• KSBB Journal
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.291-296
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• 1999

Chiral epoxides are key intermediates for the production of chiral pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and functional food additives. Chiral epoxides can be produced by either chemical or biological method. In biocatalytic production routes, chiral epoxides can be produced via epoxidations of prochiral alkenes by monooxygenase or peroxidase. Kinetic resolution of racemic epoxides using whole cells of bacteria or fungi might be commercially useful, since it is possible to obtain chiral epoxides with high optical purities from relatively cheap and readily avaiable racemic epoxides. Some bioprocesses already are commercially developed: the biocatalytic production of chiral epichlorohydrin via microbial stereospecific dehalogenation, and lipase-catalyzed enantioselective hydrolysis in a hollow fiber membrane bioreactor for the production of chiral methyl trans-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)glycidate. the intermediate for calcium antagonist diltiazem. The importance of biocatalytic production of chiral epoxides with several examples from literature are presented.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.695-703
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• 1999

We have studied the stereospecificities of various pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) dependent enzymes for the hydrogen transfer between the C-4' of a bound coenzyme and the C-2 of a substrate in the transamination catalyzed by the enzymes. Stereospecificities reflect the structures of enzyme active-sites, in particular the geometrical relationship between the coenzyme-substrate Schiff base and the active site base participating in an $\alpha$-hydrogen abstraction. The PLP enzymes studied so far catalyze only a si-face specific (pro-S) hydrogen transfer. This stereochemical finding suggests that the PLP enzymes have the same topological active-site structures, and that the PLP enzymes have evolved divergently from a common ancestral protein. However, we found that o-amino acid aminotransferase, branched chain L-amino acid aminotransferase, and 4-amino-4-deoxychorismate lyase, which have significant sequence homology with one another, catalyze a re-face specific (pro-R) hydrogen transfer. We also showed that PLP-dependent amino acid racemases, which have no sequence homology with any aminotransferases, catalyze a non-stereospecific hydrogen transfer: the hydrogen transfer occurs on both faces of the planar intermediate. Crystallographical studies have shown that the catalytic base is situated on the re-face of the C-4' of the bound coenzyme in o-amino acid aminotransferase and branched chain L-amino acid aminotransferase, whereas the catalytic base is situated on the si-face in other aminotransferases (such as L-aspartate aminotransferase) catalyzing the si-face hydrogen transfer. Thus, we have clarified the stereospecificities of PLP enzymes in relation with the primary structures and three-dimensional structures of the enzymes. The characteristic stereospecificities of these enzymes for the hydrogen transfer suggest the convergent evolution of PLP enzymes.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.22-27
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• 2014

Background: Research has been conducted with regard to the development of methods for improving the pharmaceutical effect of ginseng by conversion of ginsenosides, which are the major active components of ginseng, via high temperature or high-pressure processing. Methods: The present study sought to investigate the anticancer effect of heat-processed American ginseng (HAG) in human gastric cancer AGS cells with a focus on assessing the role of apoptosis as an important mechanistic element in its anticancer actions. Results and Conclusion: HAG significantly reduced the cancer cell proliferation, and the contents of ginsenosides Rb1 and Re were markedly decreased, whereas the peaks of less-polar ginsenosides [20(S,R)-Rg3, Rk1, and Rg5] were newly detected. Based on the activity-guided fractionation of HAG, ginsenoside 20(S)-Rg3 played a key role in inducing apoptosis in human gastric cancer AGS cells, and it was generated mainly from ginsenoside Rb1. Ginsenoside 20(S)-Rg3 induced apoptosis through activation of caspase-3, caspase-8, and caspase-9, as well as regulation of Bcl-2 and Bax expression. Taken together, these findings suggest that heat-processing serves as an increase in the antitumor activity of American ginseng in AGS cells, and ginsenoside 20(S)-Rg3, the active component produced by heat-processing, induces the activation of caspase-3, caspase-8, and caspase-9, which contributes to the apoptotic cell death.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.357-364
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• 1996

Stereochemistries of acetoxy 1,3-oxathiolane 1 were determined by two methods. First, the structures of $\alpha$ isomer 7 and $\beta$ isomer 9 were confirmed by the difference of their conversion rates to dihydrooxathiin 2 under acid catalysis. When the acetoxy leaving group is located in trans relationship to sulfur, a isomer in which carboxanilide is less hindered sterically against the 1,3-oxathiolane ring is $\beta$ isomer 7, and the other isomer of which the reaction rate is slower than 7 is $\beta$ isomer 9. Second, in the deuterium reactions of diastereomeric sulfoxides, the isomers of which methine hydrogen is substituted to deuterium were cis isomers 15 and 17, and another isomers of which methyl hydrogen is substituted to deuterium were trans isomers 16 and 18. Substitution of either methine or methyl hydrogen to deuterium resulted from stereospecific ring opening followed by recyclization by [2,3] sigmatropic rearrangement.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.410-413
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• 2007

The effect of internal donor(ID) in the heterogeneous Ziegler-Natta catalyst on the ethylene-1-butene copolymerization and the molecular structure of the resulting copolymer was investigated. $SiO_2$-supported $TiCl_4$ catalysts having ID/Ti molar ratio of 0.5 were prepared with ethyaluminium dichloride, magnesium alkyl, 2-ethyl-1-hexanol and $TiCl_4$. Three different IDs were employed such as ethylbenzoate(EB), diisobuylphthalate(DIBP) and dioctylphthalate(DOP). ID-added catalyst showed a larger fraction of Ti(+3) compared to that of no ID-added catalyst. The EB-added catalyst showed the highest activity in copolymerization. Xylene soluble value decreased by more than 50 % with ID-added catalysts compared to that of no ID-added catalyst. Crystaf analysis showed the chemical compositional distribution of PE copolymer was improved in the case of DIBP-added catalyst significantly. It could be explained that the presence of ID could make more even active sites and block the non-stereospecific active sites.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.99-106
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• 2008

A ligand - whether an endogenous hormone, neurotransmitter, exogenous toxin or synthetic drug - binds to plasma membrane proteins (e.g., ion channels, receptors or other functional proteins) to exert its physiological or pharmacological effects. Ligands can also have functional groups, showing stereospecificity for interaction sites on their counterpart plasma membrane proteins. Previous reports have shown that the ginsenoside Rg$_3$, a bioactive ginsenoside, meets these criteria in that: 1) an aliphatic side chain of $Rg_3$ plays a role as a functional group, 2) Rg$_3$ regulates voltage- and ligand-gated ion channels in a stereospecific manner with respect to carbon-20, and 3) $Rg_3$ regulates subsets of ligand-gated and voltage-gated ion channels through specific interactions with identified amino acid residues inside the channel pore, in the outer pore entryway, or in toxin binding sites. Rg$_3$, therefore, could be a candidate for a novel ginseng-derived glycosidic ligand regulating ion channels and receptors. This review will examine how Rg$_3$ regulates voltage-gated and ligand-gated ion channels through interactions with its target proteins in the plasma membrane. Hopefully, this review will advance understanding of ginseng pharmacology at the cellular and molecular levels.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.121-128
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• 1995

The role of nitric oxide (NO) in non-adrenegic non-cholinergic (NANC) neurotransmission was studied on circular muscle strips of the dorsal part of the fuinea-pig gastric fundus. In the presence of atropine and guanethidine, a low frequency-dependent relaxsations which were not affected by adrenergic and cholinergic blockage but abolished by tetrodotoxin. $N^G$-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA), a stereospecific inhibitor of NO-biosynthesis, inhibited the relaxations induced by electrical stiumulations but not the relaxations to exogenous nitric oxide. The effect of L-NNA was prevented by L-arginine, the precursor of the NO biosynthesis but not by its enantiomer, D-arginine. Exgenous administration of No caused concentration -dependent relaxations which showed a similarity to those obtained with electrical simultaion. Hemoglobin, a NOscavenger, abolished the NO-induced relaxations and also markedly reduced those induced by electrical simultaion. The inhibitory effect os hemoglobin was similar to that of L-NNA. Application of ATP caused weak relaxations compared with those to electrical stimultaion, which were unaffected by L-NNA. Exogenously applied vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) induced concentration-dependent relaxation which was not affected by L-NNA. These results suggest that NO is produced and released mainly as a neurotransmitter from enteric neurons during NANC relaxation induced by low frequencies and short trains of electrical simulation and has a main role in NANC neurotransmission at relaxation induced by these electrical simultaions in the guinea-pig gastric fundus.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.214-232
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• 2001

CTA ester bonds in TG molecules were not attacked by pancreatic lipase and lipases produced by microbes such as Candida cylindracea, Chromobacterium viscosum, Geotricum candidium, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Rhizophus delemar, R. arrhizus and Mucor miehei. An aliquot of total TG of all the seed oils and each TG fraction of the oils collected from HPLC runs were deuterated prior to partial hydrolysis with Grignard reagent, because CTA molecule was destroyed with treatment of Grignard reagent. Deuterated TG (dTG) was hydrolyzed partially to a mixture of deuterated diacylglycerols (dDG), which were subsequently reacted with (S)-(+)-1-(1-naphthyl)ethyl isocyanate to derivatize into dDG-NEUs. Purified dDG-NEUs were resolved into 1, 3-, 1, 2- and 2, 3-dDG-NEU on silica columns in tandem of HPLC using a solvent of 0.4% propan-1-o1 (containing 2% water)-hexane. An aliquot of each dDG-NEU fraction was hydrolyzed and (fatty acid-PFB ester). These derivatives showed a diagnostic carboxylate ion, $(M-1)^{-}$, as parent peak and a minor peak at m/z 196 $(PFB-CH_{3})^{-}$ on NICI mass spectra. In the mass spectra of the fatty acid-PFB esters of dTGs derived from the seed oils of T. kilirowii and M. charantia, peaks at m/z 285, 287, 289 and 317 were observed, which corresponded to $(M-1)^{-}$ of deuterized oleic acid ($d_{2}-C_{18:0}$), linoleic acid ($d_{4}-C_{18:0}$), punicic acid ($d_{6}-C_{18:0}$) and eicosamonoenoic acid ($d_{2}-C_{20:0}$), respectively. Fatty acid compositions of deuterized total TG of each oil measured by relative intensities of $(M-1)^-$ ion peaks were similar with those of intact TG of the oils by GLC. The composition of fatty acid-PFB esters of total dTG derived from the seed oils of T. kilirowii are as follows; $C_{16:0}$, 4.6 mole % (4.8 mole %, intact TG by GLC), $C_{18:0}$, 3.0 mole % (3.1 mole %), $d_{2}C_{18:0}$, 11.9 mole % (12.5 mole %, sum of $C_{18:1{\omega}9}$ and $C_{18:1{\omega}7}$), $d_{4}-C_{18:0}$, 39.3 mole % (38.9 mole %, sum of $C_{18:2{\omega}6}$ and its isomer), $d_{6}-C_{18:0}$, 41.1 mole % (40.5 mole %, sum of $C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13c}$, $C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13r}$ and $C_{18:3\;9t,11t,13c}$), $d_{2}-C_{20:0}$, 0.1 mole % (0.2 mole % of $C_{20:1{\omega}9}$). In total dTG derived from the seed oils of M. charantia, the fatty acid components are $C_{16:0}$, 1.5 mole % (1.8 mole %, intact TG by GLC), $C_{18:0}$, 12.0 mole % (12.3 mole %), $d_{2}-C_{18:0}$, 16.9 mole % (17.4 mole %, sum of $C_{18:1{\omega}9}$), $d_{4}-C_{18:0}$, 11.0 mole % (10.6 mole %, sum of $C_{18:2{\omega}6}$), $d_{6}-C_{18:0}$, 58.6 mole % (57.5 mole %, sum of $C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13t}$ and $C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13c}$). In the case of Aleurites fordii, $C_{16:0}$; 2.2 mole % (2.4 mole %, intact TG by GLC), $C_{18:0}$; 1.7 mole % (1.7 mole %), $d_{2}-C_{18:0}$; 5.5 mole % (5.4 mole %, sum of $C_{18:1{\omega}9}$), $d_{4}-C_{18:0}$ ; 8.3 mole % (8.5 mole %, sum of $C_{18:2{\omega}6}$), $d_{6}-C_{18:0}$; 82.0 mole % (81.2 mole %, sum of $C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13t}$ and $C_{18:3 9c,11t,13c})$. In the stereospecific analysis of fatty acid distribution in the TG species of the seed oils of T. kilirowii, $C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13r}$ and $C_{18:2{\omega}6}$ were mainly located at sn-2 and sn-3 position, while saturated acids were usually present at sn-1 position. And the major molecular species of $(C_{18:2{\omega}6})(C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13c})_{2}$ and $(C_{18:1{\omega}9})(C_{18:2{\omega}6})(C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13c})$ were predominantly composed of the stereoisomer of $sn-1-C_{18:2{\omega}6}$, $sn-2-C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13c}$, $sn-3-C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13c}$, and $sn-1-C_{18:1{\omega}9}$, $sn-2-C_{18:2{\omega}6}$, $sn-3-C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13c}$, respectively, and the minor TG species of $(C_{18:2{\omega}6})_{2}(C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13c})$ and $ (C_{16:0})(C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13c})_{2}$ mainly comprised the stereoisomer of $sn-1-C_{18:2{\omega}6}$, $sn-2-C_{18:2{\omega}6}$, $sn-3-C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13c}$ and $sn-1-C_{16:0}$, $sn-2-C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13c}$, $sn-3-C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13c}$. The TG of the seed oils of Momordica charantia showed that most of CTA, $C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13r}$, occurred at sn-3 position, and $C_{18:2{\omega}6}$ was concentrated at sn-1 and sn-2 compared to sn-3. Main TG species of $(C_{18:1{\omega}9})(C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13t})_{2}$ and $(C_{18:0})(C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13t})_{2}$ were consisted of the stereoisomer of $sn-1-C_{18:1{\omega}9}$, $sn-2-C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13t}$, $sn-3-C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13t}$ and $sn-1-C_{18:0}$, $sn-2-C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13t}$, $sn-3-C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13t}$, respectively, and minor TG species of $(C_{18:2{\omega}6})(C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13c})_{2}$ and $(C_{18:1{\omega}9})(C_{18:2{\omega}6})(C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13c})$ contained mostly $sn-1-C_{18:2{\omega6}$, $sn-2-C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13t}$, $sn-3-C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13t}$ and $sn-1-C_{18:1{\omega}9}$, $sn-2-C_{18:2{\omega}6}$, $sn-3-C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13t}$. The TG fraction of the seed oils of Aleurites fordii was mostly occupied with simple TG species of $(C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13t})_{3}$, along with minor species of $(C_{18:2{\omega}6})(C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13t})_{2}$, $(C_{18:1{\omega}9})(C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13t})_{2}$ and $(C_{16:0})(C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13t})$. The sterospecific species of $sn-1-C_{18:2{\omega}6}$, $sn-2-C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13t}$, sn-3-C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13t}$, $sn-1-C_{18:1{\omega}9}$, $sn-2-C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13t}$, $sn-3-C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13t}$ and $sn-1-C_{16;0}$, $sn-2-C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13t}$, $sn-3-C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13t}$ are the main stereoisomers for the species of $(C_{18:2{\omega}6})(C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13t})_2$, $(C_{18:1{\omega}9})(C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13t})_{2}$ and $(C_{16:0})(C_{18:3\;9c,11t,13t})$, respectively.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.177-181
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• 2003

The baculovirus/Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf) cell system has become popular for the production of large amounts of the human erythrocyte glucose transporter, GLUT1, heterologously. However, it was not possible to show that the expressed transporter in insect cells could actually transport glucose. The possible reason for this was that the activity of the endogenous insect glucose transporter was extremely high and so rendered transport activity resulting from the expression of exogenous transporter very difficult to detect. Sf21-AE cells are commonly employed as the host permissive cell line to support the baculovirus AcNPV replication and protein synthesis. The cells grow well on TC-100 medium that contains 0.1 % D-glucose as the major carbon source, strongly suggesting the presence of endogenous glucose transporters. However, unlike the human glucose transporter, very little is known about properties of the endogenous sugar transporter(s) in insect cells. Thus, the uptake of 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2dGlc) by Sf21-AE cells and the inhibition of 2dGlc transport in the insect cells by fructose and cytochalasin B were investigated in the present work. The binding assay of cytochalasin B was also performed, which could be used as a functional assay for the endogenous glucose transporter(s) in the insect cells. Sf21-AE cells were infected with the recombinant virus AcNPV-GT or no virus, at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 5. Infected cells were resuspended in PBS plus and minus 300 mM fructose, and plus and minus 20 $\mu$M cytochalasin B for use in transport assays. Uptake was measured at 28$^{\circ}C$ for 1 min, with final concentration of 1 mM deoxy-D-glucose, 2-[1,2-$^3$H]- or glucose, L-[l,$^3$H]-, used at a specific radioactivity of 4 Ci/mol. The results obtained demonstrated that the sugar uptake in uninfected cells was stereospecific, and was strongly inhibited by fructose but only poorly inhibitable by cytochalasin B. It is therefore suggested that the Sf21-AE glucose transporter has very low affinity for cytochalasin B, a potent inhibitor of human erythrocyte glucose transporter.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.149-157
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• 1994

The role of nitric oxide(NO) as neurotransmitter in non-adrenergic non-cholinergic (NANC) relaxation induced by electrical stimulation has been studied in circular muscle strips of the rabbit gastric fundus. In the presence of atropine and guanethidine, low frequency$(1{\sim}20\;Hz)$ and short trains (5s) of electrical stimulation induced the frequency-dependent relaxations which were not affected by adrenergic and cholinergic blockage, but abolished by tetrodotoxin, a nerve conductance blocker. L-NNA, a stereospecific inhibitor of NO biosynthesis, inhibited the relaxations induced by electrical stimulation but not affected the relaxation to exogenous NO. The effect of L-NNA was prevented by L-arginine, the precursor of the NO biosynthesis, but not by its enantiomer, D-arginine. Exogenous administration of NO$(10{\sim}100\;{\mu}M)$ caused the concentration-dependent relaxation which showed a similarity to those obtained with electrical stimulation. Hemoglobin, a NO scavenger, abolished the NO-induced relaxations and also markedly inhibited those evoked by electrical stimulation. Application of adenosine triphosphate$(1{\sim}10\;{\mu}M)$ induced concentration-independent contractions, but in high dose caused temporary contraction followed by relaxation which was not affected by L-NNA. Exogenous vasoactive intestinal polypeptide$(10{\sim}100\;nM)$ induced the concentration-dependent relaxation, while its effects were slower in onset and more persistent than those induced by short trains and low frequencies of electrical stimulation. Based on above results, it is suggested that NO is the principal neurotransmitter of NANC nerve at relaxation induced by short trains and low frequencies of electrical stimulation in the rabbit gastric fundus.