Publications by authors named "Ok Kyung Choi"

To investigate the molecular characteristics of human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) detected in Gyeonggi Province from 2015/16 to 2017/18, 2331 specimens from patients with sporadic acute respiratory illness and 85 specimens from four HRSV outbreaks in the postpartum care center were analyzed by real-time reverse transcription PCR. HRSVs were detected in 97 of the 2416 (4.0%) specimens, and among the positive specimens, 38 (39.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Researchers are exploring stem cell-derived insulin producing cells (IPCs) as a potential alternative to traditional islet transplantation for treating diabetes.
  • Current methods to differentiate stem cells into IPCs are lengthy and complex, but this study shows that bone marrow nucleated cells (BMNCs) can be converted into IPCs more efficiently using conditioned media from stressed pancreatic β-cells.
  • This method produced IPCs that expressed key insulin-producing markers, improved diabetic conditions in mice, and suggests that differentiating factors are contained within micro particles rather than being released as soluble substances.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * A significant majority (83.3%) of the isolated bacteria exhibited insecticidal toxicity, with specific toxin genes identified as prevalent, although one particular gene was absent in all samples.
  • * The findings indicate that the bacteria could pose a risk of foodborne illness due to their toxin-producing capabilities, highlighting the need for further research on the safety of organic vegetables.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Various investigators have attempted to overcome the shortage of available hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) by facilitating their engraftment after transplantation. Preconditioning of HSPCs with the granulocyte-derived cationic peptide LL-37 has been suggested as a useful strategy to facilitate engraftment of transplanted cells by enhancing their responsiveness to CXCL12. In this study, we evaluated whether LL-37 preconditioning is acceptable for clinical application.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The successful islet transplantation, for the treatment of type 1 diabetes, depends on the quantity and the quality of transplanted islets. Previously, it has reported that the significant loss of isolated islet mass could be prevented by sphingolipid metabolite, sphinogosine 1-phophate (S1P). This study was performed to elucidate whether the beneficial effects of S1P maintaining isolated pancreatic islets ex vivo are mimicked by modulation of intracellular S1P.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Ghrelin is a 28-residue peptide identified in the stomach as an endogenous ligand of the growth hormone secretagogue receptor that is expressed in a variety of peripheral tissues, as well as in the brain. In previous studies, ghrelin has been shown to stimulate both adipogenic differentiation from preadipocytes and osteogenic differentiation from preosteoblasts or primary osteoblasts. This study was undertaken to investigate the direct effect of ghrelin on the lineage allocation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Thiazolidinediones (TZDs) have recently been proposed as a therapy for PPARgamma-expressing tumors. Pheochromocytoma (PHEO) is associated with high morbidity and mortality due to excess catecholamine production, and few effective drug therapies currently exist. We investigated the effects of TZDs on PHEO both in vitro and in vivo.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF