The renal function deduced to be an important predictor of HRQOL, even in the old age group. The moderately decreased renal function of 45 mL/min/1.73 m(2) GFR was the level at which HRQOL decreased in the elderly Korean population.

Glomus tumors are benign lesions and originate from modified smooth muscle cells of the glomus body. These tumors are commonly observed in the dermis or subcutis, but only rarely found in the stomach. Here we report a case of a 67-year-old patient in whom glomus tumor of the stomach was diagnosed after 10-day history of melena. We have reviewed the 13 cases selected from literature of gastric glomus tumor in Korean, including our case. The age of onset ranged from 30 to 68 years (median 54 y) with a strong female dominance (10 females and 3 males). The tumors typically presented with gastrointestinal bleeding or ulcerlike symptom, and 6 tumors had mucosal ulceration. The tumor sizes varied from 1.2 to 3.8 cm (median 2.5 cm), and all tumors presented in antrum of stomach. Microscopically, the tumors were well-circumscribed, and composed of uniform, small, round to polygonal cells. Mitotic activity was usually low. The characteristics of gastric glomus tumors in Korean patients are very similar to those of Western populations. Although gastric glomus tumors can be considered more likely benign, a small possibility of malignant behavior cannot be ruled out.

Telomerase reactivation and telomere maintenance are crucial in carcinogenesis and tumor progression. In this study, the relationships between telomere parameters, chromosomal instability and clinicopathological features were evaluated in hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs). Telomere length (TL), telomerase activity (TA) and human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) mRNA levels were measured in 49 hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related HCCs and corresponding non-tumorous tissues. The results were compared with clinicopathological data, including differentiation, multipolar mitosis (MM), anaphase bridge, immunohistochemical stain results for cytokeratin 19 (CK19) and patient outcome. TL of HCCs ranged from 4.7 to 13.1 kb, and 44.4% of HCCs showed telomere lengthening. hTERT mRNA levels and TA were closely related (P ¼ 0.008), and were significantly higher in HCCs than non-tumorous tissues. TL was significantly higher in HCCs with strong TA (P ¼ 0.048), high hTERT mRNA levels (P ¼ 0.001) and poor differentiation (P ¼ 0.041). Frequent MM was associated with poor differentiation (P ¼ 0.007) and advanced stage (Po0.001). TA was positively correlated with MM, anaphase bridges and advanced stage (P ¼ 0.019, P ¼ 0.017 and P ¼ 0.029). Thirteen (28.3%) HCCs were CK19 þ and demonstrated longer telomeres than CK19À HCCs (P ¼ 0.046). Overall survival was poor in HCCs with MM 40.4 per field (P ¼ 0.016), high TA (P ¼ 0.009) and high TL ratio (HCC/non-HCC) 40.8 (P ¼ 0.044). Our results show that long telomeres, high TA and high mitotic instability are poor prognostic markers for HBV-related HCCs and their close association suggests that telomere maintenance may be important for the progression of HCCs with high chromosomal instability to more aggressive ones.

Although the technique of pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) develops rapidly, scleral buckling (SB) has several advantages over PPV for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD), including early visual rehabilitation and prevention of cataract progression. It is recommended to select the primary procedure for RRD by considering the advantages and disadvantages of each procedure based on the patient status. The vitreous body status affects the features of RRD. Vitreous liquefaction is an age-dependent process, resulting in the development of posterior vitreous detachment (PVD). RRD is usually associated with PVD, typically presenting with a retinal tear, strong vitreoretinal traction, and bullous detachment. In contrast, RRD may develop without PVD, and typically presents with a small atrophic hole, shallow detachment, and slow progression. RRD with less liquefied vitreous and no PVD can be managed successfully with SB alone even in the presence of subretinal strand as less liquefied vitreous acts as bio-tamponade blocking fluid passage. The strong traction induced by PVD and bullous detachment in an eye with extensively liquefied vitreous reduces the success rate of SB. PPV is gaining popularity as the primary procedure for RRD, especially in eyes with retinal tears, PVD, or pseudophakia. Nevertheless, SB remains the preferred procedure in young phakic patients without PVD.

The volatile components of rice-koji doenjang produced in association with various Aspergillus species (A. oryzae, A. sojae, and A. kawachii) during 8 weeks of fermentation were compared using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis and multivariate statistical analysis. In addition, the activities of diverse enzymes (α-amylase, protease, lipase, and esterase) were determined to investigate their effects on the formation of volatile compounds. Regardless of the fungi types, carbonyls including 4-methylheptan-2-one, heptan-2-one, (E)-hept-2-enal, and hexanal were found to contribute mainly to early phase fermentation, whereas the contents of ethyl esters of long-chained fatty acids were considerably enhanced in the latter stage of fermentation. With the exception of α-amylase, the activities of the studied enzymes generally increased as fermentation proceeded, and there were significant differences in enzymes activities between the species of fungi. The lipase activity was strongly correlated with the formation of long-chain fatty acid esters, which could be related to the distinctive organoleptic properties of rice-koji doenjang.

ATP citrate-lyase (ACL) is a key enzyme supplying acetyl-CoA for fatty acid and cholesterol synthesis. Its expression is drastically up-regulated when an animal is fed a low fat, high carbohydrate diet after prolonged fasting. In this report, we describe the role of sterol regulatory element-binding proteins (SREBPs) in the transactivation of the rat ACL promoter. ACL promoter activity was markedly stimulated by the overexpression of SREBP-1a and, to a lesser extent, by SREBP-2 in Alexander human hepatoma cells. The promoter elements responsive to SREBPs were located within the 55-base pair sequences from ؊114 to ؊60. The gel mobility shift assay revealed four SREBP-1a binding sites in this region. Of these four elements, the ؊102/؊94 region, immediately upstream of the inverted Y-box, and the ؊70/؊61 region, just adjacent to Sp1 binding site, played critical roles in SREBPs-mediated stimulation. The mutation in the inverted Y-box and the coexpression of dominant negative nuclear factor-Y (NF-Y) significantly attenuated the transactivation by SREBP-1a, suggesting that NF-Y binding is a prerequisite for SREBPs to activate the ACL promoter. However, the multiple Sp1 binding sites did not affect the transactivation of the ACL promoter by SREBPs. The binding affinity of SREBP-1a to SREs of the ACL promoter also was much higher than that of SREBP-2. The transactivation potencies of the chimeric SREBPs, of which the activation domains (70 amino acids of the amino terminus) were derived from the different species of their carboxyl-terminal region, were similar to those of SREBPs corresponding to their carboxyl termini. Therefore, it is suggested that the carboxyl-terminal portions of SREBPs containing DNA binding domains are important in determining their transactivation potencies to a certain promoter. ATP citrate-lyase (ACL)1 is a cytosolic enzyme that catalyzes the cleavage of citrate into oxaloacetate and acetyl-CoA (1). In liver and adipose tissue, this enzyme plays an important role in supplying acetyl-CoA for both fatty acid and cholesterol synthesis (2). As the specific inhibition of ACL in rats significantly decreases the plasma levels of triacylglycerol and cholesterol, ACL is expected to be a potential target for hypolipidemic intervention (3, 4). The activity of ACL is mainly regulated at the level of transcription by diet regimen and insulin, like other lipogenic enzymes, such as fatty acid synthase and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (5). The sequences of the 5Ј flanking region of the ACL gene are highly conserved in humans and rats, whereas there is no homology in the regions of the 5Ј untranslated region and the first intron, suggesting that transcription is regulated in the same manner in these two species (6, 7). Although ACL plays an important role in fatty acid and cholesterol biosynthesis and is highly controlled by diet at the transcription level, studies on the structure and function of this promoter have been very limited thus far.SREBPs are the transcription factors that regulate the transcription of ma...

During muscle differentiation, mitochondria undergo dramatic changes in their morphology and distribution to prepare for the higher rate of energy consumption. By applying a mitochondria-targeted rosamine library in C2C12 myogenesis, we discovered one compound that controls muscle differentiation. When treated to undifferentiated myoblasts, our selected compound, B25, inhibited myotube formation, and when treated to fully differentiated myotubes, it induced fission of multinucleated myotubes into mononucleated fragments. Compared to myoseverin, which is known for inducing myotube fission by destabilizing microtubules, B25 affects neither microtubule stability nor cell cycle. Further investigation identified that B25 induces myotube fission through the activation of NF-kappaB, which is one of the important signaling pathways linked to skeletal muscle differentiation. So far, the use of small-molecule fluorophores is limited in the discovery of labeling agents or sensors. In addition to their potential as a sensor, here we show the application of fluorescent small molecules in the discovery of a bioactive probe that induces a specific cellular response.

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