• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.88-92
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• 2003

Purpose: Mounting evidence suggests that alterations of Akt/protein kinase B (PKB) play an important role in tumorigenesis. Phosphorylated Akt regulates many of the key effector molecules involved in apoptosis, angiogenesis, and cell-cycle progression during tumorigenesis. The expression of phosphorylated Akt has been described in some human malignancies, but not in primary human gastric cancer. The purpose of this study was to explore the expression status of phosphorylated Akt protein in gastric carcinomas. Materials and Methods: In the current study, we analyzed the expression of phosphorylated Akt protein in 60 advanced gastric adenocarcinomas by using immunohistochemistry and a tissue microarray approach. Results: Immunopositivity (defined as $\geq\30\%$) was observed for the phosphorylated Akt in 42 ($70\%$) of the 60 cancers. Normal gastric mucosal cells showed no or weak expression of phosphorylated Akt protein. Conclusion: Taken together, these results indicate that Akt is frequently activated in gastric adenocarcinoma cells and suggest that phosphorylayed Akt may play a role in the development of human gastric adenocarcinomas.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.340-348
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• 2007

Although considerable effort has been devoted in the mass spectrometric analysis of phosphorylated peptides, successful identification of multi-phosphorylated peptides in enzymatically digested protein samples still remains challenging. The ionization behavior of multi-phosphorylated peptides appears to be somewhat different from that of mono- or di-phosphorylated peptides. In this study, we demonstrate increased sensitivity of detection of multi-phosphorylated peptides of beta casein without using phosphopeptide enrichment techniques. Proteinase K digestion alone increased the detection limit of beta casein multi-phosphorylated peptides in the LC-MS analysis almost 500 fold, compared to conventional trypsin digestion (~50 pmol). In order to understand this effect, various factors affecting the ionization of phosphopeptides were investigated. Unlike ionizations of phosphopeptides with minor modifications, those of multi-phosphorylated peptides appeared to be subject to effects such as selectively suppressed ionization by more ionizable peptides and decreased ionization efficiency by multi-phosphorylation. The enhanced detection limit of multi-phosphorylated peptides resulting from proteinase K digestion was validated using a complex protein sample, namely a lysate of HEK 293 cells. Compared to trypsin digestion, the numbers of phosphopeptides identified and modification sites per peptide were noticeably increased by proteinase K digestion. Non-specific proteases such as proteinase K and elastase have been used in the past to increase detection of phosphorylation sites but the effectiveness of proteinase K digestion for multi-phosphorylated peptides has not been reported.

• BMB Reports
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.350-354
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• 1998

To understand the role of protein kinase C (PKC) in the regulation of chondrogenesis, we examined proteins which are phosphorylated by PKC. Stage 23/24 chick embryo wing mesenchymes were micromass-cultured to induce chondrogenesis and cell extracts were phosphorylated in a condition that activates PKC. Several proteins including 63 and 66 kDa proteins were phosphorylated. The 66 kDa protein was phosphorylated only in the presence of phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and phosphatidylserine CPS), and the phosphorylation was almost completely diminished by bisindolylmaleimide, a PKC inhibitor. In addition, partially purified PKC increased the phosphorylation of the 66 kDa protein. Treatment of cultures with lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) promoted chondrogenesis and phosphorylation of 66 kDa protein, while PMA and thymeleatoxin inhibited both of the two events. Our results suggest that the 66 kDa protein is a putative substrate of PKC, and phosphorylation of the 66 kDa protein, probably by $PKC\alpha$ is required for chondrogenesis.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.31-37
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• 2015

Phosphorylation upon protein is well known to a key regulator that implicates in modulating many cellular processes like growth, migration, and differentiation. Up to date, grafting of multidimensional separation techniques onto advanced mass spectrometry (MS) has emerged as a promising tool for figuring out the biological functions of phosphorylation in a cell. However, advanced MS-based phosphoproteomics is still challenging, due to its intrinsic issues, i.e., low stoichiometry, less susceptibility in positive ion mode, and low abundance in biological sample. To overcome these bottlenecks, diverse techniques (e.g., SCX, HILIC, ERLIC, IMAC, TiO₂, etc.) are continuously developed for on-/off-line enrichment of phosphorylated protein (or peptide) from biological samples, thereby helping qualitative/quantitative determination of phosphorylated protein and its phosphorylated sites. In this review, we introduce to the overall views of enrichment tools that are universally used to selectively isolate targeted phosphorylated protein (or peptide) from ordinary ones before MS-based phospoproteomic analysis.

• BMB Reports
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.370-378
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• 2000

Incubation of purified laminin1-nidogen1 complexes with $[{\gamma}-^{32}P]-ATP$ in the presence of the catalytic subunit of the protein kinase A (cAMP-dependent protein kinase) resulted in the phosphorylation of the alpha chain of laminin-1 and of the nidogen-1 molecule. Aminoacid electrophoresis indicated that phosphate was incorporated on serine residues. The phosphorylation effect of laminin-1 on the process of self assembly was studied by turbidometry. In these experiments, the phosphorylated laminin-1 showed a reduced maximal aggregation capacity in comparison to the non-phosphorylated molecule. Examination of the laminin-1 network under the electron microscope showed that the phosphorylated sample formed mainly linear extended oligomers, in contrast to controls that formed large and dense multimeric aggregates. Heparin binding on phosphorylated laminin-1 in comparison to controls was also tested using solid-phase binding assays. The results indicated an enhanced heparin binding to the phosphorylated protein. The results of this study indicate that laminin1-nidogen1 is a substrate for protein kinase A in vitro. This phosphorylation had an obvious influence on the lamininl-nidogen1 network formation and the heparin binding capacity of this molecule. However, further studies are needed to investigate whether or not this phenomenon could play a role in the formation of the structure of basement membranes in vivo.

• BMB Reports
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.349-352
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• 2000

Proteins that are involved in cellular signal cascade experience phosphorylation and dephosphorylation cycles in their tyrosine residue(s) during cell adhesion. In order to identify the protein(s), which tyrosine desidues are specifically phosphorylated when the cells attached to the substrate, we compared the tyrosine phosphorylation level of proteins between suspension and adhered culture condition in rat fibroblast 3Yl cells. We found that a cluster of 70 kDa protein was specifically phosphorylated when the cells adhered to the substrate, but did not effect the cells held in suspension. The phosphorylated protein is identified as paxillin, a focal adhesion protein in immunoprecipitation and immunobloting analysis. These results suggest that the tyrosine phosphorylation of paxillin may play a role in cell-substrate adhesion.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.91-101
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• 2018

The aim of this study was to transfer the 18.5 kb gene clusters coding for 17 genes from Lactobacillus rhamnosus to Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris MG1363 in order to determine the effect of host on exopolysaccharide (EPS) production and to provide a model for studying the phosphorylation of proteins which are proposed to be involved in EPS polymerization. Lactobacillus rhamnosus RW-9595M and ATCC 9595 have 99% identical operons coding for EPS biosynthesis, produced different amounts of EPS (543 vs 108 mg/l). L. lactis subsp. cremoris MG1363 transformed with the operons from RW-9595M and ATCC 9595 respectively, produced 326 and 302 mg/l EPS in M17 containing 0.5% glucose. The tyrosine protein kinase transmembrane modulator (Wzd) was proposed to participate in regulating chain elongation of EPS polymers by interacting with the tyrosine protein kinase Wze. While Wzd was found in phosphorylated form in the presence of the phosphorylated kinase (Wze), no phosphorylated proteins were detected when all nine tyrosines of Wzd were mutated to phenylalanine. Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris could produce higher amounts of EPS than other EPS-producing lactococci when expressing genes from L. rhamnosus. Phosphorylated Wzd was essential for the phosphorylation of Wze when expressed in vivo.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.223-227
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• 1998

We isolated two soluble forms of glutamate dehydrogenase isoproteins, GDH I and GDH II, from bovine brain. The regulation of GDH I and GDH II by phosphorylation and dephosphorylation has been examined in various conditions. There were dose- and time- dependent activation of the GDH isoproteins when phosphorylated by cAMP-dependent protein kinase. The phosphorylated GDH had 1.1 mol of covalently bound phosphate/mol of subunit and a 2-fold increased specific activity. The phosphorylated amino acid was identified as serine. When treated with alkaline phosphatase, the activities of the phosphorylated GDH isoproteins were reduced in dose and time dependent manner and returned to those of unphosphorylated enzymes. There were no significant differences between GDH I and GDH II in their sensitivities to the action of phosphorylation and dephosphorylation demonstrating that the microenvironmental structures of the phosphorylation site in GDH isoproteins are similar to each other, These results results suggest that the inter-conversion between less active form of brain GDH isoproteins and more active form is regulated by phosphorylation through cAMP-dependent protein kineses.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.428-432
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• 1997

The dephosphorylation specificity of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), calcineurin (PP2B) and protein phosphatase 2C (PP2C) were studied in vitro using myelin basic protein (MBP) as a model substrate which was fully phosphorylated at multiple sites by protein kinase C (PKC) or cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA). In order to determine the site specificity of phosphates in myelin basic protein, the protein was digested with trypsin and the radioactive phosphopeptide fragments were isolated by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) on reversed-phase column. Subsequent analysis and/or sequential manual Edman degradation of the purified phosphopeptides revealed that Thr-65 and Ser-115 were most extensively phophorylated by PKA and Ser-55 by PKC. For the dephosphorylation kinetics, the phosphorylated MBP was treated with calcineurin or PP2C with various time intervals and the reaction was terminated by direct tryptic digest. Both Thr-65 and Ser-115 residues were dephosphorylated more rapidly than any other ones by phosphatases. However it can be differentiated further by first-order kinetics that the PP2B dephosphorylated both Thr-65 and Ser-115 with almost same manner, whereas PP2C dephosphorylated somewhat preferentially the Ser-115.

• BMB Reports
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.33-38
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• 2001

The human PTK6 (also known as Brk) polypeptide, which is deduced from its full-length cDNA, represents a non-receptor protein tyrosine kinase (PTK). It contains SH3, SH2, and tyrosine kinase catalytic domains that are closely related to Src family members. We generated an antihuman PTK6 antibody by immunizing rabbits with a PTK6-specific oligopeptide conjugated to BSA, which corresponds to 11 amino acid residues near the C-terminus. An immunoblot analysis with the antibody detected an expected 52-kDa band in various mammalian transformed cell lines. Immunoprecipitation and immunoblot analyses demonstrated that PTK6 is phosphorylated on the tyrosine residues) and interacts with approximately a 23-kDa tyrosine-phosphorylated polypeptide (most likely a substrate of PTK6) in breast carcinoma T-47D cells. An immunofluorescence analysis demonstrated that PTK6 is localized throughout the cytoplasm of T-47D cells. These results support a possible role for PTK6 in the intracellular signal transduction through tyrosine phosphorylation.