Novel FRET-based Immunological Synapse Biosensor for the Prediction of Chimeric Antigen Receptor-T Cell Function.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy has revolutionized cancer treatment. CARs are activated at the immunological synapse (IS) when their single-chain variable fragment (scFv) domain engages with an antigen, allowing them to directly eliminate cancer cells. Here, an innovative IS biosensor based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) for the real-time assessment of CAR-IS architecture and signaling competence is presented.

Three-dimensional genome architecture persists in a 52,000-year-old woolly mammoth skin sample.

Analyses of ancient DNA typically involve sequencing the surviving short oligonucleotides and aligning to genome assemblies from related, modern species. Here, we report that skin from a female woolly mammoth (†Mammuthus primigenius) that died 52,000 years ago retained its ancient genome architecture. We use PaleoHi-C to map chromatin contacts and assemble its genome, yielding 28 chromosome-length scaffolds.

Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus Engineered by Serine Substitution on the 44th Amino Acid of GP5 Resulted in a Potential Vaccine Candidate with the Ability to Produce High Levels of Neutralizing Antibody.

N-linked glycans covering GP5 neutralizing epitopes of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) have been proposed to act as a sheath blocking the production of neutralizing antibodies. Herein, we genetically engineered PRRSV with serine (S) substitution on the 44th asparagine (N) on the GP5 ectodomain of PRRSV-2 lineage-1. To evaluate the recombinant PRRSV, in vivo experiments were performed in piglets.

Recombinant African Swine Fever Virus Arm/07/CBM/c2 Lacking CD2v and A238L Is Attenuated and Protects Pigs against Virulent Korean Paju Strain.

African swine fever (ASF) is an obligated declaration swine disease, provoking farm isolation measures and the closing of affected country boarders. ASF virus (ASFV) is currently the cause of a pandemic across China and Eurasia. By the end of 2019, ASF was detected in nine EU Member States: Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Belgium.

Prospective longitudinal analysis of antibody response after standard and booster doses of SARS-COV2 vaccination in patients with early breast cancer.

Introduction: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its variants brought waves of pandemics with breakthrough infections in vaccinated individuals. We analyzed the antibody responses after primary and booster vaccination in healthy controls (HC) and patients with early breast cancer (BC).

Methods: In this prospective longitudinal cohort study, the binding activity of serum antibody level against spike proteins and antigens of SARS-CoV-2 variants was measured within 21 days after each vaccination in the BC group and HC group.

Chronic Disease Management for People With Hypertension.

To assess the effectiveness of continuity of care policies by identifying the impact of a chronic disease management program on the continuity of care in patients with hypertension in South Korea. The propensity score matching method was used to control selection bias, and the difference-in-differences method was used to compare the impact on the treatment and control groups according to the policy intervention. The continuity of care index of hypertensive patients using the difference-in-differences analysis outcome of the chronic disease management program was higher than that of the non-participating hypertensive patients.

Development of a Chimeric Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV)-2 Vaccine Candidate Expressing Hypo-Glycosylated Glycoprotein-5 Ectodomain of Korean Lineage-1 Strain.

Vaccination is a practical method to provide protection against porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), but current PRRSV vaccines show limited efficacy against divergent field strains. Lineage 1 PRRSV includes virulent strains such as NADC30 and MN184 and now has become one of the most prevalent viruses in Korea. Accordingly, there is an urgent need to develop a new vaccine for Korean lineage-1 strains.

Acute and chronic health risk assessment for inhalation and ingestion exposure in acrylic acid leak accidents.

We established a hypothetical acrylic acid leak accident scenario, conducted a health risk assessment of local residents, and compared an actual accident case to the hypothetical scenario. The exposed subjects were divided into four age groups, and a noncarcinogenic health risk assessment was conducted for inhalation and soil ingestion. In the hypothetical scenario, 40 tons of acrylic acid was leaked in Ulsan for 1 h from midnight on January 1, 2017.

A chimeric porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV)-2 vaccine is safe under international guidelines and effective both in experimental and field conditions.

Vaccination is currently the most effective strategy to control porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS). New-generation PRRS vaccines are required to be safe and broadly cross-protective. We have recently created the chimeric PRRS virus K418DM which proved to be a good vaccine candidate under field conditions.

Race- and Isolate-specific Molecular Marker Development through Genome-Realignment Enables Detection of Korean Isolates, Causal agents of Clubroot Disease.

Clubroot is one of the most economically important diseases of the family. Clubroot disease is caused by the obligate parasite , which is difficult to study because it is non-culturable in the laboratory and its races are genetically variable worldwide. In Korea, there are at least five races that belongs to four pathotype groups.

Evaluation and optimization of a conventional SPCE for FMD post-vaccination monitoring.

Background: Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) can be controlled by either stamping out or vaccination, a choice which depends on both the economic importance of the livestock sector as well as the disease status. In FMD-free countries with vaccination, such as Korea, vaccination programs should guarantee prevention against transmission of FMD. Monitoring of vaccination programs is also essential for ensuring sufficient coverage that will limit the transmission of FMDV.

5-year oncological outcomes of targeted axillary sampling in pT1-2N1 breast cancer.

Background: axillary lymph nodes dissection (ALND) has been a standard treatment in breast cancer with positive sentinel LNs. However, various short- and long-term postoperative morbidities have been reported after conventional ALND. To define the concept of targeted axillary sampling (AS) and to assess its oncological feasibility for breast cancer.

Cadaver skin allograft may improve mortality rate for burns involving over 30% of total body surface area: a propensity score analysis of data from four burn centers.

Cadaver skin is used for temporary wound covering, but there is insufficient evidence regarding its clinical usefulness in patients with major burns. We aimed to analyze the effect of cadaveric skin allograft on mortality rates in patients with burns involving > 30% of total body surface area (TBSA). Our study included 1282 patients with > 30% of TBSA burned admitted to four hospitals in Korea between June 1, 2008 and December 31, 2016.

Specific capture, recovery and culture of cancer cells using oriented antibody-modified polystyrene chips coated with agarose film.

Agarose gel can be used for three dimensional (3D) cell culture because it prevents cell attachment. The dried agarose film coated on a culture plate also protected cell attachment and allowed 3D growth of cancer cells. We developed an efficient method for agarose film coating on an oxygen-plasma treated micropost polystyrene chip prepared by an injection molding process.

Covalent and Oriented Surface Immobilization of Antibody Using Photoactivatable Antibody Fc-Binding Protein Expressed in Escherichia coli.

Fc-specific antibody binding proteins (FcBPs) with the minimal domain of protein G are widely used for immobilization of well-oriented antibodies onto solid surfaces, but the noncovalently bound antibodies to FcBPs are unstable in sera containing large amounts of antibodies. Here we report novel photoactivatable FcBPs with photomethionine (pMet) expressed in E. coli, which induce Fc-specific photo-cross-linking with antibodies upon UV irradiation.

Effect of a Brown Rice Based Vegan Diet and Conventional Diabetic Diet on Glycemic Control of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A 12-Week Randomized Clinical Trial.

Objective: Several intervention studies have suggested that vegetarian or vegan diets have clinical benefits, particularly in terms of glycemic control, in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D); however, no randomized controlled trial has been conducted in Asians who more commonly depend on plant-based foods, as compared to Western populations. Here, we aimed to compare the effect of a vegan diet and conventional diabetic diet on glycemic control among Korean individuals.

Materials And Methods: Participants diagnosed with T2D were randomly assigned to follow either a vegan diet (excluding animal-based food including fish; n = 46) or a conventional diet recommended by the Korean Diabetes Association 2011 (n = 47) for 12 weeks.

Changes in Ultrastructure and Sensory Characteristics on Electro-magnetic and Air Blast Freezing of Beef during Frozen Storage.

The ultrastructure in the beef muscle of the electro-magnetic resonance and air blast freezing during the frozen storage, and the changes in the quality characteristics after thawing were evaluated. The size of ice crystal was small and evenly formed in the initial freezing period, and it showed that the size was increased as the storage period was elapsed (p<0.05).

Activation of Nrf2 by dimethyl fumarate improves vascular calcification.

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) has several pharmacological benefits including immunomodulation and prevention of fibrosis, which are dependent on the NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) antioxidant pathways. Therefore, we hypothesized that DMF could attenuate vascular calcification via Nrf2 activation. Vascular calcification induced by hyperphosphataemia was significantly inhibited by DMF in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in a dose-dependent manner.

Serum irisin levels in new-onset type 2 diabetes.

Aims: Irisin has been identified as a novel myokine that drives brown-fat-like conversion of white adipose tissue. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated whether serum irisin levels are decreased in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) compared with control subjects with normal glucose tolerance (NGT), and assessed the association between serum irisin levels and various metabolic parameters.

Methods: The study population was selected from a population-based study and included 104 subjects with NGT and 104 subjects with new-onset T2D.

A large cohort of consecutive patients confirmed frequent HER2 positivity in gastric carcinomas with advanced stages.

Background: Trastuzumab in association with systemic cytotoxic chemotherapy is the standard of care for patients with advanced HER2-positive gastric carcinoma (GC). However, HER2 as a prognostic factor in GC remains controversial.

Methods: HER2 overexpression and amplification was evaluated by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and silver in situ hybridization (SISH) in 2,798 GCs obtained from 2,727 gastrectomy and 71 open/laparoscopic biopsy specimens from patients with peritoneal seeding.

Dimethylfumarate attenuates renal fibrosis via NF-E2-related factor 2-mediated inhibition of transforming growth factor-β/Smad signaling.

TGF-β plays a key role in the development of renal fibrosis. Suppressing the TGF-β signaling pathway is a possible therapeutic approach for preventing this disease, and reports have suggested that Nrf2 protects against renal fibrosis by inhibiting TGF-β signaling. This study examines whether dimethylfumarate (DMF), which stimulates Nrf2, prevents renal fibrosis via the Nrf2-mediated suppression of TGF-β signaling.

Association of the DDAH2 gene polymorphism with type 2 diabetes and hypertension.

Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the polymorphism of DDAH2 is associated with type 2 diabetes and hypertension in Korean population.

Methods: Total 605 subjects were included in this study: 403 patients with type 2 diabetes and 202 non-diabetic control subjects. The SNP rs805304 and rs2272592 in DDAH2 were analyzed.

Mediation of glucolipotoxicity in INS-1 rat insulinoma cells by small heterodimer partner interacting leucine zipper protein (SMILE).

Sustained elevations of glucose and free fatty acid concentration have deleterious effects on pancreatic beta cell function. One of the hallmarks of such glucolipotoxicity is a reduction in insulin gene expression, resulting from decreased insulin promoter activity. Sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c), a lipogenic transcription factor, is related to the development of beta cell dysfunction caused by elevated concentrations of glucose and free fatty acid.

Relationship of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 and hexose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase gene polymorphisms with metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.

11β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (HSD11B1), which converts inactive glucocorticoid to active glucocorticoid, plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of visceral obesity, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes. Hexose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (H6PD) supplies a crucial cofactor, reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH), which allows HSD11B1 to maintain reductase activity. The association of common SNPs in HSD11B1 [IVS3-29G/T (rs12086634), IVS4-11120A/G (rs1000283)] and H6PD [R453Q (rs6688832), P554L (rs17368528)], either separately or combined, with type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome was examined in 427 Korean subjects with type 2 diabetes and in 358 nondiabetic Korean subjects.