• 제목/요약/키워드: Molecular switch

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Regulation of Melanogenesis as Studied by Chemical Analysis of Melanins

  • Ito, Shosuke
    • 대한화장품학회지
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    • 제26권2호
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    • pp.41-50
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    • 2000
  • - Biochemical studies show that in the process of mixed melanogenesis, cysteinyldopas are produced first which are next oxidized to give pheomelanin. After all of the cysteine is consumed, eumelanin is then deposited on the preformed pheomelanin. - In vitro and in vivo studies show that tyrosinase activity is the most important factor that regulates the switch of melanogenesis, with higher activities increasing melanogenesis, especially eumelanogenesis. - In culturted melanocytes, the tyrosine to cysteine ratio is critical in determining the eumelanin to pheomelanin ratio. - Our HPLC method to analyze eumelanin and pheomelanin has become a useful tool in the study of melanogenesis regulation. There are many problems to be solved before we fully understand the regulation of melanogenesis. Mutations in mouse models are ideal models for studying the genetic and molecular control of melanogenesis. Even in the mouse models, it is not known how cysteine is excluded from being incorporated into melanins in black and other eumelaninc mice, Conversely, it is not known how cysteine is continuously incorporated into pheomelanin in lethal yellow and recessive yellow mice.

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A Study of Electromechanical Nanotube Memory Device using Molecular Dynamics

  • Lee Jun-Ha;Lee Hoong-Joo;Kwon Oh-Keun;Kang Jeong-Won
    • 한국반도체및디스플레이장비학회:학술대회논문집
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    • 한국반도체및디스플레이장비학회 2005년도 추계 학술대회
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    • pp.27-30
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    • 2005
  • A nanoelectromechanical (NEM) switching device based on carbon nanotube (CNT) was investigated using atomistic simulations. The model schematics for a CNT based three-terminal NEM switching device fabrication were presented. for the CNT-based three-terminal NEM switch, the interactions between the CNT-lever and the drain electrode or the substrate were very important. When the electrostatic force applied to the CNT-lever was the critical point, the CNT-lever was rapidly bent because of the attractive foroe between the CNT-lever and the drain. The energy curves for the pull-in and the pull-out processes showed the hysteresis loop that was induced by the adhesion of the CNT on the copper, which was the interatomic interaction between the CNT and the copper.

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Biological roles and an evolutionary sketch of the GRF-GIF transcriptional complex in plants

  • Kim, Jeong Hoe
    • BMB Reports
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    • 제52권4호
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    • pp.227-238
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    • 2019
  • GROWTH-REGULATING FACTORs (GRFs) are sequence-specific DNA-binding transcription factors that regulate various aspects of plant growth and development. GRF proteins interact with a transcription cofactor, GRF-INTERACTING FACTOR (GIF), to form a functional transcriptional complex. For its activities, the GRF-GIF duo requires the SWITCH2/SUCROSE NONFERMENTING2 chromatin remodeling complex. One of the most conspicuous roles of the duo is conferring the meristematic potential on the proliferative and formative cells during organogenesis. GRF expression is post-transcriptionally down-regulated by microRNA396 (miR396), thus constructing the GRF-GIF-miR396 module and fine-tuning the duo's action. Since the last comprehensive review articles were published over three years ago, many studies have added further insight into its action and elucidated new biological roles. The current review highlights recent advances in our understanding of how the GRF-GIF-miR396 module regulates plant growth and development. In addition, I revise the previous view on the evolutionary origin of the GRF gene family.

Oxidation-induced conformational change of Hsp33, monitored by NMR

  • Lee, Yoo-Sup;Kim, Ji-Hoon;Seo, Min-Duk;Ryu, Kyoung-Seok;Kim, Eun-Hee;Won, Hyung-Sik
    • 한국자기공명학회논문지
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    • 제19권3호
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    • pp.99-105
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    • 2015
  • Hsp33 is a prokaryotic molecular chaperon that exerts a holdase activity upon response to an oxidative stress at raised temperature. In particular, intramolecular disulfide bond formation between the four conserved cysteines that bind a zinc ion in reduced state is known to be critically associated with the redox sensing. Here we report the backbone NMR assignment results of the half-oxidized Hsp33, where only two of the four cysteines form an intramolecular disulfide bond. Almost all of the resolved peaks could be unambiguously assigned, although the total assignments extent reached just about 50%. Majority of the missing assignments could be attributed to a significant spectral collapse, largely due to the oxidation-induced unfolding of the C-terminal redox-switch domain. These results support two previous suggestions: conformational change in the first oxidation step is localized mainly in the C-terminal zinc-binding domain, and the half-oxidized form would be still inactive. However, some additional regions appeared to be potentially changed from the reduced state, which suggest that the half-oxidized conformation would be an intermediate state that is more labile to heat and/or further oxidation.

Alcohol and Temperature Induced Conformational Transitions in Ervatamin B: Sequential Unfolding of Domains

  • Kundu, Suman;Sundd, Monica;Jagannadham, Medicherla V.
    • BMB Reports
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    • 제35권2호
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    • pp.155-164
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    • 2002
  • The structural aspects of ervatamin B have been studied in different types of alcohol. This alcohol did not affect the structure or activity of ervatamin B under neutral conditions. At a low pH (3.0), different kinds of alcohol have different effects. Interestingly, at a certain concentration of non-fluorinated, aliphatic, monohydric alcohol, a conformational switch from the predominantly $\alpha$-helical to $\beta$-sheeted state is observed with a complete loss of tertiary structure and proteolytic activity. This is contrary to the observation that alcohol induces mostly the $\alpha$helical structure in proteins. The O-state of ervatamin B in 50% methanol at pH 3.0 has enhanced the stability towards GuHCl denaturation and shows a biphasic transition. This suggests the presence of two structural parts with different stabilities that unfold in steps. The thermal unfolding of ervatamin B in the O-state is also biphasic, which confirms the presence of two domains in the enzyme structure that unfold sequentially. The differential stabilization of the structural parts may also be a reflection of the differential stabilization of local conformations in methanol. Thermal unfolding of ervatamin B in the absence of alcohol is cooperative, both at neutral and low pH, and can be fitted to a two state model. However, at pH 2.0 the calorimetric profiles show two peaks, which indicates the presence of two structural domains in the enzyme with different thermal stabilities that are denatured more or less independently. With an increase in pH to 3.0 and 4.0, the shape of the DSC profiles change, and the two peaks converge to a predominant single peak. However, the ratio of van't Hoff enthalpy to calorimetric enthalpy is approximated to 2.0, indicating non-cooperativity in thermal unfolding.

Comparative Dynamics of $tRNA^{val}$ and pBluescript II SK(+) Phagemid Studied with Ethidium Bromide and a Long-lifetime Metal-ligand Complex

  • Kang, Jung-Sook;Yoon, Ji-Hye
    • Journal of Photoscience
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    • 제11권3호
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    • pp.133-139
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    • 2004
  • The metal-ligand complex, $[Ru(phen)_2(dppz)]^{2+}$ (phen=1,10-phenanthroline, dppz=dipyrido[3,2-a:2',3'-c]phenazine) (RuPD), was used as a spectroscopic probe for studying nucleic acid dynamics. The RuPD complex displays a long lifetime and a molecular light switch property upon DNA binding due to shielding of its dppz ligand from water. To show the usefulness of this luminophore (RuPD) for probing nucleic acid dynamics, we compared its intensity and anisotropy decays when intercalated into the $tRNA^{val}$ and pBluescript (pBS) II SK(+) phagemid through a comparison with ethidium bromide (EB), a conventional nucleic acid probe. We used frequency-domain fluorometry with a blue light-emitting diode (LED) as the modulated light source. The mean lifetime for the $tRNA^{val}$ (<${\tau}$> = 166.5 ns) was much shorter than that for the pBS II SK(+) phagemid (<${\tau}$> = 481.3 ns), suggesting a much more efficient shielding from water by the phagemid. Because of their size difference, the anisotropy decay data showed a much shorter rotational correlation times for the $tRNA^{val}$ (99.9 and 23.6 ns) than for the pBS II SK(+) phagemid (968.7 and 39.5 ns). These results indicate that RuPD can be useful for studying nucleic acid dynamics.

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SCFFBS1 Regulates Root Quiescent Center Cell Division via Protein Degradation of APC/CCCS52A2

  • Geem, Kyoung Rok;Kim, Hyemin;Ryu, Hojin
    • Molecules and Cells
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    • 제45권10호
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    • pp.695-701
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    • 2022
  • Homeostatic regulation of meristematic stem cells accomplished by maintaining a balance between stem cell self-renewal and differentiation is critical for proper plant growth and development. The quiescent center (QC) regulates root apical meristem homeostasis by maintaining stem cell fate during plant root development. Cell cycle checkpoints, such as anaphase promoting complex/cyclosome/cell cycle switch 52 A2 (APC/CCCS52A2), strictly control the low proliferation rate of QC cells. Although APC/CCCS52A2 plays a critical role in maintaining QC cell division, the molecular mechanism that regulates its activity remains largely unknown. Here, we identified SCFFBS1, a ubiquitin E3 ligase, as a key regulator of QC cell division through the direct proteolysis of CCS52A2. FBS1 activity is positively associated with QC cell division and CCS52A2 proteolysis. FBS1 overexpression or ccs52a2-1 knockout consistently resulted in abnormal root development, characterized by root growth inhibition and low mitotic activity in the meristematic zone. Loss-of-function mutation of FBS1, on the other hand, resulted in low QC cell division, extremely low WOX5 expression, and rapid root growth. The 26S proteasome-mediated degradation of CCS52A2 was facilitated by its direct interaction with FBS1. The FBS1 genetically interacted with APC/CCCS52A2-ERF115-PSKR1 signaling module for QC division. Thus, our findings establish SCFFBS1-mediated CCS52A2 proteolysis as the molecular mechanism for controlling QC cell division in plants.

HMGB1에 의한 alkylating DNA 손상에 의해 유도된 세포사멸의 세포괴사로의 전환 (HMGB1 Switches Alkylating DNA Damage-Induced Apoptosis to Necrosis)

  • 이수연;정의경;전현민;주민경;김초희;박혜경;강호성
    • 생명과학회지
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    • 제21권7호
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    • pp.953-960
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    • 2011
  • 세포괴사는 세포막의 파열, HMGB1을 포함한 세포 내용물의 세포외부로의 방출 등을 수반하는 세포죽음이다. HMGB1은 핵 단백질로 전사조절자로 작용하지만 세포괴사에 의해 세포 밖으로 방출되면 염증을 유발하고 암을 촉진하는 cytokine으로 작용한다. HMGB1의 과발현은 암 발생 및 항암제 저항과 밀접한 연관성을 가지고 있지만, 그 기작에 대한 연구는 미흡한 실정이다. 본 연구에서는, HMGB1이 항암제에 의한 세포 죽음에 미치는 영향을 조사하였다. 그 결과, HMGB1은 MCF-7, MDA-MB231, MDA-MB361 세포에서 cisplatin에 의한 세포사멸을 억제하고 세포운명을 세포괴사로 바꾼다는 사실을 확인하였다. HMGB1의 세포사멸-세포괴사 전환 작용을 4-HC를 처리한 세포에서도 관찰되었다. 그러나, HMGB1은 docetaxel (DOC)에 의한 세포사멸에는 영향을 주지 않음을 확인하였다. MTS를 이용하여 항암제에 의한 세포 죽음에 미치는 영향을 조사한 결과, necrotic core가 형성된 8일째 MCF-7 MTS에서 cisplatin에 의한 세포사멸이 세포괴사로 바뀌는 반면, DOC에 의한 세포사멸은 세포괴사로 전환되지 않는 것을 확인하였다. 또한 spheroid에서 HMGB1 receptor인 RAGE의 발현이 증가함을 확인하였다. 이러한 결과를 통해, HMGB1이 alkylating agent에 의한 세포사멸을 세포괴사로 전환시킴을 알 수 있었다. 따라서, alkylating agent에 의한 항암제 효능을 나타내기 위해선, 이들 항암제의 부작용 즉 세포괴사를 억제하는 전략이 필요한 것으로 생각된다.

ER stress and unfolded protein response (UPR) signaling modulate GLP-1 receptor signaling in the pancreatic islets

  • Yurong Gao;Hanguk Ryu;Hyejin Lee;Young-Joon Kim;Ji-Hye Lee;Jaemin Lee
    • Molecules and Cells
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    • 제47권1호
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    • pp.100004.1-100004.11
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    • 2024
  • Insulin is essential for maintaining normoglycemia and is predominantly secreted in response to glucose stimulation by β-cells. Incretin hormones, such as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide, also stimulate insulin secretion. However, as obesity and type 2 diabetes worsen, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide loses its insulinotropic efficacy, whereas GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists continue to be effective owing to its signaling switch from Gs to Gq. Herein, we demonstrated that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress induced a transition from Gs to Gq in GLP-1R signaling in mouse islets. Intriguingly, chemical chaperones known to alleviate ER stress, such as 4-PBA and TUDCA, enforced GLP-1R's Gq utilization rather than reversing GLP-1R's signaling switch induced by ER stress or obese and diabetic conditions. In addition, the activation of X-box binding protein 1 (XBP1) or activating transcription factor 6 (ATF6), 2 key ER stress-associated signaling (unfolded protein response) factors, promoted Gs utilization in GLP-1R signaling, whereas Gq employment by ER stress was unaffected by XBP1 or ATF6 activation. Our study revealed that ER stress and its associated signaling events alter GLP-1R's signaling, which can be used in type 2 diabetes treatment.