Publications by authors named "Kam-fai Lee"

, a consumable mushroom, has shown a potential to enhance the production of neuroprotective bioactive metabolites. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) often leads to cognitive, physical, and psychosocial impairments, resulting in neuroinflammation and the loss of cortical neurons. In this research, the effects of mycelium, its derivative erinacine C, along with the underlying mechanisms, were examined in terms of oxidative stress modulation and neurological improvement in a rat model of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).

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Background: Gastric IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is rarely encountered in clinical practice, and especially more so among pediatric patients. To our knowledge, this is the first report of IgG4-RD presenting as a calcifying gastric mass in a child. We describe how this entity was difficult to differentiate from a gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) imaging-based approaches.

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The development of microglial endotoxin tolerance (ET) is a critical event in protecting neurons against excessive immune responses when microglia are administered two consecutive lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenges. However, the intrinsic mechanisms of microglia shape ET programs and protect neurons remain unclear. This study aimed to determine whether extracellular autocrine cascades or intracellular signaling pathways are involved in ET microglia-mediated tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) reduction and neuroprotection.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study focuses on metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) and the transition of lymph node metastasis (LNM) from Stage II to Stage III, which is crucial for prognosis and treatment strategies.* -
  • Using advanced proteomic analysis (LC-MS/MS iTRAQ), researchers identified 48 proteins that are differentially expressed between non-LNM and LNM CRC samples, revealing specific protein markers pertinent to cancer progression.* -
  • Two key proteins, chromogranin-A (CHGA) and UCHL1, were found to influence cancer cell behavior, such as migration and invasiveness, and their inactivation affected various pathways crucial for CRC development.*
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Primary Sjögren syndrome (pSS) is a systemic autoimmune inflammatory disease. Up to now, the role of regulatory T cells (Tregs) and their subgroups in pSS is still in controversial. In this study we tried to elucidate the roles of Tregs and its subgroups in pSS.

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Background: Antrodin C, a maleimide derivative compound isolated from the ethanol extract of the mycelium of , is an endemic fungus of Taiwan and a potential chemoprotective agent. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the mode of action of antrodin C on cancer cells, especially in human colorectal cancer (CRC), remain unclear.

Methods: The cell death and ROS of the antrodin-C-treated HCT-116 cells were measured by annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide staining, DCFDA, and Fluo-3 fluorescence staining assays.

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Background/aims: A combination of fluorescence two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry approach was used to search for potential markers for prognosis and intervention of colorectal cancer (CRC) at different stages of lymph node metastasis (LMN). This quantitative proteomic survey aimed to investigate the LNM-associated proteins and evaluate the clinicopathological characteristics of these target proteins in CRC from stage I to stage IV.

Methods: Sixteen CRC cases were categorized into paired non-LNM and LNM groups, and two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis and MS proteome analysis were performed.

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Cellular and molecular mechanisms of the peripheral immune system (e.g., macrophage and monocyte) in programming endotoxin tolerance (ET) have been well studied.

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CIL-102 (1-[4-(furo[2,3-b]quinolin-4-ylamino) phenyl]ethanone) is a major active agent of Camptotheca acuminata's alkaloid derivative, and its anti-tumorigenic activity, a valuable biological property of the agent, has been reported in many types of cancer. In this study, we researched the novel CIL-102-induced protein for either the induction of cell apoptosis or the inhibition of cell migration/invasiveness in colorectal cancer cells (CRC) and their molecular mechanism. Firstly, our data showed that CIL-102 treatment not only increased the cytotoxicity of cells and the production of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), but it also decreased cell migration and invasiveness in DLD-1 cells.

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Background: Collision tumors are rare clinical entities that two heterogeneous neoplasms are concurrently adjacent to each other at the same location. The association of a squamous cell carcinoma and a malignant adnexal tumor is even infrequent.

Case Presentation: The case of a 79-year-old woman having a slow-growing and painless tumor on the left lower eyelid was presented.

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Erinacine S, the new bioactive diterpenoid compound isolated from the ethanol extract of the mycelia of Hericium erinaceus, displays great health-promoting properties. However, the effects of erinacine S on inductive apoptosis in cancer cells such as gastric cancer and its molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Our results demonstrated that erinacine S treatment significantly induces cell apoptosis with increased ROS production in gastric cancer cells, but not in normal cells.

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(1) Background: Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) is a hematological disease and occurs because of immunosuppression after organ transplantation. Only a few studies have reported PTLD in the nasopharynx. In most cases, PTLD developed after solid organ transplantation, and cases of PTLD after bone marrow transplantation, are uncommon.

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CIL-102 (1-[4-(furo [2,3-b]quinolin-4-ylamino)phenyl]ethanone) is a major active agent and an alkaloid derivative of Camptotheca acuminata, which has valuable biological properties, including anti-tumorigenic activity. However, the molecular mechanisms of CIL-102 related to inductive apoptosis in human gastric cancer remain unclear. By using diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), annexin-V-fluorescein-isothiocyanate (FITC)/propidium iodide staining and a 2',7' -dichlorofluorescin diacetate (DCFDA), a Fluo-3 fluorescence staining assay, the cell death and cell viability in gastric cancer cells and an in vivo xenograft mouse model, with or without the addition of CIL-102, were measured, respectively.

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Gastric cancer (GC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide and prognosis after potentially curative gastrectomy remains poor. Administration of GC-targeting molecules in combination with adjuvant chemo- or radiotherapy following surgical resection has been proposed as a potentially effective treatment option. Here, we have identified DOCK6, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) for Rac1 and CDC42, as an independent biomarker for GC prognosis.

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, a valuable pharmaceutical and edible mushroom, contains potent bioactive compounds such as mycelium (HEM) and its derived ethanol extraction of erinacine A, which have been found to regulate physiological functions in our previous study. However, HEM or erinacine A with post-treatment regimens also shows effects on 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced neurotoxicity, but its mechanisms remain unknown. By using annexin-V-fluorescein-isothiocyanate (FITC)/propidium iodide staining and a 2',7' -dichlorofluorescin diacetate (DCFDA) staining assay, the cell death, cell viability, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) of 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MMP)-treated Neuro-2a (N2a) cells with or without erinacine A addition were measured, respectively.

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In the original publication of this article [1], labelling within Fig. 7a was incorrect. The updated figure is shown below, with 'DMT1' now corrected to read 'DNMT1'.

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Background: The inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) is critical for the expression of octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (OCT4), which is highly associated with early tumor recurrence and poor prognosis of hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC). DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) family is closely linked with OCT4 expression and drug resistance. However, the underlying mechanism regarding the interplay between DNMTs and IL-6-induced OCT4 expression and the sorafenib resistance of HCC remains largely unclear.

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Gastric cancer (GC) is the second most widespread cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. The discovery of novel biomarkers of oncoproteins can facilitate the development of therapeutic strategies for GC treatment. In this study, we identified novel biomarkers by integrating isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ), a human plasma proteome database, and public Oncomine datasets to search for aberrantly expressed oncogene-associated proteins in GC tissues and plasma.

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Erinacine A, which is one of the major bioactive diterpenoid compounds extracted from cultured mycelia of , displays great antitumorigenic activity. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying erinacine A inducing cancer cell apoptosis in colorectal cancer (CRC) remain unclear. This study found that treatment with erinacine A not only triggers the activation of extrinsic apoptosis pathways (TNFR, Fas, FasL, and caspases) but also suppresses the expression of antiapoptotic molecules Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL a time-dependent manner in DLD-1 cells.

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Article Synopsis
  • Somatic mutations of the MET gene are significant drivers in lung cancers, particularly focusing on MET exon 14 skipping mutations and amplifications found in a study of 196 lung cancer samples from Taiwan.
  • Both MET gene alterations occur at a low frequency (~1%) and were noted in specific cases, with exon 14 skipping mutations found in two early-stage patients lacking other driver mutations.
  • Neither alteration resulted in protein overexpression, suggesting that detecting these mutations at the nucleic acid level is more effective, highlighting the need for broader screening and evaluation in clinical trials for successful MET-targeted therapies.
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Background/aims: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common type of cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. PRDXs are antioxidant enzymes that play an important role in cell differentiation, proliferation and apoptosis and have diverse functions in malignancy development. However, the mechanism of aberrant overexpression of PRDX6 in CRC remains unclear.

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Article Synopsis
  • Oxidants like tert-butylhydroperoxide (t-BHP) are toxic to humans and play a role in liver diseases, making it essential to explore their effects on liver cells.
  • In experiments using liver cell cultures, t-BHP was found to increase cell death and reactive oxygen species production, as well as activate apoptotic pathways and stress responses within the liver cells.
  • The findings suggest that t-BHP's induced liver cell injury and apoptosis are linked to the upregulation of the protein PDIA6, uncovering new insights into how oxidative stress impacts liver health.
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Argininosuccinate synthetase 1 (ASS1) is a rate-limited enzyme in arginine biosynthesis. The oncogenic potential of ASS1 in terms of prognosis and cancer metastasis in arginine prototrophic gastric cancer (GC) remains unclear at present. We identify differentially expressed proteins in microdissected GC tumor cells relative to adjacent nontumor epithelia by isobaric mass tag for relative and absolute quantitation proteomics analysis.

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Unlabelled: Background / Aims: Erinacine A, isolated from the ethanol extract of the Hericium erinaceus mycelium, has been demonstrated as a new alternative anticancer medicine. Drawing upon current research, this study presents an investigation of the molecular mechanism of erinacine A inhibition associated with gastric cancer cell growth.

Methods: Cell viability was determined by Annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide staining and migration using a Boyden chamber assay to determine the effects of erinacine A treatment on the proliferation capacity and invasiveness of gastric cancer cells.

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