Blood eosinophil related to maternal allergic rhinitis is associated with the incidence of allergic rhinitis in offspring: COCOA study.

Objective: The identification of allergic rhinitis (AR) in early life is important for the target of intervention. AR is caused by various environmental factors, including house dust mites. We investigated the relationship between the Dermatophagoides farinae (Der f)-IgE and eosinophil in mothers with AR at delivery and the eosinophil levels and AR incidence in children.

Association of heat shock protein 8 with atopic march in a murine experimental model.

Background: Atopic march (AM), a unique characteristic of allergic diseases, refers to the sequential progression of atopic dermatitis (AD) in infants to allergic asthma and allergic rhinitis in children and young adults, respectively. Although there are several studies on AM, the establishment of an AM murine model to expand our understanding of the underlying mechanism and to identify the potential biomarkers is yet to be achieved. In this study, an improved murine model was established by applying a method to minimize skin irritation in inducing AD, and it was used to perform integrated analyses to discover candidate biomarkers.

Comparison and Contrast of Bone and Dentin in Genetic Disorder, Morphology and Regeneration: A Review.

The bone and dentin have distinct healing processes. The healing process of bones is regenerative, as newly formed tissues are morphologically and functionally similar to the original bone structures. In contrast, the healing process of dentin is reparative due to its failure to replicate some of its key morphological features.

Vegetable dietary pattern may protect mild and persistent allergic rhinitis phenotype depending on genetic risk in school children.

Background: The effect of diet on allergic rhinitis (AR), its severity in children, and whether it modifies AR depending on genetic susceptibility are unknown. We investigated the association between dietary patterns and AR in school children and the influence of diet on AR according to a genetic risk score (GRS).

Methods: Totally, 435 7-year-old school children were recruited from the Panel Study on Korean Children.

Risk Factors and Comorbidities Associated With the Allergic Rhinitis Phenotype in Children According to the ARIA Classification.

Purpose: Data are lacking on the association between the allergic rhinitis (AR) phenotype and sensitization to specific allergens or bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) in children. We here investigated risk factors and comorbidities, including sensitization to specific allergens and BHR, for the AR phenotype by AR and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) classification in a general population-based birth cohort study.

Methods: We enrolled 606 children aged 7 years from the Panel Study of Korean Children.

The association of plasma cytokines including VEGF with recurrent wheezing in allergic patients.

Background: Various cytokines have been studied to determine their functions in the pathogenesis of allergic diseases and their potential as therapeutic targets, but the roles and clinical applicability of many of these cytokines still remain unclear.

Objective: We aimed to measure the plasma levels of eight cytokines known to be relevant to allergic diseases, and to determine their association with the diagnostic characteristics of allergic patients.

Methods: The levels of a panel of eight cytokines (IL-5, IL-10, IL12p70, Leptin, CXCL5/ENA-78, CCL2/MCP-1, PDGFBB, and VEGF) were measured in plasma obtained from 83 allergic patients.

Association between sensitization and allergic diseases in 7-years-old Korean children.

Background: Sensitization is associated with the exacerbation, severity, and prognosis of allergic diseases in children.

Objective: We characterized the association between sensitization patterns and allergic diseases.

Methods: A cohort of 548 children was enrolled from Panel Study of Korean Children (PSKC) study.

Asthma control test reflects not only lung function but also airway inflammation in children with stable asthma.

Various numerical asthma control tools have been developed to distinguish different levels of symptom control. We aimed to examine whether the asthma control test (ACT) is reflective of objective findings such as lung function, fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) and laboratory data in patients with stable asthma. We included patients who were enrolled in the Korean Childhood Asthma Study.

Korean childhood asthma study (KAS): a prospective, observational cohort of Korean asthmatic children.

Background: Asthma is a syndrome composed of heterogeneous disease entities. Although it is agreed that proper asthma endo-typing and appropriate type-specific interventions are crucial in the management of asthma, little data are available regarding pediatric asthma.

Methods: We designed a cluster-based, prospective, observational cohort study of asthmatic children in Korea (Korean childhood Asthma Study [KAS]).

Information-seeking tactics and sense of workplace community in Korea.

This research examined how information-seeking tactics and sense of workplace community are related to one another. Data from Korea showed that workers (n = 314) who preferred overt tactics of seeking information (i.e.

Coupling of Single Molecule, Long Read Sequencing with IMGT/HighV-QUEST Analysis Expedites Identification of SIV gp140-Specific Antibodies from scFv Phage Display Libraries.

The simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)/macaque model of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome pathogenesis is critical for furthering our understanding of the role of antibody responses in the prevention of HIV infection, and will only increase in importance as macaque immunoglobulin (IG) gene databases are expanded. We have previously reported the construction of a phage display library from a SIV-infected rhesus macaque () using oligonucleotide primers based on human IG gene sequences. Our previous screening relied on Sanger sequencing, which was inefficient and generated only a few dozen sequences.

Prevalence of Self-reported Allergic Diseases and IgE Levels: A 2010 KNHANES Analysis.

Purpose: The prevalence of allergic diseases is known to be associated with both demographic and environmental factors. Herein, we aimed to determine significant factors associated with the prevalence of allergic diseases and with total immunoglobulin E (tIgE) and specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE) levels in Korea.

Methods: We analyzed unweighted data collected by the 2010 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for 2,342 subjects who underwent serum tests for tIgE and sIgE to Dermatophagoides farinae, dog, and Blattella germanica, representing a sample of 16,003,645 citizens, by considering the sample weight and stratification.

Age-Related Changes in Immunological Factors and Their Relevance in Allergic Disease Development During Childhood.

Purpose: Allergic diseases are triggered by Th2-mediated immune reactions to allergens and orchestrated by various immunological factors, including immune cells and cytokines. Although many reports have suggested that childhood is the critical period in the onset of allergic diseases and aging leads to alter the susceptibility of an individual to allergic diseases, age-related changes in various immunological factors in healthy individuals as well as their difference between healthy and allergic children have not yet been established.

Methods: We investigated the ratio of Th1/Th2 cells and the levels of 22 allergy-related cytokines across all age groups in individuals who were classified as clinically non-atopic and healthy.

Prenatal maternal distress affects atopic dermatitis in offspring mediated by oxidative stress.

Background: Recent evidence suggests that prenatal maternal distress increases the risk of allergic diseases in offspring. However, the effect of prenatal maternal depression and anxiety on atopic dermatitis (AD) risk remains poorly understood.

Objective: We investigated whether prenatal maternal distress is associated with AD risk in offspring and whether the mechanism is mediated by reactive oxygen species.

Anomalous separate origin of left anterior descending coronary artery: presented as acute anterior myocardial infarction.

Coronary artery anomalies are rare presentations in primary percutaneous coronary interventions of acute myocardial infarction. Herein, we report the case of a 59-year-old man with acute anterior myocardial infarction who had anomalous separate origin of left anterior descending artery (LAD) and left circumflex artery (LCX) from the left coronary aortic sinus. Coronary angiography showed a normal right coronary artery and LCX, but no visualization of the LAD.

Tumor microenvironmental conversion of natural killer cells into myeloid-derived suppressor cells.

How myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) emerge in the tumor environment remains unclear. Here, we report that GM-CSF can convert natural killer (NK) cells into MDSCs. When transferred into tumor-bearing mice, adoptively transferred NK cells lost their NK phenotype and were converted into Ly6C(high)Ly6G(high) MDSC.

Assessment of Total/Specific IgE Levels Against 7 Inhalant Allergens in Children Aged 3 to 6 Years in Seoul, Korea.

Purpose: Childhood allergies are a serious problem, as they may lead to lifetime chronic disease. Determination of total and specific IgE levels is known to be a diagnostic tool for allergic sensitization; however, IgE levels are affected by various factors, such as age, sex, ethnicity, and geographic area. Thus, we evaluated the distribution of total and specific serum IgE levels against seven inhalant allergens in preschool children and examined their association with allergic diseases in Seoul, Korea.

[A case of acute cholecystitis after colonoscopy].

A 43-year-old man, who received total gastrectomy five years ago for advanced gastric cancer, underwent a screening colonoscopy and abdominal CT scan. Abdominal CT scan revealed no abnormal findings. Colonoscopy revealed polyps at the rectum, which were removed by polypectomy.

A case of a mucinous adenocarcinoma arising from a rectal diverticulum.

The occurrence of an adenocarcinoma arising from a rectal diverticulum that causes mechanical ileus is very rare. Recently, we diagnosed a case of a mucinous adenocarcinoma in a rectal diverticulum after an emergent abdominal perineal resection and permanent colostomy by laparotomy. Here, we present a case report and a review of the literature.

Conversion of Th2 memory cells into Foxp3+ regulatory T cells suppressing Th2-mediated allergic asthma.

Genetic and epigenetic programming of T helper (Th) cell subsets during their polarization from naive Th cells establishes long-lived memory Th cells that stably maintain their lineage signatures. However, whether memory Th cells can be redifferentiated into another Th lineage is unclear. In this study, we show that Ag-specific memory Th cells were redifferentiated into Foxp3(+) T cells by TGF-beta when stimulated in the presence of all-trans retinoic acid and rapamycin.

Spinal cord stimulation for neuropathic pain following idiopathic transverse myelitis: A case report.

We present a patient with intractable neuropathic pain because of idiopathic transverse myelitis unresponsive to medical treatment. After a successful trial of spinal cord stimulation, a permanent stimulator was implanted. Improvement was noted in visual analogue scale, medication usage and daily function.

Cutting edge: Programmed death-1/programmed death ligand 1 interaction regulates the induction and maintenance of invariant NKT cell anergy.

Invariant NKT (iNKT) cells are a distinct subset of T lymphocytes that recognize glycolipid Ags. Upon TCR stimulation, iNKT cells promptly secrete a wide range of cytokines and therefore have been investigated as a target for immunotherapy. However, after primary activation, iNKT cells become hyporesponsive toward their ligand (anergy).

4-1BB engagement costimulates NKT cell activation and exacerbates NKT cell ligand-induced airway hyperresponsiveness and inflammation.

Multiple studies have demonstrated that 4-1BB (CD137), a member of the TNF receptor superfamily, is expressed on several immune cells including activated T cells. However, the expression and the role of 4-1BB on natural killer T (NKT) cells have not been fully characterized. In this study, it was shown that 4-1BB was not expressed on naive NKT cells but was rapidly induced on activated NKT cells by TCR engagement with alpha-galactosylceramide (alpha-GalCer).

A combination of chemoimmunotherapies can efficiently break self-tolerance and induce antitumor immunity in a tolerogenic murine tumor model.

Her-2/neu is a well-characterized tumor-associated antigen overexpressed in human carcinomas such as breast cancer. Because Her-2/neu is a self-antigen with poor immunogenicity due to immunologic tolerance, active immunotherapy targeting Her-2/neu should incorporate methods to overcome immunologic tolerance to self-proteins. In this study, we developed a tolerogenic tumor model in mice using mouse Her-2/neu as self-antigen and investigated whether genetic vaccination with DNA plasmid and/or adenoviral vector expressing the extracellular and transmembrane domain of syngeneic mouse Her-2/neu or xenogenic human Her-2/neu could induce mouse Her-2/neu-specific CTL responses.

alpha-Galactosylceramide can act as a nasal vaccine adjuvant inducing protective immune responses against viral infection and tumor.

alpha-Galactosylceramide (alpha-GalCer) is a ligand of invariant Valpha14+ NKT cells and is presented by CD1d molecule on APC. NKT cells produce a large amount of Th1 and Th2 cytokines in response to alpha-GalCer-presented APC. In this study, we assessed whether alpha-GalCer could act as an effective nasal vaccine adjuvant for mucosal vaccine that would be capable of inducing systemic as well as mucosal immune responses.