Publications by authors named "Yun-Hee Shon"

: Deep seawater has been shown to restore pancreatic function in obese diabetic mice and considerably improve the homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations in patients with impaired fasting glucose or glucose tolerance. In this study, the effect of 12-week daily consumption of magnesium (Mg)-containing deep seawater mineral extracts on blood glucose concentration and insulin metabolism-associated indicators was investigated in patients with impaired glucose tolerance. : In this 12-week randomized, double-blind trial, patients ( = 37) with impaired glucose tolerance consumed deep seawater mineral extracts.

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Previous in vitro and in vivo studies have shown that the antidiabetic effect of balanced deep-sea water (BDSW) works through the suppression of hyperglycemia and improvement of glucose tolerance. Based on these promising results, we conducted an eight week randomized, double-blinded crossover trial of the effects of BDSW in prediabetic adults. The subjects consumed 440 mL of BDSW (hardness 4000) per day, and maintained an otherwise normal lifestyle and diet throughout.

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Metabolic disorders such as diabetes and obesity are serious global health issues. These diseases are accelerated by mineral deficiencies, emphasizing the importance of addressing these deficiencies in disease management plans. Lactate metabolism is fundamentally linked to glucose metabolism, and several clinical studies have reported that blood lactate levels are higher in obese and diabetic patients than in healthy subjects.

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Proton beam therapy has recently been used to improve local control of tumor growth and reduce side-effects by decreasing the global dose to normal tissue. However, the regulatory mechanisms underlying the physiological role of proton beam radiation are not well understood, and many studies are still being conducted regarding these mechanisms. To determine the effects of proton beams on mitochondrial biogenesis, we investigated: mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mass; the gene expression of mitochondrial transcription factors, functional regulators, and dynamic-related regulators; and the phosphorylation of the signaling molecules that participate in mitochondrial biogenesis.

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Recent studies showed that deficiencies of essential minerals including Mg, Ca, and K, and trace minerals including Se, Zn, and V, have implications for the development, prevention, and treatment of several chronic diseases including obesity and type 2 diabetes. Our previous studies revealed that balanced deep-sea water (BDSW), which is composed of desalinated water enriched with Mg and Ca, has potential as a treatment for diabetes and obesity. In this study, to determine whether BDSW regulates mitochondrial biogenesis and function, we investigated its effects on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) content, mitochondrial enzyme activity, expression of key transcription factors and mitochondria-specific genes, phosphorylation of signaling molecules associated with mitochondrial biogenesis, and mitochondrial function in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes.

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Deep-sea water (DSW) and chitosan oligosaccharides (COS) have recently drawn much attention because of their potential medical and pharmaceutical applications. Balanced DSW (BDSW) was prepared by mixing DSW mineral extracts and desalinated water. This study investigated the effects of BDSW, COS, and BDSW containing COS on glucose uptake and their mode of action in mature C2C12 myotubes.

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The worldwide prevalence of metabolic diseases, including obesity and diabetes, is increasing. Mitochondrial dysfunction is recognized as a core feature of these diseases. Emerging evidence also suggests that defects in mitochondrial biogenesis, number, morphology, fusion, and fission, contribute to the development and progression of metabolic diseases.

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Proton radiotherapy has been established as a highly effective modality used in the local control of tumor growth. Although proton radiotherapy is used worldwide to treat several types of cancer clinically with great success due to superior targeting and energy deposition, the detailed regulatory mechanisms underlying the functions of proton radiation are not yet well understood. Accordingly, in the present study, to assess the effects of proton beam on integrin-mediated signaling pathways, we investigated the expression of integrins related to tumor progression and integrin trafficking, and key molecules related to cell adhesion, as well as examining phosphorylation of signaling molecules involved in integrin-mediated signaling pathways.

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Purpose: Stem cell-based therapies represent new promises for the treatment of urinary incontinence. This study was performed to assess optimized cell passage number, cell dose, therapeutic efficacy, feasibility, toxicity, and cell trafficking for the first step of the pre-clinical evaluation of human amniotic fluid stem cell (hAFSC) therapy in a urinary incontinence animal model.

Materials And Methods: The proper cell passage number was analyzed with hAFSCs at passages 4, 6, and 8 at week 2.

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Colorectal adenocarcinoma is the most common type of gastrointestinal cancer. Colon adenocarcinoma is a major health problem worldwide due to the high prevalence and mortality rates associated with the disease. The majority of colorectal carcinomas are adenocarcinomas, which originate from the epithelial cells of the colorectal mucosa.

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The aim of this study was to determine the effects of balanced deep-sea water (BDSW) on hyperglycemia and glucose intolerance in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice. BDSW was prepared by mixing DSW mineral extracts and desalinated water to yield a final hardness of 1000-4000 ppm. Male ICR mice were assigned to 6 groups; mice in each group were given tap water (normal and STZ diabetic groups) or STZ with BDSW of varying hardness (0, 1000, 2000, and 4000 ppm) for 4 weeks.

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Objective: To determine the effects of balanced deep-sea water (BDSW) on adipocyte hypertrophy and liver steatosis in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese C57BL/6J mice.

Methods: BDSW was prepared by mixing deep-sea water (DSW) mineral extracts and desalinated water. C57BL/6J mice were fed a normal diet or HFD with or without BDSW with different hardness (500, 1000, or 2000) for 20 weeks.

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A previous study demonstrated that disaccharides, antioxidants, and caspase inhibitors can be used in freezing solutions to reduce the concentration of Me2SO from the current standard of 10% (v/v) to 5% (v/v) or 2.5% and to eliminate fetal bovine serum (FBS) for the cryopreservation of human amniotic fluid-derived stem cells (AFSCs). Hence, this study investigated whether an irreversible inhibitor of caspase enzymes, benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-dl-Asp-fluoromethylketone (zVAD-fmk), could be used in post-thaw culture media to increase the survival rate of AFSCs.

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Introduction: Human amniotic fluid stem (hAFS) cells have been shown to differentiate into multiple lineages, including myoblasts. However, molecular mechanisms underlying the myogenic differentiation of hAFS cells and their regenerative potential for muscle injury remain to be elucidated.

Methods: In order to induce myogenic differentiation of hAFS cells, lentiviruses for MYOD were constructed and transduced into hAFS cells.

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In this study, we investigated the effects of balanced deep-sea water (BDSW) on hyperglycemia and glucose intolerance in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced diabetic C57BL/6J mice. BDSW was prepared by mixing deep-sea water (DSW) mineral extracts and desalinated water to give a final hardness of 500-2000. Mice given an HFD with BDSW showed lowered fasting plasma glucose levels compared to HFD-fed mice.

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Amniotic fluid-derived stem cells (AFSCs) are a potential cell source for therapeutic applications. They can be easily mass produced, cryopreserved and shipped to clinics for immediate use. However, one major obstacle to the manufacturing of clinical grade stem cells is the need for current good manufacturing practices for cryopreservation, storage, and distribution of these cells.

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The present study investigated the antimetastatic property of chitosan oligosaccharides (COS) by evaluating motility, invasion, and the amount and activity of MMP-9 in MDA-MB-231 human breast carcinoma cells. Treatment of MDA-MB-231 cells with increasing concentrations of COS led to a concentration-dependent decrease in cell migration. COS significantly inhibited the invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells through a Matrigel-coated membrane.

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We examined the effects of polysaccharides extracted from Asterina pectinifera on the activities of quinone reductase (QR), glutathione S-transferase (GST), ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 and glutathione (GSH) levels in HT-29 human colon adenocarcinoma cells. We found that the polysaccharides extract induced QR activity in a dose-dependent manner over a concentration range of 20 approximately 60 microg/ml and increased GST activity as much as 1.4-fold over controls.

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Currently, the utilization of deep-sea water (DSW) is receiving much attention due to its high productivity, large quantity, and potential for biological application. The 3T3-L1 cell line is a well-established and commonly used in vitro model to assess adipocyte differentiation. Over the course of several days, confluent 3T3-L1 cells can be converted to adipocytes in the presence of an adipogenic cocktail.

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In the present study, we performed a differential proteomic analysis using 2-DE combined with MS to clarify the molecular mechanism for the suppressive effect of chitosan oligosaccharides (CO) during differentiation of adipocyte 3T3-L1. Cell differentiation was significantly inhibited by CO at the concentration of 4 mg/mL. Protein mapping of adipocyte homogenates by 2-DE revealed that numerous protein spots were differentially altered in response to CO treatment.

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In this report, we investigated the effect of ginkgolide C (GC) from Ginkgo biloba leaves in collagen (10 mug/ml)-stimulated platelet aggregation. It has been known that matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) is released from human platelets, and that it significantly inhibited platelet aggregation stimulated by collagen. Zymographic analysis confirmed that pro-MMP-9 (92-kDa) was activated by GC to form an activated MMP-9 (86-kDa) on gelatinolytic activities.

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Chemopreventive and cytotoxic effect of genistein against human breast cancer cell lines was investigated. Genistein inhibited cell proliferation in estrogen receptor-positive (MCF-7) and estrogen receptor-negative (MDA-MB-231) human breast carcinoma cell lines. Cytochrome P450 (CYP) 1A1-mediated ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD)activity was inhibited by genistein in a concentration-dependent manner.

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We investigated the effect of protein extract of Asterina pectinifera on the activity of 4 enzymes that may play a role in adenocarcinoma of the colon: quinone reductase (QR), glutathione S-transferase (GST), ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2. QR and GST activity increased in HT-29 human colon adenocarcinoma cells increased that had been exposed to 4 concentrations of the protein extract (80, 160, 200, and 240 microg/mL). Additionally, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced ODC activity decreased significantly in cells exposed to the extract in concentrations of 160 microg/mL (p<0.

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