• BMB Reports
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.175-180
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• 2019

Telomeres are nucleoprotein complexes at the physical ends of linear eukaryotic chromosomes. They protect the chromosome ends from various external attacks to avoid the loss of genetic information. Telomeres are maintained by cellular activities associated with telomerase and telomere-binding proteins. In addition, epigenetic regulators have pivotal roles in controlling the chromatin state at telomeres and subtelomeric regions, contributing to the maintenance of chromosomal homeostasis in yeast, animals, and plants. Here, we review the recent findings on chromatin modifications possibly associated with the dynamic states of telomeres in Arabidopsis thaliana.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.346-352
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• 2016

Aroma inhalation therapy has traditionally been used not only in alternative medicinal treatment but also in psychotherapy. In the first stage of the study, the in silico molecular binding affinity of the major ingredients of Smart-Wave (SW) on the active site of the odorant-binding protein (OBP) was compared with that of citrate anions. The binding affinity of the chemical mixture formula of the major ingredients of SW on the OBP was relatively higher than that of citrate anions. In addition, nasal inhalation of SW had a positive effect upon changes in brain waves. Eighteen healthy volunteers participated in the experiment. The study consisted of measurements of the brain’s meditation level recordings in the pre- and post-SW inhalation periods as compared with negative (EV) and positive (HB) control groups. After SW inhalation, all the subjects stated that they felt “fresher” and that the SW trial group had significantly changed the brain’s meditation in a positive way. SW inhalation also converted EV-induced unstable brain meditation wave patterns into more stable patterns. Collectively, the results of this empirical study strongly suggest that the SW mixture activates the OBP and controls the mental state by regulating brain waves. The results provide scientific evidence that the SW formula has potential as an effective mental-stress controller.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.10
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• pp.1144-1150
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• 2014

The eIF4E protein is the key regulator of translation initiation. The interaction of eIF4E with eIF4G triggers the translation of mRNA, and several proteins interrupt this association to modulate translation. Human 4E-T is one of the eIF4E-binding partners that represses the translation of bound mRNAs, and it is involved in the transport of eIF4E to processing bodies (P-bodies). Although Clast4, the mouse homolog of human 4E-T, might play critical roles in the regulation of translation, its properties are not well known. In this report, we deciphered the properties of Clast4 by determining its phosphorylation state, binding to eIF4E, and effects of overexpression on cell proliferation. Clast4 was phosphorylated by protein kinase A (PKA) in vivo on several residues of its amino terminus. Nevertheless, the PKA phosphorylation of Clast4 appeared to have no effect on either its eIF4E-binding ability or localization. Clast4 interacted with eIF4E1 and CPEB. The conserved eIF4E-binding sequence in Clast4, $YXXXXL_{\phi}$, was important for binding eIF4E1A but not eIF4E1B. Similar to that of another well-known eIF4E regulator, the eIF4E binding protein (4E-BP), the overexpression of Clast4 decreased cell proliferation. These results suggest that Clast4 acts as a global translation regulator in cells.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.928-937
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• 2016

S-Nitrosoglutathione reductase (GSNOR) metabolizes S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) and has been shown to play important roles in regulating cellular signaling and formulating host defense by modulating intracellular nitric oxide levels. The enzyme has been found in bacterial, yeast, mushroom, plant, and mammalian cells. However, to date, there is still no evidence of its occurrence in filamentous fungi. In this study, we cloned and investigated a GSNOR-like enzyme from the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans. The enzyme occurred in native form as a homodimer and exhibited low thermal stability. GSNO was an ideal substrate for the enzyme. The apparent K_m and k_cat values were 0.55 mM and 34,100 min^-1, respectively. Substrate binding sites and catalytic center amino acid residues based on those from known GSNORs were conserved in this enzyme, and the corresponding roles were verified using site-directed mutagenesis. Therefore, we demonstrated the presence of GSNOR in a filamentous fungus for the first time.

• BMB Reports
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.381-385
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• 2005

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is an emerging infectious disease associated with a novel coronavirus (CoV) that was identified and molecularly characterized in 2003. Previous studies on various coronaviruses indicate that protein-protein interactions amongst various coronavirus proteins are critical for viral assembly and morphogenesis. It is necessary to elucidate the molecular mechanism of SARS-CoV replication and rationalize the anti-SARS therapeutic intervention. In this study, we employed an in vitro GST pull-down assay to investigate the interaction between the membrane (M) and the nucleocapsid (N) proteins. Our results show that the interaction between the M and N proteins does take place in vitro. Moreover, we provide an evidence that 12 amino acids domain (194-205) in the M protein is responsible for binding to N protein. Our work will help shed light on the molecular mechanism of the virus assembly and provide valuable information pertaining to rationalization of future anti-viral strategies.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.529-536
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• 2005

Viral infection causes stress to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The response to endoplasmic reticulum stress, known as the unfolded protein response (UPR), is designed to eliminate misfolded proteins and allow the cell to recover. The role of hepatitis C virus (HCV) non-structural protein NS4B, a component of the HCV replicons that induce UPR, is incompletely understood. We demonstrate that HCV NS4B could induce activating transcription factor (ATF6) and inositol-requiring enzyme 1 (IRE1), to favor the HCV subreplicon and HCV viral replication. HCV NS4B activated the IRE1 pathway, as indicated by splicing of X box-binding protein (Xbp-1) mRNA. However, transcriptional activation of the XBP-1 target gene, EDEM (ER degradation-enhancing $\alpha-mannosidase-like$ protein, a protein degradation factor), was inhibited. These results imply that NS4B might induce UPR through ATF6 and IRE1-XBP1 pathways, but might also modify the outcome to benefit HCV or HCV subreplicon replication.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.535-540
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• 2012

A series of benzamide-based histone deacetylases (HDACs) inhibitors possessing N-(aminopyridine) residue as the zinc binding site of HDAC were synthesized and evaluated. Among these derivatives, compounds with N-(2-amino-4-pyridine) benzamide moiety have been found as the most potent ones. Moreover, introduction of appropriate substituents on the terminal aryl group acting as the surface-recognition domain could significantly improve the antiproliferative activity. In particular, the compound 4k possessed favorable pharmacokinetic characteristics and exhibited potent antitumor activity on xenograft model in mice at well tolerated doses, thus suggesting a good therapeutic index.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.426-432
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• 2012

The activity of an antimicrobial peptide, protegrin-1 (PG-1), on lipid membranes was investigated using solidstate NMR and a new sampling method that employed mechanically aligned bilayers between thin glass plates. At 95% hydration and full hydration, the peptide respectively disrupted 25% and 86% of the aligned 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphotidylcholine (POPC) bilayers at a P/L (peptide-to-lipid) ratio of 1/20 under the new experimental conditions. The kinetics of the POPC bilayers disruption appeared to be diffusioncontrolled. The presence of cholesterol at 95% hydration and full hydration reduced the peptide disruption of the aligned POPC bilayers to less than 10% and 35%, respectively. A comparison of the equilibrium states of heterogeneously and homogeneously mixed peptides and lipids demonstrated the importance of peptide binding to the biomembrane for whole membrane disruption.

• BMB Reports
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.311-315
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• 1995

Exogenous $Cu^{2+}$ or $Zn^{2+}$ at micromolar concentration had a strong inhibitory effect on detergent-solubilized cytochrome c oxidase. A similar effect was observed when $Cu^{2+}$ was added to vesicular cytochrome c oxidase, although the extent of inhibition was significantly larger for the uncoupled state than for the coupled state. Interestingly, the inhibition by $Zn^{2+}$ was almost negligible for both the coupled and uncoupled states. These results suggest that the binding sites for $Cu^{2+}$ ions are exposed to the extravesicular side. whereas those for $Zn^{2+}$ are exposed to the matrix side. The EPR spectra of bound $Cu^{2+}$ ions at 77 K indicate that each of the first two $Cu^{2+}$ ions is ligated by three or four histidine residues, as evidenced by distinct $^{14}N$ superhyperfine splitting. These $Cu^{2+}$ ions can not be removed readily by EDTA and inhibit the enzyme activity by as much as 80%.

• Proceedings of the Korean Operations and Management Science Society Conference
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• 2003.05a
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• pp.757-763
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• 2003

웹서비스 기술이 발전함에 따라 분산환경의 웹기반 서비스들을 조합한 복잡한 비즈니스 프로세스를 구현할 수 있게 되었다. 이러한 비즈니스 프로세스는 일반적으로 비즈니스 활동(activity)들의 순서와 로직을 포함딴 이벤트 기반 모델(event-driven model)로 표현되고 있다. 하지만 비즈니스 활동을 수행하기 위해서는 불특정 다수의 대안 서비스들 중 하나를 런타임-바인딩(runtime binding)하여 해당 비즈니스 활동을 수행해야 하는 경우가 빈번히 일어나는데. 이는 기존의 이벤트 기반 모델링 기법만을 이용해서 해결하기 어렵다. 따라서 본 논문에서는 비즈니스 프로세스를 동적으로 통합할 수 있도록 상태 기반 협상 모델링(state-,driven brokering modeling SDBM)을 기존 모델링 기법에 확장한 아키텍쳐를 제안한다. SDBM은 이벤트 기반 모델링에서 표현하기 힘든 대안 서비스들의 동적 런타임-바인딩을 가능하게 하는데. 이는 대화 정잭(conversation policy)을 구현함으로써 가능해 진다. 본 논문에서는 핵심 비즈니스 프로세스에 독립적이며 웹기반의 분산 비즈니스 프로세스 간의 유연한 통합과 자동화된 협업을 수행랄 수 있는 확장된 메커니즘을 웹서비스 기술로 구현하였다.