Publications by authors named "Chaemin Yoon"

Coronaviruses have caused three major endemics in the past two decades. Alarmingly, recent identification of novel zoonotic coronaviruses that caused human infections suggests the risk of future coronavirus outbreak caused by spillover infection from animal reservoirs remains high. Therefore, development of alternative therapeutic options with broad-spectrum anti-coronavirus activities are urgently needed.

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Coronaviruses have caused three major endemics in the past two decades. Alarmingly, recent identification of novel zoonotic coronaviruses that caused human infections suggests the risk of future coronavirus outbreak caused by spillover infection from animal reservoirs remains high. Therefore, development of novel therapeutic options with broad-spectrum anti-coronavirus activities are urgently needed.

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Article Synopsis
  • SARS-CoV-2 variant JN.1, featuring a mutation L455S, has surpassed earlier variants, becoming the dominant strain due to its higher infectivity compared to BA.2.86.
  • The increased infectivity of JN.1 is linked to improved entry efficiency and spike protein cleavage, aided by the L455S mutation altering how the spike protein binds to ACE2 receptors.
  • Research also evaluates the distinct virological traits between JN.1 and other Omicron sublineages, enhancing our understanding of their transmissibility and immune response behaviors.
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Background: Radiation necrosis (RN) after stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) in brain metastases has been extensively evaluated, and RN is correlated with various risk factors. However, no study comprehensively analyzed the correlation between RN and the border zones of the brain that are vulnerable to ischemia. We hypothesized that patients with tumors in the border zone are at high risk of RN.

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Interferons (IFNs) are critical for immune defense against pathogens. While type-I and -III IFNs have been reported to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication, the antiviral effect and mechanism of type-II IFN against SARS-CoV-2 remain largely unknown. Here, we evaluate the antiviral activity of type-II IFN (IFNγ) using human lung epithelial cells (Calu3) and ex vivo human lung tissues.

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The current SARS-CoV-2 variants strikingly evade all authorized monoclonal antibodies and threaten the efficacy of serum-neutralizing activity elicited by vaccination or prior infection, urging the need to develop antivirals against SARS-CoV-2 and related sarbecoviruses. Here, we identified both potent and broadly neutralizing antibodies from a five-dose vaccinated donor who exhibited cross-reactive serum-neutralizing activity against diverse coronaviruses. Through single B-cell sorting and sequencing followed by a tailor-made computational pipeline, we successfully selected 86 antibodies with potential cross-neutralizing ability from 684 antibody sequences.

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Purpose: This study was intended to evaluate the effects of an Infant Health Promotion Program (IHPP) for mothers with their firstborn infants.

Methods: This study employed a non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design. The participants consisted of 17 mothers with their firstborn infants in the experimental group and 17 in the control group from two women's hospitals.

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Article Synopsis
  • Recent studies reveal that Omicron sublineages BA.1, BA.2, and BA.5 show varying replication capacities, with BA.5 being the most robust in human nasal epithelium.
  • While these sublineages successfully evade neutralizing antibodies, they appear to exhibit reduced pathogenicity in the lungs, especially in certain mouse models.
  • The research underscores the need for ongoing surveillance of these sublineages due to their increasing replication efficiency in the upper respiratory tract and the potential risks they pose to immunocompromised individuals.
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The overall success of worldwide mass vaccination in limiting the negative effect of the COVID-19 pandemics is inevitable, however, recent SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, especially Omicron and its sub-lineages, efficiently evade humoral immunity mounted upon vaccination or previous infection. Thus, it is an important question whether these variants, or vaccines against them, induce anti-viral cellular immunity. Here we show that the mRNA vaccine BNT162b2 induces robust protective immunity in K18-hACE2 transgenic B-cell deficient (μMT) mice.

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Emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants, particularly the Omicron variant and its sublineages, continually threaten the global public health. Small molecule antivirals are an effective treatment strategy to fight against the virus. However, the first-generation antivirals either show limited clinical efficacy and/or have some defects in pharmacokinetic (PK) properties.

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Successful severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection requires proteolytic cleavage of the viral spike protein. While the role of the host transmembrane protease serine 2 in SARS-CoV-2 infection is widely recognized, the involvement of other proteases capable of facilitating SARS-CoV-2 entry remains incompletely explored. Here, we show that multiple members from the membrane-type matrix metalloproteinase (MT-MMP) and a disintegrin and metalloproteinase families can mediate SARS-CoV-2 entry.

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This study is a descriptive research study conducted to identify factors that affect children of Korean mothers the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) preventive health behavior. It was confirmed that knowledge of COVID-19, maternal confidence, and risk perception of COVID-19 infection were related to the Preventive health behaviors of COVID-19 of Korean mothers with children. The subjects of this study were 191 mothers residing in Korea and raising children under the age of 5, and data were collected through an online questionnaire.

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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron BA.2 was a dominant circulating SARS-CoV-2 variant worldwide. Recent reports hint that BA.

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Highly pathogenic coronaviruses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (refs. ) (SARS-CoV-2), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and SARS-CoV-1 (ref. ), vary in their transmissibility and pathogenicity.

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The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the biggest public health challenge the world has witnessed in the past decades. SARS-CoV-2 undergoes constant mutations and new variants of concerns (VOCs) with altered transmissibility, virulence, and/or susceptibility to vaccines and therapeutics continue to emerge. Detailed analysis of host factors involved in virus replication may help to identify novel treatment targets.

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Emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants continue to cause waves of new infections globally. Developing effective antivirals against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants is an urgent task. The main protease (M) of SARS-CoV-2 is an attractive drug target because of its central role in viral replication and its conservation among variants.

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Article Synopsis
  • SARS-CoV-2 has caused over 450 million confirmed cases worldwide since 2019, leading to the development and administration of various vaccines, though some variants can evade immune responses.
  • Research investigated the effectiveness of the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine, known for its ability to boost innate immune responses, in protecting against SARS-CoV-2 in a specific mouse model.
  • Findings show that intravenous BCG vaccination significantly enhances immune responses and offers protection against both the original virus and its variants, supporting the potential of BCG as a supplementary strategy in COVID-19 defense.
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  • The study analyzed how university students in Busan, South Korea, understand and behave towards reducing exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) through a descriptive survey of 192 students.
  • A positive correlation was found between knowledge of EDCs and students' perceived benefits, barriers, and behaviors in reducing exposure, with key influencing factors being age, health-related studies, and healthy lifestyle choices.
  • Participants preferred diverse educational resources such as online materials, videos, and pamphlets over group discussions, highlighting the need for accessible information on EDC exposure and health improvement strategies.
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  • The study analyzes the potential for certain SARS-CoV-2 variants, specifically the B.1.1.7 variant, to infect wildtype mice, which typically don't contract the virus.
  • Using various experimental methods, the research shows that these variants can infect both wildtype mice and rats, demonstrating high levels of viral presence in their systems.
  • The findings suggest that B.1.1.7 and similar variants have expanded their ability to infect different species, indicating a need for improved murine control measures to address public health concerns related to the pandemic.
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Infection by highly pathogenic coronaviruses results in substantial apoptosis. However, the physiological relevance of apoptosis in the pathogenesis of coronavirus infections is unknown. Here, with a combination of in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo models, we demonstrated that protein kinase R-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK) signaling mediated the proapoptotic signals in Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection, which converged in the intrinsic apoptosis pathway.

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