• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.6-11
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• 2015

Antheraea yamamai silkworm cocoon is considered as a natural biocompatible materials, but can not be used as medical resources due to its difficult processability. In this study, we examined the general characteristics including cocoon shell weight and structural and thermal properties of Antheraea yamamai silkworm cocoon. The cocoon shell weight and thickness of wild silkworm cocoon was 0.528 g and 0.424 mm, respectively. The cocoon has yellow-green color in outside cocoon but white in inner layer cocoon. Amino acid analysis showed that the main amino acid of Antheraea yamamai cocoon is alanine, glycine, serine, aspartic acid, tyrosine and arginine. X-ray diffractometry showed that strong diffraction peaks at $2{\theta}=16.8^{\circ}$, $20.4^{\circ}$, corresponded to ${\beta}$-sheet structure and sharp diffraction peaks at $2{\theta}=15.0^{\circ}$, $24.3^{\circ}$, $30.0^{\circ}$ due to the presence of calcium oxalate on cocoon surface. Antheraea yamamai cocoon was degraded at $370^{\circ}C$. These results might be used as basic information for development of non-textile materials using Anthereae yamamai silkworm cocoon.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.95-110
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• 2003

Alzheimer's disease(AD) is a geriatric dementia that is widespread in old age. In the near future AD will be the biggest problem in public health service. Although a variety of oriental prescriptions in study Jeonmaedan have been traditionally utilized for the treatment of AD, their pharmacological effects and action mechanisms have not yet fully elucidated. It has been widely believed that A${\beta}$ peptide devided from APP causes apoptotic neurotoxicity in AD brain. However, recent evidence suggests that CTl05(carboxy terminal 105 amino acid peptide fragment of APP) may be an important factor causing neurotoxicity in AD. In addition, AD is one of brain degeneration disease. So we studied on herbal medicine that have a relation of brain degeneration. In Oriental Medicine, Jeonmaedan has been used for disease in relation to brain degeneration. As the result of this study, in Jeonmaedan the apoptosis in the nervous system is inhibited, the repair against the degerneration of SK-N-SH cell lines by CT105 expression is promoted. So Jeonmaedan may be beneficial for the treatment of AD.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.74-80
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• 2007

An enantioselective lipase gene (esf) for the kinetic resolution of optically active (S)-flurbiprofen was cloned from the new strain Serratia marcescens ES-2. The esf gene was composed of a 1,845-bp open reading frame encoding 614 amino acid residues with a calculated molecular mass of 64,978 Da. The lipase expressed in E. coli was purified by a three-step procedure, and it showed preferential substrate specificity toward the medium-chain-length fatty acids. The esf gene encoding the enantioselective lipase was reintroduced into the parent strain S. marcescens ES-2 for secretory overexpression. The transformant S. marcescens BESF secreted up to 217kU/ml of the enantioselective lipase, about 54-fold more than the parent strain, after supplementing 3.0% Triton X-207. The kinetic resolution of (S)-flurbiprofen was carried out even at an extremely high (R,S)-flurbiprofen ethyl ester [(R,S)-FEE] concentration of 500 mM, 130 kU of the S. marcescens ES-2 lipase per mmol of (R,S)-FEE, and 1,000 mM of succinyl ${\beta}-cyclodextrin$ as the dispenser at $37^{\circ}C$ for 12h, achieving the high enantiomeric excess and conversion yield of 98% and 48%, respectively.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.973-978
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• 2001

The bacterial flagellar motor is a molecular machine that couples proton or sodium influx to force generation, mostly for driving rotation of the helical flagellar filament. In this study, we cloned a gene (motX) encoding a component of the sodium-driven flagellar motor from Vibrio fluvialis. The nucleotide sequence of the motX gene, composed of 633 bp and 211 amino acid residues, was determined. Overexpression of the motX gene in Escherichia coli using a strong promoter induced growth inhibition and cell lysis. The lethal effect of E. coli was suppressed by adding amiloride, as a potent inhibitor for the sodium channel. Electron microscopic observation of the expressed protein indicated that MotX protein induced by isopropyl ${\beta}$-D-thiogalactopyranoside caused the lysis of host cell.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.12
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• pp.1514-1519
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• 2009

A gene encoding the xylanase of Bacillus subtilis AMX-4 isolated from soil was cloned into Escherichia coli and the gene product was purified from the cell-free extract of the recombinant strain. The gene, designated xylA, consisted of 639 nucleotides encoding a polypeptide of 213 residues. The deduced amino acid sequence was highly homologous to those of xylanases belonging to glycosyl hydrolase family 11. The molecular mass of the purified xylanase was 23 kDa as estimated by SDS-PAGE. The enzyme had a pH optimum of 6.0-7.0 and a temperature optimum of $50-55^{\circ}C$. Xylanase activity was significantly inhibited by 5 mM $Cu^{2+}$ and 5 mM $Mn^{2+}$, and noticeably enhanced by 5 mM $Fe^{2+}$. The enzyme was active on xylans including arabinoxylan, birchwood xylan, and oat spelt xylan, but it did not exhibit activity toward carboxymethylcellulose or p-nitrophenyl-$\beta$-xylopyranoside. The predominant products resulting from xylan and xylooligosaccharide hydrolysis were xylobiose and xylotriose. The enzyme could hydrolyze xylooligosaccharides larger than xylotriose.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.225-241
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• 2018

Taurine is an abundant, ${\beta}-amino$ acid with diverse cytoprotective activity. In some species, taurine is an essential nutrient but in man it is considered a semi-essential nutrient, although cells lacking taurine show major pathology. These findings have spurred interest in the potential use of taurine as a therapeutic agent. The discovery that taurine is an effective therapy against congestive heart failure led to the study of taurine as a therapeutic agent against other disease conditions. Today, taurine has been approved for the treatment of congestive heart failure in Japan and shows promise in the treatment of several other diseases. The present review summarizes studies supporting a role of taurine in the treatment of diseases of muscle, the central nervous system, and the cardiovascular system. In addition, taurine is extremely effective in the treatment of the mitochondrial disease, mitochondrial encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes (MELAS), and offers a new approach for the treatment of metabolic diseases, such as diabetes, and inflammatory diseases, such as arthritis. The review also addresses the functions of taurine (regulation of antioxidation, energy metabolism, gene expression, ER stress, neuromodulation, quality control and calcium homeostasis) underlying these therapeutic actions.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 2000.04a
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• pp.17-19
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• 2000

Heterotrimeric G Proteins transduce ligand binding to a wide variety of seven transmembrane cell surface receptors into intracellular signals. The currently accepted model for the activation of G protein suggests that ligand-activated receptor accelerates GDP-GTP exchange reactions on the ${\alpha}$ subunit of the heterotrimeric G protein. At least seventeen distinct isoforms of the G${\alpha}$ subunit protein have been identified in mammalian organisms. Among them, the G${\alpha}$q family consists of five members whose ${\alpha}$ subunits show different expression patterns. G${\alpha}$q and G${\alpha}$11 seem to be almost ubiquitously expressed, whereas G${\alpha}$14 is predominantly expressed in spleen, lung, kidney and testis. G${\alpha}$16 and its murine counterpart G${\alpha}$15 are expressed in hematopoietic cells and has been shown to couple a wide variety of receptors to phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C activity. Beta-isoforms of phospholipase C were shown to be activated by all members of G${\alpha}$q family, i.e., G${\alpha}$q, G${\alpha}$11, G${\alpha}$l4 and G${\alpha}$16 subunits either in reconstitution system. or in experiments using cDNA transfection with intact Cos-7 cells.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.153-158
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• 2000

Vancomycin belongs to the vancomycin-risocetin family of glycopeptides, and is a subclass of linear sugar containg peptides composed of seven amino acids. Its strochemical configuration forms the basic of a peptidoglycon monomer. The glycosylated hexapeptide chainconsists of chloro-$\beta$-hydroxytyrosines, p-hytidoglycines, N-anthylleucine and aspartic acid forms a rigid molecular frame work and gives the difficulty in the analysis. Voncomycin in the serum samples is usually estimated by liquid chromatography and the bacterial sensitivity was genereally tested by the microbiological assay. The pressent review deals with the qualitative, quantutative, microbioligical and immunological assays and the comparison of the quantitative methods. Clinical implications of vancomycin have also been cited in the review.

• BMB Reports
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• v.43 no.11
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• pp.726-731
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• 2010

We report the tissue-specific distribution of chitinolytic activity in Korean ginseng root and characterize two 31-kDa chitinolytic enzymes. These two enzymes (SBF1 and SBF2) were purified 70- and 81-fold with yields of 0.75 and 1.25%, respectively, and exhibited optimal pH and temperature ranges of 5.0-5.5 and 40-$50^{\circ}C$. With [$^3H$]-chitin as a substrate, $K_m$ and $V_{max}$ values of SBF1 were 4.6 mM and 220 mmol/mg-protein/h, respectively, while those of SBF2 were 7.14 mM and 287 mmol/mg-protein/h. The purified enzymes showed markedly less activity with p-nitrophenyl-N-acetylglucosaminide and fluorescent 4-methylumbelliferyl glycosides of D-N-acetylglucosamine oligomers than with [$^3H$]-chitin. End-product inhibition of both enzymes demonstrated that both are endochitinases with different N-acetylglucosaminidase activity. Furthermore, the $NH_2$-terminal sequence of SBF1 showed a high degree of homology with other plant chitinases whereas the $NH_2$-terminal amino acid of SBF2 was blocked.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.389-394
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• 2006

Human seven-in-absentia (SIAH)-interacting protein (SIP) is a component of the E3 ligase complex targeting beta-catenin for destruction. Arabidopsis has one SIP protein (AtSIP) with 32% amino acid sequence identity to SIP. To investigate the functions of AtSIP, we isolated an atsip knockout mutant, and generated transgenic plants overexpressing AtSIP. The growth rates and morphologies of the atsip and transgenic plants were indistinguishable from those of wild type. However, atsip plants were more susceptible to Pseudomonas syringae infection, and the transgenic plants overexpressing AtSIP were more resistant. Consistent with this, RNA blot analysis showed that the AtSIP gene is strongly induced by wounding and hydrogen peroxide treatment. In addition, when plants were infected with P. syringae, AtSIP was transiently induced prior to PR-1 induction. These observations show that Arabidopsis AtSIP plays a role in resistance to pathogenic infection.