• Molecules and Cells
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.67-78
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• 2019

Methylation of HBV cccDNA has been detected in vivo and in vitro; however, the mechanism and its effects on HBV replication remain unclear. HBx derived from a 1.2-mer HBV replicon upregulated protein levels and enzyme activities of DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1), 3a, and 3b, resulting in methylation of the negative regulatory region (NRE) in cccDNA, while none of these effects were observed with an HBx-null mutant. The HBx-positive HBV cccDNA expressed higher levels of HBc and produced about 4-fold higher levels of HBV particles than those from the HBx-null counterpart. For these effects, HBx interrupted the action of NRE binding protein via methylation of the C-1619 within NRE, resulting in activation of the core promoter. Treatment with 5-Aza-2′dC or DNMT1 knock-down drastically impaired the ability of HBx to activate the core promoter and stimulate HBV replication in 1.2-mer HBV replicon and in vitro infection systems, indicating the positive role of HBx-mediated cccDNA methylation in HBV replication.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.11
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• pp.3597-3600
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• 2012

Thrombin binding aptamter (TBA-15) is a 15-mer guanine-rich oligonucleotide. This DNA apamer specifically binds to the thrombin protein involved in blood coagulation. Using extensive umbrella sampling molecular dynamics simulation method at all atom level, we investigated the potential of mean force (PMF) upon pulling the DNA aptamer from the binding mode of aptamer/thrombin complex. From this calculation, the free energy cost for a full dissociation of this aptamer/protein complex is 17 kcal/mol, indicating a substantial binding affinity of TBA-15. Interestingly, this PMF reveals noticeable plateau regions along the pulling coordinate. Possible structural changes of this complex in the plateau were investigated in details.

• BMB Reports
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.489-495
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• 2001

DNA damage by UV and environmental agents are the major cause of genomic instability that needs to be repaired, otherwise it give rise to cancer. Accordingly, mammalian cells operate several DNA repair pathways that are not only responsible for identifying various types of DNA damage but also involved in removing DNA damage. In mammals, nucleotide excision repair (NER) machinery is responsible for most, if not all, of the bulky adducts caused by UV and chemical agents. Although most of the proteins involved in NER pathway have been identified, only recently have we begun to gain some insight into the mechanism by which proteins recognize damaged DNA. Binding of Xeroderma pigmentosum group C protein (XPC)-hHR23B complex to damaged DNA is the initial damage recognition step in NER, which leads to the recruitment of XPA and RPA to form a damage recognition complex. Formation of damage recognition complex not only stabilizes low affinity binding of XPA to the damaged DNA, but also induces structural distortion, both of which are likely necessary for the recruitment of TFIIH and two structure-specific endonucleases for dual incision.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.31 no.1 s.49
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• pp.13-16
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• 2005

For the high-throughput-screening system (HTS) of depigmenting agents using a protein chip, effects of oligonucleotide-inhibitor sequence on the binding of Mitf protein to E box of MC1R was investigated. The sequence of oligonucletide-inhibitor affected the binding of the target DNA to Mitf, depending on the location of the sequence variation in the inhibitor nucleotide. The oligonucletide-inhibitor that changed the CATGTG sequence didn't show enough inhibition of the target DNA to Mitf, whereas significant inhibition was observed when the sequence outside the CATGTG was changed. This result indicated that CATCTG is crucial sequence for the binding of Mitf to I-box which initiates the transcription of pigmenting genes.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.85-90
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• 1996

The binding ability of leaf nuclear extracts to the lighbresponsive elements (LREs) of cab promoters of Arabidopsis thaliana has been investigated. The cab promoters were fragmented with restr ction endonucleases into LRE that were identified by Mitra et al. [Plant Mol. Biol. 12, 169179 ( 1989)] and other small fragments. After end labeling with Klenow fragment, the fragments were assayed for binding with the leaf nuclear proteins that were prepared by solubilizing the purified nuclei with 0.5 M ammonium sulfate. The binding ability was assayed by mobility shift assay. To perform successful mobility shift assay, several factors affecting the interaction of protein with DNA were optimized before performing the assay. The LREs had several retardation bands. However, the other promoter fragments from the transcription start site to the far upstream region of the promoters had also retardation bands. No particular relationships could be found between the retardation band distributions and the loci of LRE. It is likely that the light-regulation of cab gene expression may be controlled by the multiple interactions of the regulatory protein factors with DNA motifs.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.771-776
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• 2001

A pregnant-induced clone was identified by differential screening from a cDNA library of bovine mammary gland. The clone was identified as a cDNA encoding a polyadenylate binding protein 1 (PABP). The cDNA clone had a total length of 1,911 nucleotides coding for 636 amino acids. The nucleotide sequence of the bovine PABP was 95% and 94% identical to those of human and mouse species, respectively. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequences of bovine PABP with those of human species showed 100% identity. Induction of the PABP mRNA was observed in bovine mammary tissues at pregnant 7 and 8 months compared to virgin, lactating and involuted states. Expression of the PABP gene was examined in mammary epithelial HC11 cells at proliferating, differentiated and apoptotic conditions. The mRNA levels of PABP gene were similar between proliferating and differentiated cells, but expression levels were very low in apoptotic cells compared to other conditions. Results demonstrate that the PABP gene is induced during pregnancy at which stage mammary epithelial cells are actively proliferating.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetic Resonance Society
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.36-40
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• 2016

MRA1997 is a highly conserved protein from mycobacterial strains. However, no structural and functional information is associated with it. Thus, to obtain details about structure and function of this protein, we have utilized NMR spectroscopy. The recombinant MRA1997 was highly purified and its DNA binding mode was characterized. The tertiary structure of MRA1997 was modeled on the basis of our NMR chemical shift data combined with the webserver CS23D. The binding of MRA1997 with DNA was first monitored by electrophoresis mobility shift assays. The residues involved in DNA binding are identified using NMR chemical shift perturbation experiments. Based on our study, we suggest that MRA1997 interacts with DNA and may play an important role in Mycobacterium tuberculosis physiology.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.228-233
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• 1995

As S. epidermidis cell was fractionated into cell wall, cell membrane, and cytoplasm, the cell membrane proved to be the most efficient absorbent for lead ion. Utrasonication was effective, when the cells were treated during their exponential growth. The amount of the lead ion adsorbed in cell membrane decreased as hydrogen ion concentration of solution increased. Protein purified from the cell membrane showed higher adsorption capacity for the lead ion than peptidoglycan, teichoic acid from cell wall, or cell membrane lipid. Modification of carboxyl groups in the membrane protein with ethylenediamine and 1-ethyl-3-carbodiimide hydrochloride resulted in a considerable decrease of lead ion adsorption capability, suggesting that the main binding site for lead ion was the carboxyl groups of protein in cell membrane.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.12
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• pp.1557-1564
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• 2009

Human CDX2 is known as a caudal-related homeodomain transcription factor that is expressed in the intestinal epithelium and is important in differentiation and maintenance of the intestinal epithelial cells. The caudal-related homeobox proteins bind DNA according to a helix-turn-helix structure, thereby increasing the structural stability of DNA. A cancer-tumor suppressor role for Cdx2 has been shown by a decrease in the level of the expression of Cdx2 in colorectal cancer, but the mechanism of transcriptional regulation has not been examined at the molecular level. We developed a large-scale system for expression of the recombinant, novel CDX2, in Escherichia coli. A highly purified and soluble CDX2 protein was obtained in E. coli strain BL21(DE3)RIL and a hexahistidine fusion system using Ni-NTA affinity column, anion exchange, and gel filtration chromatographies. The identity and secondary structure of the purified CDX2 protein were confirmed by MALDI-TOF MS, Western blot, and a circular dichroism analyses. In addition, we studied the DNA-binding activity of recombinant CDX2 by ELISA experiment and isolated human CDX2-binding proteins derived from rat cells by an immobilized GST-fusion method. Three CDX2-binding proteins were found in the gastric tissue, and those proteins were identified to the homeobox protein Hox-D8, LIM homeobox protein 6, and SMC1L1 protein.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.45 no.7
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• pp.444-453
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• 2022

Multivalent macromolecular interactions underlie dynamic regulation of diverse biological processes in ever-changing cellular states. These interactions often involve binding of multiple proteins to a linear lattice including intrinsically disordered proteins and the chromosomal DNA with many repeating recognition motifs. Quantitative understanding of such multivalent interactions on a linear lattice is crucial for exploring their unique regulatory potentials in the cellular processes. In this review, the distinctive molecular features of the linear lattice system are first discussed with a particular focus on the overlapping nature of potential protein binding sites within a lattice. Then, we introduce two general quantitative frameworks, combinatorial and conditional probability models, dealing with the overlap problem and relating the binding parameters to the experimentally measurable properties of the linear lattice-protein interactions. To this end, we present two specific examples where the quantitative models have been applied and further extended to provide biological insights into specific cellular processes. In the first case, the conditional probability model was extended to highlight the significant impact of nonspecific binding of transcription factors to the chromosomal DNA on gene-specific transcriptional activities. The second case presents the recently developed combinatorial models to unravel the complex organization of target protein binding sites within an intrinsically disordered region (IDR) of a nucleoporin. In particular, these models have suggested a unique function of IDRs as a molecular switch coupling distinct cellular processes. The quantitative models reviewed here are envisioned to further advance for dissection and functional studies of more complex systems including phase-separated biomolecular condensates.