• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.26-35
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• 2017

The hydrolysis of proteins constitutes an invaluable tool, granting access to a variety of peptide fragments with potentially interesting biological properties. Therefore, a hemoglobin (Hb) hydrolysate of Crocodylus siamensis was generated by digestion under acidic conditions. The antibacterial and antioxidant activities of the Hb hydrolysate were assessed in comparison with intact Hb. A disc diffusion assay revealed that the Hb hydrolysate exhibited antibacterial activity against eight strains of gram-positive bacteria and showed a higher efficacy than intact Hb. Moreover, the antioxidant activity of intact Hb and its hydrolysate was evaluated using ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging assays. The Hb hydrolysate exhibited free radical scavenging rates of 6-32%, whereas intact Hb showed a slightly higher activity. In addition, non-toxicity to human erythrocytes was observed after treatment with quantities of Hb hydrolysate up to $10{\mu}g$. Moreover, active fragmented Hb (P3) was obtained after purifying the Hb hydrolysate by reversed-phase HPLC. Scanning electron microscopy demonstrated the induction of bacterial cell membrane abnormalities after exposure to P3. Antibacterial and antioxidant activities play crucial roles for supporting the wound healing activity. Consequently, an in vivo mice excisional skin wound healing assay was carried out to investigate the effects of intact Hb treatment on wound healing in more detail. The results clearly demonstrate that intact Hb is capable of promoting 75% wound closure within 6 days. These findings imply that intact Hb of C. siamensis and its acid hydrolysate may serve as valuable precursors for food supplementary products benefitting human health.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.39-47
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• 2009

Gaegurin 4(GGN 4), an antimicrobial peptide isolated from a Korean frog, is five times more potent against Gram-positive than Gram-negative bacteria, but has little hemolytic activity. To understand the mechanism of such cell selectivity, we examined GGN4-induced $K^+$ efflux from target cells, and membrane conductances in planar lipid bilayers. The $K^+$ efflux from Gram-positive M. luteus(2.5 ${\mu}g/ml$) was faster and larger than that from Gram-negative E. coli(75 ${\mu}g/ml$), while that from RBC was negligible even at higher concentration(100 ${\mu}g/ml$). GGN4 induced larger conductances in the planar bilayers which were formed with lipids extracted from Gram-positive B. subtilis than in those from E. coli(p<0.01), however, the effects of GGN4 were not selective in the bilayers formed with lipids from E. coli and red blood cells. Addition of an acidic phospholipid, phosphatidylserine to planar bilayers increased the GGN4-induced membrane conductance(p<0.05), but addition of phosphatidylcholine or cholesterol reduced it(p<0.05). Transmission electron microscopy revealed that GGN4 induced pore-like damages in M. luteus and dis-layering damages on the outer wall of E. coli. Taken together, the present results indicate that the selectivity of GGN4 toward Gram-positive over Gram-negative bacteria is due to negative surface charges, and interaction of GGN4 with outer walls. The selectivity toward bacteria over RBC is due to the presence of phosphatidylcholine and cholesterol, and the trans-bilayer lipid asymmetry in RBC. The results suggest that design of selective antimicrobial peptides should be based on the composition and topology of membrane lipids in the target cells.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.386-390
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• 2014

BACKGROUND: Acanthopanax divaricatus var. albeofructus (ADA) extract has been reported to have anti-oxidant, immunomodulatory, and anti-mutagenic activity. MATERIALS/METHODS: We investigated the effects of ADA extract on two mouse models of Alzheimer's disease (AD); intracerebroventricular injection of ${\beta}$-amyloid peptide ($A{\beta}$) and amyloid precursor protein/presenilin 1 (APP/PS1)-transgenic mice. RESULTS: Intra-gastric administration of ADA stem extract (0.25 g/kg, every 12 hrs started from one day prior to injection of $A{\beta}1$-42 until evaluation) effectively blocked $A{\beta}1$-42-induced impairment in passive avoidance performance, and $A{\beta}1$-42-induced increase in immunoreactivities of glial fibrillary acidic protein and interleukin (IL)-$1{\alpha}$ in the hippocampus. In addition, it alleviated the $A{\beta}1$-42-induced decrease in acetylcholine and increase in malondialdehyde levels in the cortex. In APP/PS1-transgenic mice, chronic oral administration of ADA stem extract (0.1 or 0.5 g/kg/day for six months from the age of six to 12 months) resulted in significantly enhanced performance of the novel-object recognition task, and reduced amyloid deposition and IL-$1{\beta}$ in the brain. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that ADA stem extract may be useful for prevention and treatment of AD.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.5-9
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• 2012

It has been shown that the accumulation of prion in the cytoplasm can result in neurodegenerative disorders. Synthetic prion peptide 106-126 (PrP) is a glycoprotein that is expressed predominantly by neurons and other cells, including glial cells. Prion-induced chronic neurodegeneration has a substantial inflammatory component, and an increase in the levels of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) may play an important role in neurodegenerative development and progression. However, the expression of MMPs in PrP induced rat astrocytes and microglia has not yet been compared. Thus, in this study, we examined the fluorescence intensity of CD11b positive microglia and Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP) positive astrocytes and found that the fluorescent intensity was increased following incubation with PrP at 24 hours in a dose-dependent manner. We also observed an increase in interleukin-1 beta (IL-$1{\beta}$) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-${\alpha}$) protein expression, which are initial inflammatory cytokines, in both PrP induced astrocytes and microglia. Furthermore, an increase MMP-1, 3 and 11 expressions in PrP induced astrocytes and microglia was observed by real time PCR. Our results demonstrated PrP induced activation of astrocytes and microglia respectively, which resulted in an increase in inflammatory cytokines and MMPs expression. These results provide the insight into the different sensitivities of glial cells to PrP.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.42 no.11
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• pp.1759-1766
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• 2013

In this study, the optimal conditions for salmon hydrolysate using squid liver and compositional properties of hydrolysate were investigated. The optimal conditions were $55^{\circ}C$, pH 5.5 and 0.66~0.67% (w/w) in the ratio of squid liver to acidic and thermal treated salmon muscle. The free amino acid of hydrolysate from the acidic treated salmon muscle was higher than that of hydrolysate from the thermal treated salmon muscle, while the total amino acid and mineral were high in the acidic treated salmon muscle. Furthermore, cadmium of hydrolysate from the thermal denatured salmon muscle was below 2 ppm, and has an acceptable level as potential ingredient. The distribution of peptide molecular weight was 40.0% for 1.0~9.5 kDa, 6.7% for 0.5 kDa, and 47.4% of others in hydrolysate from the thermal treated salmon muscle. Both hydrolysates did not show any toxicity against the HepG2 cell line for up to $200{\mu}g/mL$.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.509-513
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• 1999

The molecular size reduction and the formation of bitterness during a tryptic hydrolysis of soybean 11S glycinin were determined by using quantitative analysis and organoleptic evaluation. The 11S glycinin of 90% purity was prepared by cryoprecipitation and Con A Sepharose 4B affinity chromatography, and hydrolyzed with trypsin in a pH-stat reactor for 4 h. Bitterness was formed within 1 h of hydrolysis, and then slowly increased up to $3.5\times10^{-5}$ M quinine-HCl equivalent. The extent of hydrolysis (DH) was 7% at 1 h and increased up to 12% by the end of the reaction. The -amino nitrogen content increased from an initial 0.7 mM to 7 mM at the end of the period. The SDS-PAGE analysis showed that the acidic subunit of 11S glycinin was mostly hydrolyzed. The GP-HPLC analysis indicated that the bitterness was mainly contributed by the peptide fractions of molecular weights of 360-2,100 Da.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.104-110
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• 1991

The glucoamylase of Schwanniomyces castellii was purified to homogeneity from the culture filtrate. the purified enzyme was a glycoprotein with a molecular mass of about 145 KDa, which was monomeric protein with an isoelectric point of 4.3. The pH and temperature optima were 5.5 and 40.deg.C, respectively. The enzyme was fairly stable up to 50.deg.C and at acid pH range (pH 4.5-6.0). The apparent Km of the enzyme toward soluble starch, isomaltose and pullulan were 3.84, 0.51 and 13.7 mg/ml, respectively. The analysis of amino acid composition on this enzyme was found to be acidic protein like other fungal glucoamylase. The amino acid sequence of N-terminal peptide consisted of Ala-Pro-Ala-Asp-Gly-Ile-Gly-Asp-X-Ala-X-Ala.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.582-587
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• 1993

The extracellular alpha-amylase was purified to homogenity from the culture filtrate of starch grown Sch. castellii CBS 2863. The purified enzyme was glycoprotein with a molecular weight of about 56 kDa. The pH and temperature optimum were 5.5 and 40C, respectively. The enzyme was fairly stable up to 40C and at acid pH range (pH 4.0-7.0). The apparent Km and Vmax of the enzyme toward starch was 1.0mg/ml and 100U/mg protein, respectively. The analysis of amino acid composition was found to be acidic protein. The amino acid sequence of N-terminal peptide consisted of Asp-Val-Ser-Ser-Ala-X-X-Thr-Arg-Ser-Glu-Ser-Ile-Tyr.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.678-686
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• 1996

To improve the preservation of Kimchi, we isolated Lactobacillus plantarum lytic enzyme-producing strain from soil, and the enzyme was purified and characterized. From the observation of cultural and morpho- logical characteristics, the isolated strain was identified as Metarrisium anisopliae (Metschn.) Sorok. The enzyme was purified to 75-folds with 40% yields through affinity adsorption and CM-Sephadex C-50 column chromatog- raphy. The optimum pH and temperature for lytic activity are 4.0 and 40$\circ$C, respectively, and the enzyme acitvity is stable between pH 3.0 and 9.0, and up to 50$\circ$C. The enzyme is a monomeric protein with molecular weight of 40,000 daltons by SDS-PAGE and gel filtration. The enzyme is endopeptidase which breaks the peptide linkage of Lactobacillus plantarum peptidoglycan. The lytic action spectra confirmed that Leuconostoc mesenteroides, a useful strain for the fermentation of Kimchi, is not lysed by the enzyme. The enzyme activity is inhibited by N-bromosuccinimide (NBS), which probably indicates the involvement of tryptophan residue in active site of the enzyme, and also inhibited by Ag$^{+}$. The amino acid composition analysis showed that the enzyme contains more acidic amino acids than basic ones, and composition of alanine, glycine, proline and tyrosines was very high.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetic Resonance Society
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.46-54
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• 2003

We synthesized a contrast agent for MRI that is capable of binding to the ABP-1 receptor and enhancing the contrast of the targeted cells. We used a lysine dendrimer (G=3)DTPA[Gd] as the contrast agent and synthesized a biotinylated polyclonal antibody for ABP-1 as the first antibody. Lysine dendrimers were prepared using the solid phase peptide synthesis method.$^3$ Amino-terminated lysine dendrimers were then coupled to DTPA using the anhydride method. Gd was complexed with the DTPA-lysine dendrimer in an acidic solution of 3 eq GdCl$_3$ to one of DTPA. The lysine dendrimer-DTPA[Gd] and avidin were conjugated in MES solution, pH 6.0, using EDC as the coupling reagent. The biotin-avidin system was used to link the polyclonal antibody and contrast agent. K562 cells were used for imaging.