• Journal of Aquaculture
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.110-117
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• 2003

We have cloned and sequenced the cDNA encoding growth hormone (GH) from pituitary poly(A)$^{+}$ RNA of red-spotted grouper (Epinephelus akaara). The cDNA of red-spotted grouper GH is 883 base pairs (bp) consisting of 21 bp of 5'untranslated region (UTR), 615 Up of an open reading frame (ORF) and 247 Up of 3'UTR. The polyadenylation signal, AATAAA, was 20 bp upsteam of polyadenylation site. Based on the nucleotide sequences, the deduced putative polypeptide contains 204 amino acids (aa), representing 17 aa of a signal and 187 aa of a mature polypeptide. The putative GH cDNA encodes a polypeptide with four cysteine residues and only one N-gly- cosylation site. Comparative sequence alignment shows that red-spotted grouper GH exhibits high similarity with its corresponding other Perciformes species GH cDNAs.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.16 no.3 s.76
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• pp.409-414
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• 2006

Molecular chaperones and folding enzymes in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) associate with the newly synthesized proteins to prevent their aggregation and help them fold and assemble correctly. Chaperone function of BiP, which is a Hsp70 homologue in ER, is controlled by the N-terminal ATPase domain. The ATPase activity of the ATPase domain is affected by regulatory factors. BAP was identified as a nucleotide exchange factor of BiP (Grp78), which exchanges ADP with ATP in the ATPase domain of BiP This study presents whether BAP can influence folding of a protein, immunoglobulin heavy chain that is bound to BiP tightly. We first examined which nucleotide of ADP and ATP affects on BAP binding to BiP The data showed that endogenous BAP of HEK293 cells prefers ADP for binding to BiP in vitro, suggesting that BAP first releases ADP from the ATPase domain in order to exchange with ATP. Immunoglobulin heavy chain, an unfolded protein substrate, was released from BiP in the presence of BAP but not in the presence of ERdj3, which is another regulatory factor for BiP accelerating the rate of ATP hydrolysis of BiP The ADP-releasing function of BAP was, therefore, believed to be responsible for immunoglobulin heavy chain release from BiP. Grp170, another Hsp70 homologue in ER, did not co-precipited with BAP from $[^{35}S]$-metabolic labeled HEK293 lysate containing both overexpressed Grp170 and BAP. These data suggested that BAP has no specificity to Grp170 although the ATPase domains of Grp170 and BiP are homologous each other.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.586-594
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• 2013

Post-translational O-GlcNAc modification (O-GlcNAcylation) of serine or threonine is a new protein modulation mechanism. In contrast to the classical glycosylation, O-GlcNAcylation occurs in a one-step transfer of O-GlcNAc on both nuclear and cytoplasmic proteins. In contrast to the general consensus that O-GlcNAc is a final modification, a recent paper (J Proteome Res. 2011 10:2725-2733) showed the presence of O-GlcNAc-P on a synaptic assembly protein AP180. This finding raises a fundamental question about its prevalence. To address this question, we used proteomics to identify those proteins that were phospho-signal enriched by GlcNAc kinase (NAGK). Comparison of pDsRed2-$NAGK_{WT}$-transfected HEK293T cell extract with pDsRed2-$NAGK_{D107A}$-transfected control culture revealed 15 phospho-signal increased spots. Excluding those spots that had no detectable amount of protein expression yielded 7 spots, which were selected for ID determination. Among these, two duplicate spots (two $HSP90{\beta}$ and two ENO1 spots) were shown to be O-GlcNAcylated, two (dUTP nucleotidohydrolase mitochondrial isoform 2, glutathione S-transferase P) were not known to be involved in O-GlcNAcylation, and one (heat shock protein gp96 precursor or grp94) was a glycoprotein. The increase in the phospho-levels of O-GlcNAc by NAGK strongly indicates that these proteins are phosphorylated on O-GlcNAc. Our present data support the idea that O-GlcNAc is not a terminal modification.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.251-258
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• 2002

A potyvirus was isolated from cultivated Iris plants showing leaf streak mosaic symptom. Reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) product of 1 kb long which encoded partial nuclear inclusion B and N-terminal region of viral coat protein (CP) genes for potyviruses was successfully amplified with a set of potyvirus-specific degenerate primers with viral RNA samples from the infected leaves: The RT-PCR product was cloned into the plasmid vector and its nucleotide sequences were determined. The nucleotide sequence of a CDNA clone revealed that the virus was an isolate of Ornithogalum moseic virus (OrMV) based on BLAST search analysis and was denoted as OrMV Korean isolate (OrMV-Ky). To further characterize the CP gene of the virus, a pair of OrMV-specific primers was designed and used for amplification of the entire CP gene of OrMV-Kr, The virus was easily and reliably detected from virus-infected Iris leaves by using the RT-PCR with the set of virus-specific primers. The RT-PCR product of the CP gene of the virus was cloned and its sequences were determined from selected recombinant CDNA clones. Sequence analysis revealed that the CP of OrMV-Kr consisted of 762 nucleotides, which encoded 253 amino acid residues. The CP of OrMV-Ky has 94.1-98.0% amino acid sequence identities (20 amino acid alterations) with that of other three isolates of OrMV, Two NT rich potential N-glycosylation motif sequences, NCTS and NWTM, and a DAC triple box responsible for aphid transmission were conserved in CPs of all the strains of OrMV. The virus has 58.5-86.2% amino acid sequence identities with that of other 16 potyviruses, indicating OrMV to be a distinct species of the genus. OrMV-Ky was the most related with Pterostylia virus Yin the phylogenetic tree analysis of CP at the amino acid level. This is the first report on the occurrence of OrMV in Iris plants in Korea. Data in this study indicate that OrMV is found in cultivated Iris plants, and may have mixed infection of OrMV and Iris severe mosaic virus in Korea.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.485-490
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• 1999

The mechanism of action of fish oil (FO), currently used in different chronic inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), is not completely understood, although it is thought that it could alter the metabolism of endogenous autacoids. In addition, we hypothesized that the known capability of fatty acids (FA) of stabilizing serum albumin and perhaps other proteins, may be of pharmacological relevance considering that it is shared by other anti-rheumatic agents (e.g. nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs). Thus, we studied the effect of oral administration of FO and corn oil (CO), a vegetable oil with a different composition, on the stability of rat serum proteins, evaluated buy a classical in vitro method based on heat-induced protein denaturation. FO, and, to a lower extent, CO inhibited heat-induced denaturation of rat serum (RS): based on the inhibitory activity (EC50) of the major fatty acids against heat-induced denaturation of RS in vitro, it was possible to speculate the in vivo effects of palmitic acid (C16:0) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, C20:5, n-3) may be more relevant than that of linolenic acid (C18:2). To better investigate this phenomenon, we extracted albumin from the serum of animals treated or not with FO with a one-step affinity chromatography technique, obtaining high purity rat serum albumin preparations (RSA-CTRL and RSA-FO), as judged by SDS-PAGE with Coomassie blue staining. When these RSA preparations were heated at $70^{\circ}C$ for 30 min, it was noted that RSA-FO was much more stable than RSA-CTRL, presumably due to higher number of long chain fatty acids (FA) such as palmitic acid or EPA. In conclusion, we provided evidences that oral administration of FO in the rat stabilizes serum albumin, due to an increase in the number of protein bound long chain fatty acids (e.g. palitic acid and EPA). We speculate that the stabilization of serum albumin and perhaps other proteins could prevent changes of antigenicity due to protein denaturation and glycosylation, which may trigger pathological autoimmune responses, suggesting that this action may be involved in the mode of action of FO in RA and other chronic inflammatory diseases.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.245-257
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• 2002

The gene encoding the HN protein from the CBP-1 strain, a heat stable Newcastle disease virus (NDV) isolated from diseased pheasants in Korea, was characterized by reverse transcriptase- polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) and the nucleotide and amino acid sequences were analyzed following cloning of the HN gene. In all of the NDV strains studied, a 1.75 kb size cDNA fragment for the HN gene was generated by RT-PCR and smaller specific band sizes harboring the internal portions of the HN gene were also detected by using four pairs of primers. The RT-PCR was sensitive enough to detect viral transcripts when the virus titer was above 25 hemagglutination units. The amplified 1.75 kb cDNA was cloned into a BamHI site of the pVL1393 Baculo transfer vector. The nucleotide sequences of the 1,758 bp HN gene from the CBP-1 strain were determined by the dye terminator cyclic sequencing method. The gene sequences were compared among the strains of CBP-1, Texas GB, Beaudette C, LaSota, B1 and Ulster. The homology of the CBP-1 HN gene to other HN variants was 97.8% to Texas GB, 98.4% to Beaudette C, 95.4% to LaSota, 95.6% to B1 and 90.2% to Ulster. As the deduced 577 amino acid sequences were compared among the strains, the homology for CBP-1 HN appeared to be 96.7% to Texas GB, 97.9% to Beaudette C, 95.5% to LaSota, 95.5% to B1 and 92.7% to Ulster. It was evident that the amino acid sequences included 5 sites for N-asparagine linked glycosylation and 12 cysteine residues. The three conserved leucine residues within the predicted transmembrane domain of the HN protein are amino acid 30, 37 and 44. The three antigenic sites on the HN protein of NDV are amino acids 347(Glu), 481(Asn) and 495(Glu). These data indicate that the genotype of the CBP-1 strain is more closely associated with the strains of Texas GB and Beaudette C than it is for the LaSota, B1 and Ulster strains.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.276-283
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• 2005

Ascorbic acid is a great antioxidant and helps protect the body against pollutants. GDP-mannose pyrophosphorylase (GMPase) is a key enzyme in manufacturing GDP-mannose, a glycosyl donor for ascorbate and cell wall biosynthesis as well as for protein glycosylation. In this study, we described molecular cloning of a full-length cDNA from Potato (Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Jasim), using tuber. The cDNA isolated encoded a GDP-mannose pyrophosphrylase. The nucleotide sequence of pGMPC showed about 95%, 89% and 80% homology with S. tuberosum (AF022716), N. tabacum (AB066279) and A. thaliana (AF076484) cDNAs clone known as GMPase, respectively. We detected the expression of GMPase using RT-PCR. The highest expression of GMPase was found in stems, and the largest amount of ascorbic acid was also presented in stems. In contrast, the leaf showed minimal level of GMPase transcript and ascorbic acid content. We propose that GMPase expression patterns were similar to the changes of ascorbic acid content in the leaves treated with diverse stresses.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.412-420
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• 2011

Secretion of cellobiase occurred in a brefeldin A (BFA) uninhibited manner in the filamentous fungus Termitomyces clypeatus. Fluorescence confocal microscopy revealed that application of the drug at a concentration of 50 ${\mu}g$/ml caused arrest of Spitzenkorper assembly at the hyphal tip. This resulted in greater than 30% inhibition of total protein secretion in the culture medium. However, the cellobiase titer increased by 17%, and an additional 13% was localized in the vacuolar fraction en route secretion. The secretory vacuoles formed in the presence of the drug were also found to be bigger (68 nm) than those in the control cultures (40 nm). The enzyme secreted in the presence and absence of BFA revealed a single activity band in both cases in native PAGE and had similar molecular masses (approx. 120 kDa) in SDS-PAGE. The BFA enzyme retained 72% of native glycosylation. It also exhibited a higher stability and retained 98% activity at $50^{\circ}C$, 93.3% activity at pH 9, 63.64% activity in the presence of 1M guanidium hydrochloride, and 50% activity at a glucose concentration of 10 mg/ml in comparison to 68% activity, 75% activity, 36% activity, and 19% activity for the control enzyme, respectively. The observations collectively aimed at the operation of an alternative secretory pathway, distinct from the target of brefeldin A, which bypassed the Golgi apparatus, but still was able to deliver the cargo to the vacuoles for secretion. This can be utilized in selectively enhancing the yield and stability of glycosidases for a successful industrial recipe.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.537-543
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• 2003

The mouse interferon gene (MuIFN-${\gamma}$) was cloned and then used to transform Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Expressed MuIFN-$\{gamma}$ protein (MuIFN-${\gamma}$) was successfully secreted into culture medium due to the presence oi the signal peptide of rice amylase 1A. Two different promoters fused to MuIFN-${\gamma}$ were tested: glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPD) promoter and a yeast hybrid ADH2-GPD (AG) promoter consisting of alcohol dehydrogenase II (ADH2) and GPD promoter. Using the hybrid promoter, the accumulation of MuIFN-${\gamma}$transcript was the highest after the 24 h cultivation, and then gradually decreased as the cultivation proceeded. However, both cell growth and recombinant MuIFN-${\gamma}$production reached their peaks after the 4-day cultivation. It was possible to produce 6.5 mg/l of MuIFN-${\gamma}$ without any changes in cell growth. Using GPD promoter, the MuIFN-${\gamma}$ transcript accumulation and the recombinant MuIFN-${\gamma}$ production followed the same pattern as the cell growth. However. compared to that of the hybrid promoter, the production of recombinant MuIFN-${\gamma}$ was 0.2 mg/l. The secreted MuIFN-${\gamma}$ had estimated molecular masses of 21 kDa and 23 kDa, which were larger than that of the encoded size due to glycosylation. The protection assay against the viral infection indicated that the recombinant MuIFN-${\gamma}$ was bioactive.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.212-218
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• 2009

Triterpenoid saponins were synthesized in Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer via the isoprenoid pathway by cyclization of 2,3-oxidosqualene to give primarily oleanane (beta-amyrin) or dammarane triterpenoid skeletons. The triterpenoids are backbone and undergoes various modifications (oxidation, substitution and glycosylation), mediated by cytochrome P450 (CYP)-dependent monooxygenases, glycosyltransferase and other enzymes. This is likely to be due in part to the complexity of the molecules and the lack of pathway intermediates for biochemical studies. A cDNA clone encoding a putative CYP gene was isolated from flower bud of ginseng and transformed into the plant(Nicotiana tabacum cv. Xanthi) and confirmed by PCR analysis. The CYP gene (PgCYP) contained an open reading frame(ORF) encoding mature protein of 500 amino acids. The expression of PgCYP were investigated in transgenic tobacco by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).