There are some emergency situations when untested fresh blood should be transfused. Emergency blood donor tests(EBDT) have been done as an effort to protect these blood recipients from contracting transfusion associated infections in Seoul National University, Hospital. EBDT includes HBsAg, anti-HlV, STS, and ALT test. Anti-HCV test is not included because of the absence of appropriate test kit. A total of 534 tests have been done from June 1993 to August 1995. Among these, 495 tests(92.7%) have been done for blood donor screening, and 39 tests(7.3%) for emergency organ transplantation. Sensitivity and specificiy of the emergency HBsAg test were 69% and 98%, respectively. There were two RPR reactive blood donors, but no anti-HIV positive cases. Among 458 blood donors, 37 donors(8.1%) showed increased ALT level(> 45IU/L). The percent of agreement in HBsAg, elevated ALT and anti-HIV tests between emergent and routine blood donor tests, were 97.0%, 98.9% and 100%, respectively. Although false positive and false negative EBDT result may is useful, although limited, we think that EBDT is useful in protecting blood recipient from transfusion associated infections.
Blood Donors* ; Emergencies* ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Organ Transplantation ; Seoul ; Transplants

OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to study the way of thinking and satisfaction level of North Korean defectors in South Korea on various topics and their relationship with each other. METHODS: Direct interview was performed for 553 North Korean defectors in South Korea. 44 items of life satisfaction were rated. Satisfaction level was rated on a 5 point scale (1-unsatisfactory and 5-fully satisfied). Factor analysis and correlation of the factors were performed. RESULTS: The average level of satisfaction was 3.39. Relatively high satisfaction items were adjustment of their children, family life, and residence area. But relatively low satisfaction items were psychological and mental area, leisure, and income. In governmental support systems, medical support was the most satisfactorily rated item, but financial support for settlement and support for employment or job training were the most dissatisfied. In the factor analysis, 44 items of satisfaction were grouped into 13 factors. The correlation of these factors showed that general satisfaction is significantly correlated with satisfaction with housing, economic status, governmental support and lower degree of confusion on the sense of value. Confusion on the sense of value was high when defectors do not have close friends, have difficulties in understanding South Korean people, and are not satisfied with their economic status. Religion did not have significant correlation with the their sense of value. And self and social consciousness of the defectors were strongly correlated with the their employment status. CONCLUSION: This result showed that the satisfaction of North Korean defectors is correlated not only with material aspects, but also psychological and mental aspects. The results of study should be considered in helping defector to adjust to living in South Korea.
Child ; Consciousness ; Employment ; Financial Support ; Friends ; Housing ; Humans ; Korea* ; Leisure Activities ; Thinking*

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of HPV-16 E6 expression on the transcription of cellular genes, we used cDNA microarray in HPV-16 E6 transfected stable cancer cell lines. METHODS: Using cDNA microarray consisting of 1,024 genes, we have performed a systematic characterization of gene expression in A549E6 human lung adenocarcinoma and RC10.1 human colon adenocarcinoma cell lines stably expressing HPV-16 E6 gene. The up-regulated and down-regulated genes were classified into the different functional categories; oncogenes, apoptosis, cell cycle, signal transduction, gene regulation, immune response, cell adhesion, protein transport, metabolism, redox control and angiogenesis. RESULTS: Among 1,024 known genes and ESTs (expressed sequence tags) tested, we found 27 up- regulated and 43 down-regulated genes in A549E6 (HPV-16 E6) compared to A549. The major up-regulated genes were as follows. GTPase-activating protein Rho 4, transcription factor D2, IKAROS, integrin-alpha 6, cadherin 11, ephrin-beta 2, RAN binding protein 2, branched-chain amino transferase 2. The major down-regulated genes were as follows. K-ras 2, CDC (cell division cycle) 37, CDC16, CDC7L1, IRF3, interferon-gamma-inducible protein 30, cadherin 6, desmoglein 1, desmocollin 2, endothelin 2. Also, we found 48 up-regulated and 34 down-regulated genes in RC10.1 (HPV-16 E6) compared to RKO. The major up-regulated genes were as follows. Colon cancer familial nonpolyposis type 1 (COCA 1), Bcl 2, jagged 1, MAP2K6, E2F1, ephrin receptor-beta 2, ephrin-beta 2, desmoglein 1, transforming growth factor-beta 3. The major down-regulated genes were as follows. KIT, Rad51C, Bcl 2 antagonist killer 1, STAT 4, epidermal growth factor receptor, high mobility group protein 2, cadherin 11, cadherin 12, cadherin 3, integrin-alpha 1, intergrin-alpha 8, chromosome segregation 1-like. CONCLUSION: Various expression patterns of cellular genes by HPV-16 E6 could be wholy grasped and classified into different functional groups using both cell line system stably expressed HPV-16 E6 and cDNA microarray analysis. These analysis methods must be helpful to understand multiple effects of a specific gene on cellular genes in a short period.
Adenocarcinoma ; Apoptosis ; Cadherins ; Carrier Proteins ; Cell Adhesion ; Cell Cycle ; Cell Line ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) ; Chromosome Segregation ; Colon ; Colonic Neoplasms ; Desmoglein 1 ; DNA, Complementary* ; Endothelin-2 ; Expressed Sequence Tags ; Gene Expression* ; GTPase-Activating Proteins ; Hand Strength ; Human papillomavirus 16* ; Humans ; Lung ; Metabolism ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis* ; Oncogenes ; Oxidation-Reduction ; Protein Transport ; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor ; Signal Transduction ; Transcription Factors ; Transferases

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine the change in attitudes and satisfaction level of North Korean defectors in South Korea over a 3 year period (2001-2004). METHODS: In our first study in 2001, a total of 200 defectors were interviewed. In the follow up study after 3 years, 151 defectors were re-interviewed by an in-person interview. RESULTS: The level of satisfaction to the governmental support policy to defectors decreased significantly. However, the general level of satisfaction increased slightly (from 3.52 to 3.56 ; 5-score scale). This shows that North Korean defectors are stably adapting to South Korean society. The level of satisfaction significantly correlated with the defectors' confusion of the different value systems, the defectors' understanding of the South Korean people, satisfaction with their physical and mental health, and the prejudice of South Korean people to defectors. In terms of the attitudes, the type of schooling, the military service and the communist party membership in North Korea were not related to the change in attitude. However, there was a significant correlation with gender and age. Women showed a greater change in attitude compared to men. Older people had difficulty in understanding the South Korean people, but they showed little psychological affiliation to North Korea. Moreover, they showed a high level of satisfaction with the economic situation in South Korea and had an optimistic viewpoint for their future than younger people. Even though many defectors attended churches, religion was not associated with the level of satisfaction or their change in attitude. CONCLUSION: The factors that influence the level of satisfaction and attitudes of North Korean defectors have changed over 3 years. Therefore, the government, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) associated with defectors and the churches need to be more sensitive to these changes and make plans to support the adaptation of defectors to South Korean society.
Democratic People's Republic of Korea ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies* ; Humans ; Korea* ; Male ; Mental Health ; Military Personnel ; Prejudice ; Refugees ; Thinking*

Mucous gland adenoma of the bronchus is a rare benign tumor arising from the bronchial mucous gland. It accounts for less than 0.5 % of all lung tumors. In adults, tracheal tumors are most often malignant. Among benign tumors arising in the trachea, mucous gland adenoma of the trachea is extremely rare. First case was reported by Ferguson and Cleeland in 1988, as "Mucous gland adenoma of the trachea". Microscopic study shows it to arise from normal submucosal mucous glands forming glandular or tubular structures composed of mucous secreting cells. Common symptoms were cough, hemoptysis, recurrent and protracted pneumonia, shortness of breath, and wheeze. Duration of symptoms before diagnosis varied from a few weeks to 10 years with prolonged symptoms being usual. Management of these tumors should be complete excision, including pulmonary resection because two instances of recurrence after local excision have been reported.
Adenoma* ; Adult ; Bronchi ; Cough ; Diagnosis ; Dyspnea ; Hemoptysis ; Humans ; Lung ; Pneumonia ; Recurrence ; Trachea*

Peutz-Jeghers syndrome is an autosomal dominant inherited disorder characterized by multiple gastrointestinal hamartomatous polyps and mucocutaneous pigmentation. Peutz-Jeghers syndrome has an incidence of approximately 1 in 25,000 to 300,000 births. Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that typically manifests as regional enteritis with its incidence ranging from 3.1 to 14.6 cases per 100,000 person-years in North America. Herein, we report a case of a 30-year-old male patient who had both Peutz-Jeghers syndrome and Crohn's disease. We believe that this is the first case in Korea and the second report in the English literatures on Peutz-Jeghers syndrome coincidentally accompanied by Crohn's disease.
Adult ; Crohn Disease/complications/*diagnosis/pathology ; Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal ; Humans ; Intestinal Obstruction/etiology ; Intestinal Perforation/etiology ; Intestinal Polyps/pathology/surgery ; Male ; Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome/complications/*diagnosis/genetics ; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases/genetics

BACKGROUNDS: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is known as the major causative phenomenon in the development of cervical cancer. E6 and E7 proteins of oncogenic HPV types can play critical roles in immortalization and malignant transformation of cervical epithelial cells. From the previous epidemiologic data, long term use of oral contraceptives may be one of the risk factor for cervical cancer. PURPOSE: Investigation of estrogenic and anti-estrogenic effects on the proliferation of cervical cancer cells and gene expression of HPV under the regulation of HPV upstream regulatory region (URR) would help to explain the role of estradiol in HPV-associated pathogenesis of cervical cancer. METHODS: Cervical cancer cells (HeLa, CaSki and C33A) were cultured in vitro in the presence of 17 beta-estradiol or tamoxifen and the numbers of cells were directly counted to observe the growth stimulatory or suppressive effect of the treatment. The correlation between the growth regulatory effect and HPV E6/E7 gene expression was determined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The estrogenic effect on the promoter activity of HPV URR was further confirmed by transient co-transfection assays, which were conducted in C33A cells using the HPV-18 URR-CAT reporter plasmid. Supplemental effect of estrogen receptor on the URR promoter activity was also evaluated. To analyze the growth suppressive function at the higher concentration of estradiol or tamoxifen in HeLa cells, DNA fragmentation assay was performed. RESULTS: The proliferation of HeLa and CaSki cells was stimulated by estradiol at the concentration of physiological level (< or =1 X 10-6M), reaching maximal growth at 0.5 X 10-6M. At concentration of 0.1 X 10-6M, tamoxifen also stimulated the proliferation of HeLa and CaSki cells. In contrast to HPV-positive cervical cells, C33A cells were not influenced to cell proliferation by addition of estradiol at the physiological level, indicating that HPV might play role in growth stimulatory effect of estrogen or tamoxifen. Interestingly, the proliferation of HeLa cells was totally suppressed by estradiol and tamoxifen at the higher concentration (5 and 10 X 10-6M), whereas those of CaSki and C33A cellswere not responded and little suppressed at the concentration, respectively. The levels of HPV-18 E6 and E7 mRNA were significantly increased after treatment of 0.5 X 10-6M estradiol as determined by RT-PCR. Furthermore, transient transfection experiments using the URR-CAT reporter plasmid indicated that the increased expression of HPV E6/E7 genes was related with the growth stimulatory effect of estradiol and tamoxifen. In addition, co-transfection of estrogen receptor (ER) leads to an over 4-fold increase in CAT activity after treatment of estradiol or tamoxifen with 0.5 X 10-6M. When estradiol or tamoxifen was treated at the concentration over 5 X 10-6M for 96 hr, a typical DNA ladder, a indicative of apoptosis, was observed in HeLa cells. However, DNA ladder was not detected in C33A cells of which growth was some suppressed under same concentration of estradiol. CONCLUSION: At the physiological levels, estradiol stimulated the growth of HPV-positive cervical cancer cells and tamoxifen also did at the concentration of 0.1 X 10-6M. The increased expression of HPV E6/E7 at the physiologic levels appeared to be related with the growth stimulation of HPV-positive cervical cancer cells. Growth suppression observed at the higher concentration (5 and 10 X 10-6M) might be a indicative of apoptosis shown by DNA fragmentation assay in HeLa cells. Taken together, these data suggested that the concentration of estradiol (< or =1 X 10-6M) could be a risk-factor in HPV-mediated cerivcal carcinogenesis.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; Carcinogenesis ; Cats ; Cell Proliferation ; Contraceptives, Oral ; DNA ; DNA Fragmentation ; Epithelial Cells ; Estradiol ; Estrogens* ; Gene Expression ; HeLa Cells ; Human papillomavirus 18 ; Humans ; Plasmids ; Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid ; Risk Factors ; RNA, Messenger ; Tamoxifen ; Transfection ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms*

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to examine the pharmaco-dynamic pattern of proteomic expression in cervical carcinoma cells (CaSki cell line; HPV-16 positive) after in vitro treatment by the etoposide. METHODS: We analyzed proteomic profiling in cervical carcinoma cells after etoposide treatment using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) with MALDI-TOF-MS used for protein identification. Then, we tested the several experimental methods for verification and functional identification, including MTT assay, PI staining, DNA fragmentation assay, FDA, FACS and Western blot analysis. RESULTS: Etoposide inhibited the CaSki cervical cancer cell growth in a dose-dependent manner and the optimal concentration of etoposide is 2micrometer(IC50) in the CaSki cervical cancer cells. The etoposide induced apoptosis, as determined by DNA fragmentation assay, FACS, and Western blot. The etoposide increased the protein expression of Fas (Apo-1/CD95), p53, pRb and caspase-3, but decreased the level of Bcl-2 and caspase-3 precursor and subsequently triggered the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway (release of cytochrome c and activation of caspase-9). To this end, we analyzed CaSki cancer cells using 2-DE. Eight proteins (XAP-5, HXC-36, serine/threonine protein phosphatase 2B catalytic subunit, G2/mitotic-specific cyclin B1, T-box transcription factor TBX20, diacylglycerol kinase, amiloride-sensitive amine oxidase, HEF-like protein, ras-related protein Rab-20) were down-regulated and nine proteins (RNA 3'-terminal phosphate cyclase-like protein, late endosomal/lysosomal Mp1 interacting protein, glia maturation factor, replication protein A 14 kDa subunit, mago sashi protein homolog, 14 kDa phosphohistidine phosphatase, protein C14 or f48, cyclin-dependent kinase 4 inhibitior A, retinoic acid-binding protein II) were up-regulated in etoposide-treated CaSki cells when compared with non-treated cells. CONCLUSION: Our results clearly indicate that etoposide induced cell death by apoptosis. These findings may provide insights into the mechanisms underlying the apparent anti-tumoral effects of etoposide.
Apoptosis ; Blotting, Western ; Calcineurin ; Caspase 3 ; Catalytic Domain ; Cell Death ; Cell Line ; Cyclin B1 ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 4 ; Cytochromes c ; Diacylglycerol Kinase ; DNA Fragmentation ; Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional ; Etoposide ; Glia Maturation Factor ; Human papillomavirus 16 ; Oxidoreductases ; Proteomics ; Replication Protein A ; Transcription Factors ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms

PURPOSE: Growth regulation of cancer cells very frequently involves tumor suppressor gene p53, Rb and cell cycle regulator, however the molecular biologic mechanisms of growth regulation in ovarian carcinoma cells are not fully defined. To assess the mechanism of growth suppression, we treated IFN-gama in ovarian carcinoma cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Growth suppression by treatment of IFN-gama was determined by cell proliferation assay in ovarian carcinoma cell lines. Apoptosis was determined by DNA fragmentation assay and electron microscopy. Molecular mechanism of the apoptosis in ovarian carcinoma cell by IFN-gama was further analyzed by the western blot. RESULTS: We found that IFN-gama had remarkable growth- suppressive effects in PA-1 and A2774 ovarian carcinoma cells in a time-dependent manner. Apoptosis was observed in PA-1 and A2774 cell following treatment of IFN- gama by DNA fragmentation assay and EM. The expression of IRF-1 protein from A2774 and PA-1 cell extracts was elevated by increasing the concentration of IFN-gama. IFN-gama caused an increased expression of the important apoptosis-related gene, ICE (interleukin-1beta-converting enzyme) protein in A2774 and PA-1. CONCLUSION: The coordinate induction of IRF-1 and ICE by IFN-gama in ovarian carcinoma cells suggests a functional relationship between these proteins in programmed cell death. The significance of this study is the molecular biologic background of IFN-gama considered as an alternative treatment trial of ovarian cancers.
Apoptosis ; Blotting, Western ; Cell Cycle ; Cell Death ; Cell Extracts ; Cell Line ; Cell Proliferation ; DNA Fragmentation ; Genes, Tumor Suppressor ; Ice ; Interferon Regulatory Factor-1 ; Microscopy, Electron ; Ovarian Neoplasms*

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is the most frequent cause of noncardiac chest pain (NCCP) in Western countries. Gastroduodenal disease has a high prevalence in Korea; thus, it is important to evaluate the stomach/duodenum. We retrospectively reviewed the findings in patients with chest pain who were diagnosed by coronary angiography (CAG) to be normal or who had minimal coronary lesions to evaluate the necessity of performing esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) in patients with NCCP. METHODS: A total of 565 patients with chest pain underwent CAG followed by EGD from February 2000 to March 2011 at Konyang University Hospital. We excluded patients who underwent EGD more than 3 days after CAG or had significant coronary lesions. We retrospectively reviewed the EGD findings of the remaining 349 patients. RESULTS: Of the 349 patients, 151 were male, and the average age of the patients was 57.7+/-11.44 years. After performing EGD, GERD was diagnosed in 35 patients (10.0%; LA [Los Angeles classification]-A, 30; LA-B, three; LA-C, two) and peptic ulcer was diagnosed in 48 patients (13.8%; gastric ulcer, 34; duodenal ulcer, 10; gastric and duodenal ulcer, four). Gastritis was diagnosed in 253 patients (72.5%; erosive, 89; erythematous, 90; hemorrhagic, 10; mixed, 64). Duodenitis, esophagitis, Barrett's esophagus, hiatus hernia, and gastric cancer was diagnosed in 36 (10.3%), three (0.9%), two (0.6%), three (0.9%), and one patient, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Unlike the situation in the west, stomach/duodenal lesions other than GERD are common causes of NCCP in Korea, Therefore, prior to proton pump inhibitor testing or empirical therapy, EGD is necessary to evaluate NCCP and to rule out gastroduodenal lesions.
Barrett Esophagus ; Chest Pain ; Coronary Angiography ; Duodenal Ulcer ; Duodenitis ; Endoscopy ; Endoscopy, Digestive System ; Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal ; Esophagitis ; Gastritis ; Gastroesophageal Reflux ; Hernia, Hiatal ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Peptic Ulcer ; Prevalence ; Proton Pumps ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Stomach Ulcer ; Thorax