Jin-Ku Lee

INTRODUCTION: Protein kinase CK2 is implicated in cellular proliferation and transformation. However, the clinical and biological significances of CK2 have not been elucidated in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We evaluated the biological significances of catalytic subunit of CK2 (CK2alpha) expression in leukemia cell lines and primary leukemic blasts obtained from AML patients. RESULTS: In this study, the expression of CK2alpha was elevated in a substantial proportion of AML.

BACKGROUND: Clinical benefits from standard therapies against glioblastoma (GBM) are limited in part due to intrinsic radio- and chemoresistance of GBM and inefficient targeting of GBM stem-like cells (GSCs). Novel therapeutic approaches that overcome treatment resistance and diminish stem-like properties of GBM are needed. METHODS: We determined the expression levels of ubiquitination-specific proteases (USPs) by transcriptome analysis and found that USP1 is highly expressed in GBM. Using the p

Elevated S100A9 expression in CECs mediated by an IL-6/STAT3 signaling cascade may play an important role in the development of colitis.

The acquisition of tamoxifen resistance is a major therapeutic problem in breast cancer. We developed a tamoxifen-resistant MCF-7 (TRM-7) cell line to elucidate the molecular mechanisms and factors associated with acquisition of such resistance. We showed that phosphorylation of STAT3 at tyrosine 705 (Y705) and RANTES expression are increased in response to tamoxifen in human breast cancer cells. On the basis of these results, we hypothesize that upregulated STAT3 phosphorylation and RANTES may

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common human primary brain malignancy and has a dismal prognosis. Aggressive treatments using maximal surgical resection, radiotherapy, and temozolomide result in median survival of only 14.6 months in patients with GBM. Numerous clinical approaches using small molecule inhibitors have shown disappointing results because of the genetic heterogeneity of GBM. The epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a crucial biological process occurring in the ea

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and most lethal primary brain tumor, with tragically little therapeutic progress over the last 30 years. Surgery provides a modest benefit, and GBM cells are resistant to radiation and chemotherapy. Despite significant development of the molecularly targeting strategies, the clinical outcome of GBM patients remains dismal. The challenges inherent in developing effective GBM treatments have become increasingly clear, and include resistance to stand

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most lethal primary brain tumor with few treatment options. The survival of glioma-initiating cells (GICs) is one of the major factors contributing to treatment failure. GICs frequently produce and respond to their own growth factors that support cell proliferation and survival. In this study, we aimed to identify critical autocrine factors mediating GIC survival and to evaluate the anti-GBM effect of antagonizing these factors. Proteomic analysis was performed using co

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most malignant brain tumor with profound genomic alterations. Tumor suppressor genes regulate multiple signaling networks that restrict cellular proliferation and present barriers to malignant transformation. While bona fide tumor suppressors such as PTEN and TP53 often undergo inactivation due to mutations, there are several genes for which genomic deletion is the primary route for tumor progression. To functionally identify putative tumor suppressors in GBM, we employ