• Korean Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.49 no.3
• /
• pp.253-261
• /
• 2013

The purpose of this study was to investigate the aflatoxin $B_1$ binding of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from Korean traditional soybean paste and to evaluate the effect of incubation conditions and physico-chemical factors on the binding ability of LAB to this mutagen. The amount of aflatoxin $B_1$ bound by Enterococcus faecium DJ22, Lactobacillus fermentum DJ35, Lactobacillus rhamnosus DJ42, and Lactobacillus pentosus DJ47 was strain specific with the percent bound ranging from 19.3% to 52.1%. However, Enterococcus faecalis DJ14, Lactobacillus panis DJ29, and Pediococcus halophilus DJ50 strains did not exhibit any of the binding ability to aflatoxin $B_1$. For most strains, the binding ability was significantly affected by the environmental conditions such as the aflatoxin $B_1$ level, incubation time and temperature, and the initial cell count of LAB. The stability of the aflatoxin $B_1$-bacteria complexes was significantly more unstable after washing. In addition, the binding stability between viable and nonviable cells was not statistically significant. Treatment with heating, acidic pH, ${\alpha}$-amylase, protease, lysozyme, or sodium metaperiodate caused a significant (P<0.05) decrease in aflatoxin $B_1$ binding for the tested strains, suggesting that carbohydrates or proteins in the cell walls may be involved in aflatoxin $B_1$ binding ability. Since the aflatoxin $B_1$ binding of LAB was significantly reduced (P<0.05) by the pretreatment of the urea, the binding force observed in this study may have resulted from hydrophobic interaction.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.326-331
• /
• 2000

Acidic chitinases from the gizzards of a broiler were purified to homogeneity, using precipitation with $(NH_{4})_{2}SO_{4}$, ion exchanger chromatography, gel filtration, chromatofocusing and hydrophobic interaction chromatography. The enzymes, GAC1 and GAC2, were purified 180- and 194- folds with a recovery of 4.9% and 2.7%, respectively. The molecular mass of GAC1 and GAC2 were 48.2 kDa and 57.8 kDa, respectively. Chromatofocusing resulted in a pI of 3.1 for both enzymes. The purified enzymes were endochitinases that were devoid of ${\beta}-N-acetylglucosaminidase$ and lysozyme activity. Kinetic studies using $[^3H]chitin$ indicate that GAC1 has a $K_m$ and $V_{max}$ of 1.97 mg/ml and 185 mg/mg protein/h, respectively. The GAC2 has a $K_m$ and $V_{max}$ of 0.42 mg/ml and 92.3 mg/mg protein/h, respectively at optimal pH and temperature (pH 5.0 and $60^{\circ}C$). When the pentamer and hexamer of N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) were used as a substrate, the major product by GAC1 was the dimer of GlcNAc with a differential accumulation of the monomer and trimer, depending upon the substrate. However, the GAC2 produced the dimer and trimer in an equal quantity, regardless of the substrate used. The first 9 $NH_2-terminal$ amino acid residues of the purified gizzard chitinase GAC1 and GAC2 shared a 100% homology. The first 25 $NH_2-terminal$ amino acid residues of GAC1 also shared 55-60% homology with animal chitinases and some animal proteins, such as whey protein and oviduct-specific proteins. However, little homology was found with either microbial and plant chitinases, or egg white lysozyme.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.25 no.11
• /
• pp.1944-1953
• /
• 2015

A novel alkaline protease from Streptomyces sp. M30, SapHM, was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, hydrophobic interaction chromatography, and DEAE-Sepharose chromatography, with a yield of 15.5% and a specific activity of 29,070 U/mg. Tryptic fragments of the purified SapHM were obtained by electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed that the gene sapHM contained 1,179 bp, corresponding to 392 amino acids with conserved Asp156, His187, and Ser339 residues of alkaline protease. The first 24 amino acid residues were predicted to be a signal peptide, and the molecular mass of the mature peptide was 37.1 kDa based on amino acid sequences and mass spectrometry. Pure SapHM was optimally active at 80℃ in 50 mM glycine-NaOH buffer (pH 9.0), and was broadly stable at 0-50℃ and pH 4.0-9.0. The protease relative activity was increased in the presence of Ni²⁺, Mn²⁺, and Cu²⁺ to 112%, 113%, and 147% of control, respectively. Pure SapHM was also activated by dimethylformamide, dimethyl sulfoxide, Tween 80, and urea. The activity of the purified enzyme was completely inhibited by phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, indicating that it is a serine-type protease. The K_m and V_max values were estimated to be 35.7 mg/ml, and 5 × 10⁴ U/mg for casein. Substrate specificity analysis showed that SapH was active on casein, bovine serum albumin, and bovine serum fibrin.

• Carbon letters
• /
• v.10 no.3
• /
• pp.177-180
• /
• 2009

The importance of nanopore structures of carbons is shown in terms of interaction potential for various molecules including supercritical gases such as $H_2$ and $CH_4$. The key factors for adsorption of supercritical $H_2$ and $CH_4$ are shown for single wall carbon nanohorn, single wall carbon nanotube, and double wall carbon nanotube. The cluster formation of molecules is a key process for water adsorption on hydrophobic carbon nanopores. The X-ray absorption spectroscopic examination elucidates an explicit dehydration structure of ions confined in carbon nanopores.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.39 no.8
• /
• pp.594-602
• /
• 2016

Alkyl hydroperoxide reductase subunit C from Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 (PaAhpC) is a member of the 2-Cys peroxiredoxin family. Here, we examined the peroxidase and molecular chaperone functions of PaAhpC using a site-directed mutagenesis approach by substitution of Ser and Thr residues with Cys at positions 78 and 105 located between two catalytic cysteines. Substitution of Ser with Cys at position 78 enhanced the chaperone activity of the mutant (S78C-PaAhpC) by approximately 9-fold compared with that of the wild-type protein (WT-PaAhpC). This increased activity may have been associated with the proportionate increase in the high-molecular-weight (HMW) fraction and enhanced hydrophobicity of S78C-PaAhpC. Homology modeling revealed that mutation of $Ser^{78}$ to $Cys^{78}$ resulted in a more compact decameric structure than that observed in WT-PaAhpC and decreased the atomic distance between the two neighboring sulfur atoms of $Cys^{78}$ in the dimer-dimer interface of S78C-PaAhpC, which could be responsible for the enhanced hydrophobic interaction at the dimer-dimer interface. Furthermore, complementation assays showed that S78C-PaAhpC exhibited greatly improved the heat tolerance, resulting in enhanced1 survival under thermal stress. Thus, addition of Cys at position 78 in PaAhpC modulated the functional shifting of this protein from a peroxidase to a chaperone.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
• /
• v.31 no.6
• /
• pp.952-959
• /
• 2011

A new bacteriocin-producing lactic acid bacteria (LAB) which has been isolated from kimchi was identified as Pediococcus damnosus by use of API kit and 16S rDNA sequencing, and designated as P. damnosus JNU 534. The bacteriocin produced by P. damnosus JNU 534 markedly inhibited the growth of some of LAB and Listeria monocytogenes, whereas other pathogens including Gram negative bacteria were not susceptible. The production of bacteriocin started at the beginning of exponential phase and reached maximum activity at the early stationary phase. The bacteriocin was stable on the wide pH range of 2-9 and heat treatment up to $100^{\circ}C$ for 15 min. The antimicrobial compound was inactivated by treatments of proteolytic enzymes indicating its proteinaceous in nature. The bacteriocin was purified by 30% ammonium sulfate precipitation followed by hydrophobic interaction column and $C_{18}$ column chromatography. The estimated molecular weight of the bacteriocin using tricine SDS-PAGE was approximately 3.4 kDa and the identified N-terminal amino acid sequence was $NH_2$-ILLEELNV.

• Polymer(Korea)
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.186-198
• /
• 2001

pH/Thermal sensitive copolymers with the various acidic comonomer compositions composed of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) with acrylic acid (AAc), 2-acrylamido glycolic acid (AAmGAc), and 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid (AMPS) were synthesized by free radial polymerization. In this study, to characterize the effect of different acidic comonomer composition and pH on the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) behaviors of their copolymers. phase transition experiments were performed with a thermo-optical analyzer (TOA). The phase transition temperature (T$^{p}$ ) of aqueous poly(NIPAAm-co-AAc) solution was lowered with increasing the ionization of the acid group in AAc, that is, the ionized state induced the electrostatic repulsion of ionized groups. In contrast, when AAmGAc was introduced into PNIPAAm, T$^{p}$ was little changed at pH 1-3, whereas climbed up significantly from pH 1 to pH 3. In the range of pH 6-10, Tp was lower than that of pH 3-5. This result was considered to be \"Ionic Screen Effect\" and this effect had been also observed in the case of poly(NIPAAm-co-AMPS).-co-AMPS).

• Proceedings of the Korea Crystallographic Association Conference
• /
• 2003.05a
• /
• pp.18-18
• /
• 2003

Thioredoxin (Trx) is a small redox protein that is ubiquitously distributed from achaes to human. In diverse organisms, the protein is involved in various physiological roles by acting as electron donor and regulators of transcription and apoptosis as well as antioxidants. Sequences of Trx within various species are 27～69% identical to that of E. coli and all Trx proteins have the same overall fold, which consists of central five β strands surrounded by four α helices. The N-terminal cysteine in WCGPC motif of Trx is redox sensitive and the motif is highly conserved. Compared with general cysteine, the N-terminal cysteine has low pKa value. The result leads to increased reduction activity of protein. Recently, novel thio.edoxin-related protein (TRP14) was found from rat brain. TRP14 acts as disulfide reductase like Trx1, and its redox potential and pKa are similar to those of Trx1. However, TRP14 takes up electrons from cytosolic thioredoxin reductase (TrxR1), not from the mitochondrial thioredoxin reductase (TrxR2). Biological roles of TES14 were reported to be involved in regulating TNF-α induced signaling pathways in different manner with Trx1. In depletion experiments, depletion of TRP14 increased TNF-α induced phosphorylation and degradation of IκBα more than the depletion Trx1 did. It also facilitated activation of JNK and p38 MAP kinase induced by TNF-α. Unlike Trx1, TRP14 shows neither interaction nor interference with ASK1. Here, we determined three-dimensional crystal structure of TRP14 by MAD method at 1.8Å. The structure reveals that the conserved cis-Pro (Pro90) and active site-W-C-X-X-C motif, which may be involved in substrate recognition similar to Trx1 , are located at the beginning position of strand β4 and helix α2, respectively. The TRP14 structure also shows that surface of TRP14 in the vicinity of the active site, which is surrounded by an extended flexible loop and an additional short a helix, is different from that of Trx1. In addition, the structure exhibits that TRP14 interact with a distinct target proteins compared with Trx1 and the binding may depend mainly on hydrophobic and charge interactions. Consequently, the structure supports biological data that the TRP14 is involved in regulating TNF-α induced signaling pathways in different manner with Trx1.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.28 no.10
• /
• pp.1140-1146
• /
• 2018

Dual-specificity phosphatases (DUSPs) play a role in cell growth and differentiation by modulating mitogen-activated protein kinases. DUSPs are considered targets for drugs against cancers, diabetes, immune diseases, and neuronal diseases. Part of the DUSP family, DUSP19 modulates c-Jun N-terminal kinase activity and is involved in osteoarthritis pathogenesis. Here, we report screening of cavity-creating mutants and the crystal structure of a cavity-creating L75A mutant of DUSP19 which has significantly enhanced enzyme activity in comparison to the wild-type protein. The crystal structure reveals a well-formed cavity due to the absent Leu75 side chain and a rotation of the active site-bound sulfate ion. Despite the cavity creation, residues surrounding the cavity did not rearrange significantly. Instead, a tightened hydrophobic interaction by a remote tryptophan residue was observed, indicating that the protein folding of the L75A mutant is stabilized by global folding energy minimization, not by local rearrangements in the cavity region. Conformation of the rotated active site sulfate ion resembles that of the phosphor-tyrosine substrate, indicating that cavity creation induces an optimal active site conformation. The activity enhancement by an internal cavity and its structural information provide insight on allosteric modulation of DUSP19 activity and development of therapeutics.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.36 no.6
• /
• pp.879-888
• /
• 1992

Separation of the optical isomers of free amino acids by a reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography has been studied by adding a copper(II) complex of L-proline or L-proline derivatives (hydroxy-L-proline, N-benzyl-L-proline, p-xylenyl-L-proline, p-xylenyl-hydroxy-L-proline) in the mobile phase. An OPA postcolumn detection system was used for the detection of amino acids. The chromatographic properties for the free amino acids were discussed in terms of the pH, the kinds and concentration of chelate or organic modifier. The retention behaviors of the free amino acids were considerably different from, those of DNS-amino acids or DABS-amino acids. The enantioselectivity of the free amino acids was better than that of derivatized amino acids. The enantioselectivity between the optical isomers observed by use of the Cu(II)-p-xylenyl-L-proline chiral cheleate was the best among the several copper(II) chelate. A separation mechanism could be illustrated not only by the hydrophobic interaction of the diastereomer with stationary phase but also by the steric effect of the ligand exchange reaction between the free-amino acids and copper chelate.