Abnormal glycosylation due to dysregulated glycosyltransferases and glycosidases is a key phenomenon of many malignancies, including colorectal cancer (CRC). In particular, increased ST6 Gal I (beta-galactoside alpha 2, 6 sialyltransferase) and subsequently elevated levels of cell-surface alpha 2, 6-linked sialic acids have been associated with metastasis and therapeutic failure in CRC. As many CRC patients experience metastasis to the liver or lung and fail to respond to curative therapies, intensive research efforts have sought to identify the molecular changes underlying CRC metastasis. ST6 Gal I has been shown to facilitate CRC metastasis, and we believe that additional investigations into the involvement of ST6 Gal I in CRC could facilitate the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic targets. This review summarizes how ST6 Gal I has been implicated in the altered expression of sialylated glycoproteins, which have been linked to CRC metastasis, radioresistance, and chemoresistance.
Antigens, CD/*metabolism ; Colorectal Neoplasms/*metabolism/pathology/*therapy ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; Glycoproteins/*metabolism ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms/secondary ; Lung Neoplasms/secondary ; Radiation Tolerance ; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor/metabolism ; Sialic Acids/*metabolism ; Sialyltransferases/*metabolism

Background: Environmental tobacco smoke exposure due to parents is a modifiable risk factor for childhood asthma, but many studies have evaluated parental smoking using selfreported data. Therefore, we aimed to analyze the relationship between parental cotinineverified smoking status and asthma in their children. Methods: This population-based cross-sectional study used data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2014 to 2017. Participants aged 0 to 18 years with complete self-reported physician-diagnosed childhood asthma and measurement of their parental urinary cotinine levels were included. Parental urinary cotinine-verified smoking status was defined using both urinary cotinine levels and self-report, as active, passive, and non-smoker. Sample weights were applied to all statistical analyses because of a complex, multistage and clustered survey design. Logistic regression model was used to analyze the relationship between childhood asthma and parental smoking. Results: A total of 5,264 subjects aged < 19 years were included. The prevalence of asthma was 3.4%. The proportions of paternal and maternal urinary cotinine-verified active smokers during the study period were 50.4% and 16.9%, respectively. When parental urinary cotinine level increased, the proportion of parental low household income was increased (P < 0.001).There was no significant association between the parental urinary cotinine-verified smoking group and childhood asthma group. However, the adjusted odds ratios of childhood asthma in the middle and highest tertile of paternal urinary cotinine levels compared with those in lowest tertile were 1.95 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.98–3.89) and 2.34 (95% CI, 1.21–4.54), respectively. Conclusion There seems to be a dose-related association between paternal urinary cotinine levels and the risk of childhood asthma. Because of the high rate of paternal smoking, further studies are needed to develop a targeted strategy to reduce parental smoking for childhood asthma.

Background: Environmental tobacco smoke exposure due to parents is a modifiable risk factor for childhood asthma, but many studies have evaluated parental smoking using selfreported data. Therefore, we aimed to analyze the relationship between parental cotinineverified smoking status and asthma in their children. Methods: This population-based cross-sectional study used data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2014 to 2017. Participants aged 0 to 18 years with complete self-reported physician-diagnosed childhood asthma and measurement of their parental urinary cotinine levels were included. Parental urinary cotinine-verified smoking status was defined using both urinary cotinine levels and self-report, as active, passive, and non-smoker. Sample weights were applied to all statistical analyses because of a complex, multistage and clustered survey design. Logistic regression model was used to analyze the relationship between childhood asthma and parental smoking. Results: A total of 5,264 subjects aged < 19 years were included. The prevalence of asthma was 3.4%. The proportions of paternal and maternal urinary cotinine-verified active smokers during the study period were 50.4% and 16.9%, respectively. When parental urinary cotinine level increased, the proportion of parental low household income was increased (P < 0.001).There was no significant association between the parental urinary cotinine-verified smoking group and childhood asthma group. However, the adjusted odds ratios of childhood asthma in the middle and highest tertile of paternal urinary cotinine levels compared with those in lowest tertile were 1.95 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.98–3.89) and 2.34 (95% CI, 1.21–4.54), respectively. Conclusion There seems to be a dose-related association between paternal urinary cotinine levels and the risk of childhood asthma. Because of the high rate of paternal smoking, further studies are needed to develop a targeted strategy to reduce parental smoking for childhood asthma.

PURPOSE: The inappropriate prescription of antibiotics in children with upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) is common. This study evaluated the factors that influence antibiotics use in hospitalized children with viral URTI confirmed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)assay. METHODS: The medical records of admitted patients who performed RT-PCR assay for respiratory virus pathogens from January 2013 to November 2014 were examined. The demographic and clinical features were compared between patients who were administered antibiotics at admission and those who were not. We also investigated differences between children who continued antibiotics and those who stopped antibiotics after a viral pathogen was identified. RESULTS: In the total 393 inpatients, the median age was 23 months (interquartile range, 13 to 41.3 months). Antimicrobial agents were prescribed in 79 patients (20.1%) at admission. Patients with acute otitis media (AOM) had higher rates of antibiotics prescription than those without AOM (48.1% vs. 2.2%, P <0.001), with an adjusted odds ratio of 91.1 (95% confidence interval, 30.5 to 271.7). Level of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and the proportion of acute rhinosinusitis were also significantly associated with antibiotics use (P <0.001). Among the 44 patients with viruses identified using the RT-PCR method during hospitalization, antibiotic use was continued in 28 patients (63.6%). AOM was statistically associated with continued antibiotic use in the patients (P =0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Although the respiratory virus responsible for URTI etiology is identified, clinicians might not discontinue antibiotics if AOM is accompanying. Therefore, careful diagnosis and management of AOM could be a strategy to reduce unjustified antibiotic prescriptions for children with URTI.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Anti-Infective Agents ; C-Reactive Protein ; Child ; Child, Hospitalized* ; Diagnosis ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Inappropriate Prescribing ; Inpatients ; Medical Records ; Methods ; Odds Ratio ; Otitis Media ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Prescriptions ; Respiratory System* ; Respiratory Tract Infections* ; Retrospective Studies*

The authors found an error in the title. Th etitle has been updated from “A Retrospective Analysis of Use in Hospitalized Children with Upper Respiratory Tract Infection” to “A Retrospective Analysis of Antibiotic Use in Hospitalized Children with Upper Respiratory Tract Infection.”
Child ; Child, Hospitalized* ; Humans ; Respiratory System* ; Respiratory Tract Infections* ; Retrospective Studies*

The authors found an error in the title. Th etitle has been updated from “A Retrospective Analysis of Use in Hospitalized Children with Upper Respiratory Tract Infection” to “A Retrospective Analysis of Antibiotic Use in Hospitalized Children with Upper Respiratory Tract Infection.”
Child ; Child, Hospitalized* ; Humans ; Respiratory System* ; Respiratory Tract Infections* ; Retrospective Studies*

BACKGROUND: Rhus verniciflua Stokes (RV) has traditionally been used in Korea as an indigenous food (Rhus chicken soup) and as an herbal medicinal plant. While the anticancer, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties of RV have been actively studied in the medical field, its antioxidant effects in the skin that resist the reactive oxygen species in keratinocytes and fibroblasts is less understood. OBJECTIVE: We designed to evaluate the effects of R. verniciflua Stokes extract (RVE) on the photo-aged skin by an in vitro experiment using human fibroblasts and an in vivo experiment using a photo-aged murine model. METHODS: For the in vitro experiments, human fibroblasts irradiated with ultraviolet (UV) B were treated with RVE or vehicle, and the growth levels and the expression level of type 1 procollagen were compared. For the in vivo experiment, photo-aged mice irradiated with UVB and UVA were administered drinking water with or without RVE, and histological changes and the expression level of type 1 procollagen and matrix metalloprotease (MMP)-13 were compared. RESULTS: In vitro experiments using fibroblasts irradiated with UVB showed that RVE promoted growth and significantly increased the expression of type 1 procollagen as compared to the control group. In the photo-aged mice, RVE increased collagen content in the dermis and promoted the synthesis of type 1 procollagen without any visible decrease in MMP-13 as compared to control group. CONCLUSION: In addition to the previously reported antioxidant effects of RVE, oral intake of RVE effectively inhibited photo-aging in hairless mice by enhancing collagen synthesis.
Aging ; Animals ; Antioxidants ; Chickens ; Collagen ; Dermis ; Drinking Water ; Fibroblasts ; Humans ; In Vitro Techniques ; Keratinocytes ; Korea ; Mice* ; Mice, Hairless ; Plants, Medicinal ; Procollagen ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; Rhus* ; Skin*

BACKGROUND: A stem cell is an undifferentiated cell that has the potential for self-renewal and differentiation. Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) have advantages in accessibility and abundance compared to other kinds of stem cells and produce many growth factors and hormones. OBJECTIVE: We investigated whether ADSC cultured media could be used as a therapy for atopic dermatitis. METHODS: ADSC cultured media was topically applied twice daily for 5 days to oxazolone-treated atopic dermatitis-like hairless mice. RESULTS: Topical application of ADSC cultured media improved the epidermal permeability barrier and keratinocyte differentiation, and restored the predominant Th2 phenotype when compared to vehicle. ADSC cultured media-treated epidermis also showed an increase in the expression of antimicrobial peptides cathelin-related antimicrobial peptide, mouse beta-defensein 3. CONCLUSION: Topical ADSC cultured media could be useful in the treatment of atopic dermatitis.
Animals ; Cathelicidins ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Epidermis ; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins ; Keratinocytes ; Mice ; Oxazolone ; Peptides ; Permeability ; Phenotype ; Stem Cells

BACKGROUND: The acidic pH of the stratum corneum (SC) is important for epidermal permeability barrier homeostasis. Acidification of the skin surface has been suggested as a therapeutic strategy for skin disorders such as atopic dermatitis (AD). OBJECTIVE: We performed an animal study to evaluate the usefulness of acidification of SC for inhibition of AD lesions and to find out if the therapeutic effect of vinegar is attributable to its herbal contents, rather than its acidity. METHODS: Five groups of six oxazolone-treated (Ox)-AD mice were treated for three weeks with creams of different acidity: vehicle cream alone (pH 5.5), neutralized vinegar cream (pH 7.4), pH 5.0 vinegar cream, pH 3.5 vinegar cream, and pH 3.5 hydrogen chloride (HCl) cream. Also, we have compared two groups of Ox-AD mice treated with pH 5.5 vehicle cream or pH 5.5 vinegar cream. RESULTS: Ox-AD mice treated with acidic creams exhibited fewer AD-like lesions, had significantly lower eczema scores, decreased basal by transepidermal water loss (TEWL), and increased SC hydration compared to the groups given only vehicle and neutral cream. There was no significant difference between the acidic vinegar and HCl groups. Between the groups treated with vehicle and pH 5.5 vinegar cream, there was no difference in eczema score, basal TEWL and SC hydration. CONCLUSION: Application of topical acids, regardless of their source materials, inhibits the development of AD lesions by maintenance of skin surface pH and skin barrier function in murine model.
Acetic Acid ; Animals ; Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Eczema ; Homeostasis ; Hydrochloric Acid ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Mice ; Permeability ; Skin* ; Water

BACKGROUND: Various topical cosmeceuticals and lasers have been used to treat photo-aged skin that has wrinkles, acne scars and dilated pores. The microneedle therapy system (MTS) that mechanically makes multiple holes on the skin has come into the limelight to treat these skin problems via stimulating collagen remodeling. The automicroneedle therapy system (AMTS) is a developed version of MTS and it has several advantages compared with conventional MTS. AMTS can achieve regular treatment results because of its automatically punching method. In addition, AMTS can treat smaller area and it has cost advantages due to the inexpensive disposable needle head. OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to determine the dermal proliferative effects and safety of AMTS on the skin compared with that of the conventional MTS roller. METHODS: Twelve hairless mice were divided into two groups; one group was treated with a 0.25 mm needle and the other group was treated with a 2 mm needle. The first group was subdivided into the AMTS-H and the MTS groups and the no treatment group as a control, while the second group was subdivided into the AMTS-H, AMTS, MTS and control groups. Each treated group underwent four procedures every other day. The dermal proliferative efficacies of the treatment were evaluated by the histology, including the dermal thickness and the densities of the collagen fibers. Western blot was also performed for the evaluation of the protein expression of procollagen type I and matrix metalloproteinase-13. For safety profiles, we performed gross observation, basal skin barrier function testing and histologic examination. RESULTS: Treatment by AMTS significantly increased dermal collagen synthesis and the dermal thickness in the hairless mice. In addition, the expression of procollagen type I protein was increased, which accounted for the increased dermal collagen density. There was no specific safety problem related to the treatment. CONCLUSION: These results indicated that AMTS is an effective, safe modality for treating skin problems that require dermal proliferation. We anticipate that AMTS could be a new therapeutic option for inducing dermal proliferation or regeneration.
Acne Vulgaris ; Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Cicatrix ; Collagen ; Collagen Type I ; Head ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 13 ; Mice ; Mice, Hairless ; Needles ; Regeneration ; Skin