Sun Wook Cho

Recently, in the field of cancer treatment, the paradigm has changed to immunotherapy that activates the immune system to induce cancer attacks. Among them, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) are attracting attention as excellent and continuous clinical results. However, it shows not only limitations such as efficacy only in some patients or some indications, but also side-effects and resistance occur. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the factors of the tumor microenvironment (TME) that

Cellular subpopulations in the bone marrow play distinct and unexplored functions in skeletal homeostasis. This study delineated a unique role of osteal macrophages in bone and parathyroid hormone (PTH)-dependent bone anabolism using murine models of targeted myeloid-lineage cell ablation. Depletion of c-fms(+) myeloid lineage cells [via administration of AP20187 in the macrophage Fas-induced apoptosis (MAFIA) mouse model] reduced cortical and trabecular bone mass and attenuated PTH-induced trab

BACKGROUND: Distant metastasis, generally to lung and bone, is rare in differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) and the prognosis is still elusive. We investigated long-term outcomes of lung metastasis in DTC patients and its prognostic factors. METHODS: A retrospective review was performed of 4572 patients who underwent surgery for DTC from 1962 to 2009 at Seoul National University Hospital. Among them, 164 patients were identified with lung metastasis and 152 patients were enrolled in the final

Farnesoid X receptor (FXR) is a nuclear receptor that functions as a bile acid sensor controlling bile acid homeostasis. We investigated the role of FXR in regulating bone metabolism. We identified the expression of FXR in calvaria and bone marrow cells, which gradually increased during osteoblastic differentiation in vitro. In male mice, deletion of FXR (FXR(-/-) ) in vivo resulted in a significant reduction in bone mineral density by 4.3% to 6.6% in mice 8 to 20 weeks of age compared with FXR(

Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disorder characterized by reduced bone mineral density (BMD) and increased risk of fracture. We studied the effects of transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) overexpressing receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappaB (RANK)-Fc and CXC chemokine receptor-4 (CXCR4) using retrovirus on ovariectomy (OVX)-induced bone loss in mice. Ten-week-old adult female C57BL/6 mice were divided into six groups as follows: Sham-operated mice treated with phosphate-buf

Abstract Although various chemokines have pro-tumorigenic actions in cancers, the effects of CXCL16 remain controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular characteristics of CXCL16-expressing papillary thyroid cancers (PTCs). CXCL16 expressions were significantly higher in PTCs than benign or normal thyroid tissues. In the TCGA dataset for PTCs, a higher CXCL16 expression was associated with M2 macrophage- and angiogenesis-related genes and poor prognostic factors including

The Korean National Health Information Database (NHID) contains big data combining information obtained from the National Health Insurance Service and health examinations. Data are provided in the form of a cohort, and the NHID can be used to conduct longitudinal studies and research on rare diseases. Moreover, data on the cause and date of death are provided by Statistics Korea. Research and publications based on the NHID have increased explosively in the field of endocrine disorders. However,

Macrophages in tumor microenvironment have pivotal roles in tumor growth, metastasis, and angiogenesis. We investigated the interacting mechanism of macrophage actions in human papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). Co-cultures of macrophage/PTC significantly increased the cancer cell migration potentials, compared with the PTC culture alone. Treatment of conditioned medium (CM) of macrophage/PTC co-cultures enhanced cell invasions in 3D invasion assay. Cytokine array analysis demonstrated that CM of m

PPARγ has critical role in the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into adipocytes while suppressing osteoblastic differentiation. We generated transgenic mice that overexpress PPARγ specifically in osteoblasts under the control of a 2.3-kb procollagen type 1 promoter (Col.1-PPARγ). Bone mineral density (BMD) of 6- to 14-week-old Col.1 - PPARγ male mice was 8% to 10% lower than that of their wild-type littermates, whereas no difference was noticed in Col.1-PPARγ female mice. Col.1-PPARγ ma

Osteoporosis is a skeletal disorder characterized by reduced bone mineral density (BMD) and increased risk of fracture. We studied the effects of cell therapy of human adipose tissue-derived stromal cell (ADSC) on ovariectomy-induced bone loss in T cell deficient nude mice. Twelve-week-old female nude mice underwent ovariectomy and were treated with ADSC, estrogen, or phosphate buffered saline (PBS). Whole body BMD revealed that treatment of ADSC was more protective against ovariectomy-induced a

Both PTH and IL-6 signaling play pivotal roles in hematopoiesis and skeletal biology, but their interdependence is unclear. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of IL-6 and soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R) on hematopoietic and skeletal actions of PTH. In the bone microenvironment, PTH stimulated sIL-6R protein levels in primary osteoblast cultures in vitro and bone marrow in vivo in both IL-6(+/+) and IL-6(-/-) mice. PTH-mediated hematopoietic cell expansion was attenuated in IL-6(

Macrophages have been shown to have pleiotropic functions in various pathophysiologies, especially in terms of anti-inflammatory and regenerative activity. Recently, the novel functions of bone marrow resident macrophages (called osteal macrophages) were intensively studied in bone development, remodeling and tissue repair processes. This review discusses the current evidence for a role of osteal macrophages in bone modeling, remodeling, and fracture healing processes.