• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.11
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• pp.1519-1528
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• 2013

Bacillus pumilus SG2, a halotolerant strain, expresses two major chitinases designated ChiS and ChiL that were induced by chitin and secreted into the supernatant. The present work aimed to obtain a mutant with higher chitinolytic activity through mutagenesis of Bacillus pumilus SG2 using a combination of UV irradiation and nitrous acid treatment. Following mutagenesis and screening on chitin agar and subsequent formation of halos, the mutated strains were examined for degradation of chitin under different conditions. A mutant designated AV2-9 was selected owing to its higher chitinase activity. To search for possible mutations in the whole operon including ChiS and ChiL, the entire chitinase operon, including the intergenic region, promoter, and two areas corresponding to the ChiS and ChiL ORF, was suquenced. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the complete chitinase operon from the SG2 and AV2-9 strains showed the presence of a mutation in the catalytic domain (GH18) of chitinase (ChiL). The results demonstrated that a single base change had occurred in the ChiL sequence in AV2-9. The wild-type chitinase, ChiL, and the mutant (designated ChiLm) were cloned, expressed, and purified in E. coli. Both enzymes showed similar profiles of activity at different ranges of pH, NaCl concentration, and temperature, but the mutant enzyme showed approximately 30% higher catalytic activity under all the conditions tested. The results obtained in this study showed that the thermal stability of chitinase increased in the mutant strain. Bioinformatics analysis was performed to predict changes in the stability of proteins caused by mutation.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.42 no.8
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• pp.673-681
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• 2009

Diabetes mellitus is a multifactorial disease. Particularly, diabetic nephropathy is a serious complication for diabetic patients, yet the precise mechanisms that underline the initial stage of diabetic renal inflammation remain unknown. However, oxidative stress induced by hyperglycemia in diabetes is implicated in diabetic renal disease. We hypothesized that dietary supplementation of antioxidants either VCE (0.5% VC + 0.5% VE) or Comb (0.5% VC + 0.5% VE + 2.5% N-acetylcysteine) improves acute diabetic renal inflammation through modulation of blood glucose levels and antioxidant and anti-inflammatory responses. Experimental animals (5.5 weeks old female ICR) used were treated with alloxan (180 mg/kg) once. When fasting blood glucose levels were higher than 250 mg/dL, mice were divided into 3 groups fed different levels of antioxidant supplementation, DM (diabetic mice fed AIN 93G purified rodent diet); VCE (diabetic mice fed 0.5% vitamin C and 0.5% vitamin E supplemented diet); Comb (diabetic mice fed 0.5% vitamin C, 0.5% vitamin E and 2.5% N-acetylcysteine supplemented diet), for 10 days and then sacrificed. Body weights were measured once a week and blood glucose levels were monitored twice a week. Lipid peroxidation products, thiobarbituric acid reacting substances were measured in kidney. NF-${\kappa}B$ activation was indirectly demonstrated by pI${\kappa}B$-${\alpna}$ and expressions of selective inflammatory and oxidative stress markers including antioxidant enzymes were also determined. Dietary antioxidant supplementation improved levels of blood glucose as well as kidney lipid peroxi-dation. Dietary antioxidant supplementation improved NF-${\kappa}B$ activation and protein expression of HO-1, but not mRNA expression levels in diabetic mice fed Comb diet. In contrast, the mRNA and protein expression of CuZnSOD was decreased in diabetic mice fed Comb diet. However, antioxidant supplementation did not improve mRNA and protein expressions of IL-$1{\beta}$ and MnSOD in diabetic mice. These findings demonstrate that acute diabetic renal inflammation was associated with altered inflammatory and antioxidant responses and suggest that antioxidant cocktail supplementation may have beneficial effects on early stage of diabetic nephropathy through modulation of blood glucose levels and antioxidant enzyme expressions.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.25 no.4 s.83
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• pp.330-339
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• 1997

Botrytis cinerea T91-1 has shown to produce at least four different polygalacturonases in a liquid medium containing citrus pectin as a carbon source. One of the enzymes, its molecular weight was estimated as 37 kDa by denatured polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, was purified by a series of procedures including acetone precipitation, ion exchange, heparin affinity, and reverse phase column chromatographies. By viscometric analysis, the enzyme was revealed as an endo-polygalacturonase. The enzyme activity was inhibited by divalent cations such as $Ca^{2+}$, $Co^{2+}$, and $Cu^{2+}$. Km and Vmax for polygalacturonic acid hydrolysis were 0.33 mg/ml and 28.6 nM/min, respectively. The optimum temperature for enzymatic activity was $55^{\circ}C$ and the enzyme showed optimal pH values between 4.0 and 4.5. The enzyme was stable up to 12 hours in the range of pH 4 to 7 and at the temperature below $30^{\circ}C$. Amino acid sequence from N-terminal up to 6 amino acids determined by Edman degradation showed little homology with polygalacturonases from fungi and plants.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.177-190
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• 2004

Background: Secretory phospholipase $A_2$ ($sPLA_2$) are a group of extracellular enzymes that release fatty acids at the sn-2 position of phospholipids. Group IIA $sPLA_2$ ($sPLA_2$-IIA) has been detected in the inflammatory fluids, and its plasma level increases in the inflammatory disease. This study examined the effect of $sPLA_2$-IIA on mouse macropahges in order to investigate the potential mechanism of $sPLA_2$-induced inflammation. Materials and Methods: Wild type $PLA_2$ and mutant H48Q $PLA_2$ were purified from HEK293 cells transfected with the corresponding plasmids, and the $PLA_2$ activities were measured using 1-palmitoyl-2-[1-$^{14}C$]linoleoyl-3-phosphatidylethanolamine as substrates. The TNF-${\alpha}$ and IL-6 released in the supernatants were determined by ELISA. In addition, the TNF-${\alpha}$ and IL-6 mRNA were analyzed by RT-PCR. Results: $sPLA_2$-IIA stimulated the production of TNF-${\alpha}$ and IL-6 in a dose- and time-dependent manner. In addition, the effect of $sPLA_2$-IIA on cytokine production from the macrophage was found to be associated with the accumulation of their specific mRNA. The mRNA levels of TNF-${\alpha}$ and IL-6 peaked at 2 and 6 hours in a time-dependent manner, respectively. Conclusion: In conclusion, the production of proinflammatory cytokine might be mediated by the binding of $sPLA_2$-IIA to the receptors.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2017.06a
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• pp.36-36
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• 2017

Out of twenty common protein amino acids, there are many kinds of non protein amino acids (NPAAs) that exist as secondary metabolites and exert ecological functions in plants. Mimosine (Mim), one of those NPAAs derived from L. leucocephala acts as an iron chelator and reversely block mammalian cell cycle at G1/S phases. Cysteine (Cys) is decisive for protein and glutathione that acts as an indispensable sulfur grantor for methionine and many other sulfur-containing secondary products. Cys biosynthesis includes consecutive two steps using two enzymes-serine acetyl transferase (SAT) and O-acetylserine (thiol)lyase (OASTL) and appeared in plant cytosol, chloroplast, and mitochondria. In the first step, the acetylation of the ${\beta}$-hydroxyl of L-serine by acetyl-CoA in the existence of SAT and finally, OASTL triggers ${\alpha}$, ${\beta}$-elimination of acetate from OAS and bind $H_2S$ to catalyze the synthesis of Cys. Mimosine synthase, one of the isozymes of the OASTLs, is able to synthesize Mim with 3-hydroxy-4-pyridone (3H4P) instead of $H_2S$ for Cys in the last step. Thus, the aim of this study was to clone and characterize the cytosolic (Cy) OASTL gene from L. leucocephala, express the recombinant OASTL in Escherichia coli, purify it, do enzyme kinetic analysis, perform docking dynamics simulation analysis between the receptor and the ligands and compare its performance between Cys and Mim synthesis. Cy-OASTL was obtained through both directional degenerate primers corresponding to conserved amino acid region among plant Cys synthase family and the purified protein was 34.3KDa. After cleaving the GST-tag, Cy-OASTL was observed to form mimosine with 3H4P and OAS. The optimum Cys and Mim reaction pH and temperature were 7.5 and $40^{\circ}C$, and 8.0 and $35^{\circ}C$ respectively. Michaelis constant (Km) values of OAS from Cys were higher than the OAS from Mim. Inter fragment interaction energy (IFIE) of substrate OAS-Cy-OASTL complex model showed that Lys, Thr81, Thr77 and Gln150 demonstrated higher attraction force for Cys but 3H4P-mimosine synthase-OAS intermediate complex showed that Gly230, Tyr227, Ala231, Gly228 and Gly232 might provide higher attraction energy for the Mim. It may be concluded that Cy-OASTL demonstrates a dual role in biosynthesis both Cys and Mim and extending the knowledge on the biochemical regulatory mechanism of mimosine and cysteine.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.151-157
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• 2002

This study was carried out to investigate functional activities of the free radical scavenging and germ of Glycin max. Merrill fur cytotoxicity toward P338 and L1210 cells derived from mouse. Effect of crude saponin were examined to oxygen radicals and their scavenger enzymes in liver fractions of Spragae-Dawley(SD) rats. Male rats were fed basic diets of control and experiment diets of 0.5∼1.0% crude saponin. There were no significant differences in hydroxy radical($.$OH) formation of liver mitochondria and microsomes in 1.0% group, while $.$OH formations were significantly decrease in 0.5% and 1.0% saponin compared with control group. Their oxygen radical(O$_2$$\^$$.$/) scavenging activities were significantly decrease in liver cytosol of 0.5% and 1.0% saponin group compared with control group. Soybean germ saponin was isolated purified by the method of HPLC to investigate the cytotoxicity of mouse cells by using the MTT assay. SA-1 saponin fraction of soybean germ showed to inhibit toward growth cell of P338 and L1210 cells and its showed less than 50% cytotoxicity These results suggest that the saponin may play a effective role in attenuating a oxygen radical formations and increasing a scavenger enzyme activities.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.952-959
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• 2011

A new bacteriocin-producing lactic acid bacteria (LAB) which has been isolated from kimchi was identified as Pediococcus damnosus by use of API kit and 16S rDNA sequencing, and designated as P. damnosus JNU 534. The bacteriocin produced by P. damnosus JNU 534 markedly inhibited the growth of some of LAB and Listeria monocytogenes, whereas other pathogens including Gram negative bacteria were not susceptible. The production of bacteriocin started at the beginning of exponential phase and reached maximum activity at the early stationary phase. The bacteriocin was stable on the wide pH range of 2-9 and heat treatment up to $100^{\circ}C$ for 15 min. The antimicrobial compound was inactivated by treatments of proteolytic enzymes indicating its proteinaceous in nature. The bacteriocin was purified by 30% ammonium sulfate precipitation followed by hydrophobic interaction column and $C_{18}$ column chromatography. The estimated molecular weight of the bacteriocin using tricine SDS-PAGE was approximately 3.4 kDa and the identified N-terminal amino acid sequence was $NH_2$-ILLEELNV.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.7
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• pp.1122-1132
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• 2018

In this study, we attempted to find new and efficient microbial enzymes for producing rare sugars. A ribose-5-phosphate isomerase B (OsRpiB) was cloned, overexpressed, and preliminarily purified successfully from a newly screened Ochrobactrum sp. CSL1, which could catalyze the isomerization reaction of rare sugars. A study of its substrate specificity showed that the cloned isomerase (OsRpiB) could effectively catalyze the conversion of $\text\tiny{L}$-rhamnose to $\text\tiny{L}$-rhamnulose, which was unconventional for RpiB. The optimal reaction conditions ($50^{\circ}C$, pH 8.0, and 1 mM $Ca^{2+}$) were obtained to maximize the potential of OsRpiB in preparing $\text\tiny{L}$-rhamnulose. The catalytic properties of OsRpiB, including $K_m$, $k_{cat}$, and catalytic efficiency ($k_{cat}/K_m$), were determined as 43.47 mM, $129.4sec^{-1}$, and 2.98 mM/sec. The highest conversion rate of $\text\tiny{L}$-rhamnose under the optimized conditions by OsRpiB could reach 26% after 4.5 h. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first successful attempt of the novel biotransformation of $\text\tiny{L}$-rhamnose to $\text\tiny{L}$-rhamnulose by OsRpiB biocatalysis.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.32 no.11
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• pp.1054-1062
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• 2010

Oxidative coupling reactions of humic substances (HS) can be catalyzed by a variety of natural extracellular enzymes and metal oxides. In this study, property changes of HS induced by a natural enzyme, horseradish peroxidase (HRP), and the effect of it to microfiltration (MF) were investigated. PAHA was transformed by oxidative coupling reaction with HRP and hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$), verifying the catalytic effects of the HRP. Size exclusion chromatography (SEC) revealed that weight-average molecular weight (MWw) of PAHA was proportionally increased with the dosages of HRP and $H_2O_2$, indicating the transform action of HS into larger and complex molecules. An increase in the conformational stability of HS was achieved through the promotion of intermolecular covalent bondings between heterogeneous humic molecules. Spectroscopic analysis (fluorescence and infrared spectroscopy) proved that functional groups were transformed by the reaction. Additionally, HS and transformed products were undergone microfiltration (MF) to examine the treatment potential of them in a water treatment facility. Original HS could not be removed by MF but larger molecules of transformed products could be removed. Meanwhile, transformed products caused more fouling on the filtration than original HS. This results proved that natural organic matter (NOM) can be removed by MF after its increase in molecular size by oxidative coupling reaction.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.1143-1149
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• 2003

To elucidate a method of preventing dental caries, strains producing lytic enzymes were isolated and their characteristics were investigated. Among 5,00 alkalophilic strains isolated from soil, 22 strains showed lytic activity against Streptococcus mutans. Strain No. 4830, with the highest lytic activity, was selected for further study. Strain 4830 showed 94% sequence homology with the 16S rDNA sequence of Bacillus alcalophilus, but it was concluded to be different from Bacillus alcalophilus because of its biochemical characteristics. The strain was named Bacillus sp. 4830. The lytic enzyme from Bacillus sp. 4830 was purified by ethanol precipitation and CM-agarose column chromatography. The molecular weight of the lytic enzyme was determined to be 28 kDa by SDS-PAGE. The lytic enzyme was stable between pH 5.0 and pH 11 and up to $40^{\circ}C$. The optimal pH and temperature for the lytic activity was 9.0 and $50^{\circ}C$, respectively.