Publications by authors named "Je-in Youn"

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) can self-renew and differentiate, contributing to tumor heterogeneity, metastasis, and recurrence. Their resistance to therapies, including immunotherapy, underscores the importance of targeting them for complete remission and relapse prevention. Olfactomedin 4 (OLFM4), a marker associated with various cancers such as colorectal cancer, is expressed on CSCs promoting immune evasion and tumorigenesis.

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Article Synopsis
  • Tuberculous pleural effusion (TPE) is a type of tuberculosis that can cause fluid build-up in the lungs, and it's common in areas where TB is widespread.
  • Researchers wanted to see if certain immune cells, called myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), can help tell the difference between TPE and another similar condition called parapneumonic pleural effusion (PPE).
  • They found that MDSCs were more common in cases of PPE, suggesting that measuring these cells can help doctors make better diagnoses between the two conditions.
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Inhibition of immune checkpoint proteins like programmed death 1 (PD-1) is a promising therapeutic approach for several cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Although PD-1 ligand (PD-L1) expression is used to predict anti-PD-1 therapy responses in NSCLC, its accuracy is relatively less. Therefore, we sought to identify a more accurate predictive blood biomarker for evaluating anti-PD-1 response.

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Type 2 diabetic nephropathy (T2DN) progresses with an increasingly inflammatory milieu, wherein various immune cells are relevant. Herein, we investigated the levels of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and their clinical implication in patients with T2DN. A total of 91 subjects (T2DN, n=80; healthy, n=11) were recruited and their PBMCs were used for flow cytometric analysis of polymorphonuclear (PMN-) and monocytic (M-) MDSCs, in addition to other immune cell subsets.

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As standard second-line regimen has not been established for patients who are refractory to or relapse with cisplatin-based chemotherapy, an effective class of novel chemotherapeutic agents is needed for cisplatin-resistant bladder cancer. Recent publications reported that MutT homolog 1 (MTH1) inhibitors suppress tumor growth and induce impressive therapeutic responses in a variety of human cancer cells. Few studies investigated the cytotoxic effects of MTH1 inhibitors in human bladder cancer.

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Over the past decade, immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy has demonstrated improved therapeutic efficacy in a wide range of cancers. However, the benefits are restricted to a small population of patients. Therefore, studies on understanding the mechanisms resistant to ICI therapy and for finding predictive biomarkers for ICI therapy are being actively conducted.

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Motesanib (AMG 706) is a small organic molecule that acts as a multi‑targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor of VEGF, PDGF and stem cell factor receptor. It exhibits a potent antitumor effect in vitro and in vivo. To investigate the anticancer effect and possible mechanisms of motesanib in cisplatin‑resistant human bladder cancer cells (T24R2), T24R2 cells were treated with motesanib (50 µM) with or without cisplatin (2.

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Despite the various roles of type I interferon (type I IFN) responses during bacterial infection, its specific effects have been poorly characterized in scrub typhus caused by infection. Here, we show that type I IFNs are primarily induced via intracellular nucleic acids sensors, including RIG-I/MAVS and cGAS/STING pathways, during invasion. However, type I IFN signaling did not significantly affect pathogenesis, mortality, or bacterial burden during primary infection , when assessed in a mice model lacking a receptor for type I IFNs (IFNAR KO).

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The use of inhibitory checkpoint blockade in the management of glioblastoma has been studied in both preclinical and clinical settings. TIGIT is a novel checkpoint inhibitor recently discovered to play a role in cancer immunity. In this study, we sought to determine the effect of anti-PD-1 and anti-TIGIT combination therapy on survival in a murine glioblastoma (GBM) model, and to elucidate the underlying immune mechanisms.

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Aim Of The Study: To identify proteins of which depletion are associated with the poor 6-month neurological outcome of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors.

Methods: Seven healthy volunteers and 34 out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and underwent targeted-temperature management were enrolled. According to the 6-month cerebral performance category (CPC) scale, patients were divided into the good (CPC 1-2) and poor (CPC 3-5) outcome groups.

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Polymorphonuclear myeloid-derived suppressor cells (PMN-MDSC) are important regulators of immune responses in cancer and have been directly implicated in promotion of tumor progression. However, the heterogeneity of these cells and lack of distinct markers hampers the progress in understanding of the biology and clinical importance of these cells. Using partial enrichment of PMN-MDSC with gradient centrifugation we determined that low density PMN-MDSC and high density neutrophils from the same cancer patients had a distinct gene profile.

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Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is a well-characterized anti-inflammatory cytokine, but its role in anti-cancer immunity is controversial. After injection with TC-1 cancer cells, we observed more rapid tumour growth and significantly higher interleukin-6 (IL-6) production in IL-10 knockout (IL-10(-/-)) mice than wild-type (WT) mice. Blocking IL-6 with an anti-IL-6 receptor (IL-6R) monoclonal antibody (mAb) inhibited tumour growth and myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC) generation, which were significantly increased in IL-10-deficient mice.

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DNA methylation in promoter region can be a new chemopreventive marker against polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). We performed a randomized, double blind and cross-over trial (N=12 healthy females) to evaluate chlorella (Chlorella vulgaris)-induced epigenetic modulation on exposure to PAHs. The subjects consumed 4 tablets of placebo or chlorella supplement (total chlorophyll ≈ 8.

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Accumulation of pathologically activated immature myeloid cells with potent immune-suppressive activity is one of the major immunological hallmarks of cancer. In recent years, it became clear that in addition to their immune-suppressive activity, myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) influence tumor progression in a variety of ways. They are directly implicated in the promotion of tumor metastases by participating in the formation of premetastatic niches, promoting angiogenesis and tumor cell invasion.

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Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), a heterogeneous population of cells capable of suppressing anti-tumor T cell function in the tumor microenvironment, represent an imposing obstacle in the development of cancer immunotherapeutics. Thus, identifying elements essential to the development and perpetuation of these cells will undoubtedly improve our ability to circumvent their suppressive impact. HDAC11 has emerged as a key regulator of IL-10 gene expression in myeloid cells, suggesting that this may represent an important targetable axis through which to dampen MDSC formation.

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Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) dampen the immune response thorough inhibition of T cell activation and proliferation and often are expanded in pathological conditions. Here, we studied the fate of MDSCs in cancer. Unexpectedly, MDSCs had lower viability and a shorter half-life in tumor-bearing mice compared with neutrophils and monocytes.

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Functionally altered myeloid cells play an important role in immune suppression in cancer, in angiogenesis, and in tumor cells' invasion and metastases. Here, we report that inhibition of Notch signaling in hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPC), myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC), and dendritic cells is directly involved in abnormal myeloid cell differentiation in cancer. Inhibition of Notch signaling was caused by the disruption of the interaction between Notch receptor and transcriptional repressor CSL, which is normally required for efficient transcription of target genes.

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Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are age-dependent stem cell malignancies that share biological features of activated adaptive immune response and ineffective hematopoiesis. Here we report that myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC), which are classically linked to immunosuppression, inflammation, and cancer, were markedly expanded in the bone marrow of MDS patients and played a pathogenetic role in the development of ineffective hematopoiesis. These clonally distinct MDSC overproduce hematopoietic suppressive cytokines and function as potent apoptotic effectors targeting autologous hematopoietic progenitors.

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Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are a heterogeneous group of myeloid cells that play a major role in the regulation of immune responses in many pathological conditions. These cells have a common myeloid origin, relatively immature state, common genetic and biochemical profiles, and, most importantly, the ability to inhibit immune responses. Although initial studies of MDSCs were almost exclusively performed in tumor-bearing mice or cancer patients, in recent years, it became clear that MDSCs play a critical role in the regulation of different types of inflammation that are not directly associated with cancer.

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Two major populations of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), monocytic MDSCs (M-MDSCs) and polymorphonuclear MDSCs (PMN-MDSCs) regulate immune responses in cancer and other pathologic conditions. Under physiologic conditions, Ly6C(hi)Ly6G(-) inflammatory monocytes, which are the normal counterpart of M-MDSCs, differentiate into macrophages and dendritic cells. PMN-MDSCs are the predominant group of MDSCs that accumulates in cancer.

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Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) play a major role in cancer-related immune suppression, yet the nature of this suppression remains controversial. In this study, we evaluated the ability of MDSCs to elicit CD4(+) T-cell tolerance in different mouse tumor models. In contrast to CD8(+) T-cell tolerance, which could be induced by MDSCs in all the tumor models tested, CD4(+) T-cell tolerance could be elicited in only one of the models (MC38) in which a substantial level of MHC class II was expressed on MDSCs compared with control myeloid cells.

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MDSCs are a group of cells with potent immune-suppressive activity. These cells accumulate in many pathologic conditions and play a major role in the regulation of immune responses. The nature of MDSC remains highly debatable.

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Cancer immunotherapeutic approaches induce tumor-specific immune responses, in particular CTL responses, in many patients treated. However, such approaches are clinically beneficial to only a few patients. We set out to investigate one possible explanation for the failure of CTLs to eliminate tumors, specifically, the concept that this failure is not dependent on inhibition of T cell function.

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