Publications by authors named "SeungBaek Lee"

Background: Endometrial CD138+ plasma cells serve as a diagnostic biomarker for endometrial inflammation, and their elevated occurrence correlates positively with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Infertility-related conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and recurrent implantation failure (RIF) are closely associated with systemic and local chronic inflammatory status, wherein endometrial CD138+ plasma cell accumulation could also contribute to endometrial pathology. Current methods for quantifying CD138+ cells typically involve laborious and time-consuming microscopic assessments of only a few random areas from a slide.

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Background: The human endometrium undergoes a monthly cycle of tissue growth and degeneration. During the mid-secretory phase, the endometrium establishes an optimal niche for embryo implantation by regulating cellular composition (e.g.

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Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most researched metabolic diseases worldwide. It leads to extensive complications such as cardiovascular disease, nephropathy, retinopathy, and peripheral and central nervous system through an inability to produce or respond to insulin. Although oxidative stress-mediated mitophagy has been reported to play an important role in the pathogenesis of DM, specific studies are still lacking as well as remain highly controversial.

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Background: The anti-estrogen tamoxifen is a highly effective hormonal therapy for hormonal-positive (HR+) breast cancer patients; however, the estrogen receptor-negative, progesterone receptor-positive (ER-/PR+) subtype does not give the benefits of tamoxifen. Therefore ER-/PR+ breast cancer has a poor clinical outcome, and novel drug therapy for ER-/PR+ breast cancer could benefit these patients.

Methods: 53,805 gene expressions were characterized into HR+ BC and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and analyzed through Breast Cancer Gene Expression Miner in 4319 breast cancer patient samples.

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Article Synopsis
  • Diabetes, caused by pancreatic β cell death and insulin resistance, is worsened by mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS), though the exact mechanisms remain unclear.
  • The study reveals that natural Charisma of Aqua (COA) water helps prevent cell death in diabetic conditions by blocking mitochondrial ROS production through the reduction of Polo-like kinase 3 (Plk3).
  • COA water also protects insulin secretion in STZ-treated pancreatic β-cells, suggesting it could serve as a potential insulin stabilizer.
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Background/aim: The functions of the specific genes involved in the three types of breast cancer (BC) are unclear.

Materials And Methods: A total of 53,805 genes were assessed from the RNA-sequencing database of BC cells and classified into those involved in hormonal positive (HR+) BC and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Overall, distant metastasis-free, and relapse-free survival obtained from the Breast Cancer Gene-Expression Miner database containing 13,603 human breast cancer patient samples were assessed for gene associations using the RNA-sequencing database.

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Background: Cdc20 is a crucial activator of the anaphase-promoting complex (APC/C) and is known to be essential in mitosis regulation. Abnormally high expression of Cdc20 has been reported in several malignancies. We aimed to study the Cdc20 expression in human breast cancer tissues, focusing specifically on Cdc20 in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC).

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Non-viable bacteria, referred to as "paraprobiotics," have attracted attention as potentially safer alternatives to probiotics. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of heat-killed DKGF7 on the symptomatic improvement of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in a rat disease model and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms that contribute to the beneficial effects of heat-killed probiotics. Seven male Wistar rats were induced with IBS by restraint stress and administered heat-killed DKGF7 for four weeks and then compared with seven rats in the control group.

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The administration of a combination of probiotics and prebiotics is expected to be a promising strategy for improving irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of a synbiotic containing and extract for symptomatic improvement of IBS in a murine model and to evaluate the mechanism underlying the beneficial effects of this synbiotic. A total of 20 male Wistar rats aged 8 weeks with IBS induced by restraint stress were assigned into four groups and administered as a probiotic and extract as a prebiotic for 4 weeks.

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DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are highly toxic lesions that can drive genetic instability. These lesions also contribute to the efficacy of radiotherapy and many cancer chemotherapeutics. DNA repair efficiency is regulated by both intracellular and extracellular chemical signals.

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Microbial community of an organism plays an important role on its fitness, including stress responses. In this study, we investigated the effect of the culturable subset of soil microbial community (SMB) on the stress response of the soil nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, upon exposure to one of the major soil contaminants, cadmium (Cd). Life history traits and the stress responses to Cd exposure were compared between SMB- and Escherichia coli strain OP50-fed worms.

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Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) treatment remains a great challenge for clinical practice and novel therapeutic strategies are urgently needed. UCHL3 is a deubiquitinase that is overexpressed in TNBC and correlates with poor prognosis. UCHL3 deubiquitinates RAD51 thereby promoting the recruitment of RAD51 to DNA damage sites and augmenting DNA repair.

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β-catenin is a major transcriptional activator of the canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. It is important for a series of biological processes including tissue homeostasis, and embryonic development and is involved in various human diseases. Elevated oncogenic activity of β-catenin is frequently observed in cancers, which contributes to survival, metastasis and chemo-resistance of cancer cells.

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Wild birds are natural hosts and reservoirs for influenza A viruses. However, many species, such as many waterfowl, are asymptomatic when infected and so facilitate the generation of viral genetic diversity. Mutations of key genes affect the replicability, pathogenicity, transmissibility, and antiviral resistance of influenza A viruses.

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Tumour metastasis, the spread of cancer cells from the original tumour site followed by growth of secondary tumours at distant organs, is the primary cause of cancer-related deaths and remains poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that inhibition of CDK4/6 blocks breast tumour metastasis in the triple-negative breast cancer model, without affecting tumour growth. Mechanistically, we identify a deubiquitinase, DUB3, as a target of CDK4/6; CDK4/6-mediated activation of DUB3 is essential to deubiquitinate and stabilize SNAIL1, a key factor promoting epithelial-mesenchymal transition and breast cancer metastasis.

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An important precursor to lung cancer development is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), independent of exposure to tobacco smoke. Both diseases are associated with increased host susceptibility, inflammation, and genomic instability. However, validation of the candidate genes and functional confirmation to test shared genetic contribution and cellular mechanisms to the development of lung cancer in patients with COPD remains underexplored.

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Since the first outbreak of low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) in 1996, outbreaks of LPAI have become more common in Korea, leading to the development of a nationwide mass vaccination program in 2007. In the case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), four outbreaks took place in 2003-04, 2006-07, 2008, and 2010-11; a fifth outbreak began in 2014 and was ongoing at the time of this writing. The length of the four previous outbreaks varied, ranging from 42 days (2008) to 139 days (2010-11).

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The timely and precise duplication of cellular DNA is essential for maintaining genome integrity and is thus tightly-regulated. During mitosis and G1, the Origin Recognition Complex (ORC) binds to future replication origins, coordinating with multiple factors to load the minichromosome maintenance (MCM) complex onto future replication origins as part of the pre-replication complex (pre-RC). The pre-RC machinery, in turn, remains inactive until the subsequent S phase when it is required for replication fork formation, thereby initiating DNA replication.

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BRCA1 is an important mediator of the DNA damage response, which promotes homologous recombination (HR) and antagonizes 53BP1-dependent non-homologous end joining in S/G2 phase. But how this is achieved remains unclear. Here, we report that the E3 ubiquitin ligase UHRF1 (Ubiquitin-like, with PHD and RING finger domains 1) directly participates in the interplay between BRCA1 and 53BP1.

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Infectious coryza (IC) is an infectious disease caused by Avibacterium (Av.) paragallinarum. IC is known to cause economic losses in the poultry industry via decreased egg production in layers.

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Elucidating mechanisms of chemoresistance is critical to improve cancer therapy, especially for the treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Genome-wide association studies have suggested the less studied gene HEAT repeat-containing protein 1 (HEATR1) as a possible determinant of cellular sensitivity to different chemotherapeutic drugs. In this study, we assessed this hypothesized link in PDAC, where HEATR1 expression is downregulated significantly.

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Outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus, subtype H5N8, were observed in two different flocks of local broiler breeder farms and a commercial layer farm in South Korea. Clinically, the cases were characterized by a gradual increase in mortality, slow transmission, and unrecognizable clinical signs of HPAI. Gross observations in both cases included hemorrhagic or necrotic lesions in internal organs, such as serosal and mucosal membranes, spleen, and pancreas.

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DBC1 (deleted in breast cancer 1), also known as CCAR2 or KIAA1967, is an important negative regulator of SIRT1 and cellular stress response. Although the Dbc1 gene localizes at a region that is homozygously deleted in breast cancer, its role in tumorigenesis remains unclear. It has been suggested to be either a tumor suppressor or an oncogene.

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