• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.291-297
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• 1998

Cop protein has been overexpressed in Escherichia coli using a T7 RNA polymerase system. Purification to apparent homogeneity was achieved by the sequential chromatography on ion exchange, affinity chromatography, and reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography system. The molecular weight of the purified Cop was estimated as 6.1 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). But the molecular mass of the native state Cop was shown to be 19 kDa by an analytical high performance size exclusion chromatography, suggesting a trimer-like structure in 50 mM Tris-HCI buffer (pH 7.5) containing 100 mM NaCl. Cop protein Was calculated to contain $39.1% {\alpha}-helix, 16.8% {\beta}-sheet$, 17.4% turn, and 26.8% random structure. The DNA binding property of Cop protein expressed in E. coli Was preserved during the expression and purification process. The isoelectric point of Cop was determined to be 9.0. The results of amino acid composition analysis and N-terminal amino acid sequencing of Cop showed that it has the same amino acid composition and N-terminal amino acid sequence as those deduced from its DNA sequence analysis, except for the partial removal of N-terminal methionine residue by methionyl-aminopeptidase in E. coli.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.191-202
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• 1995

The purpose of this study was to compare effects of insulin and IGFs on growth, apical membrane enzyme activities and membrane transport systems of primary cultured rabbit kidney proximal tubule cells. Results were as follows: 1. Insulin and IGF-I produced significant growth stimulatory effects at $5{\times}10^{-10}M.\;IGF-II(5×10^{-10}\;M)$ did not stimulate significant cell growth. 2. Insulin stimulated the phosphorylation of a 97 KD protein. It was difficult to determine whether this band represents insulin and/or the IGF-I receptor. 3. The activities of apical membrane enzymes (alkaline phosphatase, leucine aminopeptidase, and ${\gamma}-glutamyl \;transpeptidase)$ were observed to be diminished after the cells were placed in the culture environment. 4. The uptake of ${\alpha}-MG,$ Pi and Na was significantly increased in cells incubated with insulin or IGF-I, IGF-II had no effect on the uptake of these substrates. 5. Na-pump activity, as assayed by Rb uptake, was significantly increased in cells treated with insulin or IGFs. In conclusion, insulin and IGF-I exert stimulatory effects on growth and membrane transporter(glucose, Na, Pi, and Na-pump) activities in primary cultured rabbit kidney proximal tubule cells. IGF-II had no effect on cell growth and membrane transporter(glucose, Na and Pi) activities.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.241-248
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• 2006

Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors have cardioprotective effects in different species including human. This cardioprotective effect is mainly due to the inhibition of bradykinin (BK) degradation rather than inhibition of the conversion of angiotensin I to angiotensir. II. Bradykinin, a nonapeptide, has been considered to be the potential target for various enzymes including ACE, neutral endopeptidase 24.11, carboxypeptidase M, carboxypeptidase N, proline aminopeptidase, endopeptidase 24.15, and meprin. In the present study, the coronary vascular beds of Sprague Dawley rat isolated hearts were perfused (single passage) with Krebs solution alone or with different concentrations of BK i.e. $2.75{\times}10^{-10},\;10^{-7},\;10^{-6}\;and\;10^{-5}M$ solution. Percent degradation of BK was determined by radioimmunoassay. The degradation products of BK after passing through the isolated rat-hearts were determined using RP-HPLC and mass spectroscopy. All the four doses of BK significantly decreased the perfusion pressure during their passage through the hearts. The percentage degradation of all four doses was decreased as the concentration of drug was increased, implying saturation of a fixed number of active sites involved in BK degradation. Bradykinin during a single passage through the hearts degraded to give [1-7]-BK as the major metabolite, and [1-8]-BK as a minor metabolite, detected on HPLC. Mass spectroscopy not only confirmed the presence of these two metabolites but also detected traces of [1-5]-BK and arginine. These findings showed that primarily ACE is the major cardiac enzyme involved in the degradation of bradykinin during a single passage through the coronary vascular of bed the healthy rat heart, while carboxypeptidase M may have a minor role.

• Plant Biotechnology Reports
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.167-174
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• 2009

To identify genes involved in rice Pi5-mediated disease resistance to Magnaporthe oryzae, we compared the proteomes of the RIL260 rice strain carrying the Pi5 resistance gene with its susceptible mutants M5465 and M7023. Proteins were extracted from the leaf tissues of both RIL260 and the mutant lines at 0, 24, and 48 h after M. oryzae inoculation and separated by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-DE). Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) analysis identified eight proteins that were differently expressed between the resistant and susceptible plants (three down- and five up-regulated proteins in the mutants). The down-regulated proteins included a triosephosphate isomerase (spot no. 2210), a 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate-independent phosphoglycerate mutase (no. 3611), and an unknown protein (no. 4505). In addition, the five up-regulated proteins in the mutants were predicted to be a fructokinase I (no. 313), a glutathione S-transferase (no. 2310), an atpB of chloroplast ATP synthase (no. 3616), an aminopeptidase N (no. 3724), and an unknown protein (no. 308). These results suggest that proteomic analysis of rice susceptible mutants is a useful method for identifying novel proteins involved in resistance to the M. oryzae pathogen.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.9-20
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• 1991

The present study intended to evaluate the influences of MetagonimMi yokogawai on the activities of brush border membrane bound enzymes of the small intestine. Mice were infected with 500 metacercariae respectively, and the worm recovery, morphological changes and enzyme activities were observed chronologically. A part of them were followed after the treatment. Recovered worms decreased in number continuously after the infection, and they were less than 10% after 2 weeks and almost Bero after 28 weeks. Villous atrophy and stromal inflammation were found at two locations of the proximal jejunum from 2 weeks to 4 weeks after the infection. The enzymes, alkaline phosphatase, leucine aminopeptidase and disaccharidases (sucrase, lactase, maltase, and trehalase), showed lowered activities in the duodenum and proximal jejunum of the infected mice but they increased in the distal jejunum for the first two weeks. From three weeks after the infection, the activities were gradually recovered. In one week treated mice, they recovered the activities at 2 weeks from the treatment, but there found no differences of the activities between the 3 week treated group and infected controls. The present data reveal that M. yckogawai infection induces degenerative changes of the host's intestinal mucosa not only morphologically but functionally during the initial phase of infection. The lowered enzyme activities in acute metagonimiasis should be associated with malabsorption and diarrhea.

• BMB Reports
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.239-246
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• 1999

A tripeptidase (PepT) was purified to homogeneity from Bacillus subtilis through four sequential chromatographies including DEAE-Sepharose ion exchange, hydroxylapatite, mono-Q FPLC ion exchange, and Superose-12 FPLC gel filtration. The apparent molecular mass of the enzyme was 49,200 Da and 51,400 Da as determined by sodium dodecylsulfatepolyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and gel filtration chromatography, respectively, and the enzyme exists in a monomeric form. The physicochemical properties of the enzyme were as follows: optimum pH at 7.5, optimum temperature at $60^{\circ}C$, and pI at 4.9. The $K_m$ and $V_{max}$ values of the enzyme were 4.3 mM and 2.5 mmol/min/mg, respectively, with MetAla-Ser as substrate. The B. subtilis PepT requires $Co^{2+}$ ion(s) for activation, while it is inactivated by EOTA and 1,10-phenanthroline, suggesting that it is a metalloprotein. The enzyme was not inhibited by any of serine protease, aspartic protease, or leucine aminopeptidase inhibitors. The enzyme showed comparable activities towards four different substrates including Met-Ala-Ser, Leu-Gly-Gly, Leu-Ser-Phe, and Leu-Leu-Tyr. The amino terminal sequence of PepT determined by Edman degradation was found to be MKEEIIERFTTYVXV and turned out to be identical to that of PepT deduced from a cloned B. subtilis pepT.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.406-414
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• 2010

Antioxidative activity, including inhibitory activities of angiotensin I converting enzyme(ACE), aminopeptidase N(APN) and $\alpha$-amylase, was investigated in the methanol extracts from Theaceae plants native to Jeju island, in order to select the plant species containing bioactive materials for functional food or medicines. ACE inhibitory activity was above 50% in Ternstroemia japonica(stem bark) and Cleyera japonica(leaf), and APN inhibitory activity was low to be positive only in C. japonica(leaf, stem bark) and T. japonica(stem bark). $\alpha$-Amylase inhibitory activity was above 30% in Camellia japonica(fruit), Eurya emarginata(stem), T. japonica(stem bark) and Thea sinensis(stem). The antioxidative activity, estimated by the DPPH radical scavenging capacity, was above 30% in C. japonica(stem bark), T. japonica(stem bark) and T. sinensis(leaf). Particularly, the antioxidative activity analyzed by dot-blot test was very high in C. japonica(stem bark) relatively to those of other plants, and remained high in the low concentration($1.25\;{\mu}g/m{\ell}$). From the TLC analysis of antioxidative compounds, EGC(Rf 0.26) was found to have high activity in stem bark of C. japonica and EGCG(Rf 0.09) was found to have high activity in stem bark of C. japonica, E. emarginata, and T. japonica. Five bands (Rf 0.54, 0.46,0.44, 0.16, 0.03) which were not identified as compared with catechins were detected as polyphenolic compounds on the TLC plates sprayed with the Folin-Ciocalteu solution or the Ferric chloride-alcohol solution. These results suggests that Theaceae plants except E. japonica could be potentially used as a resource of bioactive materials for functional foods or medicines and further research is reguired to identify the bioactive substances and determine the functions of them.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.175-185
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• 1996

To inhibit the enzymatic degradation of leucine enkephalin (Leu-Enk) and its synthetic analog. $[D-ala^2]$-leucine enkephalinamide (YAGFL), in the nasal, rectal and vaginal mucosal and serosal extracts of rabbits, effects of enzyme inhibitors such as amastatin (AM), puromycin (PM), thiorphan (TP), thimerosal (TM), EDTA, N-carboxymethyl-Phe-Leu (CPL), phenylethyl alcohol (PEA), phenylmercuric acetate (PMA), benzalkonium chloride (BC) and modified cyclodextrins, alone or in combination, were observed by assaying the pentapeptides staying intact during incubation. Mucosa extracts were prepared by exposing freshly-excised mucosal specimens mounted on Valia-Chien cells to isotonic phosphate buffer while stirring. The degradation of Leu-Enk and YAGFL followed the apparent first-order kinetics. The half-lives (mean) in the nasal, rectal and vaginal mucosal extracts were found to be 1.07, 0.33 and 1.14 hr for Leu-Enk, and 16.9, 6.2 and 6.8 hr for YAGFL, respectively. AM or PM, which is an aminopeptidase inhibitor, did not show a sufficient inhibition of Leu-Enk $(50\;{\mu}g/ml)$ degradation in all kinds of extracts. $Dimethyl-{\beta}-cyclodextrin\;(DM-{\beta}-CyD)$ decreased the degradation rate constants of Leu-Enk about 2 or 3 times, comparing with no additive. However, the use of mixed inhibitors of AM $(50\;{\mu}M)$/TM (0.25 mM)/EDTA (5 mM) resulted in a full stabilization of Leu-Enk by decreasing the degradation rate constants 67.3, 161.3 and 113.8 times far the nasal, rectal and vaginal mucosal extracts, respectively, comparing with no inhibitor. With mixed inhibitors, Leu-Enk remained intact more than 90% after 6 hr-incubation. In the stabilization of YAGFL, hM, TP or CPL alone showed little efffct, and some additives demonstrated a considerable inhibition of YAGFL degradation in the rank order of TM > BC > EDTA. However, the addition of mixed inhibitors such as TM (0.5 mM) and EDTA (5 mM) into the extracts protected YAGFL from the degradation by more than 85% even after 24 hr-incubation, suggesting almost complete inhibition of YAGFL degradation in the extract. On the other hand, $DM-{\beta}-CyD\;or\;hydroxypropyl-{\beta}-cyclodextrin$ (10%) were also found to retard enzymatic degradation rates of YAGFL markedly, and resulted in staying intact more than 80% of YAGFL in the nasal and vaginal mucosal extracts, and more than 60% in the rectal mucosal extract after 16 hr-incubation.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.50-62
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• 2003

Objective: Bee Venom(BV) has been used for various kinds of inflammatory or painful conditions in Oriental Medicine clinics, and there publishes reports on its therapeutic effects and the probable mechanism of those therapeutic effects, where CDs and cytokines plays important role. This study investigated the influences of bee venom on the expressions of CDs and cytokines of HMC cell line Methods: In this study we analysed the expression profile of HMC cell line treated with BV of 10-2ug/ml in relation to that of HMC cell line treated with vehicle by way of CD/cytokine microarray hybridization with 342 genes on it. Results: There were no upregulated genes by more than 3 fold, while there showed some downregulated genes by less than 1/3 fold as follows: colony stimulating factor 2, CD122, IL-7, CD112, TNF-alpha, CD138, CD166, TGFbetaR2, CD42b, CD62L, CD111, interleukin 10 receptor alpha, colony stimulating factor 1(macrophage), CD38 antigen(p45), CD121a, CD33 antigen(gp67), colony stimulating factor 1 receptor, B cell linker protein (SLP65) mRNA, CD94, alanyl(membrane) aminopeptidase, immunoglobulin(CD79A) binding protein 1, CD205, CD241, CD207, CDw121b, integrin alpha L(CD11a), integrin beta 1(CD29), CD91, CD42b. Conclusions: Bee venom treatment induced downregulation of some CDs or cytokines including $TNF-{\alpha}$. IL-1R with its possible implication in an antiinflammatory action of BV. Further research on expression profile changes induced by BV treatment is expected.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.135-143
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• 2014

Exopeptidase active fractions from the hepatopancreas of the Argentina shortfin squid Illex argentinus, were obtained with acetone (AC 30-40%), ammonium sulfate (AS 60-70% saturation), anion exchange chromatography (AE-II, 0.2 M NaCl) and gel filtration chromatography (GF-I, 30-50 kDa) fractionation methods. A bitter peptide solution that has a bitterness equivalent to that of 2% glycylphenylalanine and prepared by tryptic hydrolysis of milk casein, was treated with the exopeptidase active fractions. The GF-I fraction was the best based on aminopeptidase activity (35.3 U/mg), percentage of recovery (30.7%) and a sensory evaluation (1.7). The amount of released amino acids increased as incubation time increased, and the bitterness of the enzyme reaction mixtures decreased. Incubation with the GF-I fraction for 24 h resulted in the hydrolysis of several peptides as revealed by the reverse-phase high performance liguid chromatography profile, with three peaks (3, 5 and 6) decreasing in area (%) and three peaks (1, 2 and 4) increasing in area (%). Therefore, the GF-I fraction appeared to be ideally suited to reduce bitterness in protein hydrolysates by catalyzing the hydrolysis of bitter peptides.