Jae Sung Ko

Induction of epithelial barrier dysfunction and IL-8 secretion by TNF-alpha is inhibited by L. plantarum. Probiotics may preserve epithelial barrier function and inhibit the inflammatory response by altering the signal transduction pathway.

Tufting enteropathy is a rare autosomal recessive disorder presenting with early-onset severe intractable diarrhea. The epithelial cell adhesion molecule gene (EpCAM) has recently been identified as the gene responsible for tufting enteropathy. Based on histology, a diagnosis of tufting enteropathy was made in two Korean siblings. They developed chronic diarrhea and failure to thrive. They had a broad nasal bridge and micrognathia. Duodenal and colonic biopsies showed villous atrophy, disorganiz

Ko JS, Yi N‐J, Suh KS, Seo JK. Pediatric liver transplantation for fibropolycystic liver disease. Pediatr Transplantation 2012: 16: 195–200. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Abstract: Fibropolycystic liver disease includes CHF, Caroli’s syndrome, and Caroli’s disease. Patients with Caroli’s disease and Caroli’s syndrome have an increased risk of recurrent cholangitis, intrahepatic calculi, biliary cirrhosis, and cholangiocarcinoma. The aim of this study was to examine the post‐transplantation o

The cagA-positive vacA s1c/m1 iceA1 genotype was predominant in Korean children with recurrent abdominal pain and H. pylori gastritis. The cagA, vacA and iceA genotype were not associated with the severity of gastritis.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver disease worldwide, and is commonly associated with obesity. The spectrum of NAFLD ranges from simple steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and cirrhosis. Fructose ingestion, visceral obesity, and metabolic syndrome are risk factors for liver fibrosis. NAFLD is characterized by two steps of liver injury: intrahepatic lipid accumulation in the setting of insulin resistance, and inflammatory progression to NASH by oxidativ

A prognostic scoring system using the change of TB/INR may be useful for predicting mortality in patients with PALF.

Long chain fatty acids (LCFAs) exert pro-inflammatory effects in vivo. However, little is known regarding the effect of LCFAs on invariant (i) NKT cell functions. Here, we report an inhibitory effect of saturated LCFAs on transcription factors in iNKT cells. Among the saturated LCFAs, palmitic acid (PA) specifically inhibited IL-4 and IFN-γ production and reduced gata-3 and t-bet transcript levels in iNKT cells during TCR-mediated activation. In iNKT cells, PA was localized and induced dilation

PNPLA3, TM6SF2 and SAMM50 are associated with the development and severity of pediatric NAFLD. The impact of genetic variants is greater in children with overweight. The four genetic variants have synergetic effects on the severity of pediatric NAFLD.

Citrin is a liver-type mitochondrial aspartate-glutamate carrier encoded by the SLC25A13 gene, and its deficiency causes adult-onset type II citrullinemia and neonatal intrahepatic cholestasis caused by citrin deficiency (NICCD). Here, the authors investigated clinical findings in Korean infants with NICCD and performed mutation analysis on the SLC25A13 gene. Of 47 patients with neonatal cholestasis, three infants had multiple aminoacidemia (involving citrulline, methionine, and arginine) and ga

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of chronic liver disease in children. The global prevalence of pediatric NAFLD from general populations is 7.6%. In obese children, the prevalence is higher in Asia. NAFLD has a strong heritable component based on ethnic difference in the prevalence and clustering within families. Genetic polymorphisms of patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing protein 3 (<i>PNPLA3</i>), transmembrane 6 superfamily member 2, and glucokinase r

Interferon-alpha treatment of chronic hepatitis C in children with hemophilia was safe and effective in producing sustained responses. The pretreatment serum HCV RNA level and viral genotype may be predictive factors for sustained response to interferon therapy.

Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (SLOS) is an autosomal recessive malformation syndrome caused by a defect in cholesterol biosynthesis. The incidence is very low in Asians and only one case has been reported in Korea thus far. Recently, we found an infant with neonatal cholestasis. He had microcephaly, ambiguous genitalia, cleft palate, syndactyly of toes, patent ductus arteriosus and hypertrophic pyloric stenosis. The serum cholesterol was decreased and serum 7-dehydrocholesterol was markedly elevate

Tufting enteropathy is a rare autosomal recessive disorder presenting with early-onset severe intractable diarrhea. The epithelial cell adhesion molecule gene (EpCAM) has recently been identified as the gene responsible for tufting enteropathy. Based on histology,a diagnosis of tufting enteropathy was made in two Korean siblings. They developed chronic diarrhea and failure to thrive. They had a broad nasal bridge and micrognathia. Duodenal and colonic biopsies showed villous atrophy, disorganiza