• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.1031-1043
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• 2023

The purpose of this study was to investigate the functional properties of salt-soluble proteins obtained from Protaetia brevitarsis (PB) and Tenebrio molitor (TM) larvae, the interaction between these proteins and pork myofibrillar protein (MP) in a gel system. The gel properties of salt-soluble protein extracts showed that the PB had a higher viscosity than the TM protein. However, the TM protein had higher gel strength compared with the PB protein. The gelation characteristics of the pork MP gel systems added with lyophilized insect salt-soluble protein powder showed to decrease slightly viscosity compared with MP alone. Adding the TM or PB protein powder did not affect the pork MP's hydrophobicity and sulfhydryl group levels. Furthermore, the protein bands of the MP did not change with the type or amount of insect salt-soluble protein. The cooking yields of the pork MP gels containing PB or TM protein powder were higher than those without insect protein. Regardless of the type of insect salt-soluble protein added, the pork MP's gel strength decreased. Furthermore, as the level of insect powder increased, the surface protein structure became rough and porous. The results demonstrated that proteins extracted from PB and TM larvae interfered with the gelation of pork MP in a gel system.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.351-360
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• 2002

In the study presented here, identification, purification, and partial characterization of a hemin-regulated protein in Prevotella nigrescens were carried out. The results of this study confirm that the availability of hemin influences the expression of a selected membrane protein as well as the growth rate of P. nigrescens ATCC 33563. The 50 kDa cell envelope associated protein, whose expression is hemin regulated, is considered to be a putative hemin-binding protein from P. nigrescens. Disulfide bonds were not present in this protein, and N'-terminal amino acid sequence analysis revealed that this protein belongs to a new, so far undescribed protein. The 50 kDa protein was found to be rich in hydrophilic amino acids, with glycine comprising approximately 60% of the total amino acids. The study described here is the first to identify, purify, and biochemically characterize a putative hemin-binding protein from P. nigrescens. Work is in progress to further characterize the molecular structure of this protein.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.572-584
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• 2002

Rapid development in molecular biology and recent advancement in recombinant technology increase identification and commercialization of potential protein drugs. Traditional forms of administrations for the peptide and protein drugs often rely on their parenteral injection, since the bioavailability of these therapeutic agents is poor when administered nonparenterally. Tremendous efforts by numerous investigators in the world have been put to improve protein formulations and as a result, a few successful formulations have been developed including sustained-release human growth hormone. For a promising protein delivery technology, efficacy and safety are the first requirement to meet. However, these systems still require periodic injection and increase the incidence of patient compliance. The development of an oral dosage form that improves the absorption of peptide and especially protein drugs is the most desirable formulation but one of the greatest challenges in the pharmaceutical field. The major barriers to developing oral formulations for peptides and proteins are metabolic enzymes and impermeable mucosal tissues in the intestine. Furthermore, chemical and conformational instability of protein drugs is not a small issue in protein pharmaceuticals. Conventional pharmaceutical approaches to address these barriers, which have been successful with traditional organic drug molecules, have not been effective for peptide and protein formulations. It is likely that effective oral formulations for peptides and proteins will remain highly compound specific. A number of innovative oral drug delivery approaches have been recently developed, including the drug entrapment within small vesicles or their passage through the intestinal paracellular pathway. This review provides a summary of the novel approaches currently in progress in the protein oral delivery followed by factors affecting protein oral absorption.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.70-76
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• 2001

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of crystalline isoleucine supplementation of a low protein, corn-soybean meal diet on the performance and immune function of weanling pigs. Forty-five crossbred ($Duroc{\times}Landrace{\times}Large\;White$) piglets, weighing an average of $11.00{\pm}0.07kg$, were assigned to either a control diet containing 20% crude protein (0.64% isoleucine), a 16% crude protein diet without isoleucine supplementation (0.41% isoleucine) or a 16% crude protein diet supplemented with isoleucine (0.64% isoleucine). Reducing the crude protein content of the diet from 20 to 16% significantly (p<0.05) reduced both average daily gain and feed intake. Feed conversion also tended (p=0.07) to be poorer for a low protein diet without isoleucine supplementation. Isoleucine supplementation of the 16% crude protein diet increased both gain and feed intake to a level similar to that obtained by pigs fed the 20% crude protein diet (p>0.05). Blood urea nitrogen, serum total protein and serum globulin were significantly (p<0.05) higher for pigs fed the unsupplemented 16% crude protein diet than for pigs fed the isoleucine-supplemented diet or the control. Egg albumin antibody titre decreased significantly (p<0.05) in pigs fed the diet with isoleucine supplementation, whereas the antibody titre of pigs fed the low protein and low isoleucine diet was similar to that of pigs fed the diet containing 20% crude protein and 0.64% isoleucine. It was suggested that crystalline isoleucine supplementation of a low protein and low isoleucine diet improved pig performance but suppressed humoral immune function.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.227-234
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• 1998

Objective : Many evidences suggest that patients with bipolar disorder have functional abnormalities in their postreceptor signal transduction pathways, and mood stabilizing effect of lithium is exerted by modulating this dysfunctioning system. Carbamazepine, an antiepileptic agent, is also known to be effective in the treatment and prevention of bipolar disorder. But the precise mechanism of action of the drug is still poorly understood. This study was performed to elucidate the possible therapeutic mechanism of carbamazepine. Method : The effects of chronic carbamazepine administration on protein kinase A and protein kinase C activities in frontal cortex of rat brain after 2 weeks of drug administration were measured and compared with those of control subjects. Results : Mean(${\pm}SE$) value of activity(phosphate transfer ${\mu}mol/mg$ of $protein{\cdot}min$) of protein kinase A in control and test group was $0.249563{\pm}0.036$ and $0.539853{\pm}0.078$, and that of protein kinase C was $0.654817{\pm}0.053$ and $1.146205{\pm}0.052$ respectively, being increased in test group. And differences between the two groups were statistically significant for both enzymes(protein kinase A ; p<0.01, protein kinase C ; p<0.001). Conclusion : These results show that chronic carbamazepine administration increases protein kinase A and C activities, and concerning the possible mode of therapeutic action in bipolar disorder it is suggested that enhanced enzymes phosphorylate receptor-G-protein-effector complexes to dampen hyperfunctioning neuronal activity and thus stabilize the system.

• BMB Reports
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.256-261
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• 2011

PEP-1 peptide has been used for transduction of native protein into mammalian cells. This work describes the findings that the fusion of PEP-1 to target proteins led to protein truncation likely in a non-protein-specific manner. Approximately 75% of PEP-1-MsrA fusion protein was truncated in the N-terminal region of MsrA between Lys-27 and Val-28 during expression in Escherichia coli and purification. This large protein truncation was also observed in another PEP-1 fused protein, PEP-1-MsrB2, in the N-terminal region of MsrB2. The full-length PEP-1-MsrA protein was rapidly transduced into keratinocyte cells within 15 min. The transduced PEP-1-MsrA was functionally active and could protect skin cells against oxidative stress- and ultraviolet radiation-induced cell death. Collectively, our data demonstrated the protective roles of MsrA in skin cells and, moreover, may raise a concern of protein truncation caused by fusion of PEP-1 about the general use of this peptide for protein transduction.

• Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.153-161
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• 2018

Imbalance of protein homeostasis (proteostasis) is known to cause cellular malfunction, cell death, and diseases. Elaborate regulation of protein synthesis and degradation is one of the important processes in maintaining normal cellular functions. Protein degradation pathways in eukaryotes are largely divided into proteasome-mediated degradation and lysosome-mediated degradation. Proteasome is a multisubunit complex that selectively degrades 80% to 90% of cellular proteins. Proteasome-mediated degradation can be divided into 26S proteasome (20S proteasome + 19S regulatory particle) and free 20S proteasome degradation. In 1980, it was discovered that during ubiquitination process, wherein ubiquitin binds to a substrate protein in an ATP-dependent manner, ubiquitin acts as a degrading signal to degrade the substrate protein via proteasome. Conversely, 20S proteasome degrades the substrate protein without using ATP or ubiquitin because it recognizes the oxidized and structurally modified hydrophobic patch of the substrate protein. To date, most studies have focused on protein degradation via 26S proteasome. This review describes the 26S/20S proteasomal pathway of protein degradation and discusses the potential of proteasome as therapeutic targets for cancer treatment as well as against diseases caused by abnormalities in the proteolytic system.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.341-347
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• 1991

It was reported that protein carboxymethylation is involved in amylase secretion of parotid gland by isoproterenot. It was also suggested that a small part of the total cellular protein carboxymethylation is directly involved in pancreatic enzyme secretion. On the contrary, other authors reported that there is no relationship between protein carboxymethylation and secretion in pancreas and parotid gland. In recent study, it was proposed that a methyl acceptor protein plays a limited modulatory role in the coupling of cytosolic $Ca^{++}$ accumulation and exocytosis. In this study, the effects of cholinergic and adrenergic agents on the activities of protein methylase II in pancreatic tissues were examined to test the relationship between protein methylation and pancreatic secretion. The results are as follows. The activity of amylase was slightly increased at the concentration of $10^{-5}$ M of isoproterenol and norepinephrine. The activities of protein methylase I and II were decreased by isoproterenol and norepinephrine, but the activities of protein methylase III were hardly changed. The cholinergic stimulants acetylcholine and carbachol at a concentration of $10^{-5}$ M increased the activities of protein methylase I and decreased the activitiy of protein methylase III compared with control.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.81-87
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• 2003

While screening proteins that interact with DnaA protein, the initiator protein for Escherichia coil chromosomal DNA replication, we found a 52-kD sized protein which bound to DnaA protein in a salt-dependent manner. This protein was identified as trigger factor, a ribosome-associated peptidyl-prolyl- cisltrans isomerase with chaperone activity. Trigger factor was overproduced and purified to near homogeneity, and its effect on the function of DnaA protein was examined, Enhanced binding of DnaA protein to DnaA box with no apparent supershift in the gel-shift experiments suggested that trigger factor, by virtue of its chaperone activity, exerts a change on DnaA protein thus increasing its binding affinity for DnaA box.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.125-130
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• 2001

A putative protein encoded by Arabidopsis AtMTN3 gene, a homologue of Medicago truncatula MTN3, consists of 285 amino acid residues, and has a predicted molecular mass of 31.5 kDa and a calculated pI of 9.1. Primary amino acid sequence analyses have revealed that the protein contains seven putative transmembrane regions with N-terminus oriented to the outside of the membrane. The AtMTN3 protein shows overall 16.4% of amino acid identity with the rat GALR3 protein, known to be a G-protein-coupled receptor. The gene is present as a single copy in the Arabidopsis genome, and expressed in aerial parts but not in roots of Arabidopsis. Therefore, AtMTN3 appears not to be specifically involved in Rhizobium-induced nodule development, as was predicted for the MTN3 gene. These proteins possibly mediate signal transmission through G-protein-coupled pathways during general interactions between plants and symbiotic or pathogenic microbes.