Publications by authors named "Kwang-Seok Kim"

The pursuit of energy-saving materials and technologies has garnered significant attention for their pivotal role in mitigating both energy consumption and carbon emissions. In particular, thermochromic windows in buildings offer energy-saving potential by adjusting the transmittance of solar irradiation in response to temperature changes. Radiative cooling (RC), radiating thermal heat from an object surface to the cold outer space, also offers a potential way for cooling without energy consumption.

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Checkpoint kinase 1 (Chk1) is a key mediator of the DNA damage response that regulates cell cycle progression, DNA damage repair, and DNA replication. Small-molecule Chk1 inhibitors sensitize cancer cells to genotoxic agents and have shown preclinical activity as single agents in cancers characterized by high levels of replication stress. However, the underlying genetic determinants of Chk1-inhibitor sensitivity remain unclear.

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In the brain, environmental changes, such as neuroinflammation, can induce senescence, characterized by the decreased proliferation of neurons and dendrites and synaptic and vascular damage, resulting in cognitive decline. Senescence promotes neuroinflammatory disorders by senescence-associated secretory phenotypes and reactive oxygen species. In human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMVECs), we demonstrate that chronological aging and irradiation increase death-associated protein kinase 3 (DAPK3) expression.

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  • The Dicentric Chromosome Assay (DCA) is a method used to estimate radiation exposure by counting dicentric chromosomes, but it is labor-intensive and requires specialized skills.
  • This study employed a neural network, specifically the YOLOv5 detection algorithm, to automate the DCA process by analyzing chromosome images for dicentric chromosome counts.
  • The results showed that the model performed exceptionally well with pretrained data, achieving a maximum F1 score of 0.94 and a mean average precision (mAP) of 0.961, indicating its effectiveness in detecting dicentric chromosomes.
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  • * Research shows that reducing NMU expression in colorectal cancer cells leads to less cell growth and migration, making them more sensitive to radiation, whereas increasing NMU levels makes cells more resistant to radiation and enhances their growth.
  • * The study found that NMU affects the activity of crucial proteins YAP and TAZ, which are involved in cell signaling, by altering their movement within the cell and their phosphorylation status, suggesting that NMU may help colorectal cancer cells develop resistance to radiation through the Hippo signaling pathway.
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Background/aim: The fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) signaling pathway is abnormally activated in human cancers, including breast cancer. Therefore, targeting the FGFR signaling pathway is a potent strategy to treat breast cancer. The purpose of this study was to find drugs that could increase sensitivity to FGFR inhibitor effects in BT-474 breast cancer cells, and to investigate the combined effects and underlying mechanisms of these combinations for BT-474 breast cancer cell survival.

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Precise prediction of radioresistance is an important factor in the treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC). To discover genes that regulate the radioresistance of CRCs, we analyzed an RNA sequencing dataset of patient-originated samples. Among various candidates, IGFL2-AS1, a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), exhibited an expression pattern that was well correlated with radioresistance.

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Although interest in recycling carbon fibers is rapidly growing, practical applications of recycled carbon fibers (rCFs) are limited owing to their poor wettability and adhesion. Surface modification of CFs was achieved through intense pulsed light (IPL) irradiation, which functionalizes surface of rCFs. Surface energy, chemical composition, morphology, and interfacial shear strength (IFSS) of rCFs before and after IPL irradiation were investigated.

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Given our previous finding that certain tumor-suppressing functions of p53 are exerted by the p53/p21 complex, rather than p53 alone, cells may have a system to regulate the p53/p21 interaction. As p53 binds to p21 via its C-terminal domain, which contains acetylable lysine residues, we investigated whether the C-terminal acetylation of p53 influences the p53/p21 interaction. Indeed, the p53/p21 interaction was reduced when various types of cells (HCT116 colon cancer, A549 lung cancer, and MCF7 breast cancer cells) were treated with MS-275, an inhibitor of SIRT1 (a p53 deacetylase), or with SIRT1-targeting small interfering RNAs.

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  • High doses of ionizing radiation are known to cause cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), but the impact of low doses (<100 mGy) on CVD, particularly in endothelial cells (ECs), is not well understood.
  • The study focused on comparing primary human aortic endothelial cells from patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D-HAECs) and healthy individuals, exploring how low-dose ionizing radiation affects their molecular and functional characteristics.
  • RNA sequencing revealed significant changes in gene expression in both HAECs and T2D-HAECs after radiation exposure, implicating the interferon (IFN)-I signaling pathway in the response and highlighting the potential risks associated with low-dose radiation on cardiovascular health.
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The p53 tumor suppressor regulates cell functions either by acting as a transcription factor or by interacting with other proteins. Previously, we reported that the non-transcriptional actions of p53 can be facilitated by the binding of p53 to p21. Herein, we investigated whether p53/p21 interaction influences the transcriptional activity of p53.

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  • Ribosomal protein L17 (RPL17) is found to be up-regulated in colorectal cancer (CRC), signaling a potential role in cancer progression that has not been previously studied.
  • The research utilized RPL17-specific siRNAs to silence its expression in CRC cells, leading to decreased cell growth, reduced colony formation, and suppressed tumor formation in mouse models.
  • Molecular analyses revealed that RPL17 silencing down-regulated key proteins associated with cell proliferation and stemness, suggesting it plays an oncogenic role in CRC by enhancing tumor cell survival and invasive capabilities.
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Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most aggressive cancer type that has a poor prognosis, is characterized by enhanced and aberrant angiogenesis. In addition to surgical resection and chemotherapy, radiotherapy is commonly used to treat GBM. However, radiation-induced angiogenesis in GBM remains unexplored.

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Metformin is one of the most effective therapies for treating type 2 diabetes and has been shown to also attenuate aging and age-related disorders. In this study, we explored the relationship between metformin and DNA damage repair in ionizing radiation (IR)-induced damage of human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs). Metformin treatment suppressed IR-induced senescence phenotypes, such as increased senescent-associated β-galactosidase (SA β-gal) activity and decreased tube formation and proliferation.

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NaV(PO) is regarded as one of the promising cathode materials for next-generation sodium ion batteries, but its undesirable electrochemical performances due to inherently low electrical conductivity have limited its direct use for applications. Motivated by the limit, this study employed a porous carbon network to obtain a porous carbon network-NaV(PO) composite by using poly(vinylalcohol) assised sol-gel method. Compared with the typical carbon-coating approach, the formation of a porous carbon network ensured short ion diffusion distances, percolating electrolytes by distributing nanosized NaV(PO) particles in the porous carbon network and suppressing the particle aggregation.

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Myeloid cell leukemia sequence 1 (MCL‑1), an anti‑apoptotic B‑cell lymphoma 2 (BCL‑2) family molecule frequently amplified in various human cancer cells, is known to be critical for cancer cell survival. MCL‑1 has been recognized as a target molecule for cancer treatment. While various agents have emerged as potential MCL‑1 blockers, the present study presented acriflavine (ACF) as a novel MCL‑1 inhibitor in triple‑negative breast cancer (TNBC).

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The cardiotoxicity of various anticancer therapies, including radiotherapy, can lead to cardiovascular complications. These complications can range from damaging cardiac tissues within the irradiation field to increasing the long-term risks of developing heart failure, coronary artery disease, and myocardial infarction. We analyzed radiation-induced metabolites capable of mediating critical biological processes, such as inflammation, senescence, and apoptosis.

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  • Researchers studied locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) patients by grouping them based on how they responded to radiation and created organoids from their tumor tissues.
  • They used RNA sequencing to analyze gene expression profiles and found 30 candidate genes related to radio-resistance, focusing on pathways like immune response and DNA repair.
  • One gene, cathepsin E, showed varying methylation levels linked to the patients’ radio-resistance, indicating that methylation may play a role in how well the cancer responds to treatment, which could lead to a new diagnostic tool for LARC patients.
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Targeting the molecular pathways underlying the cardiotoxicity associated with thoracic irradiation and doxorubicin (Dox) could reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with these anticancer treatments. Here, we find that vascular endothelial cells (ECs) with persistent DNA damage induced by irradiation and Dox treatment exhibit a fibrotic phenotype (endothelial-mesenchymal transition, EndMT) correlating with the colocalization of L1CAM and persistent DNA damage foci. We demonstrate that treatment with the anti-L1CAM antibody Ab417 decreases L1CAM overexpression and nuclear translocation and persistent DNA damage foci.

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  • Big data analysis identified CDCA8 as increasingly active in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), correlating with poorer survival outcomes, but its specific role in HCC development is still unclear.
  • Experimental results showed that reducing CDCA8 levels slows down HCC cell growth, colony formation, and migration by causing cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase, while increasing CDCA8 levels does the opposite.
  • CDCA8 influences several genes and proteins, including increasing tumor-suppressive proteins and inhibiting oncogenic pathways in CD133 cancer stem cells, suggesting that targeting CDCA8 could be a promising strategy for HCC treatment and recurrence prevention.
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Research on smart windows is accelerating with a global trend that emphasizes efficient energy use. VO₂ is representativematerial for thermochromic smart windows that can reflect part of sunlight depending on the external environment. We attempted to produce thermochromic thin films by ultrasonic spray coating of VO₂ nano inks.

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A reversibly cross-linkable and transparent polymer featuring stretchability and thermal healability is prepared by introducing Diels-Alder (DA)-reactive moieties into polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), namely, a healable PDMS (h-PDMS). Inspired by the fact that retro-DA reactions occur even at low temperatures (albeit at a low rate), we maximize the effectiveness of small reactant products, demonstrating that self-healing and self-integration realized by 1-3 min exposure of cured h-PDMS to methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) vapor is more efficient than that achieved by direct sample heating at high temperatures. This technology is first used to uniformly transfer Ag nanowires (Ag NWs) formed on a temporary substrate to the h-PDMS surface, and further MEK vapor treatment allows the transferred NWs to be impregnated below the h-PDMS surface to afford an in-plane strain sensor.

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This paper presents a wide-angle scanning phased array antenna using high gain pattern reconfigurable antenna (PRA) elements. Using PRA elements is an attractive solution for wide-angle scanning phased array antennas because the scanning range can be divided into several subspaces. To achieve the desired scanning performance, some characteristics of the PRA element such as the number of switching modes, tilt angle, and maximum half-power beamwidth (HPBW) are required.

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Glioblastoma (GBM) is a largely fatal and highly angiogenic malignancy with a median patient survival of just over 1 year with radiotherapy (RT). The effects of RT on GBM remain unclear, although increasing evidence suggests that RT-induced alterations in the brain microenvironment affect the recurrence and aggressiveness of GBM. Glioma stem cells (GSCs) in GBM are resistant to conventional therapies, including RT.

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  • SDF-1 and its receptor CXCR4 are crucial for the function of endothelial cells in processes like heart and blood vessel formation, but their levels decrease due to aging and radiation treatment.
  • Treatment with SDF-1 can reduce signs of cellular aging and improve cell proliferation by activating CXCR4-dependent pathways, specifically by inhibiting ERK and STAT3.
  • A specific CXCR4 agonist (ATI2341) shows promise in protecting brain endothelial cells from radiation damage, improving blood flow recovery in treated mice, and enhancing cognitive function after radiation exposure.
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