• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.640-646
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• 2017

In this study, we elucidated anti-cancer activity and potential molecular mechanism of 70% ethanol extracts from Taxilli Ramulus (Taxillus chinensis (DC.) Danser) (TR-E70) against human colorectal cancer cells. Anti-cell proliferative effect of TR-E70 was evaluated by MTT assay. The effect of TR-E70 on the expression of cyclin D1 in the protein and mRNA level was evaluated by Western blot and RT-PCR, respectively. TR-E70 suppressed the proliferation of human colorectal cancer cell lines, HCT116 and SW480. Although TR-E70 decreased cyclin D1 expression in protein and mRNA level, decreased level of cyclin D1 protein by TR-E70 more dramatically occurred than that of cyclin D1 mRNA. Cyclin D1 downregulation by TR-E70 was attenuated in presence of MG132. In addition, TR-E70 phosphorylated threonine-286 (T286) of cyclin D1. TR-E70-mediated cyclin D1 degradation was blocked in presence of LiCl as an inhibitor $GSK3{\beta}$ but not PD98059 as an ERK1/2 inhibitor and SB203580 as a p38 inhibitor. Our results suggest that TR-E70 may downregulate cyclin D1 as one of the potential anti-cancer targets through $GSK3{\beta}$-dependent cyclin D1 degradation. From these findings, TR-E70 has potential to be a candidate for the development of chemoprevention or therapeutic agents for human colorectal cancer.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.11
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• pp.1529-1535
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• 2013

Tuberculosis is a worldwide epidemic disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, with an estimated one-third of the human population currently affected. Treatment of this disease with aminoglycoside antibiotics has become less effective owing to antibiotic resistance. Recent determination of the crystal structure of the M. tuberculosis Rv3168 protein suggests a structure similar to that of Enterococcus faecalis APH(3')-IIIa, and that this protein may be an aminoglycoside phosphotransferase. To determine whether Rv3168 confers antibiotic resistance against kanamycin, we performed dose-response antibiotic resistance experiments using kanamycin. Expression of the Rv3168 protein in Escherichia coli conferred antibiotic resistance against $100{\mu}M$ kanamycin, a concentration that effected cell growth arrest in the parental E. coli strain and an E. coli strain expressing the $Rv3168^{D249A}$ mutant, in which the catalytic Asp249 residue was mutated to alanine. Furthermore, we detected phosphotransferase activity of Rv3168 against kanamycin as a substrate. Moreover, docking simulation of kanamycin into the Rv3168 structure suggests that kanamycin fits well into the substrate binding pocket of the protein, and that the phosphorylation-hydroxyl-group of kanamycin was located at a position similar to that in E. faecalis APH(3')-IIIa. On the basis of these results, we suggest that the Rv3168 mediates kanamycin resistance in M. tuberculosis, likely through phosphotransferase targeting of kanamycin.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.176-182
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• 2015

Abalone protein was hydrolyzed by enzymatic hydrolysis and the optimal enzyme/substrate (E/S) ratios were determined. Abalone protein hydrolysates (APH) produced by Protamex at E/S ratio of 1:100 showed angiotensin I converting enzyme inhibitory activity with $IC_{50}$ of 0.46 mg/mL, and APH obtained by Flavourzyme at E/S ratio of 1:100 possessed the oxygen radical absorbance capacity value of $457.6{\mu}M$ trolox equivalent/mg sample. Flavourzyme abalone protein hydrolysates (FAPH) also exhibited $H_2O_2$ scavenging activity with $IC_{50}$ of 0.48 mg/mL and $Fe^{2+}$+ chelating activity with $IC_{50}$ of 2.26 mg/mL as well as high reducing power. FAPH significantly (P<0.05) protected $H_2O_2$-induced hepatic cell damage in cultured hepatocytes, and the cell viability was restored to 90.27% in the presence of FAPH. FAPH exhibited 46.20% intracellular ROS scavenging activity and 57.89% lipid peroxidation inhibition activity in cultured hepatocytes. Overall, APH may be useful as an ingredient for functional foods.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.249-257
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• 2002

Cytochrome P450 3As such as 3A4 and 3A5 metabolize a wide range of pharmaceutical compounds. The vectors for the expression of fusion protein containing an N-terminal human P450 3A4 or P450 3A5 sequences and a C-terminal rat NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase moiety were constructed. These plasmids were used to express the fusion protein in Escherichia coli DH5$\alpha$ cells. High levels of expression were achieved (100~200 nmol/liter) and the expressed fusion protein in E. coli membranes were catalytically active for nifedipine oxidation, a typical enzymatic activity of P450 3A4. The NADPH-P450 reductase activities of these fusion protein were also determined by measuring reduction of cytochrome c. To fine a specific Inhibitor of P450 3A4 from naturally occurring chemicals, a series of isothiocyanate compounds were evaluated for the inhibitory activity of P450 using the fusion proteins in E. coli membranes. Of the five isothiocyanates (phenethyl isothiocyanate, phenyl isothiocyanate, benzol isothiocyanate, benzoyl isothiocyanate and cyclohexyl isothiocyanate) tested, benzoyl isothiocyanate showed a strong inhibition of P450 3A4 with an $IC_{50}$value of 2.8 $\mu\textrm{M}$. Our results indicate that the self-sufficient fusion protein will be very useful tool to study the drug metabolism and benzyl isothiocyanate may be valuable for characterizing the enzymatic properties of P450 3A4.

• Journal of Information Processing Systems
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.459-470
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• 2012

Recently, high-throughput technologies such as the two-hybrid system, protein chip, Mass Spectrometry, and the phage display have furnished a lot of data on protein-protein interactions (PPIs), but the data has not been accurate so far and the quantity has also been limited. In this respect, computational techniques for the prediction and validation of PPIs have been developed. However, existing computational methods do not take into account the fact that a PPI is actually originated from the interactions of domains that each protein contains. So, in this work, the information on domain modules of individual proteins has been employed in order to find out the protein interaction relationship. The system developed here, WASPI (Web-based Assistant System for Protein-protein interaction Inference), has been implemented to provide many functional insights into the protein interactions and their domains. To achieve those objectives, several preprocessing steps have been taken. First, the domain module information of interacting proteins was extracted by taking advantage of the InterPro database, which includes protein families, domains, and functional sites. The InterProScan program was used in this preprocess. Second, the homology comparison with the GO (Gene Ontology) and COG (Clusters of Orthologous Groups) with an E-value of $10^{-5}$, $10^{-3}$ respectively, was employed to obtain the information on the function and annotation of each interacting protein of a secondary PPI database in the WASPI. The BLAST program was utilized for the homology comparison.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.93-105
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• 1968

The variations of both thiamine and riboflavin value in the organs, viz. liver, small intestine, spleen and kidney of the rats were measured for observing some metabolic changes in the animals during fasting and feeding different quality of diets without V-E supplement. The animal used for the experiment was adult female ablino rat from a pure strain, weighing 225-280g. The animals were divided into 6 groups; the control group, the high carbohydrate diet group, the high carbohydrate diet with V-E group, the high protein diet group, the high protein diet with V-E group, and fasting group. The result obtained are summarized as follows; 1. The thiamine contents in the liver were once increased during early stage of starvation compared with the control group, thereafter they were decreased on the 8 days fasting while the contents in the small intestine and spleen were decreased during 1 to 8 days fasting. 2. The riboflavin contents in the liver and kidney were increased during starvation and the content in the small intestine was no marked change compared with control group. 3. The thiamine contents in the liver and small intestine during feeding the high carbohydrate with V-E supplement diet group were lower than that of the diet without V-E group and the content in the spleen was increased by feeding V-E enriched high carbohydrate diet. 4. The thiamine contents in the liver, small intestine and spleen during feeding the V-E supplemented diets were lower than that of the non-supplemented one's. 5. The riboflavin contents in the liver, small intestine, and kidney were increased during feeding the high carbohydrate diet compared to the control group, and they were decreased during feeding the V-E enriched high carbohydrate diet. 6. The riboflavin contents in each organ were increased during feeding the high protein diet compared to the control group, and they were much increased during 20 to 30 days of feeding the V-E supplemented high protein diet. 7. Therefore, as the above results showed, the variation of thiamine value in the each organs were not markedly changed during feeding different quality of the diets. The thiamine and riboflavin contents in the each organ in the V-E enriched high carbohydrate diet group were lower than without V-E supplemented one's The riboflavin contents in each organ were increased during feeding the high protein diet compared with the control group and the centents were increased during 20 to 30 days of the feeding V-E enriched high protein diet.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.576-583
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• 2004

GERI-155 is a macrolide antibiotic containing two deoxyhexose molecules and shows antimicrobial activities against Gram-positive bacteria. Deoxysugar biosynthetic gene cluster of GERI-155 from Streptomyces sp. GERI-l55 genome was cloned. Four orfs were identified and a putative orf presumed to be the dTDP g]ucose-4,6-dehydratase gene was designated as gerE. GerE was expressed in E. coli by using a recombinant expression vector pHJ1. The expressed protein was purified from E. coli cell lysate by using ammonium sulfate fractionation, and DEAE-sepharose CL-6B and hydroxylapatite column chromatography. The molecular mass of the expressed protein correlated with the predicted mass that was deduced from the cloned gene sequence data. The recombinant protein was a homodimer with a subunit relative molecular weight of 39,000 Dalton. It was found to have dTDP-glucose 4,6-dehydratase activity and also found to be highly specific for dTDP-glucose as a substrate. The values of $K_{m} and V_{max}$ for dTDP-g]ucose were $32\mu$M and 335 nmol $min^{-1}$ (mg protein)^{-1}$, respectively. dTTP and dTDP were strong inhibitors of the protein. $NAD^+$, the coenzyme for dTDP-glucose 4,6-dehydratase, was tightly bound to the expressed protein.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.129-133
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• 1993

The 44Md plasmid of Bacillus thruingiensis var. kurstaki HD-1(B. t k HD-1) was partially digested with Sau3AI and the fragments were cloned into E. coli HB101 on vector pBR322. Of 2, 950 clones with a recombinant pBR322, only one clone KC1 was determined to have the gene for crystal toxic proteins from the 44Md plasmid of B. t k HD-1 at the BamHI site of pBR322. The recombinant pBR322 was named pKC1 and its molecular size was 12kb. The KC1 produced a protein which was toxic to the silkworm and antigenically similar to the crystal toxic protein of B. t k HD-1. Also, electrophoretic mobility of the KC1 protein was apparently the same as that of the crystal toxic protein of B. t k HD-1.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.280-288
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• 2012

Targeted degradation of proteins through ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis is an important control mechanism in various cellular processes. The process of ubiquitin conjugation is achieved by three enzyme complexes, among which the ubiquitin ligase complex (E3) is in charge of substrate specificity. The SCF (SKP1-CUL1-F-box) family portrays the largest and the most characterized member of the E3 ligases. For each SCF complex, the ubiquitination target is recognized by the F-box protein subunit, which interacts with the substrate through a unique C-terminal domain. We have characterized a novel F-box protein CFL-1 that represents a single LRR-type F-box (FBXL) in the Caenorhabditis elegans genome. CFL-1 is highly homologous to FBXL20 and FBXL2 of mammals, which are known to regulate synaptic vesicle release and cell cycle, respectively. A green fluorescence protein (GFP)-reporter gene fused to the cfl-1 promoter showed restricted expression around the amphid and the anus. Modulation of CFL-1 activity by RNAi affected the time interval between defecations. RNAi-treated worms also exhibited reduced tendency to form dauer when exposed to daumone. The potential involvement of CFL-1 in the control of defecation and pheromone response adds to the ever expanding list of cellular processes controlled by ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis in C. elegans. We suggest that CFL-1, as a single LRR-type F-box protein in C. elegans, may portray a prototype gene exerting diverse functions that are allocated among multiple FBXLs in higher organisms.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.119-128
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• 1982

The effect of dietary protein on growth and lipid levels of plasma and liver was studied in weanling male rats fed diets differing protein sources and amino acid balance. Rats were devided into 9 experimental diets which were grouped into 3 categories ; 1) Simple protein category includes gluten-, soy protein isolate-, and casein-containing diet groups, 2) Supplemented category includes casein supplemented with methionine, soy protein isolate supplemented with methionine, and gluten supplemented with lysine and methionine, 3) Mixed protein category includes diet groups containing gluten (2/3), casein (1/3), soy protein isolate (2/3) and casein (1/3), and casein (1/3), soy protein isolate (1/3) and gluten (1/3). The experimental diets composed of 15% protein, 65.8% carbohydrate, 10% fat and 1% cholesterol. The body wt. gain and P.E.R. were greater in rats of supplemented and mixed protein groups than simple protein groups. No statistical differences were found in plasma cholesterol among gluten, soy protein isolate and casein groups. Consumption of diets supplemented with limiting amino acid to gluten or soy protein isolate reduced the plasma cholesterol level by 23.2% and 34.2% respectively. However there was no difference between casein and the supplemented casein groups. The mixed protein groups shows relatively high plasma cholesterol concentration and low liver cholesterol levels. On the other hand gluten group showed low plasma cholesterol and high liver cholesterol levels, which means body cholesterol pool may not have been changed by the dietary protein. Feeding soy protein meal and the supplemented soy protein isolate resulted in lower plasma cholesterol, plasma triglycerides, liver cholesterol and liver triglycerides levels. This hypolipidemic effect is considered to see unique to soy protein isolate. Rats in gluten and the supplemented gluten groups showed lower plasma protein levels and a tendency of fatty liver.