The 'Harmonizing Optimal Strategy for Treatment of coronary artery stenosis - sAfety & effectiveneSS of drug-elUting stents & antiplatelet REgimen' (HOST-ASSURE) trial: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Second-generation drug-eluting stents (DES) have raised the bar of clinical performance. These stents are mostly made from cobalt chromium alloy. A newer generation DES has been developed from platinum chromium alloy, but clinical data regarding the efficacy and safety of the platinum chromium-based everolimus-eluting stent (PtCr-EES) is limited, with no comparison data against the cobalt chromium-based zotarolimus-eluting stent (CoCr-ZES). In addition, an antiplatelet regimen is an integral component of medical therapy after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). A 1-week duration of doubling the dose of clopidogrel (double-dose antiplatelet therapy (DDAT)) was shown to improve outcome at 1 month compared with conventional dose in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients undergoing PCI. However in Asia, including Korea, the addition of cilostazol (triplet antiplatelet therapy (TAT)) is used more commonly than doubling the dose of clopidogrel in high-risk patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In the 'Harmonizing Optimal Strategy for Treatment of coronary artery stenosis - sAfety & effectiveneSS of drug-elUting stents & antiplatelet REgimen' (HOST-ASSURE) trial, approximately 3,750 patients are being prospectively and randomly assigned in a 2 × 2 factorial design according to the type of stent (PtCr-EES vs CoCr-ZES) and antiplatelet regimen (TAT vs DDAT). The first primary endpoint is target lesion failure at 1 year for the stent comparison, and the second primary endpoint is net clinical outcome at 1 month for comparison of antiplatelet therapy regimen.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The HOST-ASSURE trial is the largest study yet performed to directly compare the efficacy and safety of the PtCr-EES versus CoCr-ZES in an 'all-comers' population. In addition, this study will also compare the clinical outcome of TAT versus DDAT for 1-month post PCI.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>ClincalTrials.gov number <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01267734">NCT01267734</a>.</p

Half-Metallic Ferromagnetism in Chalcopyrite (AlGaMn)P 2

We studied the electronic and magnetic properties of (Al1−yMny)GaP2 (Ga-rich) and Al(Ga1−yMny)P2 (Al-rich) with y = 0.03125, 0.0625, 0.09375, and 0.125 by using the first-principles calculations. The ferromagnetic Mn-doped AlGaP2 chalcopyrite is the most energetically favorable one. The spin polarized Al(GaMn)P2 state (Al-rich system) is more stable than spin polarized (AlMn)GaP2 state (Ga-rich) with the magnetic moment of 3.8 μB/Mn. The Mn-doped AlGaP2 yields strong half-metallic ground states. The states of host Al, Ga, or P atoms at the Fermi level are mainly a P-3p character, which mediates a strong interaction between the Mn-3d and P-3p states

Endoplasmic reticulum-Golgi intermediate compartment protein 3 knockdown suppresses lung cancer through endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced autophagy

Trafficking from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the Golgi apparatus is elevated in cancer cells. Therefore, proteins of the ER-Golgi intermediate compartment (ERGIC) attract significant attention as targets for cancer treatment. Enhanced cancer cell growth and epithelial-mesenchymal transition by ERGICs correlates with poor-prognosis of lung cancer. This prompted us to assess whether knockdown of ERGIC3 may decrease lung cancer growth. To test the hypothesis, the effects of ERGIC3 short hairpin RNA (shERGIC3) on ER stress-induced cell death and lung tumorigenesis were investigated both in vitro and in vivo. Knockdown of ERGIC3 led to ER stress-induced autophagic cell death and suppression of proliferation in the A549 human lung cancer cell-line. Moreover, non-invasive aerosol-delivery of shERGIC3 using the biocompatible carrier glycerol propoxylate triacrylate and spermine (GPT-SPE) inhibited lung tumorigenesis in the K-rasLA1 murine model of lung cancer. Our data suggest that suppression of ERGIC3 could provide a framework for the development of effective lung cancer therapies