정연석 교수

CD8 T cells play crucial roles in immune surveillance and defense against infections and cancer. After encountering antigenic stimulation, naïve CD8 T cells differentiate and acquire effector functions, enabling them to eliminate infected or malignant cells. Traditionally, cytotoxic T cells, characterized by their ability to produce effector cytokines and release cytotoxic granules to directly kill target cells, have been recognized as the constituents of the predominant effector T-cell subset.

The prevalence of allergic diseases has increased dramatically in recent decades, and are now considered major chronic diseases at the global level. The increasing burden of allergic diseases has led to numerous worldwide and local researchers to investigate the time trends in its prevalence and identify its driving factors. Environmental changes such as urbanization and industrialization have been suggested to explain the increasing prevalence, but recent reports from Western countries suggest

Relapses occurring in most patients with lymphoma after antibody or chemotherapy highlight a need for effective vaccination approaches. Autologous tumors are ideal sources of patient-specific tumor antigens for vaccines; however, their poor immunogenicity has been a major obstacle in practice. Natural killer T (NKT) cells have recently emerged as crucial regulators of autoimmunity and tumor immunosurveillance. Here, we show that an autologous lymphoma vaccine that activates NKT cells generated t

BACKGROUND: Microbes in the airway have been shown to be associated with the pathogenesis of asthma. The upper airway microbiome influences the dysbiosis of the lower airway microbiome. However, to date, the influence of upper airway microbiome for adult and elderly asthma has not been fully elucidated. Here, the metagenome of upper airway microbiome of young adults and elderly was analyzed to identify their association with adult asthma. METHODS: Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from young a

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to examine the performance of the Global Trigger Tool and to investigate characteristics associated with the occurrence of adverse events (AEs). STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective medical record review. SETTING: A tertiary teaching hospital, Korea. METHOD: We employed two-stage review of a random sample of 630 charts for patients discharged between January and June 2011. Two quality improvement specialists reviewed the presence of AEs using 53 triggers developed by the Inst

Cough has a high prevalence and is detrimental to quality of life in the elderly. Associations with smoking, asthma and rhinitis confirmed previous findings in younger populations. Previously unrecognised relationships with constipation and uncontrolled diabetes mellitus suggested the multi-faceted nature of cough in the elderly.

Although resting B cells are known for being poorly immunogenic and for inducing T-cell tolerance, we have here attempted to test whether their immunogenicity could be enhanced by CD1d-restricted invariant T cells (iNKT) to a point where they could be used in cellular vaccines. We found that the addition of the iNKT ligand alpha-galactosylceramide (alphaGalCer) to peptide-loaded B cells overcame peptide-specific T-cell unresponsiveness and allowed for the generation of peptide-specific memory CT