• BMB Reports
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.160-165
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• 2009

The temperate Staphylococcus aureus phage ${\Phi}11$ harbors cI and cro repressor genes similar to those of lambdoid phages. Using extremely pure ${\Phi}11$ Cro (the product of the ${\Phi}11$ cro gene) we demonstrated that this protein possesses a single domain structure, forms dimers in solution at micromolar concentrations and maintains a largely $\alpha$-helical structure even at $45^{\circ}C$. ${\Phi}11$ Cro was sensitive to thermolysin at temperatures ranging from $55-75^{\circ}C$ and began to aggregate at ${\sim}63^{\circ}C$, suggesting that the protein is moderately thermostable. Of the three homologous 15-bp operators (O1, O2, and O3) in the ${\Phi}11$ cI-cro intergenic region, ${\Phi}11$ Cro only binds efficiently to O3, which is located upstream of the cI gene. Our comparative analyses indicate that the DNA binding capacity, secondary structure and dimerization efficiency of thermostable ${\Phi}11$ Cro are distinct from those of P22 Cro and $\lambda$ Cro, the best characterized representatives of the two structurally different Cro families.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.1120-1126
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• 2013

The syndecan family consists of four transmembrane heparan sulfate proteoglycans present in most cell types and each syndecan shares a common structure containing a heparan sulfate modified extracellular domain, a single transmembrane domain and a C-terminal cytoplasmic domain. To get a better understanding of the mechanism and function of syndecan-4 which is one of the syndecan family, it is crucial to investigate its three-dimensional structure. Unfortunately, it is difficult to prepare the peptide because it is membrane-bound protein that transverses the lipid bilayer of the cell membrane. Here, we optimize the expression, purification, and characterization of transmembrane, cytoplasmic and short extracellular domains of syndecan4 (syndecan-4 eTC). Syndecan-4 eTC was successfully obtained with high purity and yield from the M9 medium. The structural information of syndecan-4 eTC was investigated by MALDI-TOF mass (MS) spectrometry, circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. It was confirmed that syndecan-4 eTC had an ${\alpha}$-helical multimeric structure like transmembrane domain of syndecan-4 (syndecan-4 TM) in membrane environments.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.442-445
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• 2005

HP0894 (SwissProt/TrEMBL ID O25554) is an 88-residue conserved hypothetical protein from Helicobacter pylori strain 26695 with a calculated pI of 8.5 and a molecular weight of 10.38 kDa. Proteins with sequence similarity to HP0894 exist in Vibrio choierae, Enterococcus faecalis, Campylobacter jejuni, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Escherichia coli O157, etc. Here we report the sequence-specific backbone resonance assignments of HP0894. About 97.5% (418/429) of the HN, N, CO, $C{\alpha}$, $C{\beta}$ resonances of the 88 residues of HP0894 were assigned. On the basis of these assignments, three helical regions and four strand regions were identified using the CSI program. This study is a prerequisite for calculating the solution structure of HP0894, and studying its interaction with its substrates, if any, and/or with other proteins.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.9
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• pp.1429-1433
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• 2006

Application of recombinant protein production and particularly their isotopic enrichment has stimulated development of a range of novel multidimensional heteronuclear NMR techniques. Peptides in most cases are amenable to assignment and structure determination without the need for isotopic labeling. However, there are many cases where the availability of $^{15}N$ and/or $^{13}C$ labeled peptides is useful to study the structure of peptides with more than 30 residues and the interaction between peptides and membrane. CRAMP (Cathelicidin-Related AntiMicrobial Peptide) was identified from a cDNA clone derived from mouse femoral marrow cells as a member of cathelicidin-derived antimicrobial peptides. CRAMP was successfully expressed as a GST-fused form in E. coli and purified using affinity chromatography and reverse-phase chromatography. The yield of the CRAMP was 1.5 mg/l 1. According to CD spectra, CRAMP adopted ${\alpha}$-helical conformation in membrane-mimetic environments. Isotope labeling of CRAMP is expected to make it possible to study the structure and dynamic properties of CRAMP in various membrane systems.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.26 no.8
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• pp.1225-1228
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• 2005

C-terminal fragments of APP (APP-CTs), that contain A$\beta$ sequence, are found in neurotic plaques, neurofibrillary tangles and the cytosol of lymphoblastoid cells obtained from AD patients. CT26, Thr639-Asp664 (TVIVITLVMLKKKQYTSIHH GVVEVD) includes not only the transmembrane domain but also the cytoplasmic domain of APP. This sequence is produced from cleavage of APP by caspase and $\gamma$-secretase. In this study, the solution structure of CT26 was investigated using NMR spectroscopy and circular dichroism (CD) spectropolarimeter in various membrane-mimicking environments. According to CD spectra and the tertiary structure of CT26 determined in TFE-containing aqueous solution, CT26 has an α-helical structure from $Val^{2}\;to\;Lys^{11}$ in TFE-containing aqueous solution. However, according to CD data, CT26 adopts a $\beta$-sheet structure in the SDS micelles and DPC micelles. This result implies that CT26 may have a conformational transition between $\alpha$-helix and $\beta$-sheet structure. This study may provide an insight into the conformational basis of the pathological activity of the C-terminal fragments of APP in the model membrane.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.87-92
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• 2006

Fas-associated death domain protein (FADD) recruits and activates procaspase-8 through interactions between the death effector domains of these two proteins. Cellular FLICE-inhibitory protein (c-FLIP) was identified as a molecule with sequence homology to caspase-8. It has been postulated that c-FLIP prevents formation of the competent death-inducing signaling complex in a ligand-dependent manner, through its interaction with FADD and/or caspase-8. However, the interaction of FADD and $c-FLIP_s$ (short form) in apoptosis signaling has been controversially discussed. We show the purification and the characterization of human full-length FADD and $c-FLIP_s$ expressed in Escherichia coli. The purified FADD and $c-FLIP_s$ are shown as homogeneity, respectively, in SDS-PAGE analysis and light-scattering measurements. The folding properties of the $\alpha$-helical structure of FADD and the super-secondary structure of $c-FLIP_s$ proteins were characterized by circular dichroism spectroscopy. Furthermore, we report here a series of biochemical and biophysical data for FADD-$c-FLIP_s$ binding in vitro. The binding of both FADD and $c-FLIP_s$ proteins was detected by BIAcore biosensor, fluorescence measurement, and size-exclusion column (SEC).

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.845-851
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• 2008

TolC is an outer membrane porin protein and an essential component of drug efflux and type-I secretion systems in Gram-negative bacteria. TolC comprises a periplasmic $\alpha$-helical barrel domain and a membrane-embedded $\beta$-barrel domain. TdeA, a functional and structural homolog of TolC, is required for toxin and drug export in the pathogenic oral bacterium Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans. Here, we report the expression of the periplasmic domain of TdeA as a soluble protein by substitution of the membrane-embedded domain with short linkers, which enabled us to purify the protein in the absence of detergent. We confirmed the structural integrity of the TdeA periplasmic domain by size-exclusion chromatography, circular dichroism spectroscopy, and electron microscopy, which together showed that the periplasmic domain of the TolC protein family fold correctly on its own. We further demonstrated that the periplasmic domain of TdeA interacts with peptidoglycans of the bacterial cell wall, which supports the idea that completely folded TolC family proteins traverse the peptidoglycan layer to interact with inner membrane transporters.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.57-62
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• 1998

We have synthesized a 17-residue peptide with the amino acid sequence RQMKEDAKGKSEEELAD corresponding to residues 84-100 of chicken skeletal troponin C. This stretch of the protein sequence is in the middle one-third of the 32-residue 9-turn α-helix that connects the two globular domains of the dumbell-shaped molecule and includes the D/E linker helix. We describe here the solution conformation of the helix linker as studied by circular dichroism (CD) and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (2-D NMR) spectroscopy. The NOE connectivities together with the vicinal $^3J_{N{\alpha}}$ coupling constants suggest that the peptide exists in a fast conformational equilibrium among several secondary structure: a nascent helix near the N-terminus, a helix, and a substational population of extended and random coil forms. In addition, two interresidue α-α NOEs are observed suggesting a bent structure with a bend that includes the single glycine in position 92. These results are consistent with the ideas that in neutral solution the D/E linker region of the central helix in troponin C can adopt a helical conformation and the central helix may have a segmental flexibility around Gly 92.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.67-76
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• 1990

The contractile mechanisms of serotonin were investigated in the renal artery of a rabbit. The helical strips of isolated renal artery were immersed in the normal or $Ca^{2+}$-free tris-buffered Tyrode's solution, which was equilibrated with 100% $O_{2}$ at $35^{\circ}C$. The contraction by serotonin or norepinephrine (NE) began at $1{\times}10^{-7}\;M$ and reached the maximal contraction at $1{\times}10^{-5}\;M$. The maximal contraction by serotonin corresponded to $58.1{\pm}4.2%$ of maximal contraction by NE. Cyproheptadine, a serotonin receptor blocker, shifted the concentration-response curve to the right without any reduction in the maximum response but shifted that of NE to the right with reduction in maximum response. And phentolamine, an ${\alpha}-receptor$ blocker, shifted the concentration-response curve of serotonin or NE without any reduction in maximum responses. The $pA_{2}$ values for cyproheptadine against serotonin and NE were $10.35{\pm}0.04$ and $8.45{\pm}0.13$, respectively. The $pA_{2}$ values for phentolamine against serotonin and NE were $6.87{\pm}0.04$ and $8.14{\pm}0.08$, respectively. after the pretreatment with 6-hydroxydopamine, the contraction induced by 100 mM $K^{+}$, tyramine and serotonin reduced to $83.0{\pm}2.0$, $26.8{\pm}6.2$ and $82.0{\pm}3.5%$ of control, respectively. The contraction by serotonin in the $Ca^{2+}$-free Tyrode's solution was increased and sustained with the addition of $Ca^{2+}$ extracellulary. The serotonin-sensitive intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ pool was depleted completely by the pretreatment with NE, but the NE-sensitive intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ pool was depleted partially by the pretreatment with serotonin. From the above results, it is suggested that the contraction induced by serotonin in the renal artery of a rabbit may be due to mechanisms in which serotonin acts directly on specific serotonin receptors and also acts indirectly on ${\alpha}-adrenoceptors$ by displacing NE from neuronal stores.

• BMB Reports
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.282-287
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• 2013

Cecropin A and papiliocin are novel 37-residue cecropin-like antimicrobial peptides isolated from insect. We have confirmed that papiliocin possess high bacterial cell selectivity and has an ${\alpha}$-helical structure from $Lys^3$ to $Lys^{21}$ and from $Ala^{25}$ to $Val^{35}$, linked by a hinge region. In this study, we demonstrated that both peptides showed high antimicrobial activities against multi-drug resistant Gram negative bacteria as well as fungi. Interactions between these cecropin-like peptides and phospholipid membrane were studied using CD, dye leakage experiments, and NMR experiments, showing that both peptides have strong permeabilizing activities against bacterial cell membranes and fungal membranes as well as $Trp^2$ and $Phe^5$ at the N-terminal helix play an important role in attracting cecropin-like peptides to the negatively charged bacterial cell membrane. Cecropin-like peptides can be potent peptide antibiotics against multi-drug resistant Gram negative bacteria and fungi.