• Journal of the Korean Magnetic Resonance Society
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.59-66
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• 2013

BldD, a developmental transcription factor from Streptomyces coelicolor, is a homodimeric, DNA-binding protein with 167 amino acids in each subunit. Each monomer consists of two structurally distinct domains, the N-terminal domain (BldD-NTD) responsible for DNA-binding and dimerization and the C-terminal domain (BldD-CTD). In contrast to the BldD-NTD, of which crystal structure has been solved, the BldD-CTD has been characterized neither in structure nor in function. Thus, in terms of structural genomics, structural study of the BldD-CTD has been conducted in solution, and in the present work, mainchain NMR assignments of the recombinant BldD-CTD (residues 80-167 of BldD) could be achieved by a series of heteronuclear multidimensional NMR experiments on a [$^{13}C/^{15}N$]-enriched protein sample. Finally, the secondary structure prediction by CSI and TALOS+ analysis using the assigned chemical shifts data identified a ${\beta}-{\alpha}-{\alpha}-{\beta}-{\alpha}-{\alpha}-{\alpha}$ topology of the domain. The results will provide the most fundamental data for more detailed approach to the atomic structure of the BldD-CTD, which would be essential for entire understanding of the molecular function of BldD.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.767-772
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• 2003

Three plasmids derived from the ${\beta}-agarase$ gene (PjaA) of Pseudomonas sp. W7 were expressed in Escherichia coli AD494(DE3) pLysS with lactose as an inducer. These products corresponded to the complete (PjaA) and the two C-terminal truncated (PjaAI and PjaAII) forms of ${\beta}-agarase$. The PjaAI and the PjaAII were originated from exonuclease L treatment from PjaA by deleting 127 and 182 amino acid residues-encoded nucleic acids at 3' region, respectively. The molecular weights of the purified proteins were 71 kDa, 58 kDa, and 50 kDa on SDS-PAGE, respectively. The $K_m$ value of PjaAI was lower than that of the PjaA, and the catalytic efficiency ($k_{cat}/K_m$) of PjaAI was increased to 5 times. The enzyme of PjaAI retained more than 90% activity at $50^{\circ}C$. In contrast to the PjaAI, the remaining activity of the PjaA was only 20% at the same temperature.

• BMB Reports
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.597-602
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• 2004

N-terminal His-tagged recombinant $\beta$-1,4-galactosyltransferase from Neisseria meningitidis was expressed and purified to homogeneity by column chromatography using Ni-NTA resin. Mutations were introduced to investigate the roles of, Ser68, His69, Glu88, Asp90, and Tyr156, which are components of a highly conserved region in recombinant $\beta$-1,4 galactosyltransferase. Also, the functions of three other cysteine residues, Cys65, Cys139, and Cys205, were investigated using site-directed mutagenesis to determine the location of the disulfide bond and the role of the sulfhydryl groups. Purified mutant galactosyltransferases, His69Phe, Glu88Gln and Asp90Asn completely shut down wild-type galactosyltransferase activity (1-3%). Also, Ser68Ala showed much lower activity than wild-type galactosyltransferase (19%). However, only the substitution of Tyr156Phe resulted in a slight reduction in galactosyltransferase activity (90%). The enzyme was found to remain active when the cysteine residues at positions 139 and 205 were replaced separately with serine. However, enzyme reactivity was found to be markedly reduced when Cys65 was replaced with serine (27%). These results indicate that conserved amino acids such as Cys65, Ser68, His69, Glu88, and Asp90 may be involved in the binding of substrates or in the catalysis of the galactosyltransferase reaction.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.36-48
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• 2010

An agar-degrading Agarivorans sp. AG17 strain was isolated from the red seaweed Grateloupia filicina collected from Jeju Island. A beta-agarase gene from Agarivorans sp. AG17 was cloned and designated as agrA. agrA has a 2,985 bp coding region encoding 995 amino acids and was classified into the glycoside hydrolase family (GHF)-50. Predicted molecular mass of the mature protein was 105 kDa. His-tagged agrA was overexpressed in Escherichia coli and purified as a fusion protein. The enzyme showed 158.8 unit/mg specific activity (optimum temperature at $65^{\circ}C$ and pH 5.5 in acetate buffer) with unique biochemical properties (high thermal and pH stabilities). Enzyme produced neoagarohexaose, neoagarotetraose and neoagarobiose by degrading agar, and hydrolyzed neoagaro-oligosaccharides were biologically active. Hence the purified enzyme has potential for use in industrial applications such as the development of cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.566-571
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• 2017

Background: A number of reports have described the protective effects of ginsenoside Rg1 (Rg1) in Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the protective mechanisms of Rg1 in AD remain elusive. Methods: To investigate the potential mechanisms of Rg1 in ${\beta}$-amyloid peptide-treated SH-SY5Y cells, a comparative proteomic analysis was performed using stable isotope labeling with amino acids in cell culture combined with nano-LC-MS/MS. Results: We identified a total of 1,149 proteins in three independent experiments. Forty-nine proteins were significantly altered by Rg1 after exposure of the cells to ${\beta}$-amyloid peptides. The protein interaction network analysis showed that these altered proteins were clustered in ribosomal proteins, mitochondria, the actin cytoskeleton, and splicing proteins. Among these proteins, mitochondrial proteins containing HSD17B10, AARS2, TOMM40, VDAC1, COX5A, and NDUFA4 were associated with mitochondrial dysfunction in the pathogenesis of AD. Conclusion: Our results suggest that mitochondrial proteins may be related to the protective mechanisms of Rg1 in AD.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.590-596
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• 2006

Clavulanic acid (CA) produced by Streptomyces clavuligerus is degraded during the bacterial cultivation. The degradation was examined in three different aspects, including physical, chemical, and enzymatic effects, in order to understand the degradation during the cultivation. The result showed that CA was unstable in the production medium containing ammonium salts and amino acids, owing to ammonium ions and amine groups. In addition, the degradation was not only due to instability of CA by metabolites and proteins, but also enzymes from S. clavuligerus such as $\beta-lactamase$ and penicillin-binding proteins. However, the degradation caused by these enzymes was not highly significant compared with the degradation during the cultivation, owing to irreversible reactions between CA and enzymes.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.74-82
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• 2005

Glutaredoxins (Grxs) are thioloxidoreductases which are required for maintaining thiol/disulfide equilibrium in living cells. The Grx3 gene, which encodes one of the three monothiol Grxs in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, was characterized, and its transcriptional regulation studied. Genomic DNA encoding Grx3 was isolated by PCR, and a plasmid pTT3 carrying this DNA was produced. The DNA sequence has 1,267 bp, which would encode a monothiol Grx of 166 amino acids with a molecular mass of 18.3 kDa. The putative protein has 27% homology with Grx5, and contains many hydrophobic amino acid residues in its N-terminal region. S. pombe cells harboring pTT3 had increased Grx activity and enhanced survival on minimal medium plates containing aluminum (5 mM), BSO (0.05 mM), menadione (0.01 mM) or cadmium (0.2 mM). The 568 bp upstream region of Grx3 was fused into the promoterless b-galactosidase gene of the shuttle vector YEp367R to generate fusion plasmid pMJS10. Potassium chloride (KCl) and metals including aluminum and cadmium enhanced the synthesis of ${\beta}$-galactosidase from the fusion gene. The synthesis of ${\beta}$-galactosidase was also enhanced, in a Pap1-dependent manner, by fermentable carbon sources such as glucose (at low concentrations) and sucrose, but not by non-fermentable carbon sources such as ethanol and acetate. Grx3 mRNA increased in response to treatment with BSO. These observations indicate that S. pombe Grx3 is involved in the response to stress, and is regulated by stress.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.224-229
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• 2007

Muscle tissue expresses many muscle-specific genes, including myostatin (also known as GDF8) that is a member of the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily. Myostatin (MSTN) negatively regulates mammalian skeletal muscle growth and development by inhibiting myoblast proliferation. Mice and cattle possessing mutant MSTN alleles display a 'double muscling' phenotype characterized by extreme skeletal muscle hypertrophy and/or hyperplasia. In this study, we first have characterized partial cDNA of a MSTN gene from the muscle tissue in the F. chinensis and examined its expression pattern in various tissues. The partial MSTN gene (GenBank accession number EU 131093) in the F. chinensis was 1134 bp, encoding for 377 amino acids that showed 63-93% amino acid similarity to other vertebrate MSTNs, containing a conserved proteolytic cleavage site (RXRR) and conserved cysteine residues in the C-terminus. Based on a RT-PCR, the MSTN gene was expressed in the all tissues of F. chinensis used in this study.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.776-781
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• 2009

A putative cyclomaltodextrinase (BHCD) gene was found from the genome of Bacillus halodurans C-125, which encodes 578 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 67,279 Da. It shares 42-59% of amino acid sequence identity with common cyclomaltodextrinase (CDase)-family enzymes. The corresponding gene was cloned by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the dimeric enzyme with C-terminal 6-histidines was successfully overproduced and purified from recombinant Escherichia coli. BHCD showed the highest activity against ${\beta}-CD$ at pH 7.0 and $50^{\circ}C$. Due to its versatile hydrolysis and transglycosylation activities, BHCD has been confirmed as a member of CDases. However, BHCD can be distinguished from other typical CDases on the basis of its novel multisubstrate specificity. While typical CDases have over 10 times higher activity on ${\beta}-CD$ than starch or pullulan, the CD-hydrolyzing activity of BHCD is only 2.3 times higher than pullulan. In particular, it showed significantly higher activity ratio of maltotriose to acarbose than other common CDase-family enzymes.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.3-10
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• 2014

The rapid increase in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome, which is associated with a state of elevated systemic oxidative stress and inflammation, is expected to cause future increases in the prevalence of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids and sugars produces reactive carbonyl species, which, due to their electrophilic nature, react with the nucleophilic sites of certain amino acids. This leads to formation of protein adducts such as advanced glycoxidation/lipoxidation end products (AGEs/ALEs), resulting in cellular dysfunction. Therefore, an effective reactive carbonyl species and AGEs/ALEs sequestering agent may be able to prevent such cellular dysfunction. There is accumulating evidence that histidine containing dipeptides such as carnosine (${\beta}$-alanyl-L-histidine) and anserine (${\beta}$-alanyl-methyl-L-histidine) detoxify cytotoxic reactive carbonyls by forming unreactive adducts and are able to reverse glycated protein. In this review, 1) reaction mechanism of oxidative stress and certain chronic diseases, 2) interrelation between oxidative stress and inflammation, 3) effective reactive carbonyl species and AGEs/ALEs sequestering actions of histidine-dipeptides and their metabolism, 4) effects of carnosinase encoding gene on the effectiveness of histidine-dipeptides, and 5) protective effects of histidine-dipeptides against progression of metabolic syndrome are discussed. Overall, this review highlights the potential beneficial effects of histidine-dipeptides against metabolic syndrome. Randomized controlled human studies may provide essential information regarding whether histidine-dipeptides attenuate metabolic syndrome in humans.