mycelia cultured in MEB medium produce metabolites with anticancer property.

Cancer cells are characterized by apoptosis evasion and uncontrolled cell cycle progression. To combat these characteristics, efforts have been made to find novel natural-source anticancer compounds. The aim of this work is to find new anticancer compounds in () mycelial culture extracts.

Structural and functional characterization of USP47 reveals a hot spot for inhibitor design.

USP47 is widely involved in tumor development, metastasis, and other processes while performing a more regulatory role in inflammatory responses, myocardial infarction, and neuronal development. In this study, we investigate the functional and biochemical properties of USP47, whereby depleting USP47 inhibited cancer cell growth in a p53-dependent manner-a phenomenon that enhances during the simultaneous knockdown of USP7. Full-length USP47 shows higher deubiquitinase activity than the catalytic domain.

Differences in the diagnosis and treatment of hematologic malignancies attributable to health insurance coverage.

Medical care should be equally provided to the public regardless of their financial capability. In the real world, expenditures directly out from the patient sector decide the medical journey, even in a country with national health insurance. The aim of this study was to investigate whether there are differences in the diagnostic and treatment processes in hematologic malignancies based on patient characteristics, such as health insurance status.

Serum Ferritin as a Diagnostic Biomarker for Kawasaki Disease.

Diagnosis of Kawasaki disease (KD) is occasionally delayed because it is solely based on clinical symptoms. Previous studies have attempted to identify diagnostic biomarkers for KD. Recently, patients with KD were reported to have elevated serum ferritin levels.

Umbilical Cord Blood Units Cryopreserved in the Public Cord Blood Bank: A Breakthrough in iPSC Haplobanking?

The use of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) is an emerging therapeutic option for precision medicine. Cord blood (CB) cells with lower immunogenicity, fewer genomic changes, and persistent epigenetic memory might be ideal candidates for iPSC production. Based on the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) distribution of cord blood units (CBUs) in the public CB bank, we estimated the coverage of the Korean population with HLA-homozygous iPSCs to repurpose cryopreserved CBUs.

Total nucleated cell counts are driving clinician's choice rather than cryopreservation period: Lesson for cord blood banks.

According to the increase in both the number of cryopreserved cord blood (CB) units and the cryopreservation period for each CB unit in the largest public CB bank in Korea, we are pursuing greater efficiency in CB bank management. Thus, we analyzed whether the cryopreservation period has a negative impact on the selection of CB units for CB transplantation (CBT). Until December 2019, 468 CB units were used for transplantation.

Incidence and Outcomes of Perianal Disease in an Asian Population with Crohn's Disease: A Nationwide Population-Based Study.

Background: Little is known about the natural history of perianal fistulas in Asian populations with Crohn's disease (CD).

Aims: We investigated the incidence and outcomes of perianal CD (pCD) in Korean CD patients.

Methods: A nationwide population-based cohort of 6265 CD patients diagnosed in 2010-2014 was analyzed to investigate the incidence and outcomes of pCD.

Maternal lipid profiles vs. fetal growth and cord blood hematopoietic cells: weak associations in healthy Korean newborn-mother pairs.

Background: We aimed to define the maternal lipid profiles that are associated with fetal growth and cord blood (CB) hematopoietic cells in healthy Korean full-term newborns.

Methods: A total of 608 fetal-maternal pairs were enrolled; mothers voluntarily donated CB with informed consent. We analyzed birth weight (BW) as a marker of fetal growth, and we examined total nucleated cells (TNCs) and CD34 cell concentrations of CB as markers of hematopoietic progenitor cell (HPC) contents.

GWAS identifying HLA-DPB1 gene variants associated with responsiveness to hepatitis B virus vaccination in Koreans: Independent association of HLA-DPB1*04:02 possessing rs1042169 G - rs9277355 C - rs9277356 A.

Recently, HLA class II loci, including HLA-DPB1, have been reported to be associated with interindividual variance in the hepatitis B (HB) vaccine response. In this study, we investigated significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for anti-HBs antibody levels in 6867 healthy Koreans using a genome-wide association study (GWAS). In GWAS, the top 20 SNPs that showed significant association with anti-HBs levels (P < 1.

Association of FOXP3 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms With Clinical Outcomes After Allogenic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation.

Background: Forkhead box P3 (FOXP3) is an important marker of regulatory T cells. FOXP3 polymorphisms are associated with autoimmune diseases, cancers, and allograft outcomes. We examined whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at the FOXP3 locus are associated with clinical outcomes after allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT).

Preformed donor-specific antibodies do not affect the 1-year allograft survival in living donor liver transplantation.

The effect of preformed donor-specific antibodies (DSAs) on liver transplantation (LT) remains unclear, especially in the field of living donor LT (LDLT). Herein, we evaluated the prevalence of preformed DSAs and their effect on graft outcome in LDLT in the first year following surgery. Using the Luminex Single Antigen assay, we analyzed the preoperative sera of 61 adult LDLT recipients between 2014 and 2015.

Serial evaluation of myocardial function using the myocardial performance index in Kawasaki disease.

Background: Kawasaki disease (KD) is known as systemic vasculitis, and more than half of the patients with KD have myocarditis, which can induce ventricular dysfunction. In this study, we evaluate left ventricular (LV) dysfunction in patients with KD based on the myocardial performance index (MPI) using pulse Doppler (PD) and tissue Doppler imaging (TDI), from the acute to convalescent phases.

Methods: We retrospectively studied 89 children diagnosed with KD from January 2010 to August 2012.

Usefulness of Age-Stratified N-Terminal Prohormone of Brain Natriuretic Peptide for Diagnosing Kawasaki Disease.

N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) was recently reported as a biomarker for diagnosing Kawasaki disease (KD). The basal NT-proBNP level, however, gradually decreases with age. We investigated the usefulness of an age-stratified cutoff value of NT-proBNP for diagnosing KD.

Pretransplantation fetal-maternal microchimerism in pediatric liver transplantation from mother.

Aim: To investigate the rates of pretransplantation fetal-maternal microchimerism (MC) and its effect on rejection in children receiving maternal liver grafts.

Methods: DNA or blood samples before liver transplantation (LT) were available in 45 pediatric patients and their mothers. The presence of pretransplantation MC to non-inherited maternal antigens (NIMAs) (NIMA-MC) in the peripheral blood was tested using nested PCR-single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis for the human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DRB1 alleles.

Epidemiology and Clinical Characteristics of Zika Virus Infections Imported into Korea from March to October 2016.

Zika is a re-emerging, mosquito-borne viral infection, which has been recently shown to cause microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome. Since 2015 the number of infected patients has increased significantly in South America. The purpose of this study was to identify the epidemiologic and clinical characteristics of patients with Zika virus (ZIKV) infections in Korea.

Clinical Utility of Echocardiography for the Diagnosis and Prognosis in Children with Bronchopulmonary Dsyplasia.

Background: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) may result in chronic pulmonary artery hypertension and right ventricular (RV) dysfunction. Various echocardiographic assessments of RV dysfunction have been used to determine whether echocardiographic measurements of premature infants with BPD could provide sensitive measures of RV function that correlates with BPD severity.

Methods: Twenty-eight control subjects without BPD (non BPD group), 28 patients with mild BPD, 11 patients with moderate BPD, and six patients with severe BPD underwent echocardiograms with standard measurement such as ejection fraction by M-mode, tricuspid regurgitation pressure gradient, myocardial performance index (MPI) derived from pulse Doppler, and tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) measurements.

Effects of interleukin-4 and interleukin-12B gene polymorphisms on hepatitis B virus vaccination.

 Approximately 10% of individuals do not respond to hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination, i.e. non-responders (NRs).

Long-Term Quality Control Program Plan for Cord Blood Banks in Korea: A Pilot Study for Cryopreservation Stability.

Background: Maintaining the quality of cryopreserved cord blood is crucial. In this pilot study, we describe the results of the internal quality control program for a cord blood bank thus far.

Methods: Donated cord blood units unsuitable for transplantation were selected for internal quality control once a month.

Frequency of fetal-maternal microchimerism: an analysis of the HLA-DRB1 gene in cord blood and maternal sample pairs.

Purpose: We aimed to investigate the frequency of fetal-maternal microchimerism among cord blood (CB) from a Korean population.

Materials And Methods: We previously developed a nested polymerase chain reaction-single-strand conformation polymorphism method for microchimerism detection that is highly sensitive (0.01-0.

Single nucleotide polymorphisms in the TGF-β1 gene are associated with polycystic ovary syndrome susceptibility and characteristics: a study in Korean women.

Purpose: Although many hypotheses regarding the pathogenesis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have been generated, genetic studies have not identified specific genes that play a role in PCOS etiopathogenesis. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between TGF-β1 gene polymorphism and PCOS in Koreans.

Method: A total of 51 Korean women with PCOS and 69 healthy women were enrolled.

Overall and cause-specific mortality in Korean patients with inflammatory bowel disease: A hospital-based cohort study.

Background And Aim: Limited data are available regarding mortality from inflammatory bowel disease in non-Caucasian populations. Herein, we evaluated overall and cause-specific mortality in a hospital-based cohort of Korean inflammatory bowel disease patients.

Methods: We determined mortality in 2414 Crohn's disease patients and 2798 ulcerative colitis patients diagnosed between 1977 and 2013.

Excluding Anti-cytomegalovirus Immunoglobulin M-Positive Cord Blood Units Has a Minimal Impact on the Korean Public Cord Blood Bank Inventory.

Cord blood units (CBUs) for transplantation should be free of communicable disease and must contain a specific amount of total nucleated cells and CD34+ cells. Although posttransplantation cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections are from latent infection in patients, ensuring CMV-free CBUs by performing CMV-specific IgM and nucleic acid amplification testing (NAT) is one of the mandatory procedures for the safety of CBUs. However, the exclusion policies (based on these test results) vary among nations and institutions.

Association of human leukocyte antigen with postherpetic neuralgia in Koreans.

Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), the most frequent complication of varicella-zoster virus reactivation, is characterized by pain that persists for more than 3 months, often for years after healing of zoster rash. A few studies revealing the association of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) with PHN have been reported, but only in the Japanese. The aim of this study was to investigate the primary HLA locus associated with PHN susceptibility in Koreans.

Comparison of the Sensitivity of QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube and T-SPOT.TB According to Patient Age.

Currently, there are two types of interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) in use for the detection of tuberculosis (TB) infection, the QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube test (GFT-GIT) and T-SPOT.TB. Owing to contradictory reports regarding whether the results of these IGRAs are affected by the age of the patient, we aimed to determine if these two tests have age-related differences in sensitivity.