Background: Since the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, nonpharmacological interventions (NPIs) such as extensive and comprehensive hand hygiene, mask-wearing, and social distancing have been implemented globally. This study aimed to investigate changes in respiratory viruses other than severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) that occurred following the implementation of these NPIs. Methods: From January 2018 to December 2021, influenza-like illness patient specimens and specimens from the Korea Influenza and Respiratory Viruses Surveillance System were analyzed at the Incheon Metropolitan City Institute of Public Health and Environment.Oropharyngeal or nasopharyngeal swab samples from respiratory infection patients were transferred in a virus transport medium at 4°C. After RNA or DNA extraction, respiratory virus-specific genes for human influenza virus (IFV), adenovirus (ADV), parainfluenza virus (PIV), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human rhinovirus (hRV), human coronavirus, human bocavirus, and human metapneumovirus were detected by individual real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Results: A total 3,334 samples were collected. After NPI was implemented, the detection of respiratory viruses other than SARS-CoV-2 decreased overall. The yearly detection rate of respiratory viruses was decreased from 69.5% (399/574) in 2018 and 73.3% (505/689) in 2019 to 19.8% (206/1,043) in 2020 and 34.9% (365/1,028) in 2021. The epidemic was more prominent in respiratory viruses such as IFV and RSV, which were considered dominant viruses, especially those with viral envelopes. Among viruses that were not considered dominant, hRV showed no clear change before and after NPI, while PIV showed a rapid increase compared to the existing dominant viruses between October–December 2021, after the increase in the number of gatherings started at the end of September and the “Relaxing COVID19 and mitigation policy,” which was implemented on November 1. Conclusion NPI seems to have influenced the isolation and transmission of respiratory viruses in South Korea. In the future, additional studies focusing on the isolation and transmission patterns of respiratory viruses following NPI are needed.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a malignant disease caused by an abnormal proliferation of plasma cells, of which the prognostic factors include chromosomal abnormality, β-2 microglobulin, and albumin. Recently, the term chromothripsis has emerged, which is the massive but highly localized chromosomal rearrangement in response to a one-step catastrophic event. Many studies have shown an association of chromothripsis with the prognosis in several cancers; however, few studies have investigated it in MM. Here, we studied the association between chromothripsis-like patterns and treatment resistance or prognosis. First, we analyzed nine MM cell lines (U266, MM.1S, RPMI8226, KMS-11, KMS-12-BM, KMS-12-PE, KMS-28-BM, KMS-28-PE, and NCI-H929) and bone marrow samples of four patients who were diagnosed with MM by next-generation sequencing-based copy number variation analysis. The frequency of the chromothripsis-like pattern was observed in seven cell lines. We analyzed the treatment-induced chromothripsis-like patterns in KMS-12-BM and KMS-12-PE cells. As a result, breakpoints and chromothripsis-like patterns were increased after drug treatment in the relatively resistant KMS-12-BM. We further analyzed the patients’ results according to the therapeutic response, which was divided into sensitive and resistant, as suggested by the International Myeloma Working Group. The chromothripsis-like pattern was more frequently observed in the resistant group. In the sensitive group, the frequency of the chromothripsis-like pattern decreased after treatment, whereas the resistant group showed increased chromothripsis-like patterns after the treatment. These results suggest that the chromothripsis-like pattern is associated with treatment response in MM.
Bone Marrow ; Cell Line ; Chromosome Aberrations ; Drug Resistance ; Humans ; Multiple Myeloma* ; Plasma Cells ; Prognosis

Interleukin-10 (IL10) plays an important role in initiating and maintaining an appropriate immune response to non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Previous studies have revealed that the transcription of IL10 mRNA and its protein expression may be infl uenced by several single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the promoter and intron regions, including rs1800896, rs1800871, and rs1800872. However, the impact of polymorphisms of the IL10 gene on NHL prognosis has not been fully elucidated. Here, we investigated the association between IL10 polymorphisms and NHL prognosis. This study involved 112 NHL patients treated at the National Cancer Center, Korea. The median age was 57 years, and 70 patients (62.5%) were men. Clinical characteristics, including age, performance status, stage, and extra-nodal involvement, as well as cell lineage and International Prognostic Index (IPI), were evaluated. A total of four polymorphisms in IL10 with heterozygous alleles were analyzed for hazard ratios of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) using Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma was the most common histologic type (n = 83), followed by T-cell lymphoma (n = 18), mantle cell lymphoma (n = 6), and others (n = 5). Cell lineage, IPI, and extra-nodal involvement were predictors of prognosis. In the additive genetic model results for each IL10 polymorphism, the rs1800871 and rs1800872 polymorphisms represented a marginal association with OS (p = 0.09 and p = 0.06) and PFS (p = 0.05 and p = 0.08) in B-cell lymphoma patients treated with rituximab plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP). These findings suggest that IL10 polymorphisms might be prognostic indicators for patients with B-cell NHL treated with R-CHOP.
Alleles ; B-Lymphocytes* ; Cell Lineage ; Cyclophosphamide ; Disease-Free Survival ; Doxorubicin ; Humans ; Interleukin-10* ; Introns ; Korea ; Lymphoma, B-Cell* ; Lymphoma, Mantle-Cell ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin ; Lymphoma, T-Cell ; Male ; Models, Genetic ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Prednisone ; Prognosis* ; Rituximab ; RNA, Messenger ; Vincristine

PURPOSE: We investigated the effect of chemoradiotherapy with PP2 and temozolomide (TMZ) on malignant glioma cells using clonogenic assays and in vivo brain tumor model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The effect of PP2 on radiosensitivity of U251 and T98G cells was investigated using clonogenic assays. The expression of E-cadherin, matrix metalloproteinases 2 (MMP2), Ephrin type-A receptor 2 (EphA2), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was measured by Western blotting and an accumulation of γH2AX foci 6 hours after radiotherapy was measured after PP2 treatment. The effect of PP2 on migration, invasion, and vasculogenic mimicry formation (VMF) of U251 cells was evaluated. In an orthotopical brain tumor model with U251 cells, PP2 was injected intraperitoneally with or without oral TMZ before, during and after whole brain radiotherapy. Bioluminescence images were taken to visualize in vivo tumors and immunohistochemical staining of VEGF, CD31, EphA2, and hypoxia-inducible factor 1a was performed. RESULTS: PP2 increased radiosensitivity of U251 and T98G cells without decreasing survival of normal human astrocytes. Chemoradiotherapy with PP2 and TMZ resulted in increased accumulation of γH2AX foci. PP2 induced overexpression of E-cadherin and suppression of MMP2, VEGF, and EphA2. PP2 also compromised invasion, migration, and VMF of U251 cells. In brain tumors, chemoradiotherapy with PP2 and TMZ decreased tumor volume best, but not statistically significantly compared with chemoradiotherapy with TMZ. The expression of VEGF and CD31 was suppressed in PP2-treated tumors. CONCLUSION: PP2 enhances radiosensitivity of malignant glioma cells and suppresses invasion and migration of U251 cells. Chemoradiotherapy with PP2 and TMZ resulted in non-significant tumor volume decrease.
Astrocytes ; Blotting, Western ; Brain ; Brain Neoplasms ; Cadherins ; Chemoradiotherapy* ; Glioblastoma ; Glioma* ; Humans ; Matrix Metalloproteinases ; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases* ; Radiation Tolerance ; Radiotherapy ; Tumor Burden ; Tyrosine* ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A

The accuracy and convenience of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), which efficiently evaluates glycemic variability and hypoglycemia, are improving. There are two types of CGM: professional CGM and personal CGM. Personal CGM is subdivided into real-time CGM (rt-CGM) and intermittently scanned CGM (isCGM). CGM is being emphasized in both domestic and foreign diabetes management guidelines. Regardless of age or type of diabetes, CGM is useful for diabetic patients undergoing multiple insulin injection therapy or using an insulin pump. rt-CGM is recommended for all adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D), and can also be used in type 2 diabetes (T2D) treatments using multiple insulin injections. In some cases, short-term or intermittent use of CGM may be helpful for patients with T2D who use insulin therapy other than multiple insulin injections and/or oral hypoglycemic agents. CGM can help to achieve A1C targets in diabetes patients during pregnancy. CGM is a safe and cost-effective alternative to self-monitoring blood glucose in T1D and some T2D patients. CGM used in diabetes management works optimally with proper education, training, and follow up. To achieve the activation of CGM and its associated benefits, it is necessary to secure sufficient repetitive training and time for data analysis, management, and education. Various supports such as compensation, insurance coverage expansion, and reimbursement are required to increase the effectiveness of CGM while considering the scale of benefit recipients, policy priorities, and financial requirements.