Ji Ah Seo
Korea University · Medicine
About the Lab
Professor Ji Ah Seo's research lab focuses on the interplay between metabolic health, adipose tissue distribution, and systemic metabolism, with a particular emphasis on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), vitamin D metabolism, and hepatokine signaling. The lab investigates how visceral fat, sarcopenia, and insulin resistance contribute to metabolic syndrome and liver dysfunction, highlighting the role of novel hepatokines like apolipoprotein J in regulating muscle glucose metabolism. Key research directions include identifying biomarkers such as RBP4 and vitamin D status for early detection of metabolic disorders, and exploring the clinical relevance of anthropometric measures like waist circumference and visceral fat area in aging populations. The lab also contributes to open science through engagement with platforms like DOAJ, promoting accessible, high-quality research in metabolic health.
Research Overview
Research Output Trend
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Selected Papers
15OBJECTIVE: Retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) is a recently identified adipokine that is elevated in the serum in several insulin-resistant states. We investigated the relationship between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and serum RBP4 in nondiabetic adults. METHODS: One hundred and fifty-nine nondiabetic, non-alcoholic subjects (95 males and 64 females) participated in this study. Division of subjects into a NAFLD group (n = 73; 45 males and 28 females) or a normal group (n = 86; 50 mal
Crosstalk between liver and skeletal muscle is vital for glucose homeostasis. Hepatokines, liver-derived proteins that play an important role in regulating muscle metabolism, are important to this communication. Here we identify apolipoprotein J (ApoJ) as a novel hepatokine targeting muscle glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity through a low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein-2 (LRP2)-dependent mechanism, coupled with the insulin receptor (IR) signaling cascade. In muscle, LRP2 is
OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether vitamin D levels are independently associated with visceral obesity, sarcopenia, or sarcopenic obesity. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: Population-based sample of elderly adults living in Ansan, Korea. PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred sixteen men and 268 women aged 65 and older. MEASUREMENTS: Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels, visceral fat area (VFA) according to abdominal computed tomography scanning, and body composition (body fat percentage, appendicular
BACKGROUND: In Korea, the cutoff values of waist circumference (WC) for the identification of metabolic syndrome (MetS) were suggested to be 90 cm for men and 85 cm for women based on the analysis mainly in middle-aged adults. As aging is associated with increased fat, especially abdominal visceral fat, the cutoff value of WC may differ according to age. In addition, the usefulness of visceral abdominal fat area (VFA) to predict MetS in the elderly has not been studied yet. We aimed to suggest W
Low vitamin D status is closely associated with NAFLD, independent of visceral obesity in subjects with diabetes or insulin resistance.
This study investigated the effects of diabetes and antidiabetic medications on the risk of pancreatic cancer(PaC). We extracted data on Koreans with newly diagnosed diabetes and selected age- and sex-matched controls provided by the National Health Insurance Corporation. Incident PaC was defined as a new registration in the Korea Central Cancer Registry under ICD-10 C25 with admission history until 2015. During 19,429,617.1 person-years, 8,589 PaCs were identified in 1,005,409 subjects for diab
DOAJ is a unique and extensive index of diverse open access journals from around the world, driven by a growing community, committed to ensuring quality content is freely available online for everyone.
연구배경: 본 연구에서 저자들은 새로운 비침습적 죽상경화 검사인 상완-발목 맥파속도 (brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity; baPWV)와 대사증후군의 심혈관계 위험인자들간의 연관관계를 알아보고자 하였다. 방법: 연구대상은 460명의 당뇨병 병력이 없는 한국인 성인 (남자 158명, 여자 302명, 평균 연령 52.4± 11.3 years)을 대상으로 하였다. 신체계측 및 혈압을 측정하였고 공복혈당, 혈중 지질 검사와 함께 발목-상완 혈압지수 (ankle-brachial index; ABI)와 baPWV를 측정하였다.결과: ABI와 baPWV는 남자에서 여자보다 유의하게 높았다. 남녀 모두에서 baPWV는 대사증후군의 심혈관계 위험인자들과 유의한 연관성을 보였으며 대사증후군의 요소를 많이 가질수록 높은 baPWV를 보였다. 여자에서 대사증후군을 가진 군은 가지지 않은 군에 비해 유의하게 baPWV가 높았다 (1517±281 vs. 1336±250, P<0.0
STUDY OBJECTIVES: Although sleep duration and quality were significant risk factors of type 2 diabetes (T2D), the impact of sleep initiation time on the development of T2D has not been studied in large longitudinal studies. METHODS: A total of 3689 participants without diabetes aged 40-69 years at baseline were enrolled from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study and followed up for 12 years. Participants were categorized based on habitual sleep initiation time by questionnaire as follows: 20:
BACKGROUND: Muscle quality, represented by myosteatosis, is recognized as an important factor in sarcopenia. In this study, we aimed to determine the associations between myosteatosis, muscle strength and physical performance among the elderly South Korean population. METHODS: We included 1440 participants (mean age 62.7 ± 6.2 years) from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES). Based on the computed tomography attenuation of mid-thigh imaging, the total muscle area (TMA), normal-attenu
OBJECTIVES: Although it has been well-established that menopause causes a shift in body fat, there has been no study conducted yet to examine the best obesity parameters to predict the risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in this population. Thus, the aim of this study was to clarify the superiority among various obesity indices such as body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) for predicting NAFLD in pre- and postmenopausal women. METHODS: This cr
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Research Areas
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