• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.807-811
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• 2007

Diabetes is marked by high glucose levels and is associated with decreased bone mass and increased fracture rates. To determine if [6]-gingerol could influence osteoblast dysfunction induced by 2-deoxy-D-ribose (dRib), osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells was treated with dRib and [6]-gingerol and markers of osteoblast function and oxidized protein were examined. [6]-Gingerol ($10^{-7}\;M$) significantly increased the growth of MC3T3-E1 cells in the presence of 30 mM dRib (p<0.05). [6]-Gingerol ($10^{-7}\;M$) caused a significant elevation of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, collagen content, and osteocalcin secretion in the cells. We then examined the effect of [6]-gingerol on the production of osteoprotegerin and protein carbonyl in osteoblasts. Treatment with [6]-gingerol ($10^{-9}$ and $10^{-7}\;M$) increased osteoprotegerin secretion in osteoblastic cells. Moreover, [6]-gingerol ($10^{-9}$ and $10^{-7}\;M$) decreased protein carbonyl contents of osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells in the presence of 30 mM dRib. Taken together, these results demonstrate that [6]-gingerol inhibits dRib-induced damage and may be useful in the treatment of diabetes related bone diseases.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.27 no.12
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• pp.1275-1283
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• 2004

Fate of the nascent thyrolglobulin (Tg) molecule is characterized by multimerization. To establish the formation of Tg multimers, the partially unfolded/reduced Tg or deoxycholate-treated/ reduced Tg was subjected to protein disulfide isomerase (PDI)-mediated multimerization. Oxidized glutathione/PDI-mediated formation of multimeric Tg forms, requiring at least an equivalent molar ratio of PDI/Tg monomer, decreased with increasing concentration of reduced glutathione (GSH), suggesting the oxidizing role of PDI. Additional support was obtained when PDI alone, at a PDI/Tg molar ratio of 0.3, expressed a rapid multimerization. Independently, the exposure of partially unfolded Tg to GSH resulted in Tg multimerization, enhanced by PDI, according to thiol-disulfide exchange. Though to a lower extent, a similar result was observed with the dimerization of deoxycholate-pretreated Tg monomer. Consequently, it is implied that intermolecular disulfide linkage may be facilitated at a limited region of unfolded Tg. In an attempt to examine the multimerization site, the cysteine residue-rich fragments of the Tg were subjected to GSH-induced multimerization; a 50 kDa fragment, containing three vicinal dithiols, was multimerized, while an N-terminal domain was not. Present results suggest that the oxidase as well as isomerase function of PDI may be involved in the multimerization of partially unfolded Tg or deoxycholate-treated Tg.

• BMB Reports
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.477-483
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• 1995

The recombinant human interferon alpha 2a ($rhIFN-{\alpha}2a$), expressed in Saccharomyces cerevtsiae, was purified from insoluble aggregates. The inclusion body of $rhIFN-{\alpha}$ was solubilized by guanidine salt in the presence of disulfide reducing agent. The refolding of denatured $rhIFN-{\alpha}2a$ was achieved by simple dilution. The authentic interferon alpha, which has two correctly matched disulfide bonds, was seperated from incompletely oxidized $IFN-{\alpha}$ and dimeric $IFN-{\alpha}$ by use of a CM-Sepharose column, followed by size exclusion columns at two different pH conditions. The purified protein has been subjected to detailed physicochemical characterization including sequence determination. Unlike other $rhIFN-{\alpha}2a$ from E. coli reported, the $rhIFN-{\alpha}2a$ from S. cerevisiae has no methionine residue at its N-terminus originating from the start codon, ATG. The pI of the protein was determined to be 6.05 with a single band in the pI gel, which demonstrated that the purified $rhIFN-{\alpha}$ was homogeneous. The structural study using circular dichroism showed that the protein retains its three dimensional structure in the wide range of pH conditions between pH 3 and 9, and only minor strucural deformation was observed at pH 1.0.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.37 no.11
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• pp.819-826
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• 2014

Protein modifications of recombinant pharmaceuticals have been observed both in vitro and in vivo. These modifications may result in lower efficacy, as well as bioavailability changes and antigenicity among the protein pharmaceuticals. Therefore, the contents of modification should be monitored for the quality and efficacy of protein pharmaceuticals. The interface of EPO and its receptor was visualized, and potential amino acids interacting on the interface were also listed. Two different types of modifications on the interface were identified in the preparation of rHu-EPO BRP. A UPLC/Q-TOF MS method was used to evaluate the modification at those variants. The modification of the oxidized variant was localized on the Met54 and the deamidated variants were localized on the Asn47 and Asn147. The extent of oxidation at Met54 was 3.0% and those of deamidation at Asn47 and Asn147 were 2.9% and 4.8%, respectively.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.25-32
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• 2024

Soy protein isolate (SPI) has garnered researchers' attention due to its abundance, costeffectiveness, excellent biocompatibility, hemo-compatibility, and biodegradability. However, SPI faces limitations in application due to poor processability and weak mechanical strength. Substantial efforts have been made to address these challenges. In this preliminary study, glycerol and biofibers were added to SPI to improve the mechanical properties and film forming, and glyoxal was employed to crosslink SPI molecules. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the resulting SPI/composite films were evaluated. A 15% addition of glycerol proved sufficient for good film formation. Among the biofibers, short SF microfibers were the most effective in enhancing breaking strength, while TEMPO-oxidized CNF (cellulose nanofiber) excelled among CNFs. Crosslinking with glyoxal significantly enhanced the mechanical properties, with the type of biofiber minimally affecting the mechanical properties of the crosslinked SPI composite films.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.133-143
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• 2017

This study was conducted to evaluate the contents of total polyphenol and flavonoid, and the effect of antioxidant, antimicrobial activities and cytotoxicity in vitro by different solvent fractions from Orostachys japonicus. The ethylacetate fraction extract for O. japonicus contained $634.48{\mu}g/g$ polyphenol and $205.20{\mu}g/g$ flavonoid. The ABTS radical scavenging ability of ethylacetate fraction extract at 1 mg/ml was higher than 95% which is comparable to ascorbic acid of 97%. The APX enzymatic activity and CAT activity were $1125.89{\mu}mol$ ascorbate oxidized/min/mg protein and 119.87 H2O2 decomposed/min/mg protein, respectively. In disc agar plate diffusion assay, the extract gave rise to a larger inhibition circle with Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus and Malassezia furfur strains compared with antibiotics kanamycin suggestive of high antibiotic activity. The cytotoxicity of extracts of O. japonicus was significant differences between solvent fractions. That is, the cytotoxic effect against human cancer cell was higher in ethylacetate fraction extract than other fraction extracts. These results suggest that fraction extract of O. japonicus might be very effective and economical in developing natural antioxidant and antimicrobial.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.983-989
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• 2017

NADPH-P450 reductase (NPR) transfers electrons from NADPH to cytochrome P450 and heme oxygenase enzymes to support their catalytic activities. This protein is localized within the endoplasmic reticulum membrane and utilizes FMN, FAD, and NADPH as cofactors. Although NPR is essential toward enabling the biochemical and pharmacological analyses of P450 enzymes, its production as a recombinant purified protein requires a series of tedious efforts and a high cost due to the use of $NADP^+$ in the affinity chromatography process. In the present study, the rat NPR clone containing a $6{\times}$ Histidine-tag (NPR-His) was constructed and heterologously expressed. The NPR-His protein was purified using $Ni^{2+}$-affinity chromatography, and its functional features were characterized. A single band at 78 kDa was observed from SDS-PAGE and the purified protein displayed a maximum absorbance at 455 nm, indicating the presence of an oxidized flavin cofactor. Cytochrome c and nitroblue tetrazolium were reduced by purified NPR-His in an NADPH-dependent manner. The purified NPR-His successfully supported the catalytic activities of human P450 1A2 and 2A6 and fungal CYP52A21, yielding results similar to those obtained using conventional purified rat reductase. This study will facilitate the use of recombinant NPR-His protein in the various fields of P450 research.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.42-48
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• 2000

Urokinase (UK), a thrombolytic enzyme used to clear catheters obstructed by blood clots, can be also used industrially in the recombinant protein purification system to cleave a fusion protein linked with a certain fragment of GST. We have immobilized UK by covalent attachment to activated Sepharose 6B-Cl gels and evaluated its performance to cleave a fusion protein of hGH and GST. The Sepharose gels were activated by etherification with glycidol (2,3-epoxypropanol) and further oxidized with periodate resulting in glyceryl-Sepharose gels. After the activation treatment, surface density of the aldehyde groups was 7-30 $\mu$mol-aldehde/mL-gel. Immobilization yield was higher than 99% at high pH (10.5), and the immobilized UK maintained ca. 80% specific activity of the soluble UK. In a column reaction the cleavage yield heavily depended on the feed rate, and it was nearly 86% of that from soluble UK. And the immobilized UK was successfully regenerated by unfolding and refolding with 6M GuHCl. After cleavaging reaction, the monomeric hGH was purified by using expanded bed adsorption chromatography.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.149-153
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• 2001

The electron transfer reaction is one of the most essential processes of life. Not only does it provide the means of transforming solar and chemical energy into a utilizable form for all living organisms, it also extends into a range of metabolic processes that support the life of a cell. Thus, it is of great interest to understand the physical basis of the rates and reduction potentials of these reactions. To identify the major determinants of reduction potentials in redox proteins, we have chosen the simplest electron transfer protein, rubredoxin, a small (52-54 residue) iron-sulfur protein family, widely distributed in bacteria and archaea. Rubredoxins can be grouped into two classes based on the correlation of their reduction potentials with the identity of residue 44; those with Ala44 (ex: Pyrococcus furiosus) have reduction potentials that are ∼50 mV higher than those with Va144 (ex: Clostridium pasteurianum). Based on the crystal structures of rubredoxins from C. pasteurianum and P. furiosus, we propose the identity of residue 44 alone determines the reduction potential by the orientation of the electric dipole moment of the peptide bond between 43 and 44. Based on 1.5 $\AA$ resolution crystal structures and molecular dynamics simulations of oxidized and reduced rubredoxins from C. pasteurianum, the structural rearrangements upon reduction suggest specific mechanisms by which electron transfer reactions of rubredoxin should be facilitated.

• BMB Reports
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.169-174
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• 2013

The human $B_{12}$ trafficking chaperone hCblC is well conserved in mammals and non-mammalian eukaryotes. However, the C-terminal ~40 amino acids of hCblC vary significantly and are predicted to be deleted by alternative splicing of the encoding gene. In this study, we examined the thermostability of the bovine CblC truncated at the C-terminal variable region (t-bCblC) and its regulation by glutathione. t-bCblC is highly thermolabile ($T_m={\sim}42^{\circ}C$) similar to the full-length protein (f-bCblC). However, t-bCblC is stabilized to a greater extent than f-bCblC by binding of reduced glutathione (GSH) with increased sensitivity to GSH. In addition, binding of oxidized glutathione (GSSG) destabilizes t-bCblC to a greater extent and with increased sensitivity as compared to f-bCblC. These results indicate that t-bCblC is a more sensitive form to be regulated by glutathione than the full-length form of the protein.