• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.16-22
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• 2003

Background: The S100A2 gene, also known as S100L or CaN19, encodes a protein comprised of 99-amino acids, is a member of the calcium-binding proteins of EF-hand family. According to a recent study, this gene was over-expressed in several early and malignant carcinomas compared to normal tissues. To elucidate the role of S100A2 protein in the process during carcinogenesis, production of monoclonal antibody specific to the protein is essential. Methods: First, cDNA sequence coding for ORF region of human S100A2 gene was amplified and cloned into an expression vector to produce GST fusion protein. Recombinant S100A2 protein and subsequently, monoclonal antibody to the protein were produced. The specificity of anti-S100A2 monoclonal antibody was confirmed by immunoblot analysis of cross reactivity to other recombinant proteins of S100A family (GST-S100A1, GST-S100A4 and GST-S100A6). To confirm the relation of S100A2 to cervical carcinogenesis, S100A2 protein in early cervical carcinoma tissue was immunostained using the monoclonal antibody. Results: GST-S100A2 recombinant protein was purified by affinity chromatography and then fusion protein was cleaved and S100A2 protein was isolated. The monoclonal antibody (KK0723; Korean patent pending #2001-30294) to the protein was produced and the antibody did not react with other members of EF-hand family proteins such as S100A1, S100A4 and S100A6. Conclusion: These data suggest that anti-S100A2 monoclonal antibody produced in this study can be very useful for the early detection of cervical carcinoma and elucidation of mechanism during the early cervical carcinogenesis.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.7-13
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• 2006

Plastichouse cultivation for crops and vegetables in the winter has been widely popularized in Korea. In the vinylhouse Ultraviolet B penetration is lower than in the field, and so some problems, as plant overgrowth and outbreak of disease, occurred frequently. The effect of artificial supplement ultraviolet B $(UV-B:280{\sim}320nm)$ radiation on the physiological responses and yield of perilla (perilla frutescens) was investigated UV-B ray was radiated on perilla with the 10th leaf stage at the distance of 90, 120 and 150 cm from the plant canopy for 30 days after planting in the vinylhouse. The production of fresh perilla leaves was high in the order of plastic house, ambient+50% of supplemental UV-B, ambient ambient+100% of supplemental UV-B. Enhanced UV-B radiation affected the intensity of thirty-three proteins in 2-dimensional electrophoretic analysis of proteins and ten proteins out of them seemed to be responsive to UV-B : a protein was, ATP synthase CF1 alpha chain, down regulated and nine proteins (Chlorophyll a/b bindng protein type I, Chlorophyll a/b binding protein type II precursor, Photosystem I P700 chlorophyll a apoprotein A2, DNA recombination and repair protein recF, Galactinol synthase, S-adenosyl-L-methionine, Heat shock protein 21, Calcium-dependent protein kinase(CDPK)-like, Catalase) were up-regulated.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.358-369
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• 1997

Hypercholesterolemia is a main risk factor to develop cardiovascular disease, a major cause of death in Korea currently. Dietary factors which shows hypocholesterolemic effect have been reported, which includes plant proteins, unsaturated fatty acids, milk, calcium, flavonoids. Numerous animal and human studies confirmed the pronounced hypocholesterolemic effects of soluble dietary fiber, such as psyllium husk, pectin, sodium alginate, guar gum. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the hypocholesterolemic effect of dietary fiber, including binding of bile acids by fiber, interference of lipid absorption and reduced hepatic cholesterol synthesis by propionate, a product of soluble dietary fiber fermentation. Several other hypotheses have been proposed, and these hypotheses are not mutually exclusive.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Embryo Transfer Conference
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• 2002.11a
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• pp.71-71
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• 2002

Promoters for milk proteins have been used far producing transgenic animals due to their temporal and spatial expression patterns. ${\beta}$-casein, a calcium-sensitive casein, is a major milk protein that corresponds ca. 30 per cent of total milk protein. Expression of ${\beta}$-casein is controlled by lactogenic hormones such as prolactin (PRL), composite response elements (CoREs) and transcription factors. CoREs are clusters of transcription factor binding sites containing both positive and negative regulatory elements. ${\beta}$-casein gene promoter contains various regions (CoREs) for gene transcription. We analyzed the promoter region by mutagenesis using exonuclease III and linker-scanning. Transcription control elements usually are positioned in 5'-flanking region of the gene. However, in some cases, these elements are located in other regions such as intron 1. The nucleotide sequences of ${\beta}$-casein promote. region has been reported (E12614). However, the properties of the promoter is not yet clear. In this study, we plan to investigate the properties of cis-regulating elements of porcine ${\beta}$-casein by mutation analysis and expression analysis using dual-luciferase repoter assay system.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.566-571
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• 2008

Calcineurin (Cn) is a calcium/calmodulin-dependent serine/threonine protein phosphatase that has diverse functions in different cell types and organisms. We screened proteins interacting with the C. elegans CnA homolog, TAX-6, by the yeast two-hybrid system. CNP-3 (Calcineurin interacting protein-3) is a novel protein that physically interacts with the catalytic domain of TAX-6. It is strongly expressed in the nuclei of intestine, hypodermis, dorsal uterine regions and spermatheca. Expression begins around the 60-cell stage and proceeds during all larval stages and the adult. To elucidate the biological function of cnp-3 we isolated a cnp-3 deletion mutant. Since CNP-3 binds CnA, we looked at factors associated with calcineurin loss-of-function mutants, such as brood size, body size, serotonin- and levamisole-mediated egg-laying behavior. The cnp-3(jh145) single mutant had no gross defects compared to wild-type animal. However, the phenotypes of the double mutants, tax-6(p675);cnp-3(jh145) and cnb-1(jh103);cnp-3(jh145), were more severe in terms of brood size, body size and serotonin-mediated egg-laying defects than tax-6(p675) and cnb-1(jh103), respectively. These results suggest that dysfunction of cnp-3 enhances certain calcineurin loss-of-function phenotypes in C. elegans.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.50-58
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• 2006

Translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP), also known as histamine releasing factor (HRF), is found abundantly in different eukaryotic cell types. The sequence homology of TCTP between different species is very high, belonging to the MSS4/DSS4 superfamily of proteins. TCTP is involved in both cell growth and human late allergy reaction, as well as having a calcium binding property; however, its primary biological functions remain to be clearly elucidated. In regard to many possible functions, the TCTP of Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) is known to bind with an antimalarial agent, artemisinin, which is activated by heme. It is assumed that the endoperoxide-bridge of artemisinin is opened up by heme to form a free radical, which then eventually alkylates, probably to the Cys14 of PfTCTP. Study of the docking of artemisinin with heme, and subsequently with PfTCTP, was carried out to verify the above hypothesis on the basis of structural interactions. The three dimensional (3D) structure of PfTCTP was built by homology modeling, using the NMR structure of the TCTP of Schizosaccharomyces pombe as a template. The quality of the model was examined based on its secondary structure and biological function, as well as with the use of structure evaluating programs. The interactions between artemisinin, heme and PfTCTP were then studied using the docking program, FlexiDock. The center of the peroxide bond of artemisinin and the Fe of heme were docked within a short distance of $2.6{\AA}$, implying the strong possibility of an interaction between the two molecules, as proposed. When the activated form of artemisinin was docked on the PfTCTP, the C4-radical of the drug faced towards the sulfur of Cys14 within a distance of $2.48{\AA}$, again suggesting the possibility of alkylation having occurred. These results confirm the proposed mechanism of the antimalarial effect of artemisinin, which will provide a reliable method for establishing the mechanism of its biological activity using a molecular modeling study.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.394-399
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• 2007

In this study, the characteristic qualities of whole soymilk were examined based on differing hydrolysis condition. The results showed that as the concentration of enzyme preparation(KMF-G) increase, $^{\circ}Brix$, calcium-binding capacity, and the content of free amino acid components also increased. Additionally SDS-PAGE analysis revealed a similar pattern of in the molecular weight of proteins at enzyme preparation concentration 0.20 and 0.35%(w/w). The quality of whole soymilk hydrolysate was shown to be best at a enzyme preparation(KMF-G) concentration of 0.20%(w/w) and hydrolysis time of 60 min. When sterilized at 115, 130 and $145\;^{\circ}C$ for 15 sec each the change in whole soymilk quality was not substantial. Based on the above results, a 0.20%(w/w) enzyme preparation(KMF-G) concentration and 60 mim hydrolysis time was determined to be the optimal hydrolysis condition for whole soymilk. It is anticipated that soymilk hydrolysis will a food material that is diverse in its application and uses.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2022.10a
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• pp.261-261
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• 2022

Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp] is one of the most important grain legumes that enhance soil fertility and is well-adapted to various abiotic stress. Also, it is cultivated worldwide as a tropical annual crop, and the semi-arid regions are known as the main cowpea-produced regions. However, accumulation of soil salinity induced by low rainfall in these regions is reducing crop yields and quality. In general, plants exposed to soil salinity cause an accumulation of high ion chloride, which leads to the degradation of root and leaf proteins. In this study, we identified candidate genes associated with salinity tolerance through an analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in four cowpea germplasms with contrasting salinity tolerance. A total of 553,776,035 short reads were obtained using the Illumina Novaseq 6000 platform for RNA-Seq, which were subsequently aligned to the reference genome of cowpea Vunguiculata v1.2. A total of9,806 DEGs were identified between NaCl treatment and control of four cowpea germplasms. Among these DEGs, functions related to salt stress such as calcium transporter and cytochrome-450 family were associated with salt stress. In GO analysis and KEGG analysis, these DEGs were enriched in terms such as the "phosphorylation", ''extracellular region", and "ion binding". These RNA-seq results will improve the understanding of the salt tolerance of cowpea and can be used as useful basic data for molecular breeding technology in the future.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2010

We recently reported the distributions of AMPA ($\alpha$-amino-3-hydroxyl-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionate) receptor subtypes glutamate receptors (GluR) 1 and GluR4 in the superior colliculi (SC) of hamsters with antibody immunocytochemistry and the effect of enucleation on these distributions. We also compared these labelings to those of calcium-binding proteins calbindin D28K, calretinin, parvalbumin, and GABA. In the present study, we investigated whether the GluR1- and GluR4-immunoreactive (IR) neurons are interneurons or projection neurons by injection of the retrograde tracer horseradish peroxidase (HRP) into one of each major ascending and descending pathways of the SC. HRP injections were made into a tecto-reticulospinal pathway (TRS) and dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN). Animals were then allowed to recover and to survive for 48 hr before perfusion. Sections containing retrograde-labeled neurons were then treated for GluR-immunoreactivity. HRP injections proved that only a small population of the GluR1-IR cells project into TRS (1.4%) and dLGN (2.6%). However, a large subpopulation of GluR4-IR cells project into TRS (32.7%). The differential compositions of inter/projection neurons, along with our previous studies on the separate distribution of the GluR subunits, its differential co-localization with calcium-binding proteins and GABA, and differential reactions to enucleations, strongly imply the functional variety of the receptor subunits in visual behavior responses.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.10
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• pp.1451-1457
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• 2010

Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) is an important mediator of cell-cell signaling in neuronal systems. The serotonin transporter (SERT) on the plasma membrane controls the extracellular 5-HT level by reuptake of released 5-HT from the synaptic cleft, but the underlying regulation mechanism is unclear. Here, we used the yeast two-hybrid system to identify the specific binding protein(s) that interacts with the carboxyl (C)-terminal region of SERT and found a specific interaction with protein kinase C-$\varepsilon$ (PKC-$\varepsilon$), a PKC isotype that is characterized as a calcium-independent and phorbol ester/diacylglycerol-sensitive serine/threonine kinase. PKC-$\varepsilon$ bound to the tail region of SERT but not to other members of the $Na^+/Cl^-$ dependent SLC6 gene family in the yeast two-hybrid assay. The C-terminal region of PKC-$\varepsilon$ is essential for interaction with SERT. In addition, these proteins showed specific interactions in the glutathione S-transferase (GST) pull-down assay. PKC-$\varepsilon$ phosphorylated the peptide of the SERT amino (N)-terminus in vitro. These results suggest that the phosphorylation of SERT by PKC-$\varepsilon$ may regulate SERT activity in plasma membrane.