BACKGROUND/AIMS: The embryonal origin of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), the principal cells in hepatic fibrogenesis, is still intriguing. We have previously demonstrated that human HSCs express cytokeratins which suggests the epithelial origin of these cells. To further explore the origin and the differentiation of HSCs we studied the expression of E-cadherin, the specific marker of epithelial cells, in human and rat HSCs. METHODS: We studied the changing pattern of E-cadherin expression during spontaneous activation of primarily isolated human HSCs by immunofluorescence staining and RT-PCR. To confirm the expression of E-cadherin in HSCs in vivo we performed double immunofluorescence staining for E-cadherin and glial fibrillary acidic protein, the specific identification marker of quiescent rat HSCs, in normal rat liver. RESULTS: Quiescent human HSCs were labeled strongly by anti-E-cadherin monoclonal antibody at the first and seventh days after primary culture. Human HSCs, however, did not stain for E-cadherin after the first passage of culture. RT-PCR also confirmed these modulations of E-cadherin expression. Double immunofluorescence staining, performed on rat liver tissue and observed by confocal laser scanning microscopy, unequivocally revealed the membranous expression of E-cadherin in quiescent HSCs labeled by glial fibrillary acidic protein. CONCLUSIONS: Quiescent HSCs of humans and rats express E-cadherin both in vitro and in vivo. The extent of E-cadherin expression rapidly decreases during the process of spontaneous activation. Our results suggest that HSCs may be of epithelial origin and undergo epithelial-mesenchymal transition during activation process.
Animals ; Cadherins/*metabolism ; Cell Differentiation ; Cells, Cultured ; English Abstract ; Epithelial Cells/cytology ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein/metabolism ; Human ; Liver/cytology/*metabolism ; Mesoderm/cytology ; Rats ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

The purpose of the study was to test the effect of the health promotion program in middle women. The research design was a quasi experimental, nonequivalent control-group pretest-posttest design. The data were collected from February 24 to April 14, 1988. The subjects were midlife women, age 40 to 50 years who reside in Chonju city. The experimental group consisted of 41 subjects and the control group 40 subjects. The instruments used for the study were the Self Efficacy Scale and the Health Promotion Behavior Scale developed by Park(1995). The data was analyzed by SPSS/PC. The study result were as follows: Through the 7 week education program for health promotion, self efficacy and health behavior were effectively changed in middle-aged.
Education ; Female ; Health Behavior ; Health Promotion* ; Humans ; Jeollabuk-do ; Research Design ; Self Efficacy

No abstract available.
Child* ; Drug Therapy ; Humans

To study the clinical characteristics and treatment results of childhood soft tissue sarcoma, the retrospective study was performed on 67 patients with soft tissue sarcoma, experienced at the Department of Pediatrics, Seoul National University Hospital from January, 1982 to July, 1990. The median age of 67 soft tissue sarcoma patients was 4 years 5 months and age distribution showed that 0-4 year age group was most common (55.2%). The sex ratio of male to female was 1.2:1. There were 3 cancers among relatives of soft tissue sarcoma patients, including one cancer among first-degree relatives. As for pathological classification, rhabdomyosarcoma (67.1%) was the most common childhood soft tissue sarcoma, followed by malignant Schwannoma (8.9%), extraskeletal Ewing's sarcoma (6.0%), infantile fibrosarcoma (4.5%), malignant fibrous histiocytoma (3.0%), malignant hemangiopericytoma (3.0%), and there were 1 case each of angiosarcoma, leiomyosarcoma, synovial sarcoma, malignant mesenchymoma and mesenchymal chondrosarcoma. The median age of 45 rhabdomyosarcoma patients was 3 years 8 months and age distribution showed that 0-4 year age group was most common (64.5%). Twenty three patients were male and 22 were female. The histologic subtype of rhabdomyosarcoma was embryonal type in 38 patients (84.5%), alveolar type in 5 patients (11.1%) and unclassified type in 2 patients (4.4%). As for primary site of soft tissue sarcomas, the most frequent site was the head and neck region (32.8%) including parameningeal region (13.4%) and orbit (6.0%), followed by extremities (20.9%), trunk (19.4%), retroperitoneum and pelvis (11.9%), urogenital region (7.5%), perineum and perianal region (4.5%) and other region (3.0%). As for primary site of 45 rhabdomyosarcoma cases, the most frequent site was also the head and neck region (37.8%). The most common initial symptom of soft tissue sarcoma patients was mass (68.7%). As for Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study clinical grouping system of 67 soft tissue sarcoma patients, clinical group III (58.2%) was most common, followed by clinical group II(20.9%), IV (14.9%) and I (6.0%). Of 10 cases of clinical group IV with distant metastasis, lung (8 cases) was the most common metastaic region and other metastatic regions were bone, kidney, liver and bone marrow. As for IRS clinical grouping system of 45 rhabdomyosarcoma patients, clinical group III was most common (68.9%). Of 6 cases of clinical group IV, lung (5 cases) was also the most common metastatic region, followed by kidney and liver. From 1982 to 1985, chemotherapy was done with pulse VAC or pulse VAdrC-VAC regimen based on IRS-I and IRS-II. From 1986, patients in clinical group I and II received vincristine and actinomycin-D for 1 year and patients in clinical group III, IV and II with alveolar histologic subtype(unfavorable histologic group) received vincristine, actinomycin-D, adriamycin, cyclophosphamide and cisplatinum based on IRS-III. Radiation therapy was administered to patients in clinical group II, III and IV. Of 67 cases of soft tissue sarcoma, 54 case were eligible for treatment analysis. The 3 year disease free survival (DFS) of all 54 cases was 54.1%, 3 year DFS of clinical group I and II was 83.9%,3 year DFS of clinical group III and IV before 1986 was 35.7% and after 1986 was 48.2%. Of 45 cases of rhabdomyosarcoma, 41 cases were eligible for treatment analysis. The 3 year DFS of all 41 cases was 49.1%,3 year DFS of clinical group I and II was 87.5%,3 year DFS of clinical group III and IV before 1986 was 27.2% and after 1986 was 45.0%. Patients in clinical group I and II who had no gross residual tumor after primary surgical excision had best prognosis with 3 year DFS approximating 90% with only 2 drugs regimen, significantly better than patients in clinical group III and IV with 3 year DFS below 50% even after intensifying chemotherapy since year 1986. This analysis suggests that total surgical removal is very important for improving prognosis and should be undertaken where possible in all patients without distant metastasis. Treatment results also showed that after year 1986 with intensification of chemotherapy, 3 year DFS of clinical group III and IV as well as early toxic deaths increased, and after lowering doses of chemotherapeutic agents of regimen 35 of IRS-III, treatment results improved much. Therfore to improve prognosis of patients with gross residual tumor after surgical excision of biopsy and patients with distant metastasis at diagnosis, intensified multiagent chemcherapeutic regimen with adequate dose modification should be done to lower early toxic deaths.
Age Distribution ; Biopsy ; Bone Marrow ; Chondrosarcoma, Mesenchymal ; Classification ; Cyclophosphamide ; Diagnosis ; Disease-Free Survival ; Doxorubicin ; Drug Therapy ; Extremities ; Female ; Fibrosarcoma ; Head ; Hemangiopericytoma ; Hemangiosarcoma ; Histiocytoma, Malignant Fibrous ; Humans ; Kidney ; Leiomyosarcoma ; Liver ; Lung ; Male ; Mesenchymoma ; Neck ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neoplasm, Residual ; Neurilemmoma ; Orbit ; Pediatrics ; Pelvis ; Perineum ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Rhabdomyosarcoma ; Sarcoma* ; Sarcoma, Ewing ; Sarcoma, Synovial ; Seoul ; Sex Ratio ; Survival Rate ; Vincristine

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to validate enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for the quantitative measurement of human IgG antibodies specific for Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) capsular polysaccharide. METHOD: We evaluated specificity, repeatability, intermediate precision, accuracy, lower limit of quantification (LLOQ), and stability to validate standardized EIA for the quantitative measurement of human anti-polyribosylribitol phosphate (PRP) IgG antibodies. RESULTS: The results indicated that this EIA showed specificity to HbO-HA antigen and repeatability and intermediate precision were within acceptance criteria (repeatability: CV < or =15%, intermediate precision: CV < or =20%). The EIA-derived results from this laboratory were equivalent to those obtained by the standard radioactive antigen binding assay (RABA) for quantitation of anti-PRP antibodies in the 28 sera. Spiking recovery result was within acceptance criteria (100+/-20%). The precision and accuracy of samples in LLOQ were from -14.7 to -4.7% in nominal values, which were within acceptance criteria (precision: CV < or =25%, accuracy: +/-25%). Freeze-thaw stability and short term temperature stability were within +/-20% of acceptance criteria. CONCLUSIONS: The EIA which is performed at the Center for Vaccine Evaluation and Study Ewha Medical Research Institute, is an appropriate serologic assay which can be used for quantitation of anti-PRP IgG antibodies in human sera.
Academies and Institutes ; Antibodies* ; Haemophilus influenzae type b* ; Haemophilus influenzae* ; Haemophilus* ; Humans* ; Immunoenzyme Techniques* ; Immunoglobulin G* ; Sensitivity and Specificity

PURPOSE: The cross-protection of 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) against vaccine-related serotypes has been controversial. We investigated the serological properties of cross-protective antibodies against vaccine-related serotypes 6A, 6C, and 19A induced in young children aged 12-23 months after booster immunization of PCV7. METHODS: IgG and IgM antibody concentrations and opsonic index (OI) against vaccine serotypes 6B and 19F and vaccine-related serotypes 6A, 6C, and 19A were measured by ELISA and opsonophagocytic killing assay (OPA) in 4 selected immunesera. The serological properties and antigenic specificity of protective antibodies were determined by IgM depletion of immunesera, OPA, and competitive OPA against serogroup 6 and 19 pneumococci. RESULTS: Compared to pre-IgM depleted immunesera, OI of IgM-depleted immunesera against 6B and 19F decreased and OI against 6A, 6C, and 19A decreased, too. In competition OPA, free 6B and 19F polysaccharide completely inhibited the immune protection against vaccine-related serotypes 6A, 6C, and 19A as well as vaccine types 6B and 19F. CONCLUSIONS: The booster immunization of PCV7 certainly induced cross-protective antibodies against vaccine-related serotypes 6A, 6C, and 19A with both IgG and IgM isotypes. Furthermore, IgM antibodies are more highly contributed to opsonophagocytic activity against vaccine-related serotypes as well as most of vaccine types than do IgG antibodies. Further studies are needed for the more immunized sera in the children as well as adults.
Adult ; Aged ; Antibodies ; Child ; Cross Protection ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Epitopes ; Homicide ; Humans ; Immunization ; Immunization, Secondary ; Immunoglobulin G ; Immunoglobulin M ; Pneumococcal Vaccines ; Streptococcus pneumoniae ; Heptavalent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine

No abstract available.
Bone Marrow* ; Necrosis* ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma*

No Abstract Available.
Methicillin Resistance* ; Methicillin* ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus* ; Staphylococcus aureus* ; Staphylococcus*

No Abstract Available.
Vibrio parahaemolyticus* ; Vibrio* ; Virulence Factors* ; Virulence*

No Abstract Available.
Methicillin Resistance* ; Methicillin* ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus* ; Staphylococcus aureus* ; Staphylococcus*