Role of PemI in the Staphylococcus aureus PemIK toxin-antitoxin complex: PemI controls PemK by acting as a PemK loop mimic.

Staphylococcus aureus is a notorious and globally distributed pathogenic bacterium. New strategies to develop novel antibiotics based on intrinsic bacterial toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems have been recently reported. Because TA systems are present only in bacteria and not in humans, these distinctive systems are attractive targets for developing antibiotics with new modes of action.

Role of Serum Pepsinogen II and Status in the Detection of Diffuse-Type Early Gastric Cancer in Young Individuals in South Korea.

Background/aims: The utility of serum pepsinogen (sPG) I and the sPGI/II ratio as biomarkers for screening individuals with gastric cancer (GC) has not been established in Korea. The aim of this study was to define the role of sPG, especially sPGII, in GC screening.

Methods: This study enrolled 2,940 subjects, including patients with GC (n=1,124) or gastric dysplasia (n=353) and controls (n=1,463).

[Development of Koreans Gut Quotient Measurement Scales].

Background/aims: The aim of this study was to develop 'Koreans Gut Quotient Measurement Scales (GQ)', in which Koreans respond to questionnaires about the subjective feelings and symptoms of their intestinal health status.

Methods: Among 66 items pooled from previous studies and 4 items that were added following a focus group interview, 15 items were chosen using the Delphi survey. The content validity was evaluated using the content validity ratio.

The prevalence of histologic atrophy and intestinal metaplasia in the corpus has decreased over 15 years in females in the Korean population.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the trends of atrophy and intestinal metaplasia (IM) in 2002 subjects without significant gastroduodenal diseases.

Materials And Methods: A total of 2002 subjects were prospectively enrolled and divided into three periods (2003-2007, 2008-2012, and 2013-2018). Trends of H pylori and atrophy/IM scored by Updated Sydney System were analyzed according to sex, and multivariate logistic analysis was performed for the risk factors for atrophy/IM.

Incidentally detected inoperable malignant pheochromocytoma with hepatic metastasis treated by transcatheter arterial chemoembolization.

Malignant pheochromocytoma (PCC) is a rare condition. Although the liver is the second most frequent site of metastasis in malignant PCC, no definite treatments have been established. Herein, we report a case of liver metastasis of PCC that was successfully treated by transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE).

Influence of NK cell count on the survival of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma treated with R-CHOP.

Background: Although adding rituximab to the chemotherapy regimen of cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin, and prednisone (R-CHOP) has improved clinical outcomes of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), several recent studies have shown that the effect of rituximab is dominantly in the non-germinal center (non-GC) subtype compared to the germinal center (GC) subtype. Natural killer (NK) cell count, a surrogate marker of immune status, is associated with clinical outcomes in DLBCL patients in the rituximab era. We investigated whether the impact of NK cells on clinical outcomes differed according to the immunophenotype of DLBCL.

Identification of a series of 1,3,4-trisubstituted pyrazoles as novel hepatitis C virus entry inhibitors.

In this report we describe the identification of novel pyrazole analogs as potent hepatitis C virus (HCV) entry inhibitor. The pyrazoles were identified by our phenotypic high-throughput screening using infectious HCV. A series of pyrazole derivatives was synthesized and evaluated for inhibitory activity against HCV in the infectious cell culture system.

Dopamine promotes formation and secretion of non-fibrillar alpha-synuclein oligomers.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by selective and progressive degeneration of dopamine (DA)-producing neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) and by abnormal aggregation of α-synuclein. Previous studies have suggested that DA can interact with α-synuclein, thus modulating the aggregation process of this protein; this interaction may account for the selective vulnerability of DA neurons in patients with PD. However, the relationship between DA and α-synuclein, and the role in progressive degeneration of DA neurons remains elusive.