• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.109-112
• /
• 2005

A peptide that inhibits angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) was isolated from a hydrolysate of Manila clam (Ruditapes philippinarum) proteins prepared with thermolysin. Amino acid sequence of the peptide was determined to be Leu-Leu-Pro. Chemically synthesized Leu-Leu-Pro had an $IC_{50}\;value\;of\;158\;\mu{M}$. Peptides related to the Manila clam-derived peptide were synthesized to study the structure-activity relationships. The tetrapeptide, Leu-Leu-Pro-Pro, had a very weak effect on the enzyme. However, Leu-Leu-Pro-Asn showed no inhibitory activity.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.25 no.10
• /
• pp.1629-1633
• /
• 2015

Peptide assimilation in Helicobacter pylori necessitates a coordinated working of the peptide transport systems (PepTs) and aminopeptidase (PepA). We found that H. pylori hydrolyzes two detector peptides, _L-phenylalanyl- _L-3-thiaphenylalanine (PSP) and _L-phenylalanyl- _L-2-sulfanilylglycine (PSG), primarily before intake and excludes their antibacterial effects, whereas Escherichia coli readily transports them with resultant growth inhibition. PSP assimilation by H. pylori was inhibited by aminopeptidase inhibitor bestatin, but not by dialanine or cyanide-m-chlorophenylhydrazone, contrary to that of E. coli. RT- and qRT-PCR analyses showed that H. pylori may express first the PepTs (e.g., DppA and DppB) and then PepA. In addition, western blot analysis of PepA suggested that the bacterium secretes PepA in response to specific inducers.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.19-25
• /
• 1972

A kind of peptide which posseses an yeaststatic activity was isolated from Astragalus membranaceus Bunge and following characteristics was obtained. 1. The isoelectric pH of this peptide was 8.2 and histidine, an alkaline amino acid, was identified from this peptide. 2. This substance showes conspicuous heat stability and does not indicate any remarkable reduction of yeaststatic activity even for 5 hours treatment at $100^{\circ}C$. or for 30 minutes at $121^{\circ}C$. 3. The inhibitory activity of the yeast growth is not originated from the yeastcidal action but yeaststatic effect of this sample. 4. The sample shows strong stability ranging from pH 2 to 10. 5. The saccharide; glucose, sucrose, maltose, gives no effect on the yeaststatic activity of the sample even high concentration, 15 percent, and also no effect gives by magnesium, calcium and phosphate salts. 6. The available concentration of this sample on the inhibition of yeast growth was located at the ppm extent, for example, the concentration of fifty percent growth inhibition to Saccharomyces cerevisiae or S. carsbergensis was 4 ppm and 3 ppm to Candida pulcherrima, 13 ppm to S. coreanus, 18 ppm to S. sake and 38 ppm to C. tropicalis. 7. On the alcohol fermentation of S. coreanus, the peptide, an yeast growth inhibitor, gives no effect at all. 8. This substance is named as Astradix-P (Astragalus membranaceus, Radix, Peptide).

• Biomedical Science Letters
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.250-255
• /
• 2014

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) resides and replicates inside macrophages. In our previous report, we reported that CD8+ T cell-mediated immune responses specific for the peptide derived from MTB RNA polymerase beta-subunit ($RpoB_{127-135}$) could be induced in TB patients expressing HLA-$A^*0201$ subtype. In order to examine whether $RpoB_{127-135}$ specific CD8+ T cells can recognize MTB infected macrophages in vitro, CD8+ T cell lines specific for $RpoB_{127-135}$ peptide were generated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of healthy HLA-$A^*0201$ subjects by in vitro immunization technique. In this study, we observed $RpoB_{127-135}$ specific CD8+ T cells could recognize and destroy macrophages infected with MTB for 2 to 4 days. $RpoB_{127-135}$ specific CD8+ T cell immune response was inducible from PBMC of healthy subjects expressing HLA-$A^*0206$ subtype, one of HLA-A2 supertype members. Next, we investigated the HLA-I processing mechanism of $RpoB_{127-135}$ peptide in MTB infected macrophages. As a result, the presentation of the MTB derived epitope peptide, $RpoB_{127-135}$, to CD8+ T cells was not inhibited by the treatment with brefeldin-A (ER-Golgi transport inhibitor) or lactacystin (proteasome inhibitor), which blocks the classical HLA-I processing pathway. However, $RpoB_{127-135}$ specific CD8+ T cell activity was blocked either by the blocking agent for the endocytosis (cytochalasin D) or by the blocking antibody (W6/32) for HLA-I molecules. Therefore, the $RpoB_{127-135}$ peptide may be processed by accessing the alternate HLA-I processing pathway. Understanding the processing and presentation mechanisms of the MTB derived proteins will help to improve the efficacy of vaccines and the efficiency of therapeutic agents for TB.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.41 no.8
• /
• pp.608-610
• /
• 1998

To investigate the inhibitory activity of 2-hydroxy-3-amino-4-phenylbutyrate-harboring aminopeptidase N inhibitors, p-nitro-AHPA-peptide derivatives (1 and 2) and an AHPA-peptide derivative (3) were synthesized by chain elongation from C-terminal end using DCC/HOBt as a coupling reagent. The peptides $1{\sim}3$ exerted strong inhibitory activities against aminopeptidase N with $IC_{50}$ values of 1.8, 7.3 and $24.0\;{\mu}g/ml$, respectively, and cytotoxicity on cancer cell lines in vitro.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.31 no.5
• /
• pp.427-431
• /
• 1998

In the previous report (Choi et al., 1997), the angiogenin binding peptides identified from a phage-peptide library were analyzed by using the fusion proteins composed of the Escherichia coli maltose binding protein and its corresponding peptides. However, it was difficult to obtain a sufficient amount of the fusion proteins required for further analysis because of the low expression level. We now report a high level expression of the fusion protein and analysis of its anti-angiogenin activity. The use of strong T7 promoter and removal of signal sequence allowed about a 20-fold increase in the expression efficiency of the fusion protein. We were able to obtain about 10 mg of purified fusion protein from one liter of culture. The purified fusion protein showed angiogenin-specific affinity and inhibited the binding of biotinylated actin to human angiogenin at $IC_{50}$ of 0.6 mM. Its anti-angiogenin activity was also revealed by the chorioallantoic membrane assay.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
• /
• v.28 no.2
• /
• pp.159-163
• /
• 2005

The effects of sedative peptide alkaloids from Zizyphus species on calmodulin- dependent protein kinase II were investigated. Protein kinase II activity was assayed on the basis of its ability to activate tryptophan 5-monooxygenase as its substrate in the presence of calmodulin. All thirteen alkaloids tested were stronger inhibitors than chlorpromazine ($IC_50,\;98{\mu}M$) on calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II. Among them, the most potent inhibitor was daechuine S27 ($IC_{50},\;2.95{\mu}M$), which was stronger than pimozide ($IC_{50},\;15.0{\mu}M$).

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.29 no.3
• /
• pp.282-289
• /
• 2021

A novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), caused a worldwide pandemic. Our aim in this study is to produce new fusion inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2, which can be the basis for developing new antiviral drugs. The fusion core comprising the heptad repeat domains (HR1 and HR2) of SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) were used to design the peptides. A total of twelve peptides were generated, comprising a short or truncated 24-mer (peptide #1), a long 36-mer peptide (peptide #2), and ten peptide #2 analogs. In contrast to SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2 S-mediated cell-cell fusion cannot be inhibited with a minimal length, 24-mer peptide. Peptide #2 demonstrated potent inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 S-mediated cell-cell fusion at 1 µM concentration. Three peptide #2 analogs showed IC50 values in the low micromolar range (4.7-9.8 µM). Peptide #2 inhibited the SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus assay at IC50=1.49 µM. Given their potent inhibition of viral activity and safety and lack of cytotoxicity, these peptides provide an attractive avenue for the development of new prophylactic and therapeutic agents against SARS-CoV-2.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.25 no.11
• /
• pp.1703-1706
• /
• 2004

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.17 no.6
• /
• pp.952-959
• /
• 2007

His-His-Leu (HHL), a tripeptide derived from a Korean soybean paste, is an angiotensin-I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor. We report here a method of producing this tripeptide efficiently by expressing tandem multimers of the codons encoding the peptide in E. coli and purifying the HHL after hydrolysis of the peptide multimers. The HHL gene, tandemly multimerized to a 40-mer, was ligated with ubiquitin as a fusion gene (UH40). UH40 was inserted into vector pET29b; the UH40 fusion protein was then produced in E. coli BL21. The recombinant UH40 protein was purified by cation-exchange chromatography with a yield of 17.3mg/l and analyzed by matrixassisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry and protein N-terminal sequencing. Leucine aminopeptidase was used to cleave a 405-Da HHL monomer from the UH40 fusion protein and the peptide was purified using reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) on a C18 HPLC column, with a final yield of 6.2mg/l. The resulting peptide was confirmed to be HHL with the aid of MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, glutamine-TOF mass spectrometry, N-terminal sequencing, and measurement of ACE inhibiting activity. These results suggest that our production method is useful for obtaining a large quantity of recombinant HHL for functional antihypertensive peptide studies.