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Donghun Kim

Korea University · Medicine

About the Lab

Professor Donghun Kim's research lab focuses on the neuroimmunological mechanisms underlying neuropathic pain and cerebrovascular dysfunction. The lab investigates how glial cell activation, toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), NADPH oxidase 2 (Nox2), and oxidative stress contribute to spinal cord inflammatory responses following nerve injury. Additionally, the lab explores the role of vascular risk factors and cerebrovascular reactivity in cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Their work bridges molecular neuroscience, immunology, and clinical outcomes in neurological and oncological conditions.

neuropathic painglial activationTLR2cerebrovascular reactivityoxidative stress

Research Overview

Papers
329
Total Citations
29,536
Papers (5y)
85
Primary Field
Medicine

Research Output Trend

Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.

Publications per year (5y)
85total
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
Citations per year (5y)
650total
20222023202420252026

Selected Papers

15
1
Article|458 citations·2018
Graphene quantum dots prevent α-synucleinopathy in Parkinson’s disease
Donghoon Kim, Je Min Yoo, Heehong Hwang, Junghee Lee, Su Hyun Lee, Seung Pil Yun, Myung Jin Park, Minjun Lee, Seulah Choi, Sang Ho Kwon, Saebom Lee, Seung‐Hwan Kwon
SJR Q1Nature NanotechnologyOA
NeurologyMedicine
2
Article|315 citations·2007
A Critical Role of Toll-like Receptor 2 in Nerve Injury-induced Spinal Cord Glial Cell Activation and Pain Hypersensitivity
Donghoon Kim, Myung Ah Kim, Ik‐Hyun Cho, Mi Sun Kim, Soojin Lee, Eun‐Kyeong Jo, Se‐Young Choi, Kyungpyo Park, Joong Soo Kim, Shizuo Akira, Heung Sik Na, Seog Bae Oh
SJR Q1Journal of Biological ChemistryOA

The activation of spinal cord glial cells has been implicated in the development of neuropathic pain upon peripheral nerve injury. The molecular mechanisms underlying glial cell activation, however, have not been clearly elucidated. In this study, we found that damaged sensory neurons induce the expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1beta, interleukin-6, and inducible nitric-oxide synthase genes in spinal cord glial cells, which is implicated in the development of neuropathic pa

PhysiologyMedicine
3
Article|264 citations·2010
NADPH oxidase 2-derived reactive oxygen species in spinal cord microglia contribute to peripheral nerve injury-induced neuropathic pain
Donghoon Kim, Byunghyun You, Eun‐Kyeong Jo, Sang‐Kyou Han, Melvin I. Simon, Sung Joong Lee
SJR Q1Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesOA

Increasing evidence supports the notion that spinal cord microglia activation plays a causal role in the development of neuropathic pain after peripheral nerve injury; yet the mechanisms for microglia activation remain elusive. Here, we provide evidence that NADPH oxidase 2 (Nox2)-derived ROS production plays a critical role in nerve injury-induced spinal cord microglia activation and subsequent pain hypersensitivity. Nox2 expression was induced in dorsal horn microglia immediately after L5 spin

PhysiologyMedicine
4
Article|80 citations·2011
Toll-Like Receptor 2 Contributes to Chemokine Gene Expression and Macrophage Infiltration in the Dorsal Root Ganglia after Peripheral Nerve Injury
Donghoon Kim, Byunghyun You, Hyoungsub Lim, Sung Joong Lee
SJR Q1Molecular PainOA

BACKGROUND: We have previously reported that nerve injury-induced neuropathic pain is attenuated in toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) knock-out mice. In these mice, inflammatory gene expression and spinal cord microglia actvation is compromised, whereas the effects in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) have not been tested. In this study, we investigated the role of TLR2 in inflammatory responses in the DRG after peripheral nerve injury. RESULTS: L5 spinal nerve transection injury induced the expression of

PhysiologyMedicine
5
Article|54 citations·2021
Relationship Between Cerebrovascular Reactivity and Cognition Among People With Risk of Cognitive Decline
Dong‐Hoon Kim, Timothy M. Hughes, Megan E. Lipford, Suzanne Craft, Laura D. Baker, Samuel N. Lockhart, Christopher T. Whitlow, Stephanie E. Okonmah‐Obazee, Christina E. Hugenschmidt, Matthew Bobinski, Youngkyoo Jung
SJR Q2Frontiers in PhysiologyOA

Vascular risk factors (e.g., obesity and hypertension) are associated with cerebral small vessel disease, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology, and dementia. Reduced perfusion may reflect the impaired ability of blood vessels to regulate blood flow in reaction to varying circumstances such as hypercapnia (increased end-tidal partial pressures of CO 2 ). It has been shown that cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) measured with blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) MRI is correlated with cognitive perform

Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and ImagingMedicine
6
Article|54 citations·2021
TRIP12 ubiquitination of glucocerebrosidase contributes to neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease
Bo Am Seo, Donghoon Kim, Heehong Hwang, Min Seong Kim, Shi-Xun Ma, Seung‐Hwan Kwon, Sin Ho Kweon, Hu Wang, Je Min Yoo, Seulah Choi, Sang Ho Kwon, Sung-Ung Kang
SJR Q1NeuronOA
PhysiologyMedicine
7
Article|51 citations·2009
Do VIP programs always work well? The moderating role of loyalty
Dong‐Hoon Kim, Seung‐yon Lee, Kyunghee Bu, Se-Ho Lee
SJR Q1Psychology and Marketing

Abstract This paper addresses some important issues involving the effective deployment of ever‐increasing VIP program budgets. Recent research results on the effects of VIP programs have been somewhat mixed. Some studies have found a positive influence on consumer behavior, while others report no significant impact. The purpose of this research is to provide a possible explanation for such contradictory evidence in the literature. The results of this study reveal that customer responses to VIP p

Organizational Behavior and Human Resource ManagementBusiness, Management and Accounting
8
Article|47 citations·2017
Persistent elevation of postoperative neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio: A better predictor of survival in gastric cancer than elevated preoperative neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio
Kyueng‐Whan Min, Mi Jung Kwon, Dong‐Hoon Kim, Byoung Kwan Son, Eun‐Kyung Kim, Young‐Ha Oh, Young Chan Wi
SJR Q1Scientific ReportsOA

Postoperative neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio change (NLRc) reflects the dynamic change of balance between host inflammatory response and immune response after treatment. In gastric cancer, an elevated initial NLR (iNLR) is reported to be a prognostic predictor, but the clinical application of the NLRc remains unclear. The NLRc was assessed in 734 patients undergoing total/subtotal gastrectomy and endoscopic submucosal dissection for gastric adenocarcinoma. The iNLR and NLRc were recorded within

Pulmonary and Respiratory MedicineMedicine
9
Article|47 citations·2021
Cancer-associated fibroblasts are associated with poor prognosis in solid type of lung adenocarcinoma in a machine learning analysis
Kyueng‐Whan Min, Dong‐Hoon Kim, Yung‐Kyun Noh, Byoung Kwan Son, Mi Jung Kwon, Ji‐Yong Moon
SJR Q1Scientific ReportsOA

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) participate in critical processes in the tumor microenvironment, such as extracellular matrix remodeling, reciprocal signaling interactions with cancer cells and crosstalk with infiltrating inflammatory cells. However, the relationships between CAFs and survival are not well known in lung cancer. The aim of this study was to reveal the correlations of CAFs with survival rates, genetic alterations and immune activities. This study reviewed the histological fea

Pulmonary and Respiratory MedicineMedicine
10
Article|38 citations·2018
D409H GBA1 mutation accelerates the progression of pathology in A53T α-synuclein transgenic mouse model
Donghoon Kim, Heehong Hwang, Seulah Choi, Sang Ho Kwon, Su-Hyun Lee, Jae Hong Park, Sang‐Min Kim, Han Seok Ko
SJR Q1Acta Neuropathologica CommunicationsOA

Heterozygous mutations in glucocerebrosidase 1 (GBA1) are a major genetic risk factor for Parkinson's disease and Dementia with Lewy bodies. Mutations in GBA1 leads to GBA1 enzyme deficiency, and GBA1-associated parkinsonism has an earlier age of onset and more progressive parkinsonism. To investigate a potential influence of GBA1 deficiency caused by mutations in GBA1 on the disease progression of PD, GBA1 mice carrying D409H knock-in mutation were crossbred with the human A53T (hA53T) α-synucl

NeurologyMedicine
11
Article|38 citations·2018
High TNFRSF12A level associated with MMP-9 overexpression is linked to poor prognosis in breast cancer: Gene set enrichment analysis and validation in large-scale cohorts
Jungho Yang, Kyueng‐Whan Min, Dong‐Hoon Kim, Byoung Kwan Son, Kyoung Min Moon, Young Chan Wi, Seongsik Bang, Young‐Ha Oh, Sung‐Im Do, Seoung Wan Chae, Sukjoong Oh, Young Hwan Kim
SJR Q1PLoS ONEOA

High levels of TNFRSF12A associated with MMP-9 overexpression may be important to explain the progression of breast cancer, and survival could be improved using therapy targeting TNFRSF12A.

Cancer ResearchBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
12
Article|34 citations·2014
A patient fatality following the ingestion of a small amount of chlorfenapyr
Dong‐Hoon Kim, DongHoon Kim, Changwoo Kang, SeongChun Kim, Dong-Seob Kim, Dong-Seob Kim
SJR Q2Journal of Emergencies Trauma and ShockOA

Chlorfenapyr has been used worldwide for agricultural pest control since 1995. Despite its widespread use, acute human poisoning data are insufficient; only a small number of fatalities from chlorfenapyr poisoning have been reported. The signs and symptoms of chlorfenapyr toxicity include nausea, vomiting, fever, rhabdomyolysis, among others. In addition, central nervous system effects in association with delayed toxicity have also been observed. Here, we detail a fatality resulting from delayed

OphthalmologyMedicine
13
Article|33 citations·2017
Preliminary Study for Designing a Novel Vein-Visualizing Device
Dong‐Hoon Kim, Yu-Jin Kim, Siyeop Yoon, Deukhee Lee
SJR Q1SensorsOA

Venipuncture is an important health diagnosis process. Although venipuncture is one of the most commonly performed procedures in medical environments, locating the veins of infants, obese, anemic, or colored patients is still an arduous task even for skilled practitioners. To solve this problem, several devices using infrared light have recently become commercially available. However, such devices for venipuncture share a common drawback, especially when visualizing deep veins or veins of a thic

Biomedical EngineeringEngineering
14
Article|31 citations·2007
Prognostic Implications of Cyclin B1, p34cdc2, p27Kip1and p53 Expression in Gastric Cancer
Dong‐Hoon Kim
SJR Q2Yonsei Medical JournalOA

Our results indicate that cyclin B1 and p34cdc2 are involved in the genesis or progression of gastric cancers. Furthermore, overexpression of cyclin B1 may play an important role in lymph node metastatic potential of gastric cancer. Thus, abnormal expression of cyclin B1 and CDKs, overexpression of p53 and loss of p27(Kip1) expression may play important roles in human gastric carcinogenesis.

OncologyMedicine
15
Article|30 citations·2022
Association of α-klotho and lead and cadmium: A cross-sectional study
Dong‐Hoon Kim, Sohyae Lee, Ju-Young Choi, Jae‐Ho Lee, Hyojung Lee, Jin‐Young Min, Kyoung‐Bok Min
SJR Q1The Science of The Total Environment
Health, Toxicology and MutagenesisEnvironmental Science

Research Areas

PhysiologyNeurologyBiomedical EngineeringPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational HealthSurgeryMolecular Biology

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