Different Characteristics of Childhood Asthma Related to Polyhexamethylene Guanidine Exposure.

Exposure to humidifier disinfectants (HDs) can increase the risk of asthma, but the characteristics of HD-related asthma are currently unclear. Polyhexamethylene guanidine (PHMG)-containing HD was the most commonly used and the most frequently associated with HD-associated lung injury. To investigate the characteristics of PHMG-induced asthma.

Plasma-based protein biomarkers can predict the risk of acute graft-versus-host disease and non-relapse mortality in patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Predictive biomarkers for acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) is currently lacking. In this study, we employed an unbiased proteome profiling method to prospectively collected plasma samples from allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHSCT) recipients to identify protein biomarkers that predict the risk of aGVHD and non-relapse mortality (NRM). In the discovery set, including five aGVHD patients and five controls, we identified seven candidate proteins.

Amino acid position 37 of HLA-DRβ1 affects susceptibility to Crohn's disease in Asians.

Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are the major types of chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) characterized by recurring episodes of inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Although it is well established that human leukocyte antigen (HLA) is a major risk factor for IBD, it is yet to be determined which HLA alleles or amino acids drive the risks of CD and UC in Asians. To define the roles of HLA for IBD in Asians, we fine-mapped HLA in 12 568 individuals from Korea and Japan (3294 patients with CD, 1522 patients with UC and 7752 controls).

Downregulation of X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein by '7-Benzylidenenaltrexone maleate' sensitizes pancreatic cancer cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis.

Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is a potential biological anticancer agent. However, a wide range of human primary cancers, including pancreatic cancer, display resistance to apoptosis induction by TRAIL. Therefore, this resistance needs to be overcome to allow TRAIL to be successfully used in cancer therapy.

The small molecule '1-(4-biphenylylcarbonyl)-4-(5-bromo-2-methoxybenzyl) piperazine oxalate' and its derivatives regulate global protein synthesis by inactivating eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2-alpha.

By environmental stresses, cells can initiate a signaling pathway in which eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2-alpha (eIF2-α) is involved to regulate the response. Phosphorylation of eIF2-α results in the reduction of overall protein neogenesis, which allows cells to conserve resources and to reprogram energy usage for effective stress control. To investigate the role of eIF2-α in cell stress responses, we conducted a viability-based compound screen under endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress condition, and identified 1-(4-biphenylylcarbonyl)-4-(5-bromo-2-methoxybenzyl) piperazine oxalate (AMC-01) and its derivatives as eIF2-α-inactivating chemical.

Bay 61-3606 Sensitizes TRAIL-Induced Apoptosis by Downregulating Mcl-1 in Breast Cancer Cells.

Breast cancer cells generally develop resistance to TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand (TRAIL) and, therefore, assistance from sensitizers is required. In our study, we have demonstrated that Spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) inhibitor Bay 61-3606 was identified as a TRAIL sensitizer. Amplification of TRAIL-induced apoptosis by Bay 61-3606 was accompanied by the strong activation of Bak, caspases, and DNA fragmentation.

Serum ferritin is linked with aortic stiffness in apparently healthy Korean women.

Background: There has been strong recent interest in the association between serum ferritin concentrations and increased risk of cardiovascular events. Surplus nutrition and convenience-seeking behavior has contributed to emergence of an increasingly obese population, with a concurrent increase in the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases. To date, few studies have specifically examined the association between serum ferritin and aortic stiffness in healthy populations, thus we investigated the association between serum ferritin and aortic stiffness according to sex and obesity in healthy subjects.