A Randomized Phase II Study of Irinotecan Plus Cisplatin with or without Simvastatin in Ever-Smokers with Extended Disease Small Cell Lung Cancer / Journal of the Korean Cancer Association, 대한암학회지

Purpose@#This study evaluated whether an addition of simvastatin to chemotherapy improves survival in ever-smokers with extensive disease (ED)–small cell lung cancer (SCLC). @*Materials and Methods@#This is an open-label randomized phase II study conducted in National Cancer Center (Goyang, Korea). Chemonaive patients with ED-SCLC, smoking history (≥ 100 cigarettes lifetime), and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of ≤ 2 were eligible. Patients were randomized to receive irinotecan plus cisplatin alone or with simvastatin (40 mg once daily orally) for a maximum of six cycles. Primary endpoint was the the 1-year survival rate. @*Results@#Between September 16, 2011, and September 9, 2021, 125 patients were randomly assigned to the simvastatin (n=62) or control (n=63) groups. The median smoking pack year was 40 years. There was no significant difference in the 1-year survival rate between the simvastatin and control groups (53.2% vs. 58.7%, p=0.535). The median progression-free survival and overall survival between the simvastatin arm vs. the control groups were 6.3 months vs. 6.4 months (p=0.686), and 14.4 months vs. 15.2 months, respectively (p=0.749). The incidence of grade 3-4 adverse events was 62.9% in the simvastatin group and 61.9% in the control group. In the exploratory analysis of lipid profiles, patients with hypertriglyceridemia had significantly higher 1-year survival rates than those with normal triglyceride levels (80.0% vs. 52.7%, p=0.046). @*Conclusion@#Addition of simvastatin to chemotherapy provided no survival benefit in ever-smokers with ED-SCLC. Hypertriglyceridemia may be associated with better prognosis in these patient population.

Influence of the Job Stress, Resilience, and Professional Identity on Burnout in Operation Room Nurses / 중환자간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the factors influencing on burnout in operating room nurses.METHODS: Using a cross-sectional design, a total of 109 operating room nurses working at 7 general hospitals with 300 beds or more in B city were analyzed. The instruments used for this study assessed job stress, resilience, professional identity, and burnout. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, a t-test, an ANOVA, a Pearson's correlation coefficient and a multiple regression analysis.RESULTS: There was a statistically significant correlation between burnout and job stress (r=.53, p < .001), resilience (r=-.59, p < .001), and professional identity (r=-.47, p < .001). The factors influencing burnout include job stress (β=.27, p < .001), resilience(β=-.37, p < .001), dissatisfaction with the nursing job (β=.32, p < .001), and moderate satisfaction with the nursing job (β=.19, p=.014), and the explanatory power was 53.0%.CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that intervention to reduce job stress and to improve resilience, which were the factors influencing burnout in operating room nurses, is necessary.

Quercetin induces cell death by caspase-dependent and p38 MAPK pathway in EGFR mutant lung cancer cells / 고신대학교의과대학학술지

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was whether quercetin induces cell death by caspase and MAPK signaling pathway in EGFR mutant lung cancer cells. METHODS: PC-9 cells, EGFR mutant lung cancer cells, were treated various times and concentrations of quercetin and harvested and measured using MTT assay, DNA fragmentation, Western blotting, and FACS analysis. RESULTS: Treatment with quercetin in PC-9 cells resulted in inhibition of cell growth through apoptosis. Quercetin-induced apoptosis was associated with caspase-dependent manner. Quercetin also significantly increased levels of phosphor-p38 and decreased levels of phosphor-ERK, indicating that quercetin induces p38 MAPK signaling pathway in PC-9 cells. Quecetin treatment also generated the release of cytochrome c in PC-9 cells; however, pretreatment with rotenone or z-LEHD-fmk, significantly attenuated quercetin-induced apoptosis. CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicate that quercetin exhibits EGFR mutant lung cancer effects through apoptosis by caspase dependent and mitochondrial pathway.

Transcription factors in the maintenance and survival of primordial follicles / 대한생식의학회지

Primordial follicles are formed prenatally in mammalian ovaries, and at birth they are fated to be activated to primary follicles, to be dormant, or to die. During the early stage of folliclulogenesis, the oocyte undergoes dynamic alterations in expression of numerous genes, which are regulated by transcription factors. Several germ-cell specific transcriptional regulators are critical for formation and maintenance of follicles. These transcriptional regulators include: Figla, Lhx8, Nobox, Sohlh1, and Sohlh2. A subset of these transcriptional regulators is mutated in women with ovarian insufficiency and infertility. Establishment of this oocyte pool is essential for fertility. This review focuses on these transcriptional regulators of female primordial follicles.

Immunocytochemical Study on the Development of the Rod Pathway in the Rat Retina / 대한해부학회지

Rod bipolar cells constitute the second-order neuron in the rod pathway. Previous investigations of the rat retina have evaluated the development of other components of the rod pathway namely the AII amacrine cell and GABAergic amacrine cell populations. To gain further insights into the maturation of this retinal circuitry, we studied the development of rod bipolar cells, immunocytochemistry with antibodies directed to the protein kinase C (PKC), in the rat retina. PKC immunoreactivity first appeared in postnatal day 9 (P9), faint PKC immunoreactivity was observed in the cell bodies located at the distal inner nuclear layer (INL), dendrites in the outer plexiform layer (OPL) and immunoreactive bands in the proximal inner plexiform layer (IPL). PKC immunoreactive cells and terminal bulbs at P10 show stronger immunostaining. At P15, the time of eye opening, PKC immunoreactive cells display stronger immunostaining than those of P10 and more mature characteristics like in the adult retina. Double fluorescence immunocytochemistry using an antiserum against parvalbumin, a marker for the AII amacrine cells, or GABA revealed that PKC immunoreactive rod bipolar cell terminals make contact with AII amacrine cells and GABAergic neurons in the proximal IPL from P9. Given these results, the different components of the rod pathway follow a similar pattern of maturation, presumably allowing the rod pathway to function at the early developmental stage of retina.