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Biomedical subjects

M J Kim

Publications and source records attributed to M J Kim.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Characterization of SFP2, a putative sulfate permease gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The SFP2 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been characterized. The deduced amino acid sequence contained twelve highly hydrophobic domains and showed 50, 47, 44 and 48% homologies to Neurospora crassa sulfate permease II (CYS14), soybean GMAK170 nodulin, human colon mucosa protein (DRA) and a putative open reading frame (ORF) downstream of Escherichia coli prs (phosphoribosyl pyrophosphatate synthetase) gene, respectively, in the aligned regions. Cells lacking SFP2 were viable and displayed no obvious decrease in their growth rate. Southern blot analysis revealed that SFP2 exists as a single copy in haploid genome. Northern blot analysis showed that SFP2 produced a 2.8-kb transcript which was highly expressed under sulfur derepressing condition. SFP2 mRNA was found to turn over with a half-life of approximately 15 min, which may contribute to the regulation of sulfate permease function, and reached its maximal level in about 22 h after depression.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1995

Staurosporine induces de novo synthesis of prostaglandin H synthase-2 in rat alveolar macrophages.

This study was initiated to investigate the possible involvement of prostaglandin H synthase in the staurosporine-induced prostaglandin production. The time course of prostaglandin H synthase activity in macrophages treated with staurosporine (20 nM) showed that the maximum activity was reached in 20 h. The stimulatory effect of staurosporine on thromboxane B2 production was maximum at 50 nM staurosporine and this effect was reversed at higher concentrations. Immunoprecipitation of 35S-labeled enzyme using an antibody specific for prostaglandin H synthase-2 paralleled the changes in enzyme activity. These results indicate that increased de novo synthesis of prostaglandin H synthase-2 is largely, if not solely, responsible for staurosporine-stimulated prostaglandin production in macrophages.

Alkaloids↗
PubMed1995

Mandibular reconstruction with free vascularized fibular flap.

Although various sources of vascularized bone/composite tissue have been used for mandibular reconstruction, the vascularized fibular flap has been reported to have many advantages over the others and to be the most suitable for bridging a long-span mandibular defect. In this paper, positive experience of 14 consecutive cases in which a free vascularized fibular graft with or without a skin paddle has been used to reconstruct a long mandibular defect is reported. Half of the cases were primarily reconstructed, the rest secondarily. The average length of the fibula graft harvested was 16.7 cm, with a range of 12 to 22 cm. The number of wedge osteotomies ranged from 0 to 4, with an average of 1.67. In ten flaps, a peroneal skin paddle was included. The donor wound was typically closed directly, except in three cases, where a skin graft was used. Vein grafts were performed in five cases to lengthen the pedicle. In two cases, the skin partially necrosed. All scintigrams except one showed good bone viability. But there was no total flap failure. Postoperative facial appearances were fair to excellent, with mouth opening ranging from 21 to 50 mm. Although unusual serious donor wound rupture was experienced in one case, in general the donor site complications were minimal.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Augmentation of vascular endothelial barrier function by heparin and low molecular weight heparin.

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are an important component of endothelial barrier function. Early passage human umbilical vein endothelial cells were grown to confluence on transparent micropore filters and barrier function assessed as transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER) and permeability to albumin and sucrose. Unfractionated heparin and the LMW heparin Clexane decreased endothelial permeability to both sucrose and albumin and increased TEER. Chondroitin 6-sulphate also augmented barrier function, but other GAGs had no effect. Interleukin-1 increased permeability to albumin and sucrose and decreased TEER. Although heparin attenuated the effect of IL-1 on TEER and sucrose permeability, it could not restore the barrier to albumin transfer. Denuded endothelial matrix presented a negligible barrier, which was not enhanced by heparin. When sulphation of endogenous GAGs was inhibited by chlorate, barrier function was compromised and was not restored by exogenous heparin. Thus heparin enhances the barrier function of resting endothelium, but cannot completely overcome the increased permeability resulting from exposure to IL-1 or substitute for endogenous GAGs.

Albumins↗
PubMed1995

The efficacy of cyclosporine A in adult nephrotic syndrome with minimal change disease and focal-segmental glomerulosclerosis: a multicenter study in Korea.

A multicenter prospective study conducted in four university hospitals in Korea investigated the efficacy and tolerance of cyclosporine A (CyA, Sandimmun) in 30 patients with adult nephrotic syndrome [25 patients with minimal change disease (MCD) and 5 with focal-segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS)]. After a 6-week washout period, CyA 5 mg/kg/day and prednisolone 10 mg/day were administered for up to 8 months, depending on responses to CyA. The rate of relapse after withdrawal of CyA was assessed up to 10 months. Of the 30 patients enrolled, 3 withdrew prematurely due to adverse events. Of the 27 patients who completed the study, 22 had MCD and 5 had FSGS. The prior steroid responses of these patients were 19 steroid-dependent (SD), 4 frequent-relapser (FR) and 4 steroid-resistant (SR) type. High rates of complete remission were obtained after CyA treatment in both MCD and FSGS patients, 86.4% (19/22) and 80% (4/5) respectively. Previous steroid responses did not affect the response to CyA; complete remission was obtained in 84.2% (16/19) of SD patients and in 75% (3/4) of SR patients. The mean (+/- SEM) duration of CyA treatment to attain complete remission in SD and SR patients was 3.8 (+/- 0.6) weeks and 10.7 (+/- 2.7) weeks, respectively (not significantly different). Tapering or withdrawal of CyA was followed by release of nephrotic syndrome in many patients, and the cumulative relapse rates at month 10 were 68.4% (13/19) in MCD patients and 50% (2/4) in FSGS patients. When considered according to prior steroid responses, the relapse rate was 73.3% (11/15) in SD patients and 50% (2/4) in SR patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Overemphasized use of GPA for admission decisions.

When nursing schools have too many applicants for the number of students they can take, many use the cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) as an important factor in the selection process. However, this practice continues to exclude students, many from minorities, which need to be included in preparing nurses to care for all populations. These authors describe how to use GPA only as an initial preliminary screening tool to determine qualified applicants, but not as a factor in the final decision in selecting students.

Bias↗
PubMed1994

The expression of beta 1 integrin and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 on mesangial cells and its modulation in glomerulonephritis.

OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to observe the effects of conditioned media (CM) of cultured mononuclear cells (MNC) on the expression of beta 1 integrin and intercellular adhesion molecule(ICAM)-1 on mesangial cells and the modulation by TGF-beta, TNF alpha, or hydroxyl radical Also these were examined in anti-Thy mesangial proliferative GN (MsPGN) or puromycin aminonucleoside nephrosis(PAN). METHODS: The expression of beta 1 integrin and ICAM-1 on mesangial cells was examined by ELISA and the modulation by TGF-beta, TNF alpha, or hydroxyl radical was investigated by using neutralizing antibody and dimethylthiourea. [.OH] scavenger. RESULTS: The CM of MNC from Control suppressed the beta 1 integrin expression and thymidine incorporation and increased ICAM-1 expression on mesangial cells, compared to media alone. Especially the significant increase in ICAM-1 expression was reversed by anti-TNF alpha antibody. beta 1 integrin expression on mesangial cells was higher by the addition of CM of MNC in MsPGN than in Control, which was prevented by anti-TGF beta antibody or dimethylthiourea. ICAM-1 expression was not different among groups. Thymidine incorporation by adding CM of MNC was lower in MsPGN and PAN, which was mitigated by anti-TGF beta and anti-TNF alpha. Thus the ratio of the expression of ICAM-1 to thymidine incorporation was higher in MsPGN and PAN. CONCLUSION: The expression of beta 1 integrin and ICAM-1, and the thymidine incorporation on mesangial cells are directly regulated by MNC, maybe through factors such as TGF beta or TNF alpha. In MsPGN, the overexpression of beta 1 integrin induced by MNC through TGF beta or hydroxyl radical on day 3 may be related to the pathogenesis.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Cloning of cDNA encoding rat phospholipase C-beta 4, a new member of the phospholipase C.

Phospholipase C-beta 4(PLC-beta 4), a new member of phospholipase C isozyme, was purified from bovine cerebellum. The cDNA encoding rat PLC-beta 4 has been cloned from a cDNA library prepared from rat brain. The predicted open reading frame encodes a protein of 1,176 amino acids with a calculated molecular weight of 134,552. The deduced amino acid sequence exhibits 39, 36, and 36% identity with the sequences of rat PLC-beta 1, human PLC-beta 2, and rat PLC-beta 3, respectively. The amino acid sequence of PLC-beta 4, especially, shows higher identity (50%) with norpA PLC sequence from Drosophila melanogaster than those of other PLC-beta subtypes, suggesting that the PLC-beta 4 might be a mammalian PLC equivalent of norpA PLC implicated in photosignal transduction in Drosophila.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Crystal structure of papain-E64-c complex. Binding diversity of E64-c to papain S2 and S3 subsites.

In order to investigate the binding mode of E64-c (a synthetic cysteine proteinase inhibitor) to papain at the atomic level, the crystal structure of the complex was analysed by X-ray diffraction at 1.9 A (1 A is expressed in SI units as 0.1 nm) resolution. The crystal has a space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) with a = 43.37, b = 102.34 and c = 49.95 A. A total of 21,135 observed reflections were collected from the same crystal, and 14811 unique reflections of up to 1.9 A resolution [Fo > 3 sigma(Fo)] were used for the structure solution and refinement. The papain structure was determined by means of the molecular replacement method, and then the inhibitor was observed on a (2 magnitude of Fo-magnitude of Fc) difference Fourier map. The complex structure was finally refined to R = 19.4% including 207 solvent molecules. Although this complex crystal (Form II) was polymorphous as compared with the previously analysed one (Form I), the binding modes of leucine and isoamylamide moieties of E64-c were significantly different from each other. By the calculation of accessible surface area for each complex atom, these two different binding modes were both shown to be tight enough to prevent the access of solvent molecules to the papain active site. With respect to the E64-c-papain binding mode, molecular-dynamics simulations proposed two kinds of stationary states which were derived from the crystal structures of Forms I and II. One of these, which corresponds to the binding mode simulated from Form I, was essentially the same as that observed in the crystal structure, and the other was somewhat different from the crystal structure of Form II, especially with respect to the binding of the isoamylamide moiety with the papain S subsites. The substrate specificity for the papain active site is discussed on the basis of the present results.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Production of interleukin-2 (IL-2) and expression of IL-2 receptor in patients with IgA nephropathy.

BACKGROUND: IL-2 production has been measured in several disease including type I diabetes mellitus, systemic lupus erythematosus, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and active pulmonary sarcoidosis and its pathogenetic role was suggested. In IgA nephropathy, altered T cell subsets were reported to be associated with increased synthesis of IgA. The altered IL-2 production and the expression of IL-2 receptor might be involved in the pathogenesis of IgA nephropathy. METHODS: To investigate the role of T cell mediated immunity in the pathogenesis of IgA nephropathy, the immune parameters such as T cell subsets, NK cell activity, interleukin-2 (IL-2) production and IL-2 receptor expression on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were measured before and/or after phytohemagglutinin (PHA) stimulation in 15 patients with IgA nephropathy. Age and sex matched 15 healthy controls and the correlations between the IL-2 production and immune parameters were evaluated. RESULTS: The mean percentages of T helper/inducer cells (CD4), T suppressor/cytotoxic cells (CD8) and the CD4/CD8 ratio of the patients were not different from those of controls and the proportions of CD8 CD11b cell in the patients (21.0 +/- 3.6%) were significantly lower than those in controls (30.5 +/- 5.3%) (p < 0.005). The production of IL-2 by fresh PBMC of both patients and controls was in undetectable ranges. The production of IL-2 by PHA stimulated PBMC of patients was significantly higher than that of controls (140.03 +/- 43.2 U/ml vs 106.5 +/- 42.1 U/ml, p < 0.05). The proportions of lymphocytes expressing the IL-2 receptor (CD25) before the stimulation with PHA in patients were 1.22 +/- 1.00 percent and were not different from those in controls (1.12 +/- 0.78 percent). The correlations between the production of IL-2 and the concentrations of serum IgA, the degrees of histologic alterations and the proportions of CD8 and CD8CD11b cells were not significant. There was a weak tendency of a positive correlation (p < 0.1) between the production of IL-2 and the proportions of CD4 cells, and the CD4/CD8 ratio showed a significant correlation with the production of IL-2 (p < 0.05). After PHA stimulation, the mean percentages of lymphocytes expressing the IL-2 receptors in patients were increased to 47.6 +/- 8.9 percents which is higher than those (40.4 +/- 9.9%) in controls (p < 0.05). The NK cell activity of the patients was higher than that of controls (75.6 +/- 19.6% vs 56.1 +/- 16.2%, p < 0.005), and was well correlated with the production of IL-2 by PBMC (r = 0.89, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: It seemed that patients with IgA nephropathy have an 'latent' cellular immunoregulatory dysfunction that becomes apparent on the stimulation of extrinsic antigens or mitogens.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

[Cell-mediated immunity in mice infected with Acanthamoeba culbertsoni].

Observations were made on the differences of cell-mediated responses in mice of three infection groups differently scheduled in their severity with pathogenic Acanthamoeba culbertsoni. Infections were done by dropping 5 microliters saline suspension containing 3 x 10(3), 1 x 10(4), or 1 x 10(5) trophozoites, respectively. Amoebae were cultured axenically in CGV medium and inoculated into the right nasal cavity of C3H/HeJ mice aging around 6-8 weeks, under the anesthesia by intraperitoneal injection of secobarbital. Delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) responses in footpad and blastogenic responses of mouse spleen cells using (3H)-thymidine and the serum antibody titer were measured up to day 14 after infection, and natural killer cell activities were measured up to day 5 after infection. The results obtained in this study were as follows: 1. The mice infected with 3 x 10(3) trophozoites showed mortality rate of 17%, and 34% in the mice infected with 1 x 10(4) trophozoites and 65% with 1 x 10(5) trophozoites. 2. In regard to DTH responses in all experimental groups, the level increased on day 7 and declined on day 14 after infection, but their differences could not be noted between infected and control groups. 3. The blastogenic responses of splenocytes treated with amoeba lysates and lipopolysaccharides (LPS) showed no difference from the control group. The blastogenic responses of splenocytes treated with concanavalin A were declined significantly in the experimental group as compared with the control group, but the blastogenic responses of splenocytes treated with polyinosinic acid were not different from the control group. There was also no difference among three infected groups. 4. The cytotoxic activity of the natural killer cells was activated on day 1 after infection and declined to the level of control group on day 2 in all experimental groups. On day 5 after infection, the natural killer cell cytotoxicity was significantly suppressed as compared with the control groups. 5. The serum antibody titers of the infected mice increased after day 7, but there was no statistical difference between the three infected groups. In summary of the results, there was no difference in cell-mediated immune responses of three experimental groups scheduled with different infection intensities. But there was a significant difference in cell-mediated immune responses between infected and control mice. It is considered that cell-mediated immune responses should be involved in murine model infected with A. culbertsoni.

Acanthamoeba↗
PubMed1990

[A study on the relationships of discomfort, self-esteem, personality and life satisfaction in persons with rheumatoid arthritis].

The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation of discomfort, self-esteem, personality and life-satisfaction in persons with rheumatoid arthritis and to provide basic data to help them attain a better quality of life. From Jan. 27 to Feb. 24, 1988, 53 patients, registered at a rheumatic clinic at one general hospital in Seoul, were accepted as subjects for this study. The instruments used for this study were a discomfort scale and life-satisfaction scale developed by the researcher, Rosenberg's Self-esteem Scale and Wallston and Wallston's Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MEILC) Scale. The reliability of the scales were tested by Cronsbach's alpha. The collected data were analyzed by the SAS program using unpaired t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson's Correlation Coefficients. The results were as follows: 1. There was a significant difference in the subjects perceived discomfort level (t = -3.49, p = .0010) between the onset of the disease (14.87 +/- 9.02) and the present (19.87 +/- 8.44). 2. There was a significant correlation between the MHLC-internal score and the MHLC-chance score (r = -.4366, p = .0011). 3. The findings related to the demographic variables regarding the MHLC scores were as follows: 1) Regarding sex, there was a significant difference for the MHLC-internal score (t = 4.2572, df = 15.2, p = .0007) between male (32.13 +/- 2.47) and female (27.56 +/- 4.17). But the MHLC-chance score for male (15.13 +/- 2.85) was lower (t = 3.153 9, df = 21.8, p = .0047) than for female (19.47 +/- 6.29). 2) Regarding educational background, the MHLC-chance score for the below-high school group (20.52 +/- 5.81) was higher (t = 2.5450, df = 51.0, p = .0140) than the college graduate group (16.41 +/- 5.76). 4. The average Self-esteem score was 26.87 (S.D. = 5.29) and there was a significant correlation between the Self-esteem score and the MHLC-chance score (r = .3122, p = .0026). 5. It was found that the subjects' Discomfort score was correlated with the Self-esteem score (r = -.3788, p = .0051) and the Life-satisfaction score (r = -.3570, p = .0087). It was also found that subjects' Self-esteem score was correlated with the Life-satisfaction score (r = .4474, p = .0008).

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMed1990

[An operations study on a home health nursing demonstration program for the patient discharged with chronic residual health care problems].

The study was conceived in relation to a concern over the growing gap between the needs of chronic patients and the availability of care from the current health care system in Korea. Patients with agonizing chronic pain, discomfort, despair and disability are left with helplessly unprepared families with little help from the acute care oriented health care system after discharge from hospital. There is a great need for the development of an alternative means of quality care that is economically feasible and culturally adaptable to our society. Thus, the study was designed to demonstrate the effectiveness of home health care as an alternative to bridge the existing gap between the patients' needs and the current practice of health care. The study specifically purports to test the effects of home care on health expenditure, readmission, job retention, compliance to health care regime, general conditions, complications, and self-care knowledge and practices. The study was guided by the operations research method advocated by the Primary Health Care Operations Research Institute (PRICOR) which constitutes 3 stages of research: namely, problem analysis solution development, and solution validation. The first step in the operations research was field preparation to develop the necessary consensus and cooperation. This was done through the formation of a consulting body at the hospital and a steering committee among the researchers. For the stage of problem analysis, the Annual Report of Seoul National University Hospital and the patients records for last 5 years were reviewed and selective patient interviews were conducted to find out the magnitude of chronic health problems and areas of unmect health care needs to finally decide on the kinds of health problems to study. On the basis of problem analysis, the solution development stage was devoted to home care program development asa solution alternative. Assessment tools, teaching guidelines and care protocols were developed and tested for their validity. The final stage was the stage of experimentation and evaluation. Patients with liver diseases, hemiplegic and diabetic conditions were selected as study samples. Discharge evaluation, follow up home care, measurement and evaluation were carried out according to the protocols of care and measurement plan for each patient for the period of 6 months after discharge. The study was carried out for the period from Jan. 1987 to Dec. 1989. The following are the results of the study presented according to the hypotheses set forth for the study; 1.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Chronic Disease↗
PubMed1990

Glucose turnover in BHE rats fed EFA deficient hydrogenated coconut oil.

The effects of feeding corn or hydrogenated coconut oil on various parameters of glucose metabolism in prediabetic BHE rats was studied. Weanling rats were fed a 6% fat-64% sucrose diet. At seven weeks of age, the rats were weight matched within diet treatments. Half of the rats were injected with 6(3)H/U14C glucose while their weight matched counterparts were injected with U14C alanine and 3HOH. Diet had no effect on glucose mass, glucose space, hepatic glycogen or blood glucose levels. However, diet did affect other parameters. HCO fed rats had higher fractional irreversible glucose turnover rates, fractional glucose carbon recycling, hepatic fatty acid synthesis rates, adipose fatty acid synthesis rate, lower muscle glycogen and lower rates of incorporation of glucose into muscle glycogen than corn oil fed rats. These differences in glucose flux explain the maintenance of glucose homeostasis in these prediabetic coconut oil fed rats in the face of increased fatty acid and glucose synthesis.

Animals↗