• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.126-135
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• 2006

In a previous study, a biological response modifier (BRM) specifically enhancing the function of B-cells was isolated from Korean fermented soybean paste (Kfsp), but not from non-fermented soybeans. In this study, we attempted to isolate the bacteria producing the BRM from Kfsp (KfspBRM) by ELISA using anti-KfspBRM and by B-cell proliferation. Five bacteria whose culture supernatants showed the BRM activities were isolated, and one of them was identified as Bacillus licheniformis E1. The bacterial BRM (bBRM) originated from a slime layer of B. licheniformis El had a molecular weight of 1,594 kDa, and contained $33\%\;(w/w)$ of reduced sugar and $4.6\%\;(w/w)$ of protein content. The bBRM appeared to be a glycoprotein that is physically, structurally, and functionally similar to the KfspBRM, suggesting that the isolates including B. licheniformis El may produce the KfspBRM in the fermentation process of soybean paste. The mass production of the BRM by the bacterium may help to study B-cells in immunology, and the enrichment of the BRM in Kfsp may help patients in future who are medically in need of potentiation of B-cell proliferation and antibody production.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.267-276
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• 2020

T In the present study, we investigated the effect of oncogenic H-Ras on rat mdr1b expression in NIH3T3 cells. The constitutive expression of H-Ras^V12 was found to downregulate the mdr1b promoter activity and mdr1b mRNA expression. The doxorubicin-induced mdr1b promoter activity of the H-Ras^V12 expressing NIH3T3 cells was markedly lower than that of control NIH3T3 cells. Additionally, there is a positive correlation between the level of H-Ras^V12 expression and a sensitivity to doxorubicin toxicity. To examine the detailed mechanism of H-Ras^V12-mediated down-regulation of mdr1b expression, antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and NADPH oxidase inhibitor diphenylene iodonium (DPI) were used. Pretreating cells with either NAC or DPI significantly enhanced the oncogenic H-Ras-mediated down-regulation of mdr1b expression and markedly prevented doxorubicin-induced cell death. Moreover, NAC and DPI treatment led to a decrease in ERK activity, and the ERK inhibitors PD98059 or U0126 enhanced the mdr1b-Luc activity of H-Ras^V12-NIH3T3 and reduced doxorubicin-induced apoptosis. These data suggest that Ras^V12 expression could downregulate mdr1b expression through intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and ERK activation induced by ROS, is at least in part, contributed to the downregulation of mdr1b expression.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 1995.10a
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• pp.107-113
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• 1995

Basement membrane laminin is a multidomain glycoprotein that interacts with itself, heparin and cells. The distal long arm plays major cell and heparin interactive roles. The long arm consists of three subunits (A, B1, B2) joined in a coiled-coil rod attached to a terminal A chain globule (G). The globule is in turn subdivided into five subdomains (Gl-5). In order to analyze the functions of this region, recombinant G domains (rG, rAiG, rG5, rGΔ2980-3028) were expressed in Sf9 insect cells using a baculovirus expression vector. A hybrid molecule (B-rAiG), consisting of recombinant A chain(rAiG) and the authentic B chains (E8-B)was assembled in vitro. The intercalation of rAiG into E8-B chains suppressed a heparin binding activity identified in subdomain Gl-2. By the peptide napping and ligand blotting, the relative affinity of each subeomain to heparin was assigned as Gl> G2= G4> G5> G3, such that G1 bound strongly and G3 not at all. The active heparin binding site of G domain in intact laminin appears to be located in G4 and proximal G5. Cell binding was examined using fibrosarcoma Cells. Cells adhered to E8, B-rAiG, rAiG and rG, did not bind on denatured substrates, poorly bound to the mixture of E8-B and rG. Anti-${\alpha}$6 and anti-${\beta}$1 integrin subunit separately blocked cell adhesion on E8 and B-rAiG, but not on rAiG. Heparin inhibited cell adhesion on rAiG, partially on B-rAiG, and not on E8. In conclusion, 1) There are active and cryptic cell and heparin binding activities in G domain. 2) Triple-helix assembly inactivates cell and heparin binding activities and restores u6131 dependent cell binding activities.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.165-176
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• 1999

The in vivo effects of Fructus Benincasae (FB-Baekdongkwa(B) and FB- on the expectoration (decrease in sputum viscoelasticity) by their sorts and using rats (Sp. D. male, $150{\sim}160g$). FB was divided by seed, flesh, and bark, extracted by 95% ethanol for 3 hr. The extracts were given to rats administration and the following results were obtained: 1. When FB Recens-C extract was administered at the concentration of 300 mg/kg b.w., mucus secretion effect in the trachea was desirably stimulated. 2. The secretion of phenol red was increased in the FB-treated tracheas in the order of Semen Benincasae(SB)-B $(153{\pm}8\;%)$, FB-B $(149{\pm}10\;%)$, and FBR-C $(117{\pm}26\;%)$. In general, the effect of FB-B extract on phenol red secretion was stronger than that of FB-C. 3. When tracheobronchial lavage fluid was analyzed, the mucus secretion was relatively high $(111{\pm}14\;%)$ in FB-B compared with other extracts. 4. Microscopic analysis after direct treatment of the FB extracts to the rat tracheal tissue showed that all the FB extracts possessed no effects for the activity of the ciliary movement. 5. Glycoprotein content secreted by the seed extract of FB-B was increased compared with the control group, which represents the highest secretion effect of mucus. From the above results. we could conclude that the seed of SB-B possesses better activity for mucus secretion from trachea than the extracts of any other parts. Therefore, it is expected that the seed of SB-B may be available for the purpose of expectorant activity in the prescription of traditional medicine.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.20-25
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• 2009

Xenotransplantation of pig organs into humans is a potential solution for the shortage of donor organs for transplantation. However, multiple immune barriers preclude its clinical application. In particular, the initial type of rejection in xenotransplantation is an acute cellular rejection by host $CD8^+$ cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) cells that react to donor major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I. The human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) glycoprotein Unique Short (US) 2 specifically targets MHC class I heavy chains to relocate them from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane to the cytosol, where they are degraded by the proteasome. In this study we transfected the US2 gene into minipig fetal fibroblasts and established four US2 clonal cell lines. The integration of US2 into transgenic fetal cells was confirmed using PCR and Southern blot assay. The reduction of Swine Leukocyte Antigen (SLA)-I by US2 was also detected using Flow cytometry assay (FACS). The FACS analysis of the US2 clonal cell lines demonstrated a substantial reduction in SLA-I surface expression. The level (44% to 76%) of SLA-I expression in US2 clonal cell lines was decreased relative to the control. In cytotoxicity assay the rate of $CD8^+$ T cell-mediated cytotoxicity was significantly reduced to 23.8${\pm}$15.1% compared to the control (59.8${\pm}$8.4%, p<0.05). In conclusion, US2 can directly protect against $CD8^+$-mediated cell lysis. These results indicate that the expression of US2 in pig cells may provide a new approach to overcome the CTL-mediated immune rejection in xenotransplantation.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.463-469
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• 2002

Rotaviruses are the world-wide leading causative agents of severe dehydrating gastroenteritis in young children and animals. The outer capsid glycoprotein VP7 and inner capsid glycoprotein VP6 of rotaviruses are highly antigenic and immunogenic. An SFV-based expression system has recently emerged as a useful tool for heterologous protein production in mammalian cells, exhibiting a much more efficient performance compared to other gene expression systems. Accordingly, the current study adopted an SFV-based expression system to express the VP7 of a group A human rotavirus from a Korean isolate, and the VP6 of a group B bovine rotavirus from a Korean isolate, in mammalian cells. The genes of the VP6 and VP7 were inserted into the SFV expression vector pSFV-1. The RNA was transcribed in vitro from pSFV-VP6 and pSFV-VP7 using SP6 polymerase. Each RNA was then electroporated into BHK-21 cells along with pSFV-helper RNA containing the structural protein gene without the packaging signal. The expression of VP6 and VP7 in the cytoplasm was then detected by immunocytochemistry. The recombinant virus was harvested by ultracentrifugation and examined under electron microscopy. After infecting BHK-21 cells with the defective viruses, the expressed proteins were separated by SDS-PAGE and analyzed by a Western blot. The results indicate that an SFV-based expression system fur the VP6 and VP7 of rotaviruses is an efficient tool for developing a diagnostic kit and/or preventive vaccine.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.367-373
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• 2001

Glycoproteins PAS-6(50 kDa) and -7(47 kDa) from the bovine milk fat globule membrane share a common protein core but differ in their carbohydrate moiety. We have analyzed and proposed the structures of the N-linked sugar chains of PAS-7 by Oxford Glyco System(OGS) RAAM2000. The N-linked sugar chains were liberated from PAS-7 by hydrazinolysis and, after modifying the reducing ends with 2-aminobenzamide(2-AB), were separated into one neutral(7N, 55%) and two acidic(7M, mono-, 43%; 7D, di-, 2%) sugar chain groups. 7N was finally separated into 5 chains(a, b, c, d, and e), respectively. The structure of this 2AB-neutral sugar chain was determined by sugar analysis, exoglycosidase digestion with OGS glycosidase Kit and OGS RAAM2000 system. The results show that fraction e was the same of reported 7N1A, the biantennary complex type with a fucose on reducing end and two N-acetyllactosamine branch on non-reducing end. Therefore, it was proved that OGS RAAM2000 method is in conformity with conventional analysis of sugar chain structure from bovine PAS-7.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.73-83
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• 2021

Although many swine farms continuously vaccinated to sow to prevent Porcine epidemic diarrhea(PED), PED has occurred annually in swine herds in Jeonbuk province, Korea. In the present study, the small intestine and feces samples from 17 farms where severe watery diarrhea and death of newborn piglets occurred in 2019 were collected, amplified by RT-PCR and determined the complete nucleotide sequences of the spike (S) glycoprotein genes of nine Jeonbuk PEDV isolates. The spike (S) glycoprotein is an important determinant for molecular characterization and genetic relationship of PEDV. These nine complete S gene isolates were compared with other PEDV reference strains to identify the molecular diversity, phylogenetic relationships and antigenicity analysis. 9 field strains share 98.5~100% homologies with each other at the nucleotide sequence level and 97.3~100% homologies with each other at the amino acid level. The nine Jeonbuk PEDV isolates were classified into G2b group including a genetic specific signal, S-indels (insertion and deletion of S gene). In addition, comparisons the neutralizing epitopes of S gene between 9 field strains and domestic vaccine strains of Korea mutated 12-15 amino acids with SM-98-1 (G1a group) and mutated 0-3 amino acids with QIAP1401 (G2b group). Therefore, the development of G2b-based live vaccines will have to be expedited to ensure effective prevention of endemic PED in Korea. In addition, we will need to be prepared with periodic updates of preventive vaccines based on the PEDV variants for the re-emergence of a virulent strain.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.976-982
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• 1998

The effects of the glycoprotein (PAG) isolated from Pteridium aquilinum on the immune function was examined in mice. PAG was intraperitoneally administered into BALB/C mice for 14 days and the antibody forming ability to hen egg lysozyme (HEL) and the blastogenic responses of splenocytes were measured. PAG treatment significantly increased antibody formation to HEL in a dose-dependent manner. Blatogenesis of splenocytes in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS, B-cell specific mitogen) or phytohemagglutinin (PHA, T-cell specific mitogen) was also increased after treatment with PAG, indicating that the PAG increases both humoral and cellular immunities. To examine whether the immune function of PAG was via a direct effect on the lymphocytes, splenocytes were isolated from BALB/C mice, exposed to various concentrations of PAG in vitro and the blastogenic responses were measured. In vitro exposure to PAG significantly increased blastogenesis of splenocytes to LPS up to $500{\;}{\mu}g/kg$, whereas the blastogenic response to PHA was not altered by PAG treatment. To identify the fraction responsible for the increase in the immune function, the effect of periodate digest, pronase digest or purified polysaccharide on the antibody production to HEL was examined. Crude protein fraction of PAG significantly increased the antibody formation to HEL. On the other hand, both crude and purified polysaccharide fractions did not have any effects on the antibody production ability. These data indicated that 1) PAG increased both humoral and cellular immune functions, 2) the increase in humoral immunity was probably via a direct action of PAG on lymphocytes and 3) the protein portion of PAG was responsible for the increase in humoral immunity.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.498-503
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• 2003

Luteinizing hormone as other glycoprotein hormones is characterized by a heterodimeric structure composed a common $\alpha$-subunit noncovalently linked to a specific $\beta$-subunit. The correct conformation of the heterodimer is important for efficient secretion, hormonal-specific post-translational modifications, receptor binding and signal transduction. To determine whether $\alpha$- and $\beta$- subunits can be synthesized as a single polypeptide chain (tethered-bLH and -bFSH) and also display biological activities, the tetheredbLH and -bFSH molecules were constructed and transfected into chinese hamster ovary (CHO-K1) cells. LH and FSH activities were assayed by using the human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells expressing rat LH and FSH receptor genes. The tethered-bLH and - bFSH proteins were efficiently secreted and showed a similar activity to the dimeric bovine LH and FSH $\alpha$/$\beta$ wild type and native purified from bovine pituitary. The tethered-molecules can be permit development of potent new analogues that stimulate ovarian development. Taken together, a single-chain analog can also be constructed to include additional hormone-specific bioactive generating potentially efficacious compounds. These data indicate the potentiality of the single chain approach to further investigate structurefunction relationships of LH and FSH.