High-dose versus low-dose cyclophosphamide in combination with G-CSF for peripheral blood progenitor cell mobilization.

Background: To compare the mobilizing effects and toxicities of two different doses of cyclophosphamide (CY) plus lenograstim (glycosylated G-CSF), we performed a prospective randomized study by enrolling patients suffering with either high-risk Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) or breast cancer undergoing ablative chemotherapy.

Methods: The NHL patients received 4 cycles of CHOP and the breast cancer patients received 2-3 cycles of FAC (FEC) adjuvant chemotherapy. Then, the patients were randomly allocated to receive CY 4 g/m2 (arm A) or 1.

A prospective randomized study on the mobilization of CD34+ cells comparing continuous intravenous vs subcutaneous administration of rhG-CSF in normal donors.

The efficacy of mobilizing peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPC) with continuous intravenous (c.i.v.

Experimental percutaneous extrahepatic portacaval shunt creation by transjugular approach in Swine.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the feasibility of the creation of a percutaneous extrahepatic portacaval shunt (PEPS) in swine by a transjugular approach and to find a suitable stent-graft to use in PEPS. In 12 swine, the extrahepatic portal vein (PV) was entered from the inferior vena cava (IVC) by a needle system introduced from the transjugular approach. A catheter introduced through the transhepatic approach served as a target.

hTERT mRNA levels by real-time RT-PCR in acute myelogenous leukemia.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether levels of hTERT mRNA, as determined by real-time RT-PCR, are associated with prognosis and clinical course in AML patients. Fifty-four bone marrow specimens from 21 patients diagnosed with de-novo AML were included. The level of hTERT mRNA was measured with the Telo TAGGG hTERT Quantification Kit (Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim, Germany), using a LightCycler Instrument (Roche Diagnostics).

Hahella ganghwensis sp. nov., isolated from tidal flat sediment.

A marine bacterial strain, designated FR1050(T), was isolated from a sediment sample of getbol (Korean tidal flat). Phylogenetic investigations based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that the isolate formed a robust monophyletic clade with Hahella chejuensis within the gamma-Proteobacteria. Sequence similarity between strain FR1050(T) and the type strain of Hahella chejuensis was 94.

Leukotriene B4 pathway regulates the fate of the hematopoietic stem cells.

Leukotriene B4 (LTB4), derived from arachidonic acid, is a potent chemotactic agent and activating factor for hematopoietic cells. In addition to host defense in vivo, several eicosanoids have been reported to be involved in stem cell differentiation or proliferation. In this study, we investigated the effect of LTB4 on human cord blood CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs).

Production, purification, and characterization of a novel thermostable serine protease from soil isolate, Streptomyces tendae.

An isolate of Streptomyces tendae produced a extracellular protease which was purified to apparent homogeneity giving a single band on SDS-PAGE with a molecular mass of 21 kDa. Optimum activity was at 70 degrees C and pH 6. It was stable at 55 degrees C for 30 min and between pH 4 and 9.

A phase II study of cisplatin, doxorubicin, and ifosfamide with peripheral blood stem cell support in patients with skeletal osteosarcoma and variant bone tumors with a poor prognosis.

Background: The authors evaluated the efficacy and toxicity of cisplatin, ifosfamide, and doxorubicin with peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) support in adult patients with osteosarcomas and variants with a poor prognosis.

Methods: Between December 1994 and January 2001, 37 patients (20 males and 17 females) with a median age of 38 years (range, 18-63 years) entered the study. Ten patients had pelvic osteosarcomas (OS), 6 had malignant fibrous histiocytomas, 5 had metastatic OS, and 16 had miscellaneous histologies.

Prevalence and characterization of vancomycin-resistant enterococci in chicken intestines and humans of Korea.

The prevalence, genotype for antibiotic resistance and antibiotic susceptibility of vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) were determined. And molecular typings of the Enterococcus faecium isolates were analyzed. Prevalence of VRE in chickens, healthy children and intensive care unit (ICU) patients was 41.

Dendritic oligoguanidines as intracellular translocators.

A series of polyguanidylated dendritic structures that can be used as molecular translocators have been designed and synthesized based on nonpeptide units. The dendritic oligoguanidines conjugated with fluorescein or with a green fluorescent protein (GFP) mutant as cargos were isolated and characterized. Quantification and time-course analyses of the cellular uptake of the conjugates using HeLa S3 and human cervical carcinoma cells reveal that the polyguanidylated dendrimers have comparable translocation efficiency to the Tat(49-57) peptide.

Taxonomic study of neutrotolerant acidophilic actinomycetes isolated from soil and description of Streptomyces yeochonensis sp. nov.

Acidophilic actinomycete strains that represent the two major neutrotolerant clusters defined by numerical taxonomy (Seong, 1992) were the subject of a polyphasic taxonomic study. The centrotypes of each cluster, designated as strain JL164 (=KCTC 9924) of cluster 21 and strain CN732T (=KCTC 9926T=IMSNU 50114T=NRRL B-24245T) of cluster 13, were assigned initially to the genus Streptomyces on the basis of morphological and chemotaxonomic characteristics; this assignation was confirmed by 16S rRNA gene sequence data. Strain CN732T formed a distinct phyletic line within the Streptomyces tree, whereas strain JL164 was related closely to the type strain of Streptomyces mirabilis.

[The clinical usefulness of balloon occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration in gastric variceal bleeding].

Background/aims: Gastric variceal bleeding is difficult to treat endoscopically because the hemodynamics of the gastric varix are different from that of the esophageal varix. Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS), which has been used widely, does not always result in the regression of gastric varix and it may aggravate the hepatic encephalopathy. Balloon occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (BRTO) was introduced as a new procedure for gastric variceal bleeding with minimal invasiveness.

Octopamine receptor OAMB is required for ovulation in Drosophila melanogaster.

Octopamine is a major monoamine in invertebrates and affects many physiological processes ranging from energy metabolism to complex behaviors. Octopamine binds to receptors located on various cell types and activates distinct signal transduction pathways to produce these diverse effects. We previously identified one of the Drosophila octopamine receptors named OAMB that produces increases in cAMP and intracellular Ca2+ upon ligand binding.

High dose therapy followed by autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation as a first line treatment for multiple myeloma: a Korean Multicenter Study.

We conducted a phase II multicenter trial to estimate the response and survival of patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma to high dose melphalan therapy followed by autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. Eligible patients who had undergone induction with vincristine, adriamycin and dexamethasone (VAD) should have adequate cardiac, pulmonary and renal function (creatinine <2 mg/dL). Melphalan at 200 mg/m2 was used as a conditioning regimen.

Transepithelial migration of neutrophils in response to leukotriene B4 is mediated by a reactive oxygen species-extracellular signal-regulated kinase-linked cascade.

The epithelial cells that form a barrier lining the lung airway are key regulators of neutrophil trafficking into the airway lumen in a variety of lung inflammatory diseases. Although the lipid mediator leukotriene B(4) (LTB(4)) is known to be a principal chemoattractant for recruiting neutrophils to inflamed sites across the airway epithelium, the precise signaling mechanism involved remains largely unknown. In the present study, therefore, we investigated the signaling pathway through which LTB(4) induces transepithelial migration of neutrophils.

Streptacidiphilus gen. nov., acidophilic actinomycetes with wall chemotype I and emendation of the family Streptomycetaceae (Waksman and Henrici (1943)AL) emend. Rainey et al. 1997.

The taxonomic position of acidophilic actinomycetes selectively isolated from acidic soils and litter was examined using a polyphasic approach. The distinct 16S rDNA phyletic branch formed by representative strains was equated with related monophyletic clades that corresponded to the genera Kitasatospora and Streptomyces. The acidophilic isolates also exhibited a distinctive pH profile, a unique 16S rDNA signature, and contained major amounts of LL-diaminopimelic acid, galactose and rhamnose in whole-organism hydrolysates.

Gemcitabine and Infusional 5-Fluorouracil in Advanced Pancreatic Cancer: A Clinical Benefit Response-Oriented Phase II Study.

Purpose: Gemcitabine and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) are two compounds with reproducible activity against advanced pancreatic carcinomas. To evaluate the activity and feasibility of this combination chemotherapy, a multi-institutional phase II study was performed.

Materials And Methods: Twenty patients (male: female 15: 5, median age: 60.

Expression of a D1 dopamine receptor dDA1/DmDOP1 in the central nervous system of Drosophila melanogaster.

The diverse physiological effects of dopamine are mediated by multiple receptor systems. The dDA1 represents one of the Drosophila dopamine receptors that activate the cAMP cascade. To gain insight into the role of dDA1, we generated a polyclonal antibody against the unique sequence in dDA1 and investigated dDA1 distribution in the central nervous system (CNS) of Drosophila melanogaster.

The Prognostic Significance of the Overexpression of HER-2/ neu in Korean Gastric Carcinomas and the In Vitro Effects of Anti-HER-2/neu Antibody on Cell Growth in the Gastric Carcinoma Cell Lines.

Purpose: The HER2 gene encodes a 185-kd transmembrane glycoprotein receptor (p185(HER2)) that has partial homology with the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and shares intrinsic tyrosine kinase activity. The HER2 gene has been found to be amplified in various human cancers and to be associated with poor prognosis. The authors investigated the correlation between clinicopathologic factors and the overexpression of the p185(HER2) in Korean gastric adenocarcinoma patients, and determined whether the antiproliferative effects of anti- p185(HER2) antibody can also be observed on gastric cancer cell lines that overexpress this growth factor receptor.

Adherent cells generated during long-term culture of human umbilical cord blood CD34+ cells have characteristics of endothelial cells and beneficial effect on cord blood ex vivo expansion.

Hematopoiesis depends on the association of hematopoietic stem cells with stromal cells that constitute the hematopoietic microenvironment. The in vitro development of the endothelial cell from umbilical cord blood (UCB) is not well established and has met very limited success. In this study, UCB CD34(+) cells were cultured for 5 weeks in a stroma-free liquid culture system using thrombopoietin, flt3 ligand, and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor.

A Case of Primary Gastric Choriocarcinoma Presenting with Amenorrhea.

Primary gastric choriocarcinomas are very rare, and their prognosis is extremely poor. A 37-year-old woman presented with amenorrhea, vaginal spotting and severe nausea, which mimicked a pregnancy and gestational trophoblastic disease. The serum level of the beta-subunit of human chorionic gonadotrophin (beta-hCG) was significantly increased.

Hypoechoic normal renal sinus and renal pelvis tumors: sonographic differentiation.

Objective: To evaluate the sonographic findings of an unusually hypoechoic renal sinus that mimics a tumor in the renal pelvis or renal sinus.

Methods: Sonographic scans of 7 patients with an unusually hypoechoic portion in the renal sinus were reviewed retrospectively. Computed tomography, excretory urography, or both confirmed all sinuses as normal.

Synthesis and evaluation of 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid amides and 4-hydroxycinnamamides as antioxidants.

4-Hydroxyphenylacetic acid amides and 4-hydroxycinnamamides were synthesized and their antioxidant and neuroprotective activities were evaluated. Among the prepared compounds, 8b, and exhibited potent inhibition of lipid peroxidation in rat brain homogenates, and marked DPPH radical scavenging activities. Furthermore, and exhibited neuroprotective action against the oxidative damage induced by the exposure of primary cultured rat cortical cells to H(2)O(2), xanthine/xanthine oxidase, or Fe(2+)/ascorbic acid.