Jin Yong-Xun Kim

A total of 22 Lactobacillus strains, which were isolated from infant feces were evaluated for their probiotic potential along with resistance to low pH and bile salts. Eight isolates (L. reuteri 3M02 and 3M03, L. gasseri 4M13, 4R22, 5R01, 5R02, and 5R13, and L. rhamnosus 4B15) with high tolerance to acid and bile salts, and ability to adhere to the intestine were screened from 22 strains. Further, functional properties of 8 Lactobacillus strains, such as anti-oxidation, inhibition of α-glucosida

The roles of toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems in bacteria have been debated. Here, the role of five TA systems in regard to biofilm development was investigated (listed as toxin/antitoxin: MazF/MazE, RelE/RelB, ChpB, YoeB/YefM, and YafQ/DinJ). Although these multiple TA systems were reported previously to not impact bacterial fitness, we found that deletion of the five TA systems decreased biofilm formation initially (8 h) on three different surfaces and then increased biofilm formation (24 h) by de

Previously we identified that the Escherichia coli protein MqsR (YgiU) functions as a toxin and that it is involved in the regulation of motility by quorum sensing signal autoinducer-2 (AI-2). Furthermore, MqsR is directly associated with biofilm development and is linked to the development of persister cells. Here we show that MqsR and MqsA (YgiT) are a toxin/antitoxin (TA) pair, which, in significant difference to other TA pairs, regulates additional loci besides its own. We have recently iden

Although the immune response of Caenorhabditis elegans to microbial infections is well established, very little is known about the effects of health-promoting probiotic bacteria on evolutionarily conserved C. elegans host responses. We found that the probiotic Gram-positive bacterium Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM is not harmful to C. elegans and that L. acidophilus NCFM is unable to colonize the C. elegans intestine. Conditioning with L. acidophilus NCFM significantly decreased the burden of a

The intestinal epithelial cell (IEC) layer of the intestinal tract makes direct contact with a number of microbiota communities, including bacteria known to have deleterious health effects. IECs possess innate protective strategies against pathogenic challenge, which primarily involve the formation of a physicochemical barrier. Intestinal tract mucins are principal components of the mucus layer on epithelial surfaces, and perform a protective function against microbial damage. However, little is

Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disease characterized by low bone mass and micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue, with a consequent increase in bone fragility and fracture susceptibility. In an aged society with increased life expectancy, the incidence rate of osteoporosis is also rapidly increasing. Inadequate nutrition may negatively influence bone metabolism. Recently, many studies have investigated the functionality of milk-derived exosomes, which play important roles in cell-

The value of image based texture features as a powerful method to predict prognosis and assist clinical management in cancer patients has been established recently. However, texture analysis using histograms and grey-level co-occurrence matrix in pancreas cancer patients has rarely been reported. We aimed to analyze the association of survival outcomes with texture features in pancreas head cancer patients. Eighty-eight pancreas head cancer patients who underwent preoperative CT images followed

This study may help to understand the genetic feature of pancreatic cancer and its survival effect in our population. This shows that additional genetic insights would contribute to the improvement of patients' prognosis.

BACKGROUND: A chemosensitizing effect of levetiracetam (LEV) has been suggested because LEV inhibits O-6 methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT). However, the survival benefit of LEV has not been clinically documented. The objective of this study was to assess the survival benefit of LEV compared with other antiepileptic drugs as a chemosensitizer to temozolomide for patients with glioblastoma. METHODS: In total, 103 consecutive patients with primary glioblastoma who received concomitant chem

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a valuable tool in the assessment of the full spectrum of pancreatic disease. A standard MR protocol including noncontrast T1-weighted fat-suppressed and dynamic gadolinium-enhanced gradient-echo imagings is sensitive for the evaluation of pancreatic cancer. Optimal use of MRI in the investigation of pancreatic cancer occurs in the following circumstances: (1) detection of small non-contour-deforming tumors, (2) evaluation of local extension and vascular encas