RESUMEN
Ginseng is now used worldwide as a traditional Oriental medicine. Ginsenosides, also known as ginseng saponins, are responsible for most pharmacological efficacies of ginseng. This work aimed to assess the novel skin anti-photoaging potential of ginsenoside Re (Re), a protopanaxatriol-type ginsenoside, by analyzing reactive oxygen species (ROS), pro-matrix metalloproteinase-2 (proMMP-2) and -9 (proMMP-9), total glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and cellular viability in UV-B-irradiated HaCaT keratinocytes. When HaCaT cells were pretreated with Re prior to UV-B irradiation, Re significantly suppressed the UV-B-induced ROS elevation. It was also able to attenuate the UV-B-induced proMMP-2 and -9 elevations at both activity and protein levels. Re was capable of overcoming the UV-B-reduced total GSH content and SOD activity in concentration-dependent ways. Under the experimental conditions used, Re could interfere with cellular viabilities in neither non-irradiated nor UV-B-irradiated keratinocytes.
RESUMEN
ALL with MLL gene rearrangement secondary to chemotherapy has been rarely reported. We report a case of therapy-related ALL (t-ALL) with MLL gene rearrangement in a patient who had undergone treatment for breast cancer. A 60-yr-old woman with breast cancer underwent breast-conserving surgery followed by 6 cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy (cyclophosphamide, epirubicin, and fluorouracil) and radiation therapy (dose, 5,040 cGy to the left breast and a 1,000 cGy boost to the tumor bed). A follow-up examination performed 14 months after the chemotherapy revealed no evidence of breast malignancy. However, the patient's complete blood cell count indicated acute leukemia: white blood cell count, 174.1 x 10(9)/L with 88% blasts; Hb level, 12.5 g/dL; and platelet count, 103.0 x 10(9)/L. Examination of the bone marrow aspirate smear revealed a high percentage of blasts (85.1% of all nucleated cells); the blasts showed a pro-B immunophenotype and were positive for CD19, CD79a, HLA-DR, CD34, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT). Cytogenetic and FISH analyses revealed t(4;11)(q21;q23) and MLL gene rearrangement, respectively. The patient received induction chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin, and dexamethasone and achieved complete remission. Following consolidation chemotherapy, she underwent allogenic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation and has been clinically stable. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of t-ALL with MLL gene rearrangement following treatment of breast cancer in Korea.