BACKGROUND Adipose tissue has characteristics of an endocrine organ which releases a number of adipocyte-specific factors, known as adipocytokines. It has recently suggested that adipocytokines might play a role in pathogenesis and progression of certain cancers, especially in gastric cancer. This study has managed to investigate endogenous and/or exogenous expression of Visfatin and Resistin i...

Helicobacter pylori induces the antiapoptotic protein myeloid cell leukemia 1 (Mcl1) in human gastric epithelial cells (GECs). Apoptosis of oncogenic protein Mcl1-expressing cells is mainly regulated by Noxa-mediated degradation of Mcl1. We wanted to elucidate the status of Noxa in H. pylori-infected GECs. For this, various GECs such as AGS, MKN45, and KATO III were either infected with H. pylo...

p37 protein is a membrane lipoprotein of Mycoplasma hyorhinis, and our previous work showed that there was high ratio of M. hyorhinis infection in human gastric carcinoma. To investigate the possible functions of p37 in cancer development, the nucleotide sequence of p37 gene was modified and expressed well in transfected cells. We found that p37 localized at the Golgi apparatus and could be sec...

BACKGROUND Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is involved in the pathogenesis of several types of cancer, including gastric cancer. Overexpression of HER2 is noted in 10%-22.8% of gastric adenocarcinoma and its identification is of immense importance for management by targeted drugs. Detection of HER2 expression in gastric malignancies has not been undertaken previously in the loca...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Astaxanthin is a carotenoid pigment that has antioxidant, antitumoral, and anti-inflammatory properties. In this in vitro study, we investigated the mechanism of anticancer effects of astaxanthin in gastric carcinoma cell lines. METHODS The human gastric adenocarcinoma cell lines AGS, KATO-III, MKN-45, and SNU-1 were treated with various concentrations of astaxanthin. A cell v...

Two human gastric cancer cell lines of differing invasive potential, SNU-484 and SNU-638 cells, were examined using subtractive suppression hybridization in a search for any genes associated with metastasis. Of the eight cDNAs identified as being differentially expressed genes, it was determined that humbug, which encodes a truncated isoform of aspartyl (asparaginyl) beta-hydroxylase (AAH) miss...

Stathmin1 (STMN1) is a candidate oncoprotein and prognosis marker in several kinds of cancers. This study was aimed to analyze its expression and biological functions in gastric cancer. The expression of STMN1 was evaluated by qRT-PCR, western blot and immunohistochemistry. The biological function of STMN1 was determined by MTT proliferation assays, monolayer colony formation and cell invasion ...

Bile acids from duodenogastric reflux promote inflammation and increase the risk for gastro-oesophageal cancers. FXR (farnesoid X receptor/NR1H4) is a transcription factor regulated by bile acids such as CDCA (chenodeoxycholic acid). FXR protects the liver and the intestinal tract against bile acid overload; however, a functional role for FXR in the stomach has not been described. We detected F...

Seaweeds are commonly used as functional foods and drugs. A glycoprotein (GP) from the green alga Capsosiphon fulvescens (Cf) has been reported to have antitumor activity toward various cancer cells. We previously observed that Cf-GP induced different pathways of apoptosis in AGS human gastric cancer cells. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 plays an important role in cancer cell migration. In...

Plants are an invaluable source of potential new anti-cancer drugs. Momordica charantia is one of these plants with both edible and medical value and reported to exhibit anticancer activity. To explore the potential effectiveness of Momordica charantia, methanol extract of Momordica charantia (MCME) was used to evaluate the cytotoxic activity on four human cancer cell lines, Hone-1 nasopharynge...