• BMB Reports
• /
• v.42 no.3
• /
• pp.178-183
• /
• 2009

Tyrosinase (TYR) plays a critical role in cellular melanogenesis and, thus, has been the major target of pharmacological approaches for the control of skin pigmentation. This study examined an alternative molecular approach using TYR-small interfering RNA (siRNA) to control melanogenesis in the human melanocytes. Both the mRNA and protein levels of TYR were significantly lowered by TYR-siRNA treatment, whereas TYR-related protein 1 and TYR-related protein 2 displayed no such changes. TYR-siRNA treatment inhibited the cellular melanin synthesis from the externally supplied TYR substrate L-tyrosine. TYR-siRNA also suppressed melanin synthesis and decreased the viability of cells exposed to ultraviolet radiation, supporting a critical role of melanin in protection against ultraviolet radiation. These results suggest that molecular approaches using siRNA targeted to the enzymes of melanogenic pathway may provide a novel strategy for the control of cell pigmentation.

• Korean Journal of Computational Design and Engineering
• /
• v.14 no.6
• /
• pp.404-414
• /
• 2009

In the computational molecular analysis, 3D structural comparison for protein searching plays a very important role. As protein databases have been grown rapidly in size, exhaustive search methods cannot provide satisfactory performance. Because exhaustive search methods try to handle the structure of protein by using sphere set which is converted from atoms set, the similarity calculation about two sphere sets is very expensive. Instead, the filter-and-refine paradigm offers an efficient alternative to database search without compromising the accuracy of the answers. In recent, a very fast algorithm based on the inter-atomic distance has been suggested by Ballester and Richard. Since they adopted the moments of distribution with inter-atomic distance between atoms which are rotational invariant, they can eliminate the structure alignment and orientation fix process and perform the searching faster than previous methods. In this paper, we propose a new 3D shape descriptor. It has properties of the general shape distribution and useful property in screening the molecular database. We show some experimental results for the validity of our method.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.10 no.7
• /
• pp.1766-1772
• /
• 2009

In this study, we are interested in comparing the protein profiles of acid-shocked and control cells of S. mutans isolated from Korean children with caries. The results of 2D gel electrophoresis showed that twelve proteins are up-regulated when the cells were grown under 20 mM lactic acid stress in the exponential phase. Up-proteins under acid stress were estimated a major key of the survival and proliferation of S. mutans in low pH environments. These proteins are estimated generally associated with three biochemical pathways: glycolysis, alternative acid production and branched-chain amino acid biosynthesis.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.21-28
• /
• 2006

The interferon-induced, double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-dependent protein kinase PKR plays a key role in interferon-mediated host defense against viral infection, and is implicated in cellular transformation and apoptosis. We have isolated a cDNA of simian PKR encoding a product with 83% amino acid identity to the human homolog and showed that PKR expression is significantly attenuated in the Vero E6 African green monkey kidney cells devoid of type I interferon genes. A variant form of PKR lacking the exon 12 in the kinase domain is produced in these cells, presumably from an alternatively spliced transcript. Unlike wild type PKR, the variant protein named PKR-${\Delta}E12$ is incapable of auto-phosphorylation and phosphorylation of eIF2-${\alpha}$, indicating that the kinase sub-domains III and IV embedded in exon 12 are indispensable for catalytic function. PKR-${\Delta}E12$ had no dominant negative effect but was weakly phosphorylated in trans by wild type PKR.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.54 no.7
• /
• pp.335-343
• /
• 2021

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a subpopulation of cancer that can self-renew and differentiate into large tumor masses. Evidence accumulated to date shows that CSCs affect tumor proliferation, recurrence, and resistance to chemotherapy. Recent studies have shown that, like stem cells, CSCs maintain cells with self-renewal capacity by means of asymmetric division and promote cell proliferation by means of symmetric division. This cell division is regulated by fate determinants, such as the NUMB protein, which recently has also been confirmed as a tumor suppressor. Loss of NUMB expression leads to uncontrolled proliferation and amplification of the CSC pool, which promotes the Notch signaling pathway and reduces the expression of the p53 protein. NUMB genes are alternatively spliced to produce six functionally distinct isoforms. An interesting recent discovery is that the protein NUMB isoform produced by alternative splicing of NUMB plays an important role in promoting carcinogenesis. In this review, we summarize the known functions of NUMB and NUMB isoforms related to the proliferation and generation of CSCs.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
• /
• v.44 no.6
• /
• pp.1389-1402
• /
• 2024

The demand for healthy ingredients in food products including ice cream, is continuously increasing. The potential of a combination of milk polar lipids (MPL) and casein hydrolysate (CH) to replace synthetic emulsifiers such as diacetyl tartaric acid esters of monoglycerides (DATEM), in ice cream production was investigated. Changes in particle size, emulsion stability, and interfacial tension of model emulsions (milk protein, casein:whey=8:2, w/v) were analyzed after the addition of MPL, CH, and their combination (MPL+CH). The use of MPL+CH reduced interfacial tension and increased α_s- and β-casein displacement from the surface of cream layers compared to the addition of MPL alone. The addition of MPL+CH improved ice cream overrun to levels comparable to those of control ice cream containing DATEM (0.3%, w/v), without adversely affecting melt rate or microstructure. Confocal laser scanning microscopy revealed that ice cream prepared with MPL+CH formed a thick protein and coalesced fat layer on the surface of air cells that might help enhance overrun. These findings suggest that the combination of MPL (0.3%, w/v) and CH (0.03%, w/v) can be used as a potential emulsifier alternative to replace chemically synthesized emulsifiers such as DATEM.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.263-270
• /
• 2005

Transactivation of EGF-receptor (EGFR) by G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) is emerging as an important pathway in cell proliferation, which plays a crucial role in the development of atherosclerotic lesion. Angiotensin II (Ang II) has been identified to have a major role in the formation of atherosclerotic lesions, although the underlying mechanisms remain largely unclear. We hypothesize that Ang II promotes the proliferation and migration of smooth muscle cells through the release of heparin-binding epidermal growth factor like growth factor (HB-EGF), transactivation of EGFR and activation of Akt and Erk 1/2, with matrix metalloproteases (MMPs) playing a dispensable role. Primary rat aortic smooth muscle cells were used in this study. Smooth muscle cells rendered quiescent by serum deprivation for 12 h were treated with Ang II (100 nM) in the presence of either GM6001 ($20{\mu}M$), a specific inhibitor of MMPs or AG1478 ($10{\mu}M$), an inhibitor of EGFR. The levels of phosphorylation of EGFR, Akt and Erk 1/2 were assessed in the cell lysates. Inhibition of MMPs by GM6001 significantly attenuated Ang II-stimulated phosphorylation of EGFR, suggesting that MMPs may be involved in the transactivation of EGFR by Ang II receptor. Furthermore Ang II-stimulated proliferation and migration of smooth muscle cells were significantly blunted by inhibiting MMPs and EGFR and applying HB-EGF neutralization antibody, indicating that MMPs, HB-EGF and EGFR activation is necessary for Ang-II stimulated migration and proliferation of smooth muscle cells. Our results suggest that inhibition of MMPs may represent one of the strategies to counter the mitogenic and motogenic effects of Ang II on smooth muscle cells and thereby prevent the formation and development of atherosclerotic lesions.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
• /
• v.36 no.4
• /
• pp.264-273
• /
• 2023

Physicochemical properties and storage stability of plant-based alternative meat prepared with low-fat soybean powder (LPAM) treated by supercritical-CO₂ and those of full-fat soybean powder (FPAM) were compared. Ash and crude protein contents were higher in LPAM than in FRAM. Water absorption capacity and oil absorption capacity were significantly higher in LPAM than in FPAM. Water binding capacity was higher in LPAM than in FPAM during a 20 days storage period at 5℃ and pH was significantly lower in LPAM than in FPAM after a 5~10 days storage period. Hardness, gumminess and chewiness significantly increased with the increase in the storage period, and the three were significantly higher in LPAM than in FPAM after 10 days and 20 days of storage. The acid value showed no remarkable difference according to the storage period in LPAM; however, it was significantly higher in FPAM than in LPAM after 20 days of storage. The peroxide value and TBA value were significantly increased according to the storage period, and were significantly lower iin LPAM than in FPAM during all the storage periods. Therefore, the use of low-fat soybean powder may be effective in improving oxidative stability during storage in the production of plant-based alternative meat.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
• /
• v.39 no.4
• /
• pp.471-478
• /
• 2021

Effective microorganisms (EM), which are sources of fermentation byproducts in herbal medicine, were compared with oyster mushrooms(OM) to identify alternative larval feeds for white-spotted flower chafer (Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis). The nutritional composition of each fermented feed was analyzed. The content of crude protein, crude fat, and fiber was higher in the OM fermented feed, except for crude ash. No difference in nutritional content of larvae based on fermented feed was observed. A comparative weekly analysis of the live weights of larvae was based on the fermented feed used. The average weight was significantly higher in the feeds using EM and OM from third week of observation. The larval survival rate in the presence of fermented feed was 96.7% compared with 9.8% with non-fermented feed. The results suggest that fermented food source is essential for the growth of white-spotted flower chafer, and OM was a stable alternative to EM as a fermentation source for the survival of white-spotted flower chafer.

• Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
• /
• v.29 no.3
• /
• pp.888-898
• /
• 2017

Tenebrio molitor larvae, also known as yellow mealworms (MW), are rich in protein and lipid and can serve as a potential alternative protein and energy source in commercial aquafeeds. Therefore, this study attempts to evaluate the effects of different drying methods on the nutritional value of MW meal. For this, live MW were cold-anaesthetized before being subjected to three different types of drying methods, including freeze-drying, oven-drying at $60^{\circ}C$ and air-drying at room temperature for three days, and compared for proximate composition and energy content. An in-vivo digestibility test was then conducted to evaluate the nutrient digestibility of MW meal in diets for rockfish, Sebastes schlegeli. A test diet was prepared by mixing the MW meal with a reference diet (Ref) in a 30:70 ratio with chromium oxide as an inert marker at the inclusion level of 0.5%. Rockfish with mean body weight of 150 g were stocked into a fecal collection system equipped with fiberglass tanks of 400 L capacity. Each group of fish was fed one of the experimental diets to apparent satiation for 4 weeks. The results of the proximate analysis showed that drying methods had no significant effect on crude protein, crude lipid, ash and energy contents of MW. Despite being a rich source of protein and lipid, MW meal was deficient in certain amino acids, particularly methionine, and highly unsaturated fatty acids, particularly 22:6n-3 (DHA) and 20:5n-3 (EPA). MW meal showed high digestibility values for protein (93%), lipid (97%) and energy (88%). These results may indicate that MW meal is a nutritious and acceptable feed ingredient, with comparable digestibility values to conventional animal and plant feedstuffs such as fish meal and soybean meal, in practical diet for rockfish at grower stage.