Deficiency of glutathione peroxidase-1 and catalase attenuated diet-induced obesity and associated metabolic disorders.

Aims: Oxidative stress has been considered to contribute to the development of obesity-related metabolic disorders including insulin resistance. To the contrary, deficiency of an anti-oxidizing enzyme, glutathione peroxidase (GPx)-1, was reported to enhance insulin signaling, suggesting that oxidative stress may inhibit the development of type 2 diabetes. However, the beneficial effects of the absence of GPx-1 in metabolic homeostasis, including body weight control, have not yet been clearly manifested.

Surgery vs. radiotherapy for locally advanced hypopharyngeal cancer in the contemporary era: A population-based study.

Objectives: To compare overall survival (OS) in locally advanced hypopharyngeal cancer treated with surgery or definitive chemoradiotherapy in the contemporary era.

Methods: From 2010 to 2015, data for patients diagnosed with hypopharyngeal cancer (T2-T4aM0) and treated with total pharyngectomy with lymph node dissection (surgery group) or definitive radiotherapy and chemotherapy (chemoradiotherapy group) was retrieved from the SEER database. Multivariate analyses were performed in each subgroup divided according to T category (T2-3 or T4a).

Attenuation of collagen-induced arthritis by hyperbaric oxygen therapy through altering immune balance in favor of regulatory T cells.

Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO₂) therapy is currently used for the treatment of chronic wounds, radiation-induced soft tissue necrosis, several oxygen-deficiency conditions and decompression sickness. In addition to the current indications, much empirical and experimental data suggest that HBO₂ therapy may benefit autoimmune diseases by suppressing immunity, but the underlying mechanism is not well understood. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated whether HBO₂ prevents the development of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in association with alteration of the immune balance between pro-inflammatory Th17 and anti-inflammatory regulatory T cells (Tregs).

Functional Modulation of Regulatory T Cells by IL-2.

The suppressive function of regulatory T cells (Tregs) is critical to the maintenance of immune homeostasis in vivo and yet, the specific identification of Tregs by phenotypic markers is not perfect. Tregs were originally identified in the CD4+CD25+ fraction of T cells, but FoxP3 expression was later included as an additional marker of Tregs as FoxP3 expression was identified as being critical to the development and function of these cells. Intracellular expression of FoxP3 makes it difficult in using to isolate live and not permeabilized cells for functional assays.

Extracellular vesicle-derived protein from Bifidobacterium longum alleviates food allergy through mast cell suppression.

Background: The incidence of food allergies has increased dramatically during the last decade. Recently, probiotics have been studied for the prevention and treatment of allergic disease.

Objective: We examined whether Bifidobacterium longum KACC 91563 and Enterococcus faecalis KACC 91532 have the capacity to suppress food allergies.

The Etiological Spectrum of Acute Sensory Myelitis.

Background And Purpose: Acute myelitis patients exhibiting only sensory deficits upon initial presentation are not commonly encountered in clinical practice, but they definitely exist. Since acute sensory myelitis has not been investigated previously, this study evaluated the etiological spectrum of the condition with the aim of describing the clinical characteristics thereof.

Methods: Patients with acute myelitis who presented at the Ewha Womans University Medical Center (during 1999-2012) and the National Cancer Center (during 2005-2014) with only sensory symptoms as first clinical features were enrolled in this study.

Effects of adjunctive daily phototherapy on chronic periodontitis: a randomized single-blind controlled trial.

Purpose: The purpose of this randomized single-blind controlled trial was to elucidate the clinical and antimicrobial effects of daily phototherapy (PT) as an adjunct to scaling and root planing (SRP) in patients with chronic periodontitis.

Methods: The study was conducted from December 2013 to May 2014 at Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital, Seoul, Korea. Forty-one patients with mild to moderate chronic periodontitis were randomly divided into two therapeutic groups in a 1:1 ratio: SRP+PT and SRP (control) groups.

Hyperoxygenation attenuated a murine model of atopic dermatitis through raising skin level of ROS.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease resulting from excessive stimulation of immune cells. Traditionally, reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been implicated in the progression of inflammatory diseases, but several opposing observations suggest the protective role of ROS in inflammatory disease. Recently, we demonstrated ROS prevented imiquimod-induced psoriatic dermatitis through enhancing regulatory T cell function.

Anterior maxillary defect reconstruction with a staged bilateral rotated palatal graft.

Purpose: In the anterior maxilla, hard and soft tissue augmentations are sometimes required to meet esthetic and functional demands. In such cases, primary soft tissue closure after bone grafting procedures is indispensable for a successful outcome. This report describes a simple method for soft tissue coverage of a guided bone regeneration (GBR) site using the double-rotated palatal subepithelial connective tissue graft (RPSCTG) technique for a maxillary anterior defect.

Attenuation of experimental colitis in glutathione peroxidase 1 and catalase double knockout mice through enhancing regulatory T cell function.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been implicated in the progression of inflammatory diseases including inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Meanwhile, several studies suggested the protective role of ROS in immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, and it was recently reported that dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis was attenuated in mice with an elevated level of ROS due to deficiency of peroxiredoxin II. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are critical in the prevention of IBD and Treg function was reported to be closely associated with ROS level, but it has been investigated only in lowered levels of ROS so far.

Reactive oxygen species prevent imiquimod-induced psoriatic dermatitis through enhancing regulatory T cell function.

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease resulting from immune dysregulation. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are important in the prevention of psoriasis. Traditionally, reactive oxygen species (ROS) are known to be implicated in the progression of inflammatory diseases, including psoriasis, but many recent studies suggested the protective role of ROS in immune-mediated diseases.