• 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.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.73-81
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• 2017

The ${\gamma}$-secretase complex represents an evolutionarily conserved family of transmembrane aspartyl proteases that cleave numerous type-I membrane proteins, including the ${\beta}$-amyloid precursor protein (APP) and the receptor Notch. All known rare mutations in APP and the ${\gamma}$-secretase catalytic component, presenilin, which lead to increased amyloid ${\beta}$-peptide production, are responsible for early-onset familial Alzheimer's disease. ${\beta}$-amyloid protein precursor-like (APPL) is the Drosophila ortholog of human APP. Here, we created Notch- and APPL-based Drosophila reporter systems for in vivo monitoring of ${\gamma}$-secretase activity. Ectopic expression of the Notch- and APPL-based chimeric reporters in wings results in vein truncation phenotypes. Reporter-mediated vein truncation phenotypes are enhanced by the Notch gain-of-function allele and suppressed by RNAi-mediated knockdown of presenilin. Furthermore, we find that apoptosis partly contributes to the vein truncation phenotypes of the APPL-based reporter, but not to the vein truncation phenotypes of the Notch-based reporter. Taken together, these results suggest that both in vivo reporter systems provide a powerful genetic tool to identify genes that modulate ${\gamma}$-secretase activity and/or APPL metabolism.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.97-102
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• 1996

To investigate whether human $\beta$$_2$-adrenergic receptor devoid of the C-terminal two transmembrane helices retain its ligand binding activity and specificity, 5'780-bp DNA fragment of the receptor gene which encodes amino acid 1-260 of human $\beta$$_2$-adrenergic receptor was subcloned into the bacterial fusion protein expression vector and expressed as a form of glutathione-S-transferase (GST) fusion protein in E. coli DH5$\alpha$. The receptor fusion protein was expressed as a membrane bound form which was verified by SDS-PAGE and Western blot. The fusion protein expressed in this study specifically bound $\beta$-adrenergic receptor ligand [$^3$H] Dihydroalprenolol. In saturation ligand binding assay, the $K_{d}$ value was 7.6 nM which was similar to that of intact $\beta$$_2$-adrenergic receptor in normal animal tissue ( $K_{d}$=1~2 nM) and the $B_{max}$ value was 266 fmol/mg membrane protein. In competition binding assay, the order of binding affinity of various adrenergic receptor agonists to the fusion protein was isoproterenol》epinephrine norepinephrine, which was similar to that of intact receptor in normal animal tissue. These results suggest that N-terminal five transmembrane helices of the $\beta$$_2$-adrenergic receptor be sufficient to determine the ligand binding activity and specificity, irrespective of the presence or absence of the C-terminal two transmembrane helices.s.s.s.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.333-346
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• 2002

We previously reported that the equine herpesvirus type 1(EHV-1) immediate-early protein(IE protein) physically interacts with the general transcription factor human TFIIB(Jang et al, J Virol 75：10219-10230, 2001). The interaction between the IE protein and TFIIB is necessary for the IE protein to efficiently transactivate the early TK and late IR5 EHV-1 promoters. A panel of deletion and truncation mutants of the TFIIB gene was constructed and employed in protein-binding assays to map the IE protein-binding domain within TFIIB. Evidence is presented that the first direct repeat of TFIIB interacts specifically with the EHV-1 IE protein.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.62 no.3
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• pp.330-341
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• 2024

The Trichinella spiralis novel cystatin (TsCstN) inhibits cathepsin L (CatL) activity and inflammation of macrophages during lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induction. To identify the protease inhibitory region, this study applied an in silico modeling approach to simulate truncation sites of TsCstN (Ts01), which created four truncated forms, including TsCstN^∆1-39 (Ts02), TsCstN^∆1-71 (Ts03), TsCstN^{∆1-20, ∆73-117} (Ts04), and TsCstN^{∆1-20, ∆42-117} (Ts05). The superimposition of these truncates modeled with AlphaFold Colab indicated that their structures were more akin to Ts01 than those modeled with I-TASSER. Moreover, Ts04 exhibited the closest resemblance to the structure of Ts01. The recombinant Ts01 (rTs01) and truncated proteins (rTs02, rTs03, and rTs04) were successfully expressed in a prokaryotic expression system while Ts05 was synthesized, with sizes of approximately 14, 12, 8, 10, and 2.5 kDa, respectively. When determining the inhibition of CatL activity, both rTs01 and rTs04 effectively reduced CatL activity in vitro. Thus, the combination of the α1 and L1 regions may be sufficient to inhibit CatL. This study provides comprehensive insights into TsCstN, particularly regarding its protein function and inhibitory domains against CatL.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.9
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• pp.1271-1278
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• 2012

Genetic fusion of two proteins frequently induces beneficial effects to the proteins, such as increased solubility, besides the combination of two protein functions. Here, we study the effects of the bacterial surface layer protein SgsE from Geobacillus stearothermophilus NRS 2004/3a on the folding of a C-terminally fused enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) moiety. Although GFPs are generally unable to adopt a functional confirmation in the bacterial periplasm of Escherichia coli cells, we observed periplasmic fluorescence from a chimera of a 150-amino-acid N-terminal truncation of SgsE and EGFP. Based on this finding, unfolding and refolding kinetics of different S-layer-EGFP chimeras, a maltose binding protein-EGFP chimera, and sole EGFP were monitored using green fluorescence as indicator for the folded protein state. Calculated apparent rate constants for unfolding and refolding indicated different folding pathways for EGFP depending on the fusion partner used, and a clearly stabilizing effect was observed for the SgsE_C fusion moiety. Thermal stability, as determined by differential scanning calorimetry, and unfolding equilibria were found to be independent of the fused partner. We conclude that the stabilizing effect SgsE_C exerts on EGFP is due to a reduction of degrees of freedom for folding of EGFP in the fused state.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.987-996
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• 2018

Bacterial programmed cell death is regulated by the toxin-antitoxin (TA) system. YhaV (toxin) and Pr1F (antitoxin) have been recently identified as a type II TA system in Escherichia coli. YhaV homologs have conserved active residues within the C-terminus, and to characterize the function of this region, we purified native YhaV protein (without denaturing) and constructed YhaV proteins of varying lengths. Here, we report a new low-temperature method of purifying native YhaV, which is notable given the existing challenges of purifying this highly toxic protein. The secondary structures and thermostability of the purified native protein were characterized and no significant structural destruction was observed, suggesting that the observed inhibition of cell growth in vivo was not the result of structural protein damage. However, it has been reported that excessive levels of protein expression may result in protein misfolding and changes in cell growth and mRNA stability. To exclude this possibility, we used an [$^{35}S$]-methionine prokaryotic cell-free protein synthesis system in vitro in the presence of purified YhaV, and two C-terminal truncated forms of this protein (YhaV-L and YhaV-S). Our results suggest that the YhaV C-terminal region is essential for mRNA interferase activity, and the W143 or H154 residues may play an analogous role to Y87 of RelE.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.460-467
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• 2016

Bacteriophytochromes are phytochrome-like light-sensing photoreceptors that use biliverdin as a chromophore. To study the biochemical properties of the Deinococcus radiodurans bacteriophytochrome (DrBphP) protein, two anti-DrBphP mouse monoclonal antibodies (2B8 and 3H7) were generated. Their specific epitopes were identified in our previous report. We present here fine epitope mapping of these two antibodies by using truncation and substitution of original epitope sequences in order to identify minimized epitope peptides. The previously reported original epitope sequences for 2B8 and 3H7 were truncated from both sides. Our analysis showed that the minimal peptide sequence lengths for 2B8 and 3H7 antibodies were nine amino acids (RDPLPFFPP) and six amino acids (PGEIEE), respectively. We further characterized these peptides in order to investigate their reactivity after single deletion and single substitution of the original peptides. We found that single-substituted 2B8 epitope (RDPLPAFPP) and dual-substituted 3H7 epitope (PGEIAD) showed significantly increased reactivity. These two antibodies with high reactivity for the short modified peptide sequences are valueble for developing new peptide tags for protein research.

• 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.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.9
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• pp.1441-1447
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• 2006

The light perception and phototransformation of phytochromes are the first process of the phytochrome-mediated light signal transduction. The chromophore ligation and its photochromism of various site-specific and deletion mutants of pea phytochrome A and bacterial phytochrome-like protein (Cph1) were analyzed in vitro. Serial truncation mutants from the N-terminus and C-terminus indicated that the minimal N-terminal domain for the chromophore ligation spans from the residue 78 to 399 of pea phytochrome A. Site-specific mutants indicated that several residues are critical for the chromophore ligation and/or photochromism. Histidine-324 appears to serve as an anchimeric residue for photochromism through its H-bonding function. Isoleucine-80 and arginine-383 playa critical role for the chromophore ligation and photochromism. Arginine-383 is presumably involved in the stabilization of the Pfr form of pea phytochrome A. Apparently, the amphiphilic ${\alpha}$-helix centered around the residue-391 is in the chromophore pocket and critical for the chromophore ligation.