• BMB Reports
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• 제44권6호
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• pp.369-374
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• 2011

MHC-I molecules play a critical role in immune surveillance against viruses by presenting peptides to cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Although the mechanisms by which MHC-I molecules assemble and acquire peptides in the ER are well characterized, how MHC-I molecules traffic to the cell surface remains poorly understood. To identify novel proteins that regulate the intracellular transport of MHC-I molecules, MHC-I-interacting proteins were isolated by affinity purification, and their identity was determined by mass spectrometry. Among the identified MHC-I-associated proteins was Tmp21, the human ortholog of yeast Emp24p, which mediates the ER-Golgi trafficking of a subset of proteins. Here, we show that Tmp21 binds to human classical and non-classical MHC-I molecules. The Tmp21-MHC-I complex lacks ${\beta}_2$-microglobulin, and the number of the complexes is increased when free MHC-I heavy chains are more abundant. Taken together, these results suggest that Tmp21 is a novel protein that preferentially binds to ${\beta}_2$-microglobulin-free MHC-I heavy chains.

• BMB Reports
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• 제47권12호
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• pp.691-696
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• 2014

${\alpha}$-Enolase is a glycolytic enzyme and a surface receptor for plasminogen. ${\alpha}$-Enolase-bound plasminogen promotes tumor cell invasion and cancer metastasis by activating plasmin and consequently degrading the extracellular matrix degradation. Therefore, ${\alpha}$-enolase and plasminogen are novel targets for cancer therapy. We found that the amino acid sequence of a peptide purified from enzymatic hydrolysates of seahorse has striking similarities to that of ${\alpha}$-enolase. In this study, we report that this peptide competes with cellular ${\alpha}$-enolase for plasminogen binding and suppresses urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA)-mediated activation of plasminogen, which results in decreased invasive migration of HT1080 fibrosarcoma cells. In addition, the peptide treatment decreased the expression levels of uPA compared to that of untreated controls. These results provide new insight into the mechanism by which the seahorse-derived peptide suppresses invasive properties of human cancer cells. Our findings suggest that this peptide could emerge as a potential therapeutic agent for cancer.

• BMB Reports
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• 제50권5호
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• pp.269-274
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• 2017

The biological activities of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) might be mediated through a classical receptor-mediated or non-classical endocytic pathway. JAB1 (C-Jun activation domain-binding protein-1) promotes the degradation of the tumor suppressor, p53, and the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, p27. When MIF and JAB1 are bound to each other in various intracellular sites, MIF inhibits the positive regulatory effects of JAB1 on the activity of AP-1. The intestinal parasite, Anisakis simplex, has an immunomodulatory effect. The molecular mechanism of action of As-MIF and human JAB1 are poorly understood. In this study, As-MIF and hJAB1 were expressed and purified with high solubility. The structure of As-MIF and hJAB1 interaction was modeled by homology modeling based on the structure of Ace-MIF. This study provides evidence indicating that the MIF domain of As-MIF interacts directly with the MPN domain of hJAB1, and four structure-based mutants of As-MIF and hJAB1 disrupt the As-MIF-hJAB1 interaction.

• BMB Reports
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• 제50권7호
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• pp.345-354
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• 2017

Autophagy, a catabolic process necessary for the maintenance of intracellular homeostasis, has recently been the focus of numerous human diseases and conditions, such as aging, cancer, development, immunity, longevity, and neurodegeneration. However, the continued presence of autophagy is essential for cell survival and dysfunctional autophagy is thought to speed up the progression of neurodegeneration. The actual molecular mechanism behind the progression of dysfunctional autophagy is not yet fully understood. Emerging evidence suggests that basal autophagy is necessary for the removal of misfolded, aggregated proteins and damaged cellular organelles through lysosomal mediated degradation. Physiologically, neurodegenerative disorders are related to the accumulation of amyloid ${\beta}$ peptide and ${\alpha}-synuclein$ protein aggregation, as seen in patients with Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, respectively. Even though autophagy could impact several facets of human biology and disease, it generally functions as a clearance for toxic proteins in the brain, which contributes novel insight into the pathophysiological understanding of neurodegenerative disorders. In particular, several studies demonstrate that natural compounds or small molecule autophagy enhancer stimuli are essential in the clearance of amyloid ${\beta}$ and ${\alpha}-synuclein$ deposits. Therefore, this review briefly deliberates on the recent implications of autophagy in neurodegenerative disorder control, and emphasizes the opportunities and potential therapeutic application of applied autophagy.

• KSBB Journal
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• 제18권4호
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• pp.312-317
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• 2003

Glycine의 배양액 첨가에 의해 Pseudomonas aurantiaca S-4380 유래 재조합 levansucrase의 세포 외 분비가 촉진된다는 것을 알 수 있었다. 배지액에 존재하는 glycine 농도에 비례 의존적으로 균체 내에서 발현된 효소의 분비량이 증가되었고, 세포의 성장은 억제됨을 알 수 있었다. SDS-PAGE 분석결과 0.5％, 1.0％ glycine 첨가로 배양시간이 증가하면서 세포내의 단백질 배양액으로 분비됨을 알 수 있었다. Levansucrase를 분비시키기 위한 최적화된 조건은 pH을 6.9-7.0으로 조절하면서 1.0％ glycine을 배양초기 첨가하였을 때 배양말기에 단백질의 급격한 분해 없이 145 U/mL의 효소 활성도를 나타내었다.

• 한국수정란이식학회지
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• 제32권3호
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• pp.105-109
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• 2017

Autophagy is an intracellular degradation and recycling system. Oocyte maturation is dynamic process, in which various proteins should be synthesized and degraded. In our previous study, we reported the loci of autophagosome and dynamics of autophagic activity in porcine oocytes during in vitro maturation. In this study, we verified loci of autophagosome in porcine follicular cumulus-oocyte complex by detection of microtubule-associated protein 1A/1B-light chain 3 (LC3) which is the reliable marker of autophagosome. Porcine ovary including various sizes of follicles was fixed within 1 hour after collection from slaughterhouse. After fixation, immunohistochemistry was conducted on sliced ovary tissue containing various sizes of follicles by using LC3 antibody. As a result, LC3 signal was clearly detected in both cumulus and oocytes of various sizes of follicles. We also found ring shaped signal which represent autophagosome near oocyte membrane. Most of the signals in oocytes were localized nearby cellular membrane while evenly dispersed in cumulus cells. Therefore, this result suggests that autophagy occurs in porcine COCs (cumulus-oocyte complexes) at follicular stage.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• 제65권2호
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• pp.93-99
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• 2022

Lysosome organelle extract (LOE) was derived from egg whites. The lysosome is an intracellular organelle that contains several hydrolysis enzymes. Previous studies have reported that LOE performs important functions, such as melanin de-colorization and anti-melanin production in B16F10 melanoma cells. However, its principal molecular and cellular mechanisms have not been elucidated till date. In non-cytotoxic conditions, LOE significantly inhibited α-MSH induced melanin synthesis of murine B16F10 cells. The anti-melanogenic activity of LOE was mediated by suppressing the mRNA expression of tyrosinase enzyme, tyrosinase related protein-1/2 (TRP-1/2), and microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) genes. By performing western blot analysis, we found that LOE significantly attenuated melanogenesis. In this case, LOE helped in increasing extracellular receptor kinase (ERK) phosphorylation in α-MSH induced B16F10 cells. Furthermore, MITF is found to be a key regulatory transcription factor in melanin synthesis; it was down-regulated by LOE through ERK phosphorylation. In this experiment, PD98059 (MEK inhibitor) was used to check whether LOE directly regulated the activity of ERK. Although LOE exerted inhibitory effect on melanin synthesis, we could not observe this effect in PD98059-treated α-MSH induced B16F10. These results strongly indicate that LOE is related to ERK activation and MITF degradation in anti-skin pigmentation. Hence, LOE should be utilized as a whitening agent of skin in the near future.

• 통합자연과학논문집
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• 제15권3호
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• pp.123-129
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• 2022

Schwann cells play a critical role for myelination in peripheral nerve system. It also plays an important role in nerve protection and regeneration. In peripheral nerve damage, regeneration is induced by the migration and proliferation of Schwann cells which were promoted by suppressing the oxidative stress. In this study, Human placental extract was prepared by homogenization and estimated its efficacy in RSC96 cells. Placental extract exhibited a protective effect against hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress in RSC96 cells, confirmed by MTT assay. Furthermore, placental extract decreased intracellular ROS against oxidative stress, confirmed by DCFH-DA assay. Autophagy was visualized with Cyto-ID staining to confirm the autophagy activity of placental extracts. The activity of autophagy was confirmed by immunoblot analysis of autophagy flux-associated proteins such as LC3 conversion and SQSTM1 degradation. Thus, we confirmed the antioxidant effect of placental extract to protect RSC96 cells from oxidative stress, and observed that it activated autophagy and restored autophagy flux.

• 대한의생명과학회지
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• 제29권4호
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• pp.231-241
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• 2023

Messenger RNA (mRNA)-based vaccines and treatments have recently emerged as a promising strategy. Naked mRNA presents various limitations for direct delivery. Therefore, in this paper, Lipid Nanoparticles (LNPs) were utilized for the delivery of mRNA. Lipid nanoparticle (LNP) mRNA systems are highly effective as vaccines, but their efficacy for pulmonary delivery has not yet been fully established. Additionally, research on effective delivery systems and administration methods for vaccines is required to resolve the stability and degradation issues associated with naked mRNA delivery. This study aimed to determine mRNA delivery efficiency via the inhalation of a lipid nanoparticle (LNP) formulation designed specifically for pulmonary delivery. To this purpose, we built a library of seven LNP configurations with different lipid molar and N/P ratios and evaluated their encapsulation efficiency using gel retardation assay. Among the tested LNPs, LNP1, LNP2-2, and LNP3-2 demonstrated high transfection efficiency in vitro based on FACS analyses luciferase assays, and intracellular accumulation tests. The mRNA delivery efficiencies of the selected LNPs after inhalation and intravenous injection were compared and evaluated. LNP2-2 showed the highest mRNA expression in healthy mouse lungs when aerosolized and was found to be non-toxic. These results indicate that LNP2-2 is a promising carrier for lung mRNA delivery via inhalation.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제46권12호
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• pp.727-735
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• 2023

Stem cells require high amounts of energy to replicate their genome and organelles and differentiate into numerous cell types. Therefore, metabolic stress has a major impact on stem cell fate determination, including self-renewal, quiescence, and differentiation. Lysosomes are catabolic organelles that influence stem cell function and fate by regulating the degradation of intracellular components and maintaining cellular homeostasis in response to metabolic stress. Lysosomal functions altered by metabolic stress are tightly regulated by the transcription factor EB (TFEB) and TFE3, critical regulators of lysosomal gene expression. Therefore, understanding the regulatory mechanism of TFEB-mediated lysosomal function may provide some insight into stem cell fate determination under metabolic stress. In this review, we summarize the molecular mechanism of TFEB/TFE3 in modulating stem cell lysosomal function and then elucidate the role of TFEB/TFE3-mediated transcriptional activity in the determination of stem cell fate under metabolic stress.