The current major research focuses are 1) molecular mechanisms by which nuclear hormone receptors regulate gene transcription and 2) unraveling complicated cross-talks of nuclear hormone receptors with various cellular signaling pathways. We are making a major contribution in each of these fields. In particular, we recently discovered two novel transcritpion cointegartors ASC-1 and ASC-2 that appear to constitute components of a larger CBP coactivator complex. Molecular biological, biochemical, immunological, cell biological and genetic approaches will be performed to investigate these problems.

1. Kang, B.Y., Song, Y.J., Kim, K.-M., Choe, Y.-K., Hwang, S.Y. and Kim, T.S. (1999) Curcumin inhibits Th1 cytokine profile in CD4+ T cells by suppressing interleukin-12 production in macrophages. Brit. J. Pharmacol. 128(2): 380-384
2. Kang, B.Y., Chung, S.W., Im, S.-Y., Choe, Y.K. and Kim, T.S. (1999) Sulfasalazine prevents Th1 immune response by suppressing IL-12 production in macrophages. Immunology 98(1): 98-103
3. Kang, B.Y., Lim, Y.S., Chung, S.W., Kim, E.J., Kim, S.H., Hwang, S.Y, and Kim, T.S. (1999) Antigen-specific cytotoxicity and cell number of adoptively transferred T cells are efficiently maintained in vivo by restimulation with an antigen/interleukin-2 fusion protein. Int. J. Cancer 82(4): 569-573
4. Kang, B.Y., Lim, Y.S., Chung, S.W., Kim, E.J., Kim, S.H., Hwang, S.Y., and Kim, T.S. (1999) IL-12-secreting fibroblasts are more efficient than recombinant IL-12 in inducing persistent resistance to Mycobacterium avium complex infection. Immunology 97(3): 474-480
5. Kang, B.Y., Chung, S.W., Chung, W.-J., Im, S.-Y., Hwang, S.Y., and Kim, T.S. (1999) Inhibition of interleukin-12 (IL-12) production in lipopolysaccharide-activated macrophages by curcumin. Eur. J. Pharmacol. 384(2-3): 189-193
6. Kang, B.Y., Chung, S.W., Im, S.-Y., Hwang, S.Y., and Kim, T.S. (1999) Chloromethyl ketones inhibit interleukin-12 production in macrophages stimulated with lipopolysaccharide. Immunol. Lett. 70(2): 135-138
7. Kim, T.S., Kang, B.Y., Chung, S.W., Choe, Y.-K. and Hwang, S.Y. (1999) Induction of persistent resistance to Mycobacterium avium complex infection by IFN-ャsecreting fibroblasts. Vaccine, 18(11-12): 1067-1073
8. Ryu, S.Y., Oak, M.H., Yoon, S.K., Cho, D.I., Yoo, G.S., Kim, T.S., and Kim, K.M. (1999) anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory triterpenes from medicinal herb Prunella vulgaris. Planta Medica, (in press)
9. Kang, K.-W., Kim, T.S., and Kim, K.-M. (1999) IFN-ャ and IL-4 targeted gene therapy for the atopic allergic disease. Immunology, (in press)
10. Na, S.-Y., Kang, B.Y., Chung, S.W., Han, S.J., Ma, X., Trinchieri, G., Im, S.-Y., Lee, J.W., and Kim, T.S. (1999) Retinoids Inhibit IL-12 Production in Macrophages through Physical Associations of Retinoid Receptors with NFkB. J. Biol. Chem. J. Biol. Chem. 274 : 7674-7680
11. Lim, Y.S., Kang, B.Y., Kim, E.J., Kim, S.H., Hwang, S.Y., and Kim, T.S. (1998) Augmentation of therapeutic antitumor immunity by the B16F10 melanoma cells transfected with interferon-ャand allogeneic MHC class I cDNAs. Mol.Cell, 8 : 629-636
12. Lee, S.K., Kim, H.J., Na, S.Y., Kim, T.S., Choi, H.S., Im, S.Y., and Lee, J.W. (1998) Steroid receptor coactivator AP-1 coactivates AP-1-mediated transactivations through interaction with the c-fos subunits. J.Biol. Chem. 273 : 16651-16654
13. Lim, Y.S., Kang, B.Y., Kim, E.J., Kim, S.H., Hwang, S.Y. and Kim, T.S. (1998) Potentiation of antigen-specific, Th1 immune responses by multiple DNA vaccinations with an ovalbumin/interferon-ャ hybrid construct. Immunol. 94 : 135-141
14. Kim, T.S., Dekruyff, R.H., Rupper, R., Maecker, H.T., Levy, S., and Umetsu, D.T. (1997) An ovalbumin-IL-12 fusion protein is more effective than ovalbumin plus recombinant IL-12 in inducing a T helper cell type 1-dominanted immune response and inhibiting antigen-specific IgE production. J. Immunol. 158 : 4137-4144
15. Lichtor, T., Glick, R.P., Kim, T.S., Hand, R., and Cohen, E.P. (1995) Prolonged survival of mice with glioma injected intracerebrally with double cytokine-secreting cells. J. Neurosurg., 83 : 1038-1044
16. Sun, T., Kim, T.S., Waltz, M.R., and Cohen, E.P. (1995) Interleukin-2-secreting mouse fibroblasts transfected with genomic DNA from murine neoplasms induce tumor-specific immune responses. Cancer Gene Ther., 2(3) : 183-1044
17. Han, D., Plaisance, S., Rubinstein, E., Alileche, A., Pottin-Clemenceau, C., Kim, T.S., Cohen, E.P., Jasmin, C., and Azzarone, B. (1995) Non random activation of endogenous interleukin-2(IL-2), IL-2 receptor and IL-2 receptor genes after transfection of mouse fibroblasts with cDNA for the chain of the human IL-2 receptor. Eur. J. Immunol, 25 : 1905-1912
18. Kim, T.S., Xu, W.S., Sun, T., and Cohen, E.P. (1995) Treatment with interleukin-2/interferon-ャ double cytokine-secreting allogeneic fibroblasts prolongs the survival of mice with melanoma. Melanoma Res. 5 : 217-227
19. Kim, B.H., Kim, H.Y., Kim, T.S., and Park, D.H. (1995) Selectivity of desulfurization activity of Desulfovibrio desulfuricans M6 on different petroleum products. Fuel Pro. Technol. 43 : 87-94
20. Glick, R.P., Lichtor, T., Kim, T.S., Ilangovan, S., and Cohen, E.P. (1995) Fibroblasts genetically engineered to secret cytokines can suppress tumor growth and induce antitumor immunity to a murine glioma in vivo. Neurosurg. 36 : 548-555
21. Kim, T.S., and Cohen, E.P. (1994) Interleukin-2-secreting mouse fibroblasts transfected with genomic DNA from murine melanoma cells prolong the survival of mice with melanoma. Cancer Res. 54 : 2531-2535
22. Kim, T.S., and Cohen, E.P. (1994) Immunization of mice with allogeneic fibroblasts genetically modified for IL-2-secretion and the expression of melanoma-associated antigens stimulates predetermined classes of antimelanoma effector cells. J. Immunother. 16 : 24-35
23. Cohen, E.P., and Kim, T.S. (1994) Neoplastic cells that express low levels of MHC class I determinants escape host immunity. Semin. Cancer Biol. 5 : 419-428
24. Kim, T.S., and Cohen, E.P. (1994) MHC antigen-expression by melanomas recovered from mice treated with allogeneic mouse fibroblasts genetically modified for IL-2-secretion and the expression of melanoma-associated antigens. Cancer Immunol. Immunother. 38 : 185-193