• Molecules and Cells
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.242-249
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• 2016

A balance between production and degradation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is critical for maintaining cellular homeostasis. Increased levels of ROS during oxidative stress are associated with disease conditions. Antioxidant enzymes, such as extracellular superoxide dismutase (EC-SOD), in the extracellular matrix (ECM) neutralize the toxicity of superoxide. Recent studies have emphasized the importance of EC-SOD in protecting the brain, lungs, and other tissues from oxidative stress. Therefore, EC-SOD would be an excellent therapeutic drug for treatment of diseases caused by oxidative stress. We cloned both the full length (residues 1-240) and truncated (residues 19-240) forms of human EC-SOD (hEC-SOD) into the donor plasmid pFastBacHTb. After transposition, the bacmid was transfected into the Sf9-baculovirus expression system and the expressed hEC-SOD purified using FLAG-tag. Western blot analysis revealed that hEC-SOD is present both as a monomer (33 kDa) and a dimer (66 kDa), as detected by the FLAG antibody. A water-soluble tetrazolium (WST-1) assay showed that both full length and truncated hEC-SOD proteins were enzymatically active. We showed that a potent superoxide dismutase inhibitor, diethyldithiocarbamate (DDC), inhibits hEC-SOD activity.

• BMB Reports
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.624-631
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• 2005

Tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, continues to be one of the main diseases to mankind. It is urgent to discover novel drug targets for appropriate antimicrobial agents against this human pathogen. The shikimate pathway is onsidered as an attractive target for the discovery of novel antibiotics for its essentiality in bacteria and absence in mammalian cells. The Mycobacterium tuberculosis aroE-encoded shikimate dehydrogenase was cloned, expressed and purified. Sequence alignment analysis shows that shikimate dehydrogenase of Mycobacterium tuberculosis exhibit the pattern of G-X-(N/S)-V-(T/S)-X-PX-K, which is highly conserved within the shikimate dehydrogenase family. The recombinant shikimate dehydrogenase spectrum determined by CD spectroscopy showed that the percentages for $\alpha$-helix, $\beta$-sheet, $\beta$-turn, and random coil were 29.2%, 9.3%, 32.7%, and 28.8%, respectively. The enzymatic characterization demonstrates that it appears to be fully active at pH from 9.0 to 12, and temperature $63^{\circ}C$. The apparent Michaelis constant for shikimic acid and $NADP^+$ were calculated to be about $29.5\;{\mu}M$ and $63\;{\mu}M$. The recombinant shikimate dehydrogenase catalyzes the substrate in the presence of $NADP^+$ with an enzyme turnover number of $399\;s^{-1}$. Zymological studies suggest that the cloned shikimate dehydrogenase from M. tuberculosis has a pretty activity, and the work should help in the discovery of enzyme inhibitors and further of possible antimicrobial agents against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.112-112
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• 2003

Voltage-gated $K^{+}$ (Kv) channels represent a structurally and functionally diverse group of membrane proteins. These channels play an important role in determining the length of the cardiac action potential and are the targets for antiarrhythmic drugs. Many $K^{+}$ channel genes have been cloned from human myocardium and functionally contribute to its electrical activity. One of these channels, Kv1.5, is one of the more cardiovascular-specific $K^{+}$ channel isoforms identified to date and forms the molecular basis for an ultra-rapid delayed rectifier $K^{＋}$ current found in human atrium. Thus, the blocker of hKv1.5 is expected to be an ideal antiarrhythmic drug for atrial fibrillation. Chelidonine was isolated from Chelidonium majus L. We examined the effect of chelidonine on the hKv1.5 current expressed in Ltk-cells using whole cell mode of patch clamp techniques. Chelidonine selectively inhibited the hKv1.5 current expressed in Ltk-cells in a concentration-dependent manner, whereas did not affect the HERG current expressed in HEK-293 cells. Additionally, chelidonine reduced the tail current amplitude recorded at -50 mV after 250 ms depolarizing pulses to +60 mV, and slowed the deactivation time course resulting in a 'crossover' phenomenon when the tail currents recorded under control conditions and in the presence of chelidonine were superimposed. We found that chelidonine also inhibited the $K^{+}$ current in isolated human atrial myocytes where hKv1.5 channels were predominantly expressed. Furthermore, we examined the effects of chelidonine on the action potentials in rabbit hearts using conventional microelectrode technique. Chelidonine prolonged the action potential durations (APD) of atrial, ventricular myocytes and Purkinje fibers in a dose-dependent manner. However, the effect of chelidonine on atrial APD was frequency-dependent whereas the effect of chelidonine on the APDs of ventricular myocytes and Purkinje fibers was not frequency- dependent. Also, the selective action of chelidonine on heart was more potent than dofetilide, $K^{+}$ channel blocker.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.756-764
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• 2014

Apoptin, a chicken anemia virus-encoded protein, induces apoptosis in chicken or human tumor cells, localizing in their nuclei as opposed to the cytoplasm of non-transformed cells. The present study was undertaken to investigate whether ABPs1 could potentiate apoptin-induced apoptosis in HeLa cells. ABPs1 and the apoptin genes were successfully cloned into pIRES2-EGFP expression vector and expressed in HeLa cells. We report that ABPs1 augments apoptin cell growth inhibition in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. The DAPI staining and scanning electron microscopy observations revealed apoptotic bodies and plasma membrane pores, which were attributed to apoptin and ABPs1, respectively. Further, ABPs1 in combination with apoptin was found to increase the expression of Bax and to decrease the expression of survivin compared with either agent alone or the control. The apoptotic rate of HeLa cells treated with ABPs1 and apoptin in combination for 48 h was 53.95%. The two-gene combination increased the caspase-3 activity of HeLa cells. Taken together, our study suggests that ABPs1 combined with apoptin significantly inhibits HeLa cell proliferation, and induces cell apoptosis through membrane defects, up-regulation of Bax expression, down-regulation of survivin expression, and activation of the caspase-3 pathway. Thus, the combination of ABPs1 and apoptin could serve as a means to develop novel gene therapeutic agents against human cervical cancer.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.253-261
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• 2007

Lactadherin is a glycoprotein of human milk fat globule membrane that binds to mucin and butyrophilin forming the protein complex. Especially, mucin and lactadherin in human milk efficiently protect infants with poor immune functions right after birth from infections by microorganisms and play important roles for their early survival, growth and development. Lactadherin inhibits the propagation and growth of rotavirus that is a global pathogen causing infants' diarrhea. Recently this protein was known to promote neovascularization and its deficiency related to develop Alzheimer's disease. In this study, the basic biochemical and physiological aspects of lactadherin were investigated. Messenger RNAs were isolated from mammary tissues from Korean women patients to clone a 1.2 kb cDNA and sequenced its DNA to determine its amino acid sequences. The cDNA was cloned to express its 43 kD protein in E. coli, which was confirmed by Western blot. The recombinant protein was purified and injected to 2 rabbits to raise antibodies against it. The semi-purified milk fat globule membrane proteins from Korean women was analyzed by Western blot using the rabbit antibody to give 70, 55, 46, 30 kD bands. Also several polymorphism and SNPs of lactadherin gene from Korean women were observed compared with those of Caucasian women.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.12
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• pp.1650-1655
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• 2009

The $\beta$-glucuronidase (GUS) gene from Lactobacillus brevis RO1 was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli GMS407. The GUS gene was composed of 1,812 bp, encoding a 603-amino-acid protein belonging to glycosyl hydrolase family 2 with three conserved domains. The amino acid similarity was higher than 70% with the $\beta$-glucuronidases of various microorganisms, yet less than 58% with the $\beta$-glucuronidase of L. gasseri ADH. Overexpression and purification of the GUS was performed in $\beta$-glucuronidase-deficient E. coli GMS407. The purified GUS protein was 71 kDa and showed 1,284 U/mg of specific activity at optimum conditions of pH 5.0 and $37^{\circ}C$. At $37^{\circ}C$, the GUS remained stable for 80 min at pH values ranging from 5.0 to 8.0. The purified enzyme exhibited a half-life of 1 h at $60^{\circ}C$ and more than 2 h at $50^{\circ}C$. When the purified GUS was applied to transform baicalin and wogonoside into their corresponding aglycones, $150\;{\mu}M$ of baicalin and $125\;{\mu}M$ of wogonoside were completely transformed into baicalein and wogonin, respectively, within 3 h.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.719-728
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• 2007

The cysteine and glycine rich protein 3 (CSRP3), apolipoprotein B mRNA editing enzyme catalytic polypeptide‐like 2(APOBEC2) and caveolin (CAV) gene family(CAV1, CAV2, CAV3) have been reported to play important roles for carcass and meat quality traits in pig, mouse, human and cattle. As an initial step, we investigated SNPs in these 5 genes among eight different cattle breeds. Eighteen primer pairs were designed from bovine sequence data of NCBI database to amplify the partial gene fragments. Sequencing results revealed 9 SNPs in the coding regions of three caveolin genes, 1 SNP in CSRP3 and 3 SNPs in APOBEC2 gene. All the identified SNPs were confirmed by PCR-RFLP. Also, 9 more intronic SNPs were detected in these genes. However, all identified mutations in the coding region do not change amino acid sequence. Allelic distributions were significantly different for 5 SNPs in CAV2, CAV3, CSRP3 and APOBEC2 genes among the eight different breeds. These results gave some clues about the polymorphisms of these genes among the cattle breeds and will be useful for further searches for identifying association between these SNPs and meat quality traits in cattle.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.565-578
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• 2008

Purpose: Porphyromonas gingivalis(P. gingivalis) heat shock protein (HSP)60 may play a role in the immunopathogenesis of periodontitis as well as atherosclerosis by modulating autoimmune reaction due to its high level of sequence homology between bacteria and human counterpart. The purpose of this study was to identify immunodomiant epitope of P. gingivalis HSP60 that is reactive exclusively to the homologous bacteria without reacting with human HSP. Materials and methods: The present study was performed to identify the peptide specifically recognized by anti-P. gingivalis HSP60 monoclonal antibodies mono-reactive to P. gingivalis HSP60. Results: Four different hybridomas were cloned producing monoclonal IgG antibodies exclusively to P. gingivalis HSP60. Thirty seven synthetic peptides (20-mer with 5-amino acid overlapping) were synthesized. All of these peptide were subject to SDS-PAGE for immunblot analysis. One peptide (TVPGGGTTYIRAIAALEGLK) and the other peptide (TLVVNRLRGSLKICAVKAPG) were recognized by all and one of the four monoclonal antibodies, respectively, that reacted solely with P. gingivalis HSP60. Immunohistochemistry to identify the localization of the HSP60 in the diseased gingival tissues revealed that all of the four monoclonal antibodies were highly reacted with the diseased gingival tissue than normal gingival tissue. Conclusion: The P. gingivalis HSP60 peptides (TVPGGGTTYIRAIAALEGLK and TLVVNRLRGSLKICAVKAPG, respectively) are positively involved in the immunopathologic process of periodontal disease. The peptide may potentially be developed as vaccine candidates. Further investigations are under way to identify more clones producing monoclonal antibodies reactive to P. gingivalis HSP and to other periodontopathogenic bacteria as well, while maintaining specificities to human counterpart.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.415-421
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• 2004

Cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) is the most abundant CYPs in human liver, comprising approximately $30\%$ of the total liver CYPs contents and is involved in the metabolism of more than $60\%$ of currently used therapeutic drugs. However, the molecular mechanisms underly-ing regulation of CYP3A4 gene expression have not been understood. Thus, this study has been carried out to gain the insight of the molecular mechanism of CYP3A4 gene expression, investigating if the histone deacetylation is involved in the regulation of CYP3A4 gene expression by proximal promoter. Also SXR was investigated to see if they were involved in the regulation of CYP3A4 proximal promoter activity. Hepa-1 cells were transfected with a plasmid containing ${\~}1kb$ of the human CYP3A4 proximal promoter region (863 to +64 bp) cloned in front of a reporter gene, luciferase, in the presence or absence of SXR. Transfected cells were treated with CYP3A4 inducers such as rifampicin, PCN and RU 486, in order to examine the regulation of CYP3A4 gene expression in the presence or absence of trichostatin A (TSA). In Hepa-1 cells, CYP3A4 inducers increased modestly the luciferase activity when TSA was co-treated, but this increment was not enhanced by SXR cotransfection. Taken together, these results indicated that the inhibition of histone deacetylation was required to SXR-mediated increase in CYP3A4 proximal promoter region when rifampicin, or PCN was treated. Further a trans-activation by SXR may demand other species-specific transcription factors.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.16-22
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• 2004

Background: To develop a novel treatment strategy for hepatitis B virus infection, a major cause of liver chirosis and cancer, we aimed to make human monoclonal antibodies inhibiting RNase H activity of P protein playing in important role in HBV replication. In this regard, phage display technology was employed and demonstrated as an efficient cloning method for human monoclonal antibody. So this study analysed the usability of human monoclonal antibody as protein based gene therapy. Methods: RNase H of HBV was expressed as fusion protein with maltose binding protein and purified with amylose resin column. Single chain Fv (scFv) phage antibody library was constructed by PCR cloning using total RNAs of PBMC from 50 healthy volunteers. Binders to RNase H were selected with BIAcore 2000 from the constructed library, and purified as soluble antibody fragment. The affinity and sequences of selected antibody fragments were analyzed with BIAcore and ABI automatic sequencer, respectively. And finally RNase H activity inhibiting assay was carried out. Results: Recombinant RNase H expressed in E. coli exhibited an proper enzyme activity. Naive library of $4.46{\times}10^9cfu$ was screened by BIAcore 2000. Two clones, RN41 and RN56, showed affinity of $4.5{\times}10^{-7}M$ and $1.9{\times}10^{-7}M$, respectively. But RNase H inhibiting activity of RN41 was higher than that of RN56. Conclusion: We cloned human monoclonal antibodies inhibiting RNase H activity of P protein of HBV. These antibodies can be expected to be a good candidate for protein-based antiviral therapy by preventing a replication of HBV if they can be expressed intracellularly in HBV-infected hepatocytes.