• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.109-113
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• 1989

Human neutrophil elastase (HNE, EC 3, 4 21, 11), a major causative factor in the induction of pulmonary emphysema, were purified by two steps of liquid chromatography. Purified elastases were cross-reacted with antibody to human neutrophil elastases. Methicillin and cefamandole, which are known as inhibitors of cell wall synthesis of microorganisms, could inhibit the activity of human neutrophil elastase up to 50% with 10mM of both agents and $IC_{50}$ of methicillin was 9.8 mM. Gentamicin, one of the aminoglycosides, also inhibits human neutrophil elastases up to 60% of original activity with 10 mM of this agent and $IC_{50}$ was 9.0 mM. We could demonstrate similar effects in oxytetracycline. 10 mM of oxytetracycline inhibited 95% of human neutrophil elastase and $IC_{50}$ was 0.3 mM. Overall, oxytetracycline, cefamandole and methicillin are strong inhibitors of human neutrophil elastase, and they could be a drug of cholice for the diseases which were known as pathogenesis related to elastase. We also suggest that the mechanism of action of these antibitics are different from the mechanism of antimicrobial effects like inhibition of both cell wall synthesis and protein synthesis.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.385-393
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• 1998

Human neutrophil elastase (HNElastase, EC 3.4.21.37), a causative factor of inflammatory diseases, was purified by Ultrogel AcA54 gel filtration and CM-Sephadex ion exchange chromatography. HNElastase was inhibited by phenylbutazone in a concentration dependent manner up to 0.4 mM, but as the concentration increased, the inhibitory effect gradually diminished. Binding of phenylbutazone to the human neutrophil elastase caused strong Raman shifts at 200, 440, and 1194 $cm^{-1}$. The peak at 1194 $cm^{-1}$ might be evidence of the presence $of\;-N=N-{\Phi}$ radical. The core area of the elastase, according to the visual molecular model of human neutrophil elastase, was structurally stable. A deeply situated active center was at the core area surrounded by hydrophobic amino acids. Directly neighboring the active site was one positively charged atom and two atoms carrying a negative charge, which enabled the enzyme and the drug to form a strong interaction. Phenylbutazone may form a binding, similar to a key & lock system to the atoms carrying opposite charges near the active site of the enzyme molecule. Furthermore, the hydrophobicity of the surrounding amino acid near the active site seemed to enhance the binding strength of phenylbutazone. Binding of phenylbutazone near the active site may cause masking of the active site, preventing the substrate from approaching the active site and inhibiting elastase activity.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.518-520
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• 2002

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a treatment modality based on photochemical reaction and the resultant cytotoxic reactive oxygen species. The platelet thrombus formation leading to stasis observed in vivo during PDT is called vascular shut down (VSD) effect. To investigate the mechanism of the VSD effect, we observed Human Umblical Vein Endothelial Cell (HUVEC) injury induced by photochemical reaction. We observed cell retraction and blebbing after PDT. It seems that the injury was not fetal and only morphological change. Then, the cytoplasm was stained by Calcein-AM and subendothelial area was evaluated from fluorescence microscopy. The rate of subendothelial area after PDT increased significantly. Second, we investigated interaction between neutrophils and HUVEC. Human promyelocytic leukemia cells (HL-60) were differentiated into neutrophil by incubation with all-trans retinoic acid. Calcein-AM labeled neutrophil adhesion to HUVEC was evaluated from fluorescence microscopy. PDT-induced neutrophil adhesion to HUVEC depended more on the exposure of subendothlial area than on neutrophil activation. This result suggests that there is a certain interaction between neutrophil and HUVEC during PDT.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.1139-1141
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• 2009

Clitocybin D, a novel human neutrophil elastase inhibitor, was isolated from the culture broth of Clitocybe aurantiaca. This compound was purified by solvent extraction, silica gel column chromatography, Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography, and preparative HPLC. The compound was determined to be 4-(4,6-dihydroxy-3-methoxy-3H-isoindol-1-yl)-benzoic acid on the basis of 1D and 2D NMRs and MS spectroscopic analysis. Analysis of the human neutrophil elastase (HNE) inhibitory activity of the isolated compound revealed that it showed significant HNE inhibitory activity with an $IC_{50}$ value of $17.8{\mu}M$.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2010

Neutrophils play an important role in the human immune system for protection against such microorganisms as a protozoan parasite, Trichomonas vaginalis; however, the precise role of neutrophils in the pathogenesis of trichomoniasis is still unknown. Moreover, it is thought that trichomonal lysates and excretory-secretory products (ESP), as well as live T. vaginalis, could possibly interact with neutrophils in local tissues, including areas of inflammation induced by T. vaginalis in humans. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of T. vaginalis lysate on the fate of neutrophils. We found that T. vaginalis lysate inhibits apoptosis of human neutrophils as revealed by Giemsa stain. Less altered mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and surface CD16 receptor expression also supported the idea that neutrophil apoptosis is delayed after T. vaginalis lysate stimulation. In contrast, ESP stimulated-neutrophils were similar in apoptotic features of untreated neutrophils. Maintained caspase-3 and myeloid cell leukemia-1 (Mcl-1) in neutrophils co-cultured with trichomonad lysate suggest that an intrinsic mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis was involved in T. vaginalis lysate-induced delayed neutrophil apoptosis; this phenomenon may contribute to local inflammation in trichomoniasis.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.229-238
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• 2022

Severe bacterial infections are frequently accompanied by depressed neutrophil functions. Thus, agents that increase the microbicidal activity of neutrophils could add to a direct antimicrobial therapy. Lysophosphatidylcholine augments neutrophil bactericidal activity via the glycine (Gly)/glycine receptor (GlyR) α2/TRPM2/p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. However, the direct effect of glycine on neutrophil bactericidal activity was not reported. In this study, the effect of glycine on neutrophil bactericidal activity was examined. Glycine augmented bactericidal activity of human neutrophils (EC₅₀ = 238 μM) in a strychnine (a GlyR antagonist)-sensitive manner. Glycine augmented bacterial clearance in mice, which was also blocked by strychnine (0.4 mg/kg, s.c.). Glycine enhanced NADPH oxidase-mediated reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and TRPM2-mediated [Ca²⁺]_i increase in neutrophils that had taken up E. coli. Glycine augmented Lucifer yellow uptake (fluid-phase pinocytosis) and azurophil granule-phagosome fusion in neutrophils that had taken up E. coli in an SB203580 (a p38 MAPK inhibitor)-sensitive manner. These findings indicate that glycine augments neutrophil microbicidal activity by enhancing azurophil granule-phagosome fusion via the GlyRα2/ROS/calcium/p38 MAPK pathway. We suggest that glycine could be a useful agent for increasing neutrophil bacterial clearance.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.192-194
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• 2022

The trophic factor Neuregulin-1 (NRG-1) plays a critical role in the development of the peripheral nervous system and the repair of nerve injuries. The regulation of neutrophil apoptosis by cytokine secretion from structural cells is an important process in inflammatory diseases, including asthma. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between NRG-1 and the alteration of neutrophil apoptosis by the regulation of cytokine release in the human lung epithelial BEAS-2B cells. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) induce the increase in the release of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1). NRG-1 alone had no effect on the secretion of IL-6, IL-8, and MCP-1. However, co-treatment of TNF-α and IFN-γ with NRG-1 inhibited the secretion of IL-6, IL-8, and MCP-1 that had been increased by TNF-α and IFN-γ. Treatment with NRG-1 did not have a direct effect on neutrophil apoptosis. Co-treatment of TNF-α and IFN-γ with NRG-1 was not effective on suppression of neutrophil apoptosis due to TNF-α and IFN-γ. The supernatant of BEAS-2B cells after co-treatment of TNF-α and IFN-γ with NRG-1 suppressed the inhibition of neutrophil apoptosis that had been caused due to the supernatant treated with TNF-α and IFN-γ. Taken together, NRG-1 has an anti-inflammatory effect in an inflammatory milieu by the regulation of cytokine secretion and neutrophil apoptosis.

• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.131-137
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• 1993

Human neutrophil elastase (HNE, EC 3,4,21, 11), a mediator of tissue breakdown, was inhibited by tetracycline, oxytetracycline and demeclocycline. Among them, oxytetracycline showed the most potent inhibitory effect on the activity of HNE. IC50 of this drug at our specific condition was less than 1 mM. Tetracycline inhibited human neutrophil elastase non-competitively, and oxytetracycline inhibited competitively. Ki values of tetracycline and oxytetracycline were 4.9 mM and 0.39 mM, respectively. Structural modified tetracycline, de-dimethylaminotetracycline, which showed no antibiotic activity since the active dimethylamino radical was removed from the position #4 of the tetracycline, showed similar inhibition effect on the activity of human neutrophil elastase to that of tetracycline. Thus, we speculated that inhibition of human neutrophil elastase by tetracyclines was not depended on the dimethylamino radical which is a critical active site for antibiotic effect, rather it was depended on the hydoxyl radical of tetracyclines. Therefore, the property of inhibiting elastase may be an additional molecular biochemical mechanism of action of these drugs at the inflammatory sites.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.1189-1191
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• 2010

In an ongoing investigation of compounds from natural products that exhibit anti-aging properties, hydroxyhibiscone A (1), a new furanosesquiterpenoid, together with hibiscone D (2), was isolated from the root bark of Hibiscus syriacus. Utilizing UV, IR, NMR, and MS spectroscopic analyses, these chemical structures were revealed. Compounds 1 and 2 were found to posses significant anti-aging properties on the human neutrophil elastase (HNE) assay, exhibiting HNE inhibitory activities with $IC_{50}$ values of 5.2 and 4.6 ${\mu}M$, respectively.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.1806-1813
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• 2018

A new sesquiterpene lactone dimer [1], together with five known compounds (2-6), was isolated from the flowers of Inula britannica. The structures of these compounds were established by extensive spectroscopic studies and chemical evidence. The inhibitory activities of these isolated compounds (1-6) against human neutrophil elastase (HNE) were also evaluated in vitro; compounds 1 and 6 exhibited significant inhibitory effects against HNE activity, with $IC_{50}$ values of 8.2 and $10.4{\mu}m$, respectively, comparable to that of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG; $IC_{50}=10.9{\mu}M$). In addition, compounds 3 and 5 exhibited moderate HNE inhibitory effects, with $IC_{50}$ values of 21.9 and $42.5{\mu}M$, respectively. In contrast, compounds 2 and 4 exhibited no such activity ($IC_{50}$ > $100{\mu}M$). The mechanism by which 1 and 3 inhibited HNE was noncompetitive inhibition, with inhibition constant ($K_i$) values of 8.0 and $22.8{\mu}M$, respectively.