Publications by authors named "Jong Uk Lee"
Article Synopsis
- The study explores how particulate matter (PM) air pollution affects lung health by using a mouse model to analyze cellular responses and gene expression changes after exposure to road dust.
- Mice were exposed to a controlled level of PM10 for 21 days, leading to increased proinflammatory markers, lung inflammation, and specific gene expression changes related to fatty acid metabolism and oxidative stress.
- The research reveals critical genes and pathways affected by road dust exposure, enhancing our understanding of how air pollution may contribute to lung diseases.
Article Synopsis
- The study examines the relationship between lung texture features visible in CT scans and the prognosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), focusing on parameters like honeycombing and reticulation.
- Automated analysis of CT images identified three distinct clusters of IPF patients based on survival rates, with Cluster 1 showing the best prognosis and Cluster 2 and 3 having poorer outcomes correlated with longer reticulation and honeycombing.
- The findings suggest that using quantitative CT analysis can help predict clinical outcomes in IPF and may assist in identifying patients at higher risk for complications.
Article Synopsis
- Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is marked by abnormal lung tissue remodeling and surplus extracellular matrix proteins, with increased levels of ornithine aminotransferase (OAT) found in patients.
- Research indicates that OAT plays a significant role in IPF's progression, influencing extracellular matrix production and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in lung fibroblasts.
- Inhibiting OAT showed promise in reducing lung injury and fibrosis in mice treated with bleomycin, suggesting that targeting OAT could be a potential therapeutic approach for patients with fibrotic lung diseases like IPF.
Genetic variation and epigenetic factors are thought to contribute to the development of hypersensitivity to aspirin. DNA methylation fluctuates dynamically throughout the day. To discover new CpG methylation in lymphocytes associated with aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD), we evaluated changes in global CpG methylation profiles from before to after an oral aspirin challenge in patients with AERD and aspirin-tolerant asthma (ATA).
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- A new biosensor using a single plasmonic asymmetric nanobridge (PAN) has been developed to differentiate between mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) by analyzing phosphorylated tau proteins (p-tau) in blood samples.
- The PAN biosensor features a unique design that enhances sensitivity, allowing it to detect very low levels of p-tau, which is closely related to the progression of AD.
- By incorporating machine learning techniques, the diagnostic system achieves a high accuracy rate of 94.47% in predicting health status among individuals, indicating its potential for early detection of Alzheimer's disease.
Article Synopsis
- The rise of emerging infectious diseases has increased the need for effective point-of-care testing methods to quickly diagnose and manage these diseases.
- Current testing methods like lateral flow immunoassays (LFIA) often yield inaccurate results due to low sensitivity.
- The new surface-enhanced Raman scattering-based LFIA (SERS-LFIA) utilizes specially designed nanoprobes to detect SARS-CoV-2 antibodies with high accuracy and sensitivity, demonstrating its potential as a reliable diagnostic tool for infectious diseases.
Background: Neutrophilic inflammation is a characteristic feature of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). S100 calcium-binding protein A9 (S100A9) is a neutrophil-derived protein involved in the development of neutrophil-related chronic inflammatory disorders. However, the role of S100A9 in IPF remains unclear.
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- - Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) arises from unresolved inflammation due to toxic environmental factors, with particulate matter (PM) being a major risk factor, but the mechanism was previously unclear.
- - In experiments using a mouse model, repeated exposure to PM led to chronic inflammation driven by macrophages and decreased levels of certain enzymes involved in NAD synthesis, caused by changes in how genes are regulated.
- - Resveratrol, a natural compound that activates SIRT1, was shown to reduce PM-induced inflammation and COPD progression, suggesting that targeting metabolic and epigenetic shifts in macrophages may offer new treatments for COPD.
Serological detection of antibodies for diagnosing infectious diseases has advantages in facile diagnostic procedures, thereby contributing to controlling the spread of the pathogen, such as in the recent SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) is a representative serological antibody detection method suitable for on-site applications but suffers from low clinical accuracy. To achieve a simple and rapid serological screening as well as the sensitive quantification of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, a colorimetric and fluorescent dual-mode serological LFIA sensor incorporating metal-enhanced fluorescence (MEF) was developed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNovel genetic and epigenetic factors involved in the development and prognosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) have been identified. We previously observed that erythrocyte membrane protein band 4.1-like 3 () increased in the lung fibroblasts of IPF patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: A subset of asthmatics suffers from persistent airflow limitation, known as remodeled asthma, despite optimal treatment. Typical quantitative scoring methods to evaluate structural changes of airway remodeling on high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) are time-consuming and laborious. Thus, easier and simpler methods are required in clinical practice.
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- Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a complicated neurodegenerative condition that is difficult to diagnose early due to a lack of effective biomarkers and accessible diagnostic tools like neuroimaging.
- Exosomes in body fluids, especially exosomal miRNAs (exomiRs), show potential as reliable biomarkers for AD because their expression patterns differ between patients and healthy individuals.
- A new plasmonic nanoarchitecture-based biosensor has been developed to detect exomiRs in serum samples at very low levels, achieving high accuracy in classifying individuals with AD, mild cognitive impairment, or as healthy controls, thus improving early diagnosis and treatment possibilities.
Background: Aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD), an asthma phenotype, often presents with severe manifestations and it remains widely underdiagnosed because of insufficient awareness of the relationship between the ingestion of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, including acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), and asthma exacerbation. Our previous genome-wide association study demonstrated an association between a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the ATP8B3 gene and the risk of AERD. This study examined AERD-related SNPs of the ATP8B3 gene in a large population.
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- Researchers are developing ChE and MAO inhibitors to treat Alzheimer's disease, synthesizing 15 new chemical derivatives to evaluate their effectiveness.
- Compound 896 emerged as the strongest inhibitor for butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), while compound 897 was the top inhibitor for monoamine oxidase-B (MAO-B), showing significant selectivity and potency.
- Both compounds displayed low cytotoxicity in normal and neuroblastoma cells, indicating their potential as safe therapeutic options for neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's.
Article Synopsis
- Neutrophilia, an increase in neutrophils, is commonly found in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and this study focuses on the role of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) in this condition.
- The researchers measured G-CSF concentrations in the BALF of various lung disease patients and found higher levels in those with IPF compared to healthy controls, indicating its potential involvement in IPF progression.
- High levels of G-CSF were associated with poorer survival rates and more significant declines in lung function, suggesting it could serve as a valuable prognostic marker for IPF.
Article Synopsis
- - The study investigates DNA CpG methylation changes in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) of patients with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug-exacerbated respiratory disease (NERD) compared to aspirin-tolerant asthma (ATA) patients, highlighting the immune system's involvement in NERD.
- - Analysis of PBLs revealed 56 hypermethylated and 3 hypomethylated CpG sites specific to NERD, with a predictive model showing high accuracy (84.3%) for identifying methylation risk.
- - The findings indicate that PBLs in NERD exhibit a distinct methylation pattern, which may lead to new predictive tools for understanding NERD and its immune
Excessive oxidative stress causes lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP), which leads to cell death. Vacuolar ATPase (V-ATPase) is the enzyme responsible for pumping H into the cytosol and thus maintaining intracellular pH. Previously, we reported that V-ATPase B2 subunit expression is upregulated in the TiO-exposed lung epithelium.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Exacerbation of asthma is affected by genetic and environmental factors, but little is known about genetic differences according to smoking status. We evaluated genetic factors associated with asthma exacerbations in smokers and non-smokers, and identified the underlying mechanisms via a genome-wide association study (GWAS) and gene-level analyses according to smoking status.
Methods: A GWAS on the annual frequency of asthma exacerbations was performed in 420 non-smoking and 188 smoking patients with asthma.
The urinary exosomal miRNAs are recently emerging prostate cancer (PC)-associated biomarkers for the early-stage diagnosis and prognosis due to their non-invasiveness, inherent stability and the representation of the status of the originated cells. However, developing a urinary exosomal miRNA detection method with high accuracy is challenging because of the low abundance and high sequence homology of miRNAs. Herein, we present a quantitative and label-free miRNA sensing platform using surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) based on three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical plasmonic nano-architecture to detect urinary exosomal miRNAs.
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- Toluene diisocyanate (TDI) can cause occupational asthma by creating oxidative stress that harms tissues and causes inflammation; researchers investigated the link between specific GST gene genotypes and TDI-induced asthma.
- The study involved 26 asthmatics who reacted positively to TDI and 27 who did not; findings showed that the GSTM1 null genotype was more prevalent in those with positive TDI responses, suggesting a genetic predisposition to TDI-OA.
- Results indicated that individuals with certain GST gene variants had lower glutathione transferase levels post-TDI challenge, implying that these genetic markers could be important in diagnosing and assessing risk for TDI-induced occupational asthma.
Article Synopsis
- Blood-based detection of Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarkers is gaining traction as a less invasive alternative to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) methods, but challenges like low biomarker concentration and interfering proteins remain.
- A new SERS-based sensor has been developed to detect tau protein in plasma samples from AD patients, achieving a remarkable detection limit of 3.21 fM through the use of specially designed antibody fragments and gold nanopillar substrates.
- This ultrasensitive platform not only accurately quantifies tau protein but also distinguishes AD patients from healthy individuals, making it a promising tool for early diagnosis and point-of-care testing in clinical settings.
Background: Asthma exacerbation threatens patient's life. Several genetic studies have been conducted to determine the risk factors for asthma exacerbation, but this information is still lacking. We aimed to determine whether genetic variants of Oxidative Stress Responsive Kinase 1 (OXSR1), a gene with functions of salt transport, immune response, and oxidative stress, are associated with exacerbation of asthma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlzheimer's disease (AD), the most common neurologic disorder, is characterized by progressive cognitive impairment. However, the low clinical significance of the currently used core AD biomarkers amyloid-beta and tau proteins remains a challenge. Recently, exosomes, found in human biological fluids, are gaining increasing attention because of their clinical significance in diagnosing of various diseases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis corrects the article on p. e272 in vol. 35, PMID: 32808511.
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