• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.133-142
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• 1998

A 40 kDa cysteine protease was purified from the crude extract of adult worms of GMnnophalloines seoi by two consecutive steps: Sephacryl S-200 HR and DEAE- Sephacel chromatography. Enzyme activities were completely inhibited by cysteine protease inhibitors, L-lorans-epoxysuccinylleucylamido (4-guanidino) butane (E-64) and iodoacetic acid, strongly suggesting that the purified enzyme belongs to the cysteine family of proteases. The enzyme was maximally acive at pH 4.5 in 0.1 M of buffer, and its activity was greatly potentiated in the presence of 5 mM dithiothreitol. The protease degraded macromolecules with differential capabilities : it degraded extracellular matrix proteins, such as collagen and fibronectin, with a stronger activity against collagen than fibronectin . However, the enzyme digested hemoglobin and human immunoglobulins only slightly. leaving them nearly intact after an overnight reaction. Our results suggest that the cysteine protease of G. seoi adults is potentially significant in the nutrient uptake from the host intestine.

• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.121-130
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• 1993

This study was done to classify the proteins involved in the specific phosphorylation using the rat peripheral blood lymphocytes (rPBL) stimulated with mitogens, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and concanavalin A (Con A). The lymphocytes were incubated with $^{32}P-orthophosphate$ before PMA or Con A stimulation. The migration patterns of the phosphorylated proteins of mitogen-treated rPBL in two dimensional electrophoretic fields were analyzed after autoradiography. The stimulation of the lymphocytes with PMA and Con A increased the phosphorylation of thirteen protein fractions. The phosphorylation intensities of the protein spots differ to the treatments of the cells with specific kinase inhibitors, H-7 and W-7. These protein fractions were grouped into 3 classes, namely, PKC-mediated, CaM kinase-mediated, and other kinase mediated proteins. The effect of the duration of the stimulation on the phosphorylated behaviors occurred concurrently, not sequentially, although each individual protein fraction had a different time for the peak phosphorylation during the stimulation period upto 30 minutes. The phosphoproteins found in the cytosolic soluble fraction were phosphorylated prior to those in the pellet, whose phosphorylations were sustained at a high level for over 10 minutes. The above results suggest that the early events in lymphocyte activation involve 3 different sets of proteins which are phosphorylated by CaM kinase, PKC and other kinases, and those kinases do not work sequentially, but rather, independently or cooperatively.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.58-65
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• 2003

Various physicochemical parameters for the active ingredients of 245 herbicides were calculated to develope a diagnosis and estimation system for utility as herbicide. The range of physico-chemical parameters for each inhibitors of photo system II (H1), acetolactate synthase (ALS) (H2) and herbicides were confirmed. The distribution ranges of 85% dependence for each physicochemical parameters were Obs.logP :$-0.90\sim4.50$, dipol moment: $1.80\sim12.22$ (debye), molecular refractivity: $53.0\sim104.0(cm^3/mol)$, polarizability: $19.0\sim37.0(\AA^3)$, HOMO energy: $-9.98\sim-7.34$ (eV), LUMO energy:$-2.76\sim0.40$ (eV), Van der Waals molecular volumes: $558.0\sim995.0(cm^3)$, molecular weight: $202.0\sim430.0$ (amu) and surface areas (Grids): $194.0\sim356.0(\AA^2)$, hydration energy: $-10.16\sim114.7$ Kcal/mol, respectively. It is suggested that MR and polarizability constants will be able to distinguish between herbicides and medicinal drugs. Results revealed that various compounds based on the range of physicochemical parameters of herbicides could be diagnosed and estimated.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.251-257
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• 1996

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors(SSRIs), as haloperidol, ore metabolized in the cytochrome P450IID6. They can cause inhibition of metabolism of antipsychotics to elevate the serum level of antipsychotics and exacerbate the extrapyramidal symptoms when co-administered with antipsychotics. Among these SSRIs, there ore a few studies about paroxetine compared to fluoxetine or sertraline. In this study, we have intended to know the drug interaction of paroxetine and haloperidol when co-administered two drugs for the chronic schizophrenics by assessing the changes of positive, negative symptoms and extrapyramidal symptoms. for this purpose, we selected 29 subjects, the chronic schizophrenics with no physical problems. They were under maintenance therapy of haloperidol. They ore randomly assigned to placebo group(n=12) and drug group(n=17) by using double blind method. And then, placebo or paroxetine 20mg were administered to the subjects of each groups during 8 week period. We have assessed their psychopathology and extrapyramidal symptoms using Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale(PANSS), Hamilton Rating Scale lor Depression(HRSD), Simpson-Angus Scale at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 weeks and serum haloperidol, reduced haloperidol levels at 0, 4, 8 weeks during the period. The results ore analysed by using repeated measure MANOVA. 27 subjects have completed the study during 8 weeks. among the subjects, 1) PANSS, HRSD ; no significant difference between groups. 2) Simpson-Angus Scale ; no significant change according to the time and no significant difference between the groups(no group and time effect). 3) Haloperidol and reduced haloperidol level ; no significant change. When co-administered paroxetine and haloperidol, there ore no significant changes of the psychopothology and no significant changes of the extrapyramidal symptoms. In this result, paroxetine seems to be not to affect the metabolism of haloperidol.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.65-71
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• 2003

Increasing evidences suggest that ischemia-induced vascular damage is an integral step in the cascade of the cellular and molecular events initiated by cerebral ischemia. In the present study, employing a mouse brain endothelioma-derived cell line, bEnd.3, and oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) as an in vitro stroke model, the role of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-${\kappa}B$) activation during ischemic injury was investigated. OGD was found to activate NF-${\kappa}B$ and to induce bEnd.3 cell death in a time-dependent manner. OGD phosphorylated neither 32 Ser nor 42 Tyr of $I{\kappa}B{\alpha}$. OGD did not change the amount of $I{\kappa}B{\alpha}$. The extents of OGD-induced cell death after 8 h, 10 h, 12 h and 14 h of OGD were 10%, 35%, 60% and 85%, respectively. Reperfusion following OGD did not cause additional cell death, indicating no reperfusion injury after ischemic insult in cerebral endothelial cells. Three known as NF-${\kappa}B$ inhibitors, including pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) plus zinc, aspirin and caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), inhibited OGD-induced NF-${\kappa}B$ activation and increased OGD-induced bEnd.3 cell death in a dose dependent manner. There were no changes in the protein levels of bcl-2, bax and p53 which are modulated by NF-${\kappa}B$ activity. These results suggest that NF-${\kappa}B$ activation might be a protective mechanism for OGD-induced cell death in bEnd.3.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.113-117
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• 2012

The fruits of Foeniculum vulgare (Foeniculi Fructus) have been widely used in Chinese medicine as an antiemetic, ameliorating stomach ailments and as an analgesic. In order to establish its potential for antiallergic use, inhibitory actions of the fruit on 5-lipoxgenase (5-LOX) and ${\beta}$-hexosaminidase release were evaluated. The 70% ethanol extract of this plant material (FR) considerably inhibited 5-LOX-catalyzed leukotriene production from A23187-induced rat basophilic leukemia (RBL)-1 cells. The $IC_{50}$ was $3.2{\mu}g/ml$. From this extract, 12 major compounds including sabinene, fenchone, ${\gamma}$-terpinene, ${\alpha}$-pinene, limonene, p-anisylacetone, panisylaldehyde, estragole (4-allylanisole), trans-anethole, scopoletin, bergapten and umbelliferone were isolated. And it was found that several terpene derivatives including ${\gamma}$-terpinene and fenchone as well as phenylpropanoid, trans-anethole, showed considerable inhibitory action of 5-LOX. In particular, the $IC_{50}$ of trans-anethole was $51.6{\mu}M$. In contrast, FR and the isolated compounds did not show considerable inhibitory activity on the degranulation reaction of ${\beta}$-hexosaminidase release from antigen-treated RBL-2H3 cells. Against arachidonic acid-induced ear edema in mice, FR and trans-anethole showed significant inhibition by oral administration at doses of 100-400 mg/kg. In conclusion, FR and several major constituents are 5-LOX inhibitors and they may have potential for treating 5-LOX-related disorders.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.628-634
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• 2002

A microfilament-based motility in Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) Is involved in host cell invasion, yet the exact mechanism has not yet been determined. Accordingly, the current study examined the localization of actin and tubulin in T gondii using immunofluorescent (IF) and immunogold staining for electron microscopy. Indirect immunofluorescence (IF) staining using anti-actin and anti-tubulin monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) revealed localization of fluorescence on the entire surface of the tachyzoites. The actin in T. gondii was observed by immunogold staining, and the gold particles were seen on the surface, especially at the anterior end and in the cytoplasm of the parasite. However, there were no gold particles in the nucleus, rhoptries, and dense granules. The tubulin in T gondii was located on the surface and in the cytoplasm of the tachyzoites in the extracellular parasite, compared with anterior part of tachyzoites in the intracellular parasite. The antigens of T gondii recognized by anti-actin mAb were 107 kDa, 50 kDa, 48 kDa, and 40 kDa proteins, while those recognized by anti-tubulin mAb were 56 kDa, 52 kDa, and 34 kDa proteins. Tachyzoites of T gondii pretreated with the actin inhibitor, cytochalasin D (20 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ml), and tubulin inhibitor, colchicine (2$\times$10$\^$-6/ M), for 30 min at 37$\^{C}$ were used to infect the isolated mouse macrophages (tachyzo ites:macrophage=2:1). Pretreatment with the inhibitors resulted in lower multiplication of tachyzoites within the macrophages than in the untreated group 18 h post infection (p<0.05). Therefore, the present results suggest that actin and tubulin appear to be involved in the invasion of and multiplication in host cells.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.412-420
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• 2005

In order to investigate factors affecting the denitrification in the F-STEP PROCESS using a loess ball as support media and Pseudomonas DWC 17-8, calcining temperature, loess ball size, pH, nitrate concentration, working temperature, and inhibitor were studied in batch mode using synthetic sludge. A 5- 10 mm of loess ball (960$^{circ}$ of calcining temperature) was the most suitable for denitrification. When the initial pH was increased from 3.0 to 7.0, the removal efficiency of nitrate was increased. Specifically, at initial pH of 7.0, the maximum removal efficiency of nitrate was 5.0 mg/min. When the initial concentration of nitrate was increased from 100 to 400 mg/l, the removal efficiency of nitrate was proportional to the concentration of nitrate. The maximum removal efficiency of nitrate was 5.72 mg/min at 400 mg/l of initial concentration. When the operating temperature was increased from 10 to 30$^{circ}$, the removal efficiency of nitrate was increased from 0.76 to 6.15 mg/min, and at above 40$^{circ}$ of operating temperature, it was decreased from 4.0 to 2.0 mg/min. Among the various inhibitors, higher than 10$^{-1}$ M of sodium azide abolished this reaction completely. When the KCN concentration was above 10$^{-1}$ M, the reaction was inhibited completely. In the case of 2,4-dinitrophenol and sodium sulphide, it was inhibited at above 10$^{-2}$ M completely. For testing the various flow orders of the F-STEP PROCESS for effective denitrification using practical wastewater, continuous experiments under the optimum conditions were carried out for 60 days. Among the various processes, the PROCESS A gave the highest efficiencies of denitrification, nitrification, and total nitrogen (TN) removal with 86.5, 89.5, and $90\%$, respectively. For scale-up in the PROCESS A, real farm wastewater was used and pilot tests carried out for 90 days. The denitrification efficiency was $97.5\%$, which was increased by $12.7\%$. The efficiencies of TN removal and nitrification were 96.6 and $70.0\%$, respectively. The removal efficiency of chemical oxygen demand (COD) was $63.7\%$, which was increased by $20\%$.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.28 no.8
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• pp.923-929
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• 2005

Methanol extracts of domestic plants of Korea were evaluated as a potential inhibitor of neutral pH optimum and membrane-associated 60 kDa sphingomyelinase (N-SMase) activity. In this study, we partially purified N-SMase from bovine brain membranes using ammonium sulfate. It was purified approximately 163-fold by the sequential use of DE52, Butyl-Toyopearl, DEAE-Cellulose, and Phenyl-5PW column chromatographies. The purified N-SMase activity was assayed in the presence of the plant extracts of three hundreds species. Based on the in vitro assay, three plant extracts significantly inhibited the N-SMase activity in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. To further examine the inhibitory pattern, a Dixon plot was constructed for each of the plant extracts. The extracts of Abies nephrolepis, Acer tegmentosum, and Ginkgo biloba revealed a competitive inhibition with the inhibition constant (Ki) of $11.9 {\mu}g/mL,\;9.4{\mu}g/mL,\;and\;12.9{\mu}g/mL$, respectively. These extracts also inhibited in a dose-dependent manner the production of ceramide induced by serum deprivation in human neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y.

• BMB Reports
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.624-631
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• 2005

Tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, continues to be one of the main diseases to mankind. It is urgent to discover novel drug targets for appropriate antimicrobial agents against this human pathogen. The shikimate pathway is onsidered as an attractive target for the discovery of novel antibiotics for its essentiality in bacteria and absence in mammalian cells. The Mycobacterium tuberculosis aroE-encoded shikimate dehydrogenase was cloned, expressed and purified. Sequence alignment analysis shows that shikimate dehydrogenase of Mycobacterium tuberculosis exhibit the pattern of G-X-(N/S)-V-(T/S)-X-PX-K, which is highly conserved within the shikimate dehydrogenase family. The recombinant shikimate dehydrogenase spectrum determined by CD spectroscopy showed that the percentages for $\alpha$-helix, $\beta$-sheet, $\beta$-turn, and random coil were 29.2%, 9.3%, 32.7%, and 28.8%, respectively. The enzymatic characterization demonstrates that it appears to be fully active at pH from 9.0 to 12, and temperature $63^{\circ}C$. The apparent Michaelis constant for shikimic acid and $NADP^+$ were calculated to be about $29.5\;{\mu}M$ and $63\;{\mu}M$. The recombinant shikimate dehydrogenase catalyzes the substrate in the presence of $NADP^+$ with an enzyme turnover number of $399\;s^{-1}$. Zymological studies suggest that the cloned shikimate dehydrogenase from M. tuberculosis has a pretty activity, and the work should help in the discovery of enzyme inhibitors and further of possible antimicrobial agents against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.