平成28年度教育改革研究助成シミュレーション学習（４要素融合学習）の試みについて～導入２年目の教育改革～

本稿は、シミュレーション学習（４要素融合学習）導入２年目の取組みに関する報告書である。本取組みの概要、並びに、その成果として、（1）コース選択制の理解度向上への対策、（2）コース別目標の見直し、（3）カリキュラムの見直しについて、の３点を指摘している。引き続き、シミュレーション学習の深化、充実化のために、努める所存である

Biological mechanism and clinical effect of protein-bound polysaccharide K (KRESTIN®): review of development and future perspectives

The mechanism of action of protein-bound polysaccharide K (PSK; KRESTIN®) involves the following actions: (1) recovery from immunosuppression induced by humoral factors such as transforming growth factor (TGF)-β or as a result of surgery and chemotherapy; (2) activation of antitumor immune responses including maturation of dendritic cells, correction of Th1/Th2 imbalance, and promotion of interleukin-15 production by monocytes; and (3) enhancement of the antitumor effect of chemotherapy by induction of apoptosis and inhibition of metastasis through direct actions on tumor cells. The clinical effectiveness of PSK has been demonstrated for various cancers. In patients with gastric or colorectal cancer, combined use of PSK with postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy prolongs survival, and this effect has been confirmed in multiple meta-analyses. For small-cell lung carcinoma, PSK in conjunction with chemotherapy prolongs the remission period. In addition, PSK has been shown to be effective against various other cancers, reduce the adverse effects of chemotherapy, and improve quality of life. Future studies should examine the effects of PSK under different host immune conditions and tumor properties, elucidate the mechanism of action exhibited in each situation, and identify biomarkers

Sphingosylphosphorylcholine and lysosulfatide have inverse regulatory functions in monocytic cell differentiation into macrophages.

Sphingolipids act as signaling mediators that regulate a diverse range of cellular events. Although numerous sphingolipid functions have been studied, little is known about the effect of sphingolipids on monocyte differentiation into macrophages. Here, we report that two lysosphingolipids, sphingosylphosphorylcholine (SPC) and lysosulfatide (LSF), inversely affect macrophagic differentiation of monocytic cell lines, U937 and THP-1. Molecular analyses revealed that SPC enhances, whereas LSF suppresses, phorbol ester-induced classical (M1-polarized) differentiation to macrophages. The expression of CD11b, a macrophage marker, was induced in accordance with the activation status of the Raf/MEK/ERK signaling pathway in which SPC and LSF had opposite effects. Pharmacological inhibition of this pathway aborted the differentiation, indicating that this signaling pathway is required. Consistently, SPC promoted, while LSF inhibited, monocyte adhesion to fibronectin, through the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling pathway. The effects of SPC on Raf/MEK/ERK and PI3K/Akt signaling were dependent on G(i/o), whereas the SPC-induced calcium influx was dependent on G(q). Thus SPC utilizes G-protein coupled receptor. In contrast, the effects of LSF were independent of G(i/o) and G(q). These results suggest that SPC enhances, whereas LSF suppresses, monocyte differentiation into macrophages through regulating the Raf/MEK/ERK and PI3K/Akt signaling pathways via distinct mechanisms