Jubae Park

PURPOSE: To identify epigenetic molecular makers in plasma for the early detection of colorectal cancer. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We retrospectively analyzed the methylation status of 10 genes in fresh-frozen tissues and corresponding plasma samples from 243 patients with stage I and II sporadic colorectal cancer, 276 healthy individuals, and plasma from 64 colorectal adenoma patients using methylation-specific PCR. The methylation score (Mscore) was used to find molecular markers with high sensitiv

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to identify tumor-specific methylation in bronchial lavage for the early detection of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) by differentiating the age-related methylation from the tumor-specific methylation in NSCLC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Eighty-five NSCLC patients and 127 cancer-free subjects participated in this study. Aberrant methylation at the promoters of the p16, Ras association domain family 1A (RASSF1A), fragile histidine triad (FHIT), H-cadherin, and ret

Cigarette smoking is the most common cause of lung cancer. The greatest risk of lung cancer is among those who started smoking early in life and continued throughout their lives. However, the molecular mechanisms responsible for the susceptibility to lung cancer in the young smoker are not clear. Recently, several groups have reported that the hypermethylation of CpG islands is associated with exposure to tobacco smoke. We studied the association between the age at starting smoking and hypermeth

BACKGROUND: Despite many reports about the involvement of DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) in human cancers, including nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the clinicopathologic significance of DNMTs in primary NSCLC remains to be elucidated. METHODS: The relation between the mRNA levels of DNMTs (1 and 3b) and the promoter methylation of the p16, RARbeta2, H-cadherin, GSTP1, RIZ, and FHIT genes and the clinicopathologic features in 102 fresh-frozen tissues and paraffin blocks were retrospectively s

Despite advances in the detection and treatment of lung cancer, the prognosis for patients with lung cancer is poor, partly as a result of recurrences. We retrospectively analyzed the relationship between recurrence and survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC), and the promoter methylation of p16, GSTP1, FHIT, H-cadherin, and RARbeta2 genes to identify a prognostic molecular marker associated with the recurrence of NSCLC. Methylation status from 335 paraffin blocks was deter

BACKGROUND: Abnormalities in the H-cadherin gene have been reported in several human malignancies, including nonsmall cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). Aberrant methylation of the H-cadherin promoter also has been reported in NSCLC, but its clinical significance remains to be elucidated. METHODS: The authors studied H-cadherin methylation in 305 patients with NSCLC to gain a further understanding of the clinicopathologic and prognostic significance of H-cadherin methylation in patients with NSCLC. Th

Recently, several groups have reported that Ras association domain family 1 (RASSF1A) interacts with Ras and mediates Ras-dependent apoptosis. However, the mechanism by which RASSF1A plays a role as a tumor suppressor in human cancer is unclear. In this study, we investigated the relationship between the RASSF1A methylation and K-ras mutation and their effects on patient's survival in 242 primary non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) to understand the role of RASSF1A in Ras-mediated oncogenic tra

The prognosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients remains very poor, which is partially due to a high rate of recurrence. This study was aimed at identifying a recurrence-associated epigenetic prognostic marker in patients with ESCC. We retrospectively analyzed the CpG island hypermethylation of the p16, Wif-1, sFRP1, integrin alpha4, CDH1, DAP kinase and RARbeta2 genes in 251 ESCCs. The methylation status was determined by methylation-specific PCR. Hypermethylation was detecte

When we were studying phosphorylated proteins in the rat brain after electroconvulsive shock (ECS), we observed the rapid phosphorylation of a 75-kDa protein, which cross-reacted with the anti-phospho-p70 S6 kinase antibody. The phosphorylated protein was purified and identified as moesin, a member of the ezrin/radixin/moesin (ERM) family and a general cross-linker between cortical actin filaments and plasma membranes. The purified moesin from rat brain was phosphorylated at serine and threonine

This study was aimed at investigating the involvement of the SUV39H1 histone methyltransferase on the epigenetic change of euchromatic promoter in colorectal cancer. We retrospectively analyzed the mRNA levels of SUV39H1 and the promoter methylation of the p14(ARF), p16(INK4a) and HLTF genes as well as the mRNA levels of DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) in fresh frozen tissues from 219 colorectal cancer patients. The mRNA levels of the SUV39H1 and DNMT1 were assessed via quantitative real-time PC

PURPOSE: To investigate whether the promoter hypermethylation of retinoic acid receptor beta 2 (RARbeta2) is associated with the development of second primary lung cancers (SPLCs) differentially according to smoking status in primary non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the relationship between RARbeta2 methylation and the SPLC development in a total of 342 NSCLCs. The methylation status of RARbeta2 was determined by using methylation-specific pol

Cytoskeleton-associated protein 2 (CKAP2), also known as tumor-associated microtubule-associated protein (TMAP), is a novel microtubule-associated protein that is frequently upregulated in various malignances. However, its cellular functions remain unknown. A previous study has shown that its protein level begins to increase during G(1)/S and peaks at G(2)/M, after which it decreases abruptly. Ectopic overexpression of TMAP/CKAP2 induced microtubule bundling related to increased microtubule stab