Objective This study aimed to investigate the clinicopathologic risk factors for type-specific persistence of high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) and residual/recurrent cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) after surgical treatment. Methods Patients with CIN-2/3 who underwent conization or loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) at Korea University Hospital were enrolled. All patients underwent hrHPV testing and genotyping before conization or LEEP followed by both hrHPV genotyping and cytology. The significance of associations between patient characteristics and persistence of infection were assessed by multivariate logistic regression analyses. Results Among 398 women with pathologically confirmed CIN-2/3, 154 (38.7%) patients showed hrHPV persistence after surgical treatment. In multivariate analysis, high preoperative hrHPV load ( P <0.05; odds ratio [OR], 2.063), presence of CIN-2 at treatment ( P <0.01; OR, 2.732), and multiple hrHPV infections ( P <0.001; OR, 4.752) were associated with hrHPV persistence. HPV 53 was the most likely to persist after treatment (24/43, 55.8%). The risk of residual/recurrent CIN-2/3 was higher in persistent infection with HPV 16 than other types ( P <0.05). Menopause ( P <0.001; OR, 3.969), preoperative and postoperative hrHPV load ( P <0.05; OR, 2.430; P <0.05; OR, 5.351), and infection with multiple hrHPV types ( P <0.05; OR, 2.345) were significantly related to residual/recurrent CIN following surgical treatment. Conclusion HPV load before treatment and infection with multiple hrHPV types were predictors of postoperative hrHPV persistence. HPV 53 was the type most likely to persist, but HPV 16 was the type that was most closely associated with residual/recurrent CIN-2/3.

Visfatin, a member of the adipokine family, plays an important role in many metabolic and stress responses. The mechanisms underlying the direct therapeutic effects of visfatin on wound healing have not been reported yet. In this study, we examined the effects of visfatin on wound healing in vitro and in vivo. Visfatin enhanced the proliferation and migration of human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) and keratinocytes the expression of wound healing-related vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in vitro and in vivo. Treatment of HDFs with visfatin induced activation of both extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) and c-Jun N-terminal kinases 1 and 2 (JNK1/2) in a time-dependent manner. Inhibition of ERK1/2 and JNK1/2 led to a significant decrease in visfatin-induced proliferation and migration of HDFs. Importantly, blocking VEGF with its neutralizing antibodies suppressed the visfatin-induced proliferation and migration of HDFs and human keratinocytes, indicating that visfatin induces the proliferation and migration of HDFs and human keratinocytes via increased VEGF expression. Moreover, visfatin effectively improved wound repair in vivo, which was comparable to the wound healing activity of epidermal growth factor (EGF). Taken together, we demonstrate that visfatin promotes the proliferation and migration of HDFs and human keratinocytes by inducing VEGF expression and can be used as a potential novel therapeutic agent for wound healing.

Asthma is a common chronic inflammatory disease, which is characterized by airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), high serum levels of immunoglobulin (Ig)E, and recruitment of various inflammatory cells such as eosinophils and lymphocytes. Korean traditional fermented foods have been reported to exert beneficial effects against allergic diseases such as asthma and atopic dermatitis. In this study, we investigated whether Staphylococcus succinus strain 14BME20 (14BME20) isolated from doenjang, a traditional high-salt-fermented soybean food of Korea, exerts suppressive effects on allergic airway inflammation in a murine model. Mice were orally administered with 14BME20, then sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin as an allergen. Administration of the 14BME20 significantly suppressed AHR and influx of inflammatory cells into the lungs and reduced serum IgE levels. Moreover, the proportion of T helper type 2 (Th2) cells and the production of Th2 cytokines were decreased in 14BME20-treated mice, whereas dendritic cells (DCs) with tolerogenic characteristics were increased. In contrast, oral administration of 14BME20 increased the proportion of CD4 + CD25 + Foxp3 + regulatory T (Treg) cells and the level of interleukin (IL)-10 in 14BME20-treated mice. Furthermore, 14BME20 induced maturation of tolerogenic DCs, and 14BME20-treated DCs increased Treg cell population in a co-culture system of DCs and CD4 + T cells. The addition of a neutralizing anti-IL-10 mAb to the culture of cells that had been treated with 14BME20 decreased the enhanced Treg cell population, thereby indicating that 14BME20-treated DCs increase Treg cell population via DC-derived IL-10. These results demonstrate that oral administration of 14BME20 suppresses airway inflammation by enhancing Treg responses and suggest that the 14BME20 isolated from doenjang may be a therapeutic agent for allergic asthma.

The accuracy of colposcopic diagnosis depends on the skill and proficiency of physicians. This study evaluated the feasibility of interpreting colposcopic images with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) for the diagnosis of high-grade cervical intraepithelial lesions. This study included female patients who underwent colposcopy-guided biopsy in 2020 at two institutions in the Republic of Korea. Two experienced colposcopists reviewed all images separately. The Cerviray AI® system (AIDOT, Seoul, Korea) was used to interpret the cervical images. AI demonstrated improved sensitivity with comparable specificity and positive predictive value when compared with the colposcopic impressions of each clinician. The areas under the curve were greater with combined impressions (both AI and that of the two colposcopists) of high-grade lesions, when compared with the individual impressions of each colposcopist. This study highlights the feasibility of the application of an AI system in cervical cancer screening. AI interpretation can be utilized as an assisting tool in combination with human colposcopic evaluation of exocervix.

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