• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제10권6호
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• pp.764-769
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• 2000

The lipase gene(lip) from Bacillus stearothermophilus was recombined in vitro by utilizing the DNA shuffling technique. After four rounds of shuffling, transformation, and screening based on the initial rate of clear zone formation on a tricaprylin plate, a clone (M10) was isolated, the cell extract of which showed about 2.8-fold increased lipase activity. The DNA sequence of the mutant lipase gene (m10) showed 3 base changes, resulting in two cryptic mutations and one amino acid substitution: S113($AGC{\rightarrow}AGT$), L252 ($TTG{\rightarrow}TTA$), and G275E ($GGA{\rightarrow}GAA$). SDS-PAGE analysis revealed that the increased enzyme activity observed in M10 was partly caused by high expression of the m10 lipase gene. The amount of the expressed G275E lipase was estimated to comprise as much as 41% of the total soluble proteins of the cell. The maximum velocity ($V_{max}$) of the purified mutant enzyme for the hydrolysis of olive oil was measured to be 3,200 U/mg, which was 10% higher than that of the parental (WT) lipase (2,900 U/mg). Its optimum temperature for the hydrolysis of olive oil was $68^{\circ}C$ and it showed a typical $Ca^{2+}$-dependent thermostability, properties fo which were the same as those of the WT lipase. However, the mutant enzyme exhibited a high enantiospecificity towards (S)-naproxen compared with the WT lipase. In addition, it showed increased hydrolytic activity towards triolein, tricaprin, tricaprylin, and tricaproin.

• 동의생리병리학회지
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• 제16권2호
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• pp.215-219
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• 2002

Over the past decade there has been a resurgence of interest in botanical products for their medicinal uses. This present study was designed to screen medicinal plants for the treatment of brain diseases such as Alzheimer's disease or aging. We tested the effects of the water extracts from 41 species medicinal plants on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition and antioxidant activity in vitro. Among them, Euodia rutaecarpa, Rubus coreanus, Achyranthes japonica, Morus alba, Salvia miltiorrhiza, Liriope platyphylla, and Rheum palmatum showed relatively AChE inhibition potency over 80%. Among the 7 medicinal plants investigated, E. rutaecarpa showed an 25%, 65%, and 93% inhibitions on AChE activity at 2.5, 12.5, and 25 ㎍/㎖ of the extract, respectively and was found to be one of most potent AChE inhibitor. The water extracts from 4 species (E. rutaecarpa, R. coreanus, A. iaponica, and M. alba) were tested on their antioxidant capacities using radical scavenging effect against ABTS/sup ㆍ+/. Among the 4 medicinal plants investigated, both R. coreanus and E. rutaecarpa showed significant antioxidant capacity. Therefore, E. rutaecarpa and R. coreanus are expected to ameliorate the clinical symptoms in Alzheimer's disease due to significant AChE inhibition and radical scavenging effect.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• 제28권1호
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• pp.68-74
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• 2012

Biocontrol microbes have mainly been screened among large collections of microorganisms $via.$ nutrient-rich $in$ $vitro$ assays to identify novel and effective isolates. However, thus far, isolates from only a few genera, mainly spore-forming bacilli, have been commercially developed. In order to isolate field-effective biocontrol microbes, we screened for more than 200 oligotrophic bacterial strains, isolated from rhizospheres of various soil samples in Korea, which induced systemic resistance against the soft-rot disease caused by $Pectobacterium$ $carotovorum$ SCC1; we subsequently conducted in $planta$ bioassay screening. Two oligotrophic bacterial strains were selected for induced systemic disease resistance against the $Tobacco$ $Mosaic$ $Virus$ and the gray mold disease caused by $Botrytis$ $cinerea$. The oligotrophic bacterial strains were identified as $Pseudomonas$ $manteilii$ B001 and $Bacillus$ $cereus$ C003 by biochemical analysis and the phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA sequence. These bacterial strains did not exhibit any antifungal activities against plant pathogenic fungi but evidenced several other beneficial biocontrol traits, including phosphate solubilization and gelatin utilization. Collectively, our results indicate that the isolated oligotrophic bacterial strains possessing induced systemic disease resistance could provide useful tools as effective biopesticides and might be successfully used as cost-effective and preventive biocontrol agents in the field.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제12권5호
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• pp.807-812
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• 2002

In order to analyze the cellular proteins which interact with core protein of hepatitis C virus (HCV), a yeast two-hybrid screening technique was employed. A carboxyl terminus truncated core protein, which contained amino acid residues from the 1st to 120th, was used as a bait to screen cellular proteins. The expression library prepared from HeLa cell was screened and 400 positive clones were selected. The 75 clones from the positive clones were sequenced and analyzed by undergoing the Blast search. Interestingly, 7 out of the 75 clones encoded E7 antigen of human papilloma virus (HPV). We studied in detail the Interaction between the truncated version of HCV core and E7 antigen in vitro. The core$_{120}$ protein expressed in chimeric form with G57 was able to bring down the E7 protein of HPV type 18 expressed in bacteria. It is therefore suggested that the core of HCV might affect the interaction between E7 and a normal cellular tumor suppressor, known as Rb protein.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• 제20권1호
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• pp.63-66
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• 2004

Ginseng (Panax ginseng) is one of the most widely cultivated medicinal herbs in Korea. However, yield losses reached up to 30-60％ due to various diseases during 3 or 5 years of ginseng cultivation in the country. Therefore, successful production of ginseng roots depends primarily on the control of diseases. The objective of this study was to select potential biocontrol agents from rhizobacteria isolated from various plant internal root tissues for the control of multiple ginseng diseases as an alternative to fungicides. Among 106 Bacillus strains, two promising biocontrol agents, Bacillus pumilus strain B1141 and Paenibacillus lentimobus strain B1146, were selected by screening against root rot of ginseng caused by Cylindrocarpon destructans in a greenhouse. Pre-inoculation of selected isolates to seed or l-year-old root of ginseng resulted in stimulation of shoot and/or root growth of seedlings, and successfully controlled root rot caused by C. destructans (P<0.05). Furthermore, drenching of cell suspension of the selected isolates on seedling-growing pots reduced the incidence of Phytophthora blight after the seedlings were challenged with zoospores of Phytophthora cactorum (P<0.05). P. lentimorbus strain B1146 showed antifungal activity against various soil-borne pathogens in vitro, while B. pumilus strain B1141 did not show any. Results of this study suggest that some rhizobacteria can induce resistance against various plant diseases on ginseng.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• 제50권4호
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• pp.215-220
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• 2007

One of the important functions of skin is protection from harmful environments. Many studies have explored how to prevent skin from wrinkling and the occurrence of pigmentation changes. Skin wrinkling and pigmentation changes could be caused by unusual disruption of connective tissue, the formation of free radicals and ultraviolet radiation. In this study, extracts obtained from 254 different kinds of Jeju medicinal plants were screened for inhibitory effects on tyrosinase and elastase, and for free radical scavenging effects. Four herbs, Phormium tenax, Morus bombycis, Morus alba, and Cudrania tricuspidata, were potent inhibitors of tyrosinase ($IC_{50}$ values 4.62, 5.46, 8.17, and 64.17 ${\mu}g$/mL, respectively). Aleurites fordii [$IC_{50}$: 5.29 ${\mu}g$/mL, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)], Distylium racemosum ($IC_{50}$: 6.14 ${\mu}g$/mL), Acer palmatum ($IC_{50}$: 5.44 ${\mu}g$/mL), and Spiraea salicifolia ($IC_{50}$: 5.25 ${\mu}g$/mL) showed good antioxidative effects. Furthermore, Distylium racemosum ($IC_{50}$: 7.51 ${\mu}g$/mL), Diospyros kaki ($IC_{50}$: 15.1 ${\mu}g$/mL), Cornus macrophylla ($IC_{50}:$ 16.59 ${\mu}g$/mL), and Psidium guajava ($IC_{50}$: 40.25 ${\mu}g$/mL) exhibited potent inhibitory effects on elastase. These results suggest that medicinal plants possessing several biological activities may be potent inhibitors of the processes involved in pigmentation increases and aging. Further investigations will focus on in vivo assays and on the chemical identification of the major active components responsible for whitening and anti-aging activity in the screened efficacious extracts.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제20권2호
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• pp.214-219
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• 2012

This research was designed to determine what components of Gardenia jasminoides play a major role in inhibiting the enzymes related antidepressant activity of this plant. In our previous research, the ethyl acetate fraction of G. jasminosides fruits inhibited the activities of both monoamine oxidase-A (MAO-A) and monoamine oxidase-B (MAO-B), and oral administration of the ethanolic extract slightly increased serotonin concentrations in the brain tissues of rats and decreased MAO-B activity. In addition, we found through in vitro screening test that the ethyl acetate fraction showed modest inhibitory activity on dopamine-${\beta}$ hydroxylase (DBH). The bioassay-guided fractionation led to the isolation of five bio-active compounds, protocatechuic acid (1), geniposide (2), 6'-O-trans-p-coumaroylgeniposide (3), 3,5-dihydroxy-1,7-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl) heptanes (4), and ursolic acid (5), from the ethyl acetate fraction of G. jasminoides fruits. The isolated compounds showed different inhibitory potentials against MAO-A, -B, and DBH. Protocatechuic acid showed potent inhibition against MAO-B ($IC_{50}$ $300{\mu}mol/L$) and DBH ($334{\mu}mol/L$), exhibiting weak MAO-A inhibition (2.41 mmol/L). Two iridoid glycosides, geniposide ($223{\mu}mol/L$) and 6'-O-trans-p-coumaroylgeniposide ($127{\mu}mol/L$), were selective MAO-B inhibitor. Especially, 6'-O-trans-p-coumaroylgeniposide exhibited more selective MAO-B inhibition than deprenyl, well-known MAO-B inhibitor for the treatment of early-stage Parkinson's disease. The inhibitory activity of 3,5-dihydroxy-1,7-bis (4-hydroxyphenyl) heptane was strong for MAO-B ($196{\mu}mol/L$), modest for MAO-A ($400{\mu}mol/L$), and weak for DBH ($941{\mu}mol/L$). Ursolic acid exhibited significant inhibition of DBH ($214{\mu}mol/L$), weak inhibition of MAO-B ($780{\mu}mol/L$), and no inhibition against MAO-A. Consequently, G. jasminoides fruits are considerable for development of biofunctional food materials for the combination treatment of depression and neurodegenerative disorders.

• BMB Reports
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• 제42권8호
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• pp.511-515
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• 2009

Downstream of Bid (DOBI) known as Pus10, has been identified as a modulator of TRAIL-induced cell death using RNAi library screening. The crystal structure of DOBI has revealed that it is a crescent-shaped protein containing the pseudouridine synthase catalytic domain and a THUMP-containing domain. Here, we demonstrated that DOBI is expressed in various tissues such as heart and lung, and is also expressed in various tumor cells such as HeLa and A549. Although ectopic expression of DOBI does not promote TRAIL death signaling in HeLa cells, knock-down of DOBI expression using shRNA inhibited TRAIL death signaling. DOBI is cleaved into a 54 kD cleaved DOBI during cell death, and the recombinant DOBI protein can be directly cleaved by caspases-3, or -8 in vitro. Together, these data suggest that the cleaved DOBI may acquire a new function, possibly by cooperating with tBid in the mitochondrial event of cell death caused by TRAIL.

• Toxicological Research
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• 제27권4호
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• pp.211-216
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• 2011

Herbal medicines are widely used in many countries for the treatment of many diseases. Although the use of herb extracts as alternative medicine is growing, their toxicological properties have not been thoroughly investigated. In this study, we have investigated the effects of water and ethanol extracts of 18 herbs on the hepatic lipid metabolism and steatogenic hepatotoxicity. Ethanol extracts of Cirsium japonicum, Carthamus tinctorius, Rehmanniae glutinosa (preparata), Polygala tenuifolia, Foeniculum vulgare, Polygonum multiflorum, and Acorus gramineus and water extracts of Polygonum multiflorum and Rehmanniae glutinosa induced lipid accumulation in Sk-hep1 human hepatoma cells as determined by Nile red staining. These extracts increased the luciferase activity of sterol regulatory element (SRE) and decreased that of peroxisome proliferator response element (PPRE), indicating the possibilities of enhanced fatty acid synthesis and decreased fatty acid oxidation. To identify the components responsible for the fat accumulation, we tested 50 chemicals isolated from the nine herbs. Apigenin, luteolin, pectolinarin and lupeol from Cirsium japonicum, 8-methoxypsoralen and umbelliferone from Foeniculum vulgare and pomonic acid and jiocerebroside from Rehmanniae glutinosa significantly increased the accumulation of lipid droplets. These results suggest that ethanol extracts of Cirsium japonicum, Carthamus tinctorius, Rehmanniae glutinosa (preparata), Polygala tenuifolia, Foeniculum vulgare, Polygonum multiflorum, and Acorus gramineus and water extracts of Polygonum multiflorum and Rehmanniae glutinosa can cause fatty liver disease by decreasing ${\beta}$-oxidation of fatty acid and increasing lipogenesis.

• 약학회지
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• 제36권4호
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• pp.357-369
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• 1992

Actions for 48-hour homolgous passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (48-hr PCA) and chemical mediators were investigated in mice and rats. The hyaluronidase activity, which was used in the in vitro screening test of the antiallergic action, was significantly inhibited by Magnoiliae Flos, Achyranthis Radix, Forsythiae Fructus, Alpiniae Fructus, Anemarrhenae Rhizoma and Ponciri Fructus among twelve medicinal plants and tranilast as a comparative drug of the antiallergic action. In the mouse ear, 48-hr PCA was significantly inhibited by intraperitoneal (i.p.) pretreatment with Magnoliae Flos, Achyranthis Radix, Alpiniae Fructus, Anemarrhenae Rhizoma, Ponciri Fructus, Ledebouriellae Radix and tranilast. And also, the increment of vascular permeability induced by histamine or serotoin was inhibited significantly by i.p. pretreatment with Magnoliae Flos, Achyranthis Radix, Alpiniae Fructus, Anemarrheuae rhizoma, Zizyphi Fructus and tranilast. In the rat dorsal skin, the increment of vascular permeability induced by histamine or serotonin was significantly inhibited by i.p. pretreatment with Magnoliae Flos, Acyranthis Radix, Alpiniae Fructus, Anemarrhenae Rhizoma and tranilast. And also, the increment of vascular permeability induced by compound 48/80 or calcium ionophore A 23187 was significantly inhibited by i.p. pretreatment with Magnoliae Flos, Achyranthis Radix, Alpiniae Fructus, Amemarrhenae Rhizoma, Zizyphi Fructus, Ledebouriellae Radix, Lithospermi Radix and tranilast. These results suggest that each water extracts of Magnoliae Flos, Achyranthis Radix, Alpiniae Fructus and Anemarrhenae Rhizoma have especially antiallergic activities.