause of both HCM and DCM.

Mutational analysis of PMP22, MPZ, GJB1, EGR2 and NEFL in Korean Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuropathy patients.

We examined CMT1A duplication of 17p11.2-p12, mutations of PMP22, MPZ (P0), GJB1 (Cx32), EGR2 and NEFL genes in 57 Korean families with patients diagnosed as having Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease. The CMT1A duplication was present in 53.

Hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies (HNPP) patients of Korean ancestry with chromosome 17p11.2-p12 deletion.

Hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies (HNPP) is an autosomal dominant inherited disorder characterized by recurrent pressure palsies. Most HNPP patients have a 1.5 mb deletion in chromosome 17p11.

Hyperhomocysteinemia as an independent risk factor for silent brain infarction.

Objective: To evaluate whether hyperhomocysteinemia is an independent risk factor for silent brain infarction (SBI), and to determine the relationship between homocysteine and folate in each type of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) polymorphism, in order to identify a way of reducing the risk for SBI.

Methods: The authors enrolled 161 patients with SBI and 126 healthy people, checked their fasting homocysteine and folate levels, and analyzed for the MTHFR C677T polymorphism.

Results: The mean plasma homocysteine level in patients with SBI (12.

Synthesis and antiviral activity of novel trans-2,2-dimethyl cyclopropyl nucleosides.

Novel trans-2,2-dimethylcyclopropyl nucleosides were synthesized as potential antiviral agents. The key intermediate, 3, was synthesized via five steps from ethyl chrysanthemate and condensed with purine bases using the Mitsunobu reaction to give six cyclopropyl nucleosides. These synthesized nucleosides did not show any significant antiviral activity against HSV-1, HSV-2, EMCV, Cox B3, or VSV, at concentrations up to 100 microM.

Homozygous C677T mutation in the MTHFR gene as an independent risk factor for multiple small-artery occlusions.

Introduction: Hyperhomocysteinemia is an independent risk factor for cerebrovascular disease and the homozygous C677T mutation in the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene can induce hyperhomocysteinemia. However, the association between this 677TT genotype and ischemic stroke still remains controversial. Therefore, we carried out this study to determine whether the MTHFR TT genotype is associated with certain subtypes of ischemic stroke.