• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.69-73
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• 2000

In order to understand the biological role of calmodulin in plants, transgenic plants expressing a mutant calmodulin (VU-4, Iys to ile-115) have been analyzed. We found that tobacco plants expressing VU-4 calmodulin have approximately twofold higher $\gamma$-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels than the control plants. Cell suspension cultures established from the stem explants of the transgenic tobacco seedlings also have higher levels of GABA than the control cell cultures. Specific activity of glutamate decarboxylase (GAD), which catalyzes the decarboxylation of glutamate to $CO_2$ and GABA, of the transgenic tobacco cell extracts was about twofold higher than the activity of the control cell extracts. Western-blot analysis showed that the GAD is highly expressed in the transgenic tobacco plants. GAD partially purified from tobacco cell extracts showed approximately threefold $Ca^{2+}$/calmodulin-dependent activation. These data suggest that GABA synthesis in the transgenic tobacco plants is elevated, possibly due to higher levels of the calmodulin-dependent GAD enzyme and/or as a result of enhanced activation due to increased levels of the foreign calmodulin.

• Mycobiology
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.199-203
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• 2017

This study was done to produce ${\gamma}$-aminobutyric acid (GABA) from wild yeast as well as investigate its anti-hyperglycemic effects. Among ten GABA-producing yeast strains, Pichia silvicola UL6-1 and Sporobolomyces carnicolor 402-JB-1 produced high GABA concentration of $134.4{\mu}g/mL$ and $179.2{\mu}g/mL$, respectively. P. silvicola UL6-1 showed a maximum GABA yield of $136.5{\mu}g/mL$ and $200.8{\mu}g/mL$ from S. carnicolor 402-JB-1 when they were cultured for 30 hr at $30^{\circ}C$ in yeast extract-peptone-dextrose medium. The cell-free extract from P. silvicola UL6-1 and S. carnicolor 402-JB-1 showed very high anti-hyperglycemic ${\alpha}$-glucosidase inhibitory activity of 72.3% and 69.9%, respectively. Additionally, their cell-free extract-containing GABA showed the anti-hyperglycemic effect in streptozotocin-induced diabetic Sprague-Dawley rats.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.579-584
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• 2013

In this study, we synthesized functional dendrimer derivatives as nonviral gene delivery vectors. Poly(amidoamine) dendrimer (PAMAM, generation 4) was modified to possess functional amino acids to enhance gene transfection efficiency. PAMAM G4 derivatives conjugated with L-arginine (Arg) and ${\gamma}$-aminobutyric acid (GABA) showed higher transfection efficiency and lower cytotoxicity compared to the native PAMAM G4 dendrimer. The polyplex of the PAMAM G4 derivative/pDNA was evaluated using an agarose gel retardation assay and Picogreen reagent assay. Additionally, the MTT assay was performed to examine the cytotoxicity of synthesized polymers. All PAMAM G4 derivatives showed lower cytotoxicity than PEI25kD. Particularly, PAMAM G4-GABA-Arg displayed enhanced transfection efficiency compared to the native PAMAM G4 dendrimer.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.489-496
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• 2019

A study was conducted to determine the effects of feeding ${\gamma}$-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and hydrochloric acid (HCl) on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility and fecal score in growing pigs. Ninety Duroc ${\times}$ (Landrace ${\times}$ Large Yorkshire) growing pigs with an average initial body weight (BW) of $25.51{\pm}1.63kg$ were randomly allotted to three treatment groups with 6 replications of 5 pigs per replicate pen for each treatment in a 6-week trial period. The treatments were as follows: 1) basal diet (CON); 2) basal diet with 0.05% GABA and 3) basal diet with 1% of a 10% HCl solution. The results showed that GABA supplementation significantly increased the average daily gain (ADG) (p < 0.05) compared with the control during week 4 and the overall experiment period (0 to 6 weeks). However, HCl supplementation had a numerical increase in the ADG compared with the control. The total tract digestibility of dry matter (DM) was greater in GABA group than the CON (p < 0.05). The supplementation of GABA and HCl in the diet of growing pigs had no significant effect on the fecal scores compared with the CON. Experimental results show that supplementation of 0.05% GABA in the diet of growing pigs had a positive effect on the ADG and DM digestibility in growing pigs.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.51-56
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• 1967

In order to find out the effects of GABA on the rabbit's intestinal motility, the following experiments were carried out using Magnus method and the results obtained were as follows: 1. GABA inhibited the intestinal motility of rabbits initially. 2. GABA potentiated the inhibitory action of adrenaline and nor-adrenaline. 3. GABA inhibited the accelerating activity of acetylcholine on the intestinal motility by its anti acetylcholine effect. 4. The inhibitory action of GABA was unaffected with atropinization, strychnin, picrotoxin treatment, but the accelerating activity of GABA observed in some cases was only in the picrotoxin treatment.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.104-109
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• 2007

Lactic acid bacteria that accumulated ${\gamma}-aminobutyric$ acid (GABA) in culture medium were screened to identify strains with high GAB A-producing ability. One strain, MS, which was isolated from kimchi, showed the highest GABA-producing ability among the screened strains. MS was identified as Lactobacillus buchneri based on Gram-staining, metabolic characteristics, and 16S rDNA sequence determination, Optimum culture conditions for GABA production were determined: MRS broth containing 5% MSG, 1% NaCl, and 1% glucose, at an initial pH of 5.0, the incubation temperature at $30^{\circ}C$ for 36 h. Under these conditions, MS produced GABA at a concentration of 251 mM with a 94% GABA conversion rate. Moreover, culture extracts of Lb. buchneri MS partially or completely protected neuronal cells against neurotoxicantinduced cell death.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.11
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• pp.1745-1748
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• 2019

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) plays important roles in host physiology. However, the effects of GABA are greatly restricted due to its low bioavailability in the human body. Here, a high acid-tolerance GABA-producing strain, Lactobacillus brevis Bmb5, was isolated from kimchi. Bmb5 converted glutamate to GABA (7.23 ± 0.68 ㎍/μl) at a rate of 72.3%. The expression of gadB gene, encoding the enzyme involved in the decarboxylation of glutamate to GABA, was decreased upon incubation. Our findings indicate GABA production in Bmb5 is not directly correlated with gadB gene expression, providing new insight into the mechanisms underlying GABA production in Lactobacillus.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.179-186
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• 1998

The fractions of Uncariae Ramulus et Uncus seemed to be closely related with the levels of amino acids and other components which concerns with formation and metabolism of neurotransmitters in brain. The pretreatments of methanolic extract and its fractions prohibited the pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) induced convulsion. In such cases, lowered levels of ${\gamma}-aminobutyric$ acid and glutathione in brain were significantly recovered. And also the increased levels or activities of lipid peroxide, ${\gamma}-aminobutyric$ acid aminotransferase, xanthine oxidase, aldehyde oxidase, superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase by PTZ-convulsion were lowered to normal state.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.11
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• pp.1592-1596
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• 2014

To evaluate the effect of Lactobacillus brevis G-101 on absorption of monosodium glutamate (MSG), we orally administered MSG with or without G-101 in mice and measured the maximum concentration (Cmax) and blood concentration curve (AUC) of MSG and ${\gamma}$-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Oral administration of G-101 ($1{\times}10^9CFU/mouse$) potently inhibited Cmax and AUC of MSG by 97.8% and 94.3%, respectively (p < 0.05), but increased those of GABA by 32.1% and 67.7%, respectively (p < 0.05). G-101 inhibited the absorption of MSG. These results suggest that G-101 may reduce the side effect of MSG by inhibiting the absorption of MSG.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.7
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• pp.954-958
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• 2014

Succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase (SSADH) catalyzes the oxidation of succinic semialdehyde (SSA) into succinic acid in the final step of ${\gamma}$-aminobutyric acid degradation. Here, we characterized Bacillus subtilis SSADH (BsSSADH) regarding its cofactor discrimination and substrate inhibition. BsSSADH showed similar values of the catalytic efficiency ($k_{ca}t/K_m$) in both $NAD^+$ and $NADP^+$ as cofactors, and exhibited complete uncompetitive substrate inhibition at higher SSA concentrations. Further analyses of the sequence alignment and homology modeling indicated that the residues of catalytic and cofactor-binding sites in other SSADHs were highly conserved in BsSSADH.