T cell activation is a critical event for initiation and regulation of immune responses and inhibitors of such signaling pathways are clinically useful for the treatment of patients received allogratt and autoimmune disease. In the course of screening soil microorganisms from the forest of Cheju island in Korea for new immunosuppressive agent, one of Streptomyces species (CK-95441) was found to produce a new immunosuppressant, tautomycetin which also had antifungal activity. Tautomycetin showed the inhibition of T cell proliferation in murine mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) and T cell activation induced by concanavalin A. Tautomycetin also blocked the induction of IL-2 gene expression which was examined in Jurkat TAg cell line in which multiple NFAT-binding sites and minimal IL-2 promoter drive the production of B-galactosidase. Also, the level of inhibition in activation-induced IL-2 receptor expression by tautomycetin was greater than those by cyclosporin A measured by flow cytometry. But, Fas ligand-induced apoptosis in Jurkat cells was unaffected by tautomycetin which was measured by DNA fragmentation assay. These results suggested that tautomycetin will be able to be used as a potent immunosuppressive drug following organ transplantation.

The optimal treatment of primary or metastatic liver cancer is the complete surgical excision of the tumors. Hepatoma has a poor prognosis, especially in the case of unresectable hepatoma. In such cases, variable therapeutic modalities have been tried in attempts to improve the prognosis of the hepatoma patients. One of these modalities is hepatic cryosurgery, which has received increased attention recently. We have experienced four cases of hepatic cryosurgery on unresectable hepatomas at the ChungAng University Hospital in Korea, the first such cases, from September 1995 to December 1995. There was an excellent therapeutic outcome in one case. We expect that hepatic cryosurgery will serve as a new and effective therapeutic modality for unresectable hepatoma.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Cryosurgery* ; Humans ; Korea ; Liver Neoplasms ; Prognosis

Vitamin K (VitK) exists in multiple forms, with Vitamin K1 (VitK1) and Vitamin K2 (VitK2) being the most prominent. VitK1 primarily regulates clotting factors in the liver, whereas VitK2 plays a crucial role in activating extrahepatic proteins involved in various physiological processes. VitK plays a pivotal role in various physiological functions, including vascular health, bone metabolism, neuroprotection, hepatoprotection, immune response modulation, dental health, and glucose control. Particularly, activation of the matrix Gla protein and osteocalcin through VitK2 inhibits vascular calcification (VC) and promotes bone mineralization. This review provides an overview of the physiological functions of VitK2, underscoring its role in calcium metabolism modulation and its diverse effects on health. Additionally, this article provides a comprehensive overview of the beneficial functions of VitK, and discusses the significance of adequate dietary intake and oral supplementation of VitK. Particularly, emphasizing on the need for VitK2 supplementation owing to its relatively limited availability in Western diets. VitK2 supplementation effectively counters VC, enhances bone density, and offers neuroprotective, hepatoprotective, and anti-inflammatory benefits. Thus, the supplementation of VitK2, alongside dietary intake, is essential for preventive healthcare, particularly in the prevention of osteoporosis and vascular diseases. Incorporating adequate VitK2 intake highlights its significance in promoting overall well-being. Illustrated summary of the role of VitK in menopausal women.

Vitamin K (VitK) exists in multiple forms, with Vitamin K1 (VitK1) and Vitamin K2 (VitK2) being the most prominent. VitK1 primarily regulates clotting factors in the liver, whereas VitK2 plays a crucial role in activating extrahepatic proteins involved in various physiological processes. VitK plays a pivotal role in various physiological functions, including vascular health, bone metabolism, neuroprotection, hepatoprotection, immune response modulation, dental health, and glucose control. Particularly, activation of the matrix Gla protein and osteocalcin through VitK2 inhibits vascular calcification (VC) and promotes bone mineralization. This review provides an overview of the physiological functions of VitK2, underscoring its role in calcium metabolism modulation and its diverse effects on health. Additionally, this article provides a comprehensive overview of the beneficial functions of VitK, and discusses the significance of adequate dietary intake and oral supplementation of VitK. Particularly, emphasizing on the need for VitK2 supplementation owing to its relatively limited availability in Western diets. VitK2 supplementation effectively counters VC, enhances bone density, and offers neuroprotective, hepatoprotective, and anti-inflammatory benefits. Thus, the supplementation of VitK2, alongside dietary intake, is essential for preventive healthcare, particularly in the prevention of osteoporosis and vascular diseases. Incorporating adequate VitK2 intake highlights its significance in promoting overall well-being. Illustrated summary of the role of VitK in menopausal women.

Vitamin K (VitK) exists in multiple forms, with Vitamin K1 (VitK1) and Vitamin K2 (VitK2) being the most prominent. VitK1 primarily regulates clotting factors in the liver, whereas VitK2 plays a crucial role in activating extrahepatic proteins involved in various physiological processes. VitK plays a pivotal role in various physiological functions, including vascular health, bone metabolism, neuroprotection, hepatoprotection, immune response modulation, dental health, and glucose control. Particularly, activation of the matrix Gla protein and osteocalcin through VitK2 inhibits vascular calcification (VC) and promotes bone mineralization. This review provides an overview of the physiological functions of VitK2, underscoring its role in calcium metabolism modulation and its diverse effects on health. Additionally, this article provides a comprehensive overview of the beneficial functions of VitK, and discusses the significance of adequate dietary intake and oral supplementation of VitK. Particularly, emphasizing on the need for VitK2 supplementation owing to its relatively limited availability in Western diets. VitK2 supplementation effectively counters VC, enhances bone density, and offers neuroprotective, hepatoprotective, and anti-inflammatory benefits. Thus, the supplementation of VitK2, alongside dietary intake, is essential for preventive healthcare, particularly in the prevention of osteoporosis and vascular diseases. Incorporating adequate VitK2 intake highlights its significance in promoting overall well-being. Illustrated summary of the role of VitK in menopausal women.

The systematic study of products from bacteria and fungi has led to the development of two immunosuppressive drugs, cyclosporin A and FK 506 (tacrolimus) which are useful to suppress adaptive immune responses to the grafted tissue. However, they affect all immune responses indiscriminately and are both toxic to kidneys and other organs. To facilitate the development of immunosuppressor to block the T cell receptor (TcR)-mediated signaling cascade specifically, a novel Jurkat T cell transfectants, JK NFAT-SEAP were generated in which the expression of the secreted alkaline phosphatase (SEAP) is driven by the multiple NFAT binding sites plus minimal IL-2 promoter. Upon stimulation with ionomycin or anti-TcR mAb OKT3 in the presence of PMA, these transfectants secreted high level of SEAP into the medium, which was conveniently analyzed by SEAP analysis. The secretion of SEAP was effectively inhibited by cyclosporin A or FK 506 at the concentration of [10 ' ug/ml], [10 ug/ml] respectively. JK NFAT-SEAP transfectants will provide two major advantages for the development of a novel immunosuppressor. First, analysis of SEAP secreted into the culture medium by SEAP analysis enables us to test a large number of samples within a short period of time. Second, Usage of IL-2 promoter for the expression of SEAP makes us identify bioproducts to target specifically on TcR-mediated signaling pathway.
Alkaline Phosphatase ; Bacteria ; Binding Sites ; Cell Line* ; Cyclosporine ; Fungi ; Interleukin-2 ; Ionomycin ; Kidney ; Mass Screening* ; Muromonab-CD3 ; Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell ; T-Lymphocytes* ; Tacrolimus ; Transplants

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to investigate the results of treatment using stent-angioplasty for symptomatic middle cerebral arterial (MCA) stenosis and comparison of in-stent restenosis between drug-eluting stents (DES), bare metal coronary stents (BMS) and self-expanding stents (SES). MATERIALS AND METHODS: From Jan. 2007 to June. 2012, 34 patients (mean age +/- standard deviation: 62.9 +/- 13.6 years) with MCA stenosis were treated. Inclusion criteria were acute infarction or transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) and angiographically proven symptom related severe stenosis. Stents used for treatment were DES (n = 8), BMS (n = 13) and SES (n = 13). National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) at admission was 2.5 +/- 3.1 and mean stenosis rate was 79.0 +/- 8.2%. Assessment of clinical and angiographic results was performed retrospectively. RESULTS: Among 34 patients, periprocedural complications occurred in four cases (11.8%), however, only two cases (6.0%) were symptomatic. All patients were followed clinically (mean follow-up period; 40.7 +/- 17.7 months) and 31 were followed angiographically (91.2%. 13.4 +/- 8.5 months). There was no occurrence of repeat stroke in all patients; however, mild TIAs related to restenosis occurred in three of 34 patients (8.8%). The mean NIHSS after stent-angioplasty was 1.7 +/- 2.9 and 0.8 +/- 1.1 at discharge. The modified Rankin score (mRS) at discharge was 0.5 +/- 0.9 and 0.3 +/- 0.8 at the last clinical follow-up. In-stent restenosis over 50% occurred in five of 31 angiographically followed cases (16.1%), however, all of these events occurred only in patients who were treated with BMS or SES. Restenosis rate was 0.0% in the DES group and 20.8% in the other group (p = 0.562); it did not differ between BMS and SES (2/11 18.2%, 3/13 23.1%, p = 1.000). CONCLUSION: Stent-angioplasty appears to be effective for symptomatic MCA stenosis. As for restenosis, in our study, DES was presumed to be more effective than BMS and SES; meanwhile, the results did not differ between the BMS and SES groups.
Angioplasty ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Drug-Eluting Stents ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Infarction ; Ischemic Attack, Transient ; Middle Cerebral Artery ; National Institutes of Health (U.S.) ; Stents ; Stroke

OBJECTIVES: We investigated the relationship between bone mineral density (BMD) and hormone therapy (HT) and its duration in postmenopausal women. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study on 291 postmenopausal women who had their BMD and follow-up BMD measured in a university hospital. We analyzed BMD, HT types and HT duration according to clinical characteristics. RESULTS: The mean age of the study subjects was 53.7 +/- 5.9 years. HT types and HT duration were not statistically related to improvement in BMD (P = 0.956, 0.483). But osteoporosis in patients with hormone therapy improves bone mineral density showed statistical significance (P = 0.001). CONCLUSION: HT types and HT duration did not have any effect on bone mineral density, but further prospective multicenter studies regarding HT should be considered for osteoporosis.
Bone Density ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Osteoporosis ; Retrospective Studies

Fibroepithelial polyps (FEPs) on the vulvovaginal region are rare lesions of the lower genital track and differential diagnosis can be wide. When faced with FEPs, gynecologists and pathologists have to consider a wide range of diagnoses, because overlapping morphologic features and management of these lesions has been observed. We report a case of fibroepithelial polyps that developed on an unusual genital site, and provide a brief review of the literature.
Diagnosis, Differential ; Polyps ; Polytetrafluoroethylene ; Track and Field

Women undergo various physical changes because of hormonal changes occurring after menopause. Some representative changes caused by the reduction in estrogen levels in these women are dyslipidemia, abnormal lipoprotein levels, obesity, weight gain, and changes in body fat distribution. A characteristic of women approaching menopause is the shift of fat from their hips and thighs to their abdomen. Notably, fat accumulation is common in internal organs, resulting in male-pattern obesity among women approaching menopause; therefore, these women require more exercise therapy than premenopausal women to prevent and treat obesity. To the best of our knowledge, no effective exercise therapy guidelines have been established for postmenopausal women; therefore, I aimed to suggest more effective diet and exercise therapies for postmenopausal women with obesity. For this purpose, I organized the diet and exercise protocol by collaborating with an obstetrician and a researcher specializing in sports medicine; further, this protocol was actually applied to all participants. The results indicated that the protocol is effective in reducing weight; however, joint pain was commonly noted in participants who dropped out of the program. Based on the evaluation of joint pain, this study found that it is necessary to perform exercise therapy by avoiding weight-bearing activities and reinforcing personalized joint strengthening exercises because reduced estrogen level is an important factor exacerbating arthritis in postmenopausal women.