Dong Wook Choi

• Chungnam National University

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising cancer treatment, but its clinical use is limited by nontargeted photosensitizers (PS) that accumulate in normal tissues, causing adverse effects, and poor penetration in tumor tissues due to the dense extracellular matrix (ECM). Here an innovative approach is presented using cell‐derived nanovesicles (CNVs...

The mechanisms underlying the impact of probiotic supplementation on health remain largely elusive. While previous studies primarily focus on the discovery of novel bioactive bacteria and alterations in the microbiome environment to explain potential probiotic effects, our research delves into the role of living Lactiplantibacillus (formerly known...

The role of the serine/glycine metabolic pathway (SGP) has recently been demonstrated in tumors; however, the pathological relevance of the SGP in thyroid cancer remains unexplored. Here, we perform metabolomic profiling of 17 tumor-normal pairs; bulk transcriptomics of 263 normal thyroid, 348 papillary, and 21 undifferentiated thyroid cancer sampl...

The mechanisms underlying the impact of probiotic supplementation on health remain largely elusive. While previous studies have primarily focused on the discovery of novel bioactive bacteria and alterations in the microbiome environment to explain potential probiotic effects, our research delves into the role of living lactic acid bacteria (LAB) an...

Changes in mitochondrial morphology are associated with nutrient utilization, but the precise causalities and the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Here, using cellular models representing a wide variety of mitochondrial shapes, we show a strong linear correlation between mitochondrial fragmentation and increased fatty acid oxidation (FAO) rate...

Backgruound: An excess of thyroid hormones in Graves' disease (GD) has profound effects on systemic energy metabolism that are currently partially understood. In this study, we aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the metabolite changes that occur when patients with GD transition from hyperthyroidism to euthyroidism with methimazole t...

G protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs) are a diverse family of cell surface receptors implicated in various physiological functions, making them common targets for approved drugs. Many GPCRs are abnormally activated in cancers and have emerged as therapeutic targets for cancer. Neuropeptide FF receptor 2 (NPFFR2) is a GPCR that helps regulate pain and...

Classically activated pro-inflammatory macrophages are generated from naive macrophages by pro-inflammatory cues that dynamically reprogram their fuel metabolism toward glycolysis. This increases their intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, which then activate the transcription and release of pro-inflammatory mediators. Our study on mi...

Macrophage activation has long been implicated in a myriad of human pathophysiology, particularly in the context of the dysregulated capacities of an unleashing intracellular or/and extracellular inflammatory response. A growing number of studies have functionally coupled the macrophages' inflammatory capacities with dynamic metabolic reprogramming...

MCL-1 is an anti-apoptotic BCL-2 family protein essential for survival of diverse cell types and is a major driver of cancer and chemoresistance. The mechanistic basis for the oncogenic supremacy of MCL-1 among its anti-apoptotic homologs is unclear and implicates physiologic roles of MCL-1 beyond apoptotic suppression. Here we find that MCL-1-depe...

The roles of the serine/glycine metabolic pathway (SGP) have recently been evident in certain types of tumor physiology; however, the pathological relevance of SGP in undifferentiated thyroid cancer remains unexplored. Herein, we employed a comparative transcriptome analysis of bulk RNA sequencing coupled with single-cell RNA sequencing, showing th...

Background: Bacteriobilia, the colonization of bacteria in bile, can be caused by obstructive cholangitis or preoperative biliary drainage (PBD), and is not uncommon condition in patients undergoing pancreatoduodenectomy (PD). This study aims to investigate the effect of intraoperatively detected bacteriobilia on surgical outcomes after PD. Metho...

Mitochondrial network fragmentation has been associated with metabolic dysregulation, although the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Herein, using multiple cellular models where the physiological relevance of fatty acid is well-established, we show that mitochondrial fragmentation is highly associated with increased fatty acid oxidation (FAO) r...

Background: The nodal stage of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is revised in the AJCC 8th edition. Studies on the prognosis of PDAC according to lymph node metastasis (LNM) are still ongoing. We attempted to find the patterns of nodal involvement and to reveal its clinical significance to overall survival (OS). Materials and methods: We...

Backgrounds/aims: Portal vein resection (PVR) with major hepatic resection can increase the rate of curative resection for hilar cholangiocarcinoma (HC). However, the oncologic role and safety of PVR is still debatable. This study aims to analyze PVR in terms of safety and therapeutic effectiveness. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 235 patie...

Background Limited evidence exists for the safety and oncologic efficacy of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for nonfunctioning pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (NF-PNETs) according to tumor location. This study aimed to compare the surgical outcomes of MIS and open surgery (OS) for right- or left-sided NF-PNETs.Methods The study collected data on...

Background Although we previously proposed a nomogram to predict malignancy in intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN) and validated it in an external cohort, its application is challenging without data on tumor markers. Moreover, existing nomograms have not been compared. This study aimed to develop a nomogram based on radiologic findings...

Background Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) is an broad-spectrum disease from benign to malignant. Inflammatory markers are known as prognostic predictors in various diseases. The purpose of this study was to determine the predictive value of inflammatory markers for prognosis in IPMN. Methods From April 1995 to December 2016, patien...

The latest guidelines from the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS®) Society stated that early drain removal after pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) is beneficial in decreasing the complications including postoperative pancreatic fistulas (POPFs). This study aimed to ascertain the actual benefits of early drain removal after PD. The data of 450 patients...

Aberrant production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) leads to tissue damage accumulation, which is associated with a myriad of human pathologies. Although several sensors have been developed for ROS quantification, their applications for ROS-related human physiologies and pathologies still remain problematic due to the unstable nature of ROS. Herei...

Background: This study was performed to investigate the oncologic role of lymph node (LN) management and to propose a surgical strategy for treating intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (IHCC). Methods: The medical records of patients with resected IHCC were retrospectively reviewed from multiple institutions in Korea and Japan. Short-term and long-t...

In article number 2001940, June Hong Ahn, Wonhwa Lee, Chun Gwon Park, and co‐workers demonstrate that NETosis factor can be a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of SARS‐CoV‐2‐induced sepsis. DNase‐I coated melanin‐like nanospheres (DNase‐I pMNSs) show excellent stability, modulation of sepsis‐associated NETosis dysregulation and prevent...

Most models for predicting malignant pancreatic intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms were developed based on logistic regression (LR) analysis. Our study aimed to develop risk prediction models using machine learning (ML) and LR techniques and compare their performances. This was a multinational, multi-institutional, retrospective study. Clinic...

Background: The aim of this study is to compare the prognostic impact of 2 precursor lesions of ampullary adenocarcinoma, intra-ampullary papillary-tubular neoplasm (IAPN) and flat dysplasia (FD). Methods: From December 1994 to December 2012, a total of 359 patients underwent curative surgery for ampullary adenocarcinoma. Results: The precurso...

Wheat leaf rust caused by Puccinia triticina is a destructive fungal disease causing considerable grain yield loss. In this study, we developed a novel assay to test the rust resistance of detached wheat leaves on defined media with retarded senescence. We observed that salicylic and jasmonic acid confer leaf rust resistance to a susceptible Keumka...

The current outbreak of the beta‐coronavirus (beta‐Cov) severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) began in December 2019. No specific antiviral treatments or vaccines are currently available. A recent study has reported that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19), the disease caused by SARS‐CoV‐2 infection, is associated with neutro...

Background: Postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) is associated with potentially fatal complications, but there is lack of data on relationship between pancreas thickness, and stapler size and the POPF rate. This study aimed to suggest optimal stapler that reduces POPF rate according to the pancreas thickness. Methods: This retrospective cohor...

Introduction: The prognostic factors of PNET are unclear, and the treatment guidelines are insufficient. This study aimed to suggest a treatment algorithm for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (PNET) based on risk factors for recurrence in a large cohort. Methods: Data of 918 patients who underwent curative intent surgery for PNET were collected f...

Background: The aim of this study is to clarify the prognostic influence of venous resection of the portal vein (PV) or superior mesenteric vein (SMV) on long-term outcomes in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) of the head with suspected vascular invasion. Methods: From May 1995 to December 2014, a total of 557 patients underw...

The root bark of Morus has long been appreciated as an antiphlogistic, diuretic and expectorant drug in Chinese herbal medicine, albeit with barely known targets and mechanisms of action. In the 1970s, the development of analytic chemistry allowed for the discovery of morusin as one of 7 different isoprene flavonoid derivatives in the root bark of...

Backgrounds/aims: The comparative effectiveness of pylorus-resecting pancreaticoduodenectomy (PRPD) and pylorus- preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy (PPPD) in pancreatic head cancer is still disputed. The aim of this study was to analyze the data obtained from a large, single center with PPPD compared with PRPD in terms of postoperative outcomes, i...

Background: Despite advancements in operative technique and improvements in postoperative managements, postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) is a life-threatening complication following pancreatoduodenectomy (PD). There are some reports to predict POPF preoperatively or intraoperatively, but the accuracy of those is questionable. Artificial inte...

(1) Aim: To evaluate clinicopathological features and postoperative outcomes including survival in patients who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) for periampullary diseases. (2) Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 3078 cases of PD performed in our center for 25 years. Periampullary diseases were divided into benign and malignancy groups. All...

Background/Purpose Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is regarded as incurable, with a limited survival rate after curative resection. The aim of this study was to explore long‐term survival and late recurrence of PDAC after surgery. Methods Medical data of 859 patients who underwent resection between 1995 and 2014 were retrospectively examin...

Stress granules are membraneless organelles composed of numerous components including ribonucleoproteins. The stress granules are characterized by a dynamic complex assembly in response to various environmental stressors, which has been implicated in the coordinated regulation of diverse biological pathways, to exert a protective role against stres...

Nanoparticles have been extensively used as carriers for the delivery of chemicals and biomolecular drugs, such as anticancer drugs and therapeutic proteins. Natural biomolecules, such as proteins, are an attractive alternative to synthetic polymers commonly used in nanoparticle formulation because of their safety. In general, protein nanoparticles...

Background The prevalent location and incidence of intraductal papillary neoplasm of the bile duct (IPNB) and invasive carcinoma associated with them have varied markedly among studies due to differences in diagnostic criteria and tumor location. Methods IPNBs were classified into two types: Type 1 IPNB, being histologically similar to intraductal...

Chronic inflammation is linked to diverse disease processes, but the intrinsic mechanisms that determine cellular sensitivity to inflammation are incompletely understood. Here, we show the contribution of glucose metabolism to inflammation-induced changes in the survival of pancreatic islet β-cells. Using metabolomic, biochemical and functional ana...

Background Recently, several studies have reported that sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity (SO) could worsen postoperative complications after PD. This study aims to evaluate the effects of preoperative sarcopenia and SO following PD in pancreatic head cancer (PHD). Methods Preoperative sarcopenia and SO were assessed in 548 patients undergoing PD...

The 8th American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system for distal cholangiocarcinoma (DCC) included a positive lymph node count (PLNC), but a comparison of the prognostic predictive power of PLNC and lymph node ratio (LNR) is still under debate. This study aimed to compare various staging models made by combining the abovementioned factor...

Background: Neoadjuvant therapy is recommended for patients with borderline-resectable pancreatic cancer (BRPC). In this study, we compare survival outcomes of neoadjuvant therapy with upfront surgery. Methods: From January 2011 to June 2016, 1415 patients underwent treatments for pancreatic cancer in Samsung Medical Center. Among them, 112 (7.9...

The survival of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is closely related to recurrence. It is necessary to classify the risk factors for early recurrence and to develop a tool for predicting the initial outcome after surgery. Among patients with resected resectable PDAC at Samsung Medical Center (Seoul, Korea) between January 2007 a...

Background: IPNB is very rare disease and most previous studies on IPNB were case series with a small number due to low incidence. The aim of this study is to validate previously known clinicopathologic features of intraductal papillary neoplasm of bile duct (IPNB) based on the first largest multicenter cohort. Methods: Among 587 patients previo...

Backgrounds/aims: Although intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) has showed a favorable prognosis compared to pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, its recurrence patterns have somewhat questionable in detail. After partial pancreatectomy for IPMN, the evaluation for risk of metachronous occurrence of high-risk lesions (HRL) in the residual p...

Background: The present study aimed to determine the optimal timing of pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) following preoperative biliary drainage (PBD) with consideration of postoperative morbidity and survival. Methods: Between January 2007 and December 2015, consecutive 1568 patients underwent PD at a single institution. Their data were reviewed ret...

Background: Although several prediction models for the occurrence of postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) after pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) exist, all were established using Western cohorts. Large-scale external validation studies in Eastern cohorts that consider demographic variables including lower body mass index (BMI) are scarce. The purpose...

Carbohydrate response element binding protein (ChREBP) is a key transcriptional regulator of de novo lipogenesis (DNL) in response to carbohydrates and in hepatic steatosis. Mechanisms underlying nutrient modulation of ChREBP are under active investigation. Here we identify host cell factor 1 (HCF-1) as a previously unknown ChREBP-interacting prote...

Background No studies have yet analyzed the characteristics of recurrence after resection for intraductal papillary neoplasm of bile duct (IPNB) based on tumor location. We analyzed the patterns, timing, and risk factors for recurrence. Methods From 1994 to 2014, data from 103 patients who were diagnosed with IPNB were retrospectively reviewed. Am...

Purpose Recent studies have analyzed the short-term clinical outcomes of ndovascular management. However, the long-term outcomes are unknown. This study aimed to investigate clinical outcomes after endovascular management for ruptured pseudoaneurysm in patients after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD). Methods The medical records of 2,783 patients who u...

Background In 2013, the fistula risk score (FRS) was developed to assess the risk of clinically‐relevant postoperative pancreatic fistula (CR‐POPF). In 2017, the alternative fistula risk score (a‐FRS) was proposed. The purpose of this study was to validate o‐FRS and a‐FRS for CR‐POPF in pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD). Methods From January 2007 to De...

Background: Previous studies analyzed risk factors for postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) and developed risk prediction tool using scoring system. However, no study has built a nomogram based on individual risk factors. This study aimed to evaluate individual risks of POPF and propose a nomogram for predicting POPF. Methods: From 2007 to 20...

Purpose This study compared the patency of the splenic vessels between laparoscopic and open spleen and splenic vessel-preserving distal pancreatectomy. Methods We retrospectively reviewed a database of 137 patients who underwent laparoscopic (n = 91) or open (n = 46) spleen and splenic vessel-preserving distal pancreatectomy at a single institute...

Clinical features and treatment of GB neuroendocrine carcinoma (GB-NEC) are not well understood. This study aimed to analyze clinical outcomes of GB-NEC and verify the oncologic benefit of surgical treatment. From October 1994 to December 2014, the medical records of 31 patients with GB-NEC at a single center were retrospectively reviewed. There we...

Objective To compare Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication rate of type 2 diabetic patients with non-diabetic subjects. Methods In this multicenter prospective observational study, H. pylori-infected subjects were enrolled from three university-affiliated hospitals. Eradication regimen was triple therapy with standard dose of proton pump inh...

Supplementary_Table_revision_2 – Supplemental material for Helicobacter pylori eradication in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: Multicenter prospective observational study

Purpose Recent studies have suggested microscopic positive resection margin should be revised according to the presence of tumor cells within 1mm of the margin surface in resected specimens of pancreatic cancer. However, the clinical meaning of this revised margin status for R1 resection margin was not fully clarified. Methods From July 2012 to De...

Purpose To retrospectively investigate the impact of hyperbilirubinemia on future liver remnant (FLR) volume after percutaneous transhepatic portal vein embolization (PVE) and incidence of post-hepatectomy liver failure in primary biliary malignancy. Materials and Methods Eighty-seven patients (62 men, overall mean age 66.9 y) who underwent PVE, u...

Transmembrane protein 165 (TMEM165), a Golgi protein, functions in ion homeostasis and vesicular trafficking in the Golgi apparatus. While mutations in TMEM165 are known to cause human 'congenital disorders of glycosylation', a recessive autosomal metabolic disease, the potential association of this protein with human cancer development has not bee...

Background Although all guidelines suggest that T2 gallbladder (GB) cancer should be treated by extended cholecystectomy (ECx), high-level scientific evidence is lacking because there has been no randomized controlled trial on GB cancer. Methods A nationwide multicenter study between 2000 and 2009 from 14 university hospitals enrolled a total of 4...

Protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) is a protein that catalyzes transfer of methyl groups to the arginine residues of proteins and is involved in diverse cellular and biological responses. While the participation of PRMT5 in cancer progression has been increasingly documented, its association with the invasive phenotype currently remains p...

Autophagy begins with the formation of autophagosomes, a process that depends on the activity of the serine/threonine kinase ULK1 (hATG1). Although earlier studies indicated that ULK1 activity is regulated by dynamic polyubiquitination, the deubiquitinase involved in the regulation of ULK1 remained unknown. In this study, we demonstrate that ubiqui...

Backgrounds/Aims Various factors have been reported as prognostic factors of non-functional pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (NF-pNETs). There remains some controversy as to the factors which might actually serve to successfully prognosticate future manifestation and diagnosis of NF-pNETs. As well, consensus regarding management strategy has never...

The application of laparoscopy for liver surgery is rapidly increasing and the past few years have demonstrated a shift in paradigm with a trend towards more extended and complex resections. The development of instruments and technical refinements with the effective use of magnified caudal laparoscopic views have contributed to the ability to overc...

Background: Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs) account for 1-2% of all pancreatic neoplasms. Nonfunctioning PNETs (NF-PNETs) account for 60-90% of all PNETs. Laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy (LDP) is becoming the treatment of choice for benign lesions in the body and tail of the pancreas. However, LDP has not yet been widely accepted as th...

Objective The study aimed to describe portal stenting for postoperative portal occlusion with delayed (≥ 3 months) variceal bleeding in the afferent jejunal loop. Materials and Methods Eleven consecutive patients (age range, 2–79 years; eight men and three women) who underwent portal stenting between April 2009 and December 2015 were included in t...

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical outcomes and prognostic factors of concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) for locally recurrent biliary tract cancer (BTC) after curative surgical resection. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients with locally recurrent BTC treated with CCRT between October 2...

Purpose The pathways of lymphatic metastases differ according to the tumor location in pancreatic cancer patients. However, it is unclear whether extended lymph node dissection (LND) is essential for all left-sided pancreatic cancer. The aim of this study is to evaluate the survival outcomes according to the extent of LND and tumor location in pati...

Background/purpose: Our previous randomized controlled trial revealed no difference in 2-year overall survival (OS) between extended and standard resection for pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The present study evaluated the 5-year OS and recurrence patterns according to the extent of pancreatectomy. Methods: Between 2006 and 2009, 169 consecutive pat...

Pancreatic surgery has become a safe method of treating patients with malignant and benign pancreatic diseases. However, postpancreatectomy hemorrhage (PPH) is still a severe complication associated with mortality although the mortality rate following pancreatectomy has been decreased steadily over the past several decades. The early diagnosis and...

Purpose It is believed that blood from the superior mesenteric vein and splenic vein mixes incompletely in the portal vein and maintains a streamline flow influencing its anatomic distribution. Although several experimental studies have demonstrated the existence of streamlining, clinical studies have shown conflicting results. We investigated whet...

We performed an integrated analysis of proteomic and transcriptomic datasets to develop potential diagnostic markers for early pancreatic cancer. In the discovery phase, a multiple reaction monitoring assay of 90 proteins identified by either gene expression analysis or global serum proteome profiling was established and applied to 182 clinical spe...