• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• 제24권7호
• /
• pp.905-913
• /
• 2014

Lj-RGD3, an RGD (Arg-Gly-Asp) toxin protein from the salivary gland of Lampetra japonica, exhibits antifungal activity against Candida albicans. Lj-RGD3 has three RGD motifs and shows homology to histidine-rich glycoprotein. We synthesised two mutant derivatives of Lj-RGD3: Lj-26, which lacks all three RGD motifs and contains no His residues; and Lj-112, which lacks only the three RGD motifs. We investigated the effects of the wild-type and mutated toxins on a gram-positive bacterium (Escherichia coli), a gram-negative bacterium (Staphylococcus aureus), and a fungus (C. albicans). rLj-RGD3 and its mutants exhibited antifungal but not antibacterial activity, as measured by a radial diffusion assay. The C. albicans inhibition zone induced by rLj-112 was larger than that induced by the other proteins, and its inhibitory effect on C. albicans was dose-dependent. In viable-count assays, the rLj-112 MIC was $7.7{\mu}M$, whereas the MIC of the positive control (ketoconazole) was $15{\mu}M$. Time-kill kinetics demonstrated that rLj-112 effectively killed C. albicans at $1{\times}$ and $2{\times}$ MIC within 12 and 6 h, respectively. Electron microscopy analysis showed that rLj-RGD3 and rLj-112 induced C. albicans lysis. Our results demonstrate a novel anticandidal activity for rLj-RGD3 and its mutant derivatives.

• 대한약학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 대한약학회 2002년도 Proceedings of the Convention of the Pharmaceutical Society of Korea Vol.2
• /
• pp.276.1-276.1
• /
• 2002

It is well known that cisplatin. one of chemotherapeutic agents. induces DNA damage and kill cancer cells mainly by apoptosis. We recently synthesized a novel Pt(IV)-based anticancer agent. trans.cis-Pt(acetato)2C12(1.4-butanediamine) (K101) with octahedral structure. To evaluate antitumor activity about human cancer of K101, we have performed histoculture drug response assay in 35 cases of colorectal cancer patients. (omitted)

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• 제19권1호
• /
• pp.1-8
• /
• 2011

G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) constitute an important class of drug targets and are involved in every aspect of human physiology including sleep regulation, blood pressure, mood, food intake, perception of pain, control of cancer growth, and immune response. Radiometric assays have been the classic method used during the search for potential therapeutics acting at various GPCRs for most GPCR-based drug discovery research programs. An increasing number of diverse small molecules, together with novel GPCR targets identified from genomics efforts, necessitates the use of high-throughput assays with a good sensitivity and specificity. Currently, a wide array of high-throughput tools for research on GPCRs is available and can be used to study receptor-ligand interaction, receptor driven functional response, receptor-receptor interaction,and receptor internalization. Many of the assay technologies are based on luminescence or fluorescence and can be easily applied in cell based models to reduce gaps between in vitro and in vivo studies for drug discovery processes. Especially, cell based models for GPCR can be efficiently employed to deconvolute the integrated information concerning the ligand-receptor-function axis obtained from label-free detection technology. This review covers various platform technologies used for the research of GPCRs, concentrating on the principal, non-radiometric homogeneous assay technologies. As current technology is rapidly advancing, the combination of probe chemistry, optical instruments, and GPCR biology will provide us with many new technologies to apply in the future.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
• /
• 제11권4호
• /
• pp.113-117
• /
• 2020

Cytochrome P450 2J2 (CYP2J2) is a member of the cytochrome P450 superfamily, and is known to be arachidonic acid epoxygenase that mediates the formation of four bioactive regioisomers of epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs). CYP2J2 is also involved in the metabolism of drugs such as albendazole, astemizole, danazol, ebastine, and terfenadine. CYP2J2 is highly expressed in the heart and cancer tissues. In this study, the inhibitory potential of ten natural products against CYP2J2 activity was evaluated using human liver microsomes and tandem mass spectrometry. Among them, bilobetin, which is a kind of biflavonoid, exhibits a strong inhibitory effect against the CYP2J2-mediated astemizole O-demethylation (IC50 = 0.73 μM) and terfenadine hydroxylation (IC50 = 0.89 μM). This result suggests that bilobetin can be used as strong CYP2J2 inhibitor in drug metabolism study.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• 제28권3호
• /
• pp.222-229
• /
• 2020

The process of drug discovery and drug development consumes billions of dollars to bring a new drug to the market. Drug development is time consuming and sometimes, the failure rates are high. Thus, the pharmaceutical industry is looking for a better option for new drug discovery. Drug repositioning is a good alternative technology that has demonstrated many advantages over de novo drug development, the most important one being shorter drug development timelines. In the last two decades, drug repositioning has made tremendous impact on drug development technologies. In this review, we focus on the recent advances in drug repositioning technologies and discuss the repositioned drugs used for inflammatory diseases such as sepsis, asthma, and atopic dermatitis.

• Journal of Microbiology
• /
• 제43권3호
• /
• pp.313-318
• /
• 2005

In this study, we demonstrate the use of a PCR-based method for the detection of the specific genes involved in natural-product biosynthesis. This method was applied, using specifically designed PCR primers, to the amplification of a gene segment encoding for sedo-heptulose 7-phosphate cyclase, which appears to be involved in the biosynthetic pathways of $C_7N$ aminoacyclitol or its keto analogue-containing metabolites, in a variety of actinomycetes species. The sequences of DNA fragments (about 540 bp) obtained from three out of 39 actinomycete strains exhibited a high degree of homology with the sedo-heptulose 7-phosphate cyclase gene, which has been implicated in acarbose biosynthesis. The selective cultivation conditions of this experiment induced the expression of these loci, indicating that the range of $C_7N$ aminoacyclitol or its keto analogue-group natural products might be far greater than was previously imagined. Considering that a total of approximately 20 $C_7N$ aminoacyclitol metabolites, or its keto analogue-containing metabolites, have been described to date, it appears likely that some of the unknown loci described herein might constitute new classes of $C_7N$ aminoacyclitol, or of its keto analogue-containing metabolites. As these metabolites, some of which contain valienamine, are among the most potent antidiabetic agents thus far discovered, the molecular detection of specific metabolite-producing actinomycetes may prove a crucial step in current attempts to expand the scope and diversity of natural-product discovery.

• 대한화학회지
• /
• 제57권4호
• /
• pp.493-498
• /
• 2013

리포솜은 표적 약물을 봉입하여 병소에 안전하게 전달할 수 있는 약물전달체로서 연구되고 있다. 그러나 일반적인 리포솜은 표적부위에서 약물방출이 제한적인 문제점이 있다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 리포솜의 안정성을 향상시키고 표적부위에서 외부 초음파로부터 약물의 방출을 극대화시키기 위하여 하이드록시아파타이트(hydroxyapatite, HA)가 코팅된 리포솜을 개발하였다. 대조군 리포솜은 인지질과 콜레스테롤을 이용하여 제조하였고, 대조군 리포솜의 표면에 칼슘 아세테이트, 포스포릭에시드, 그리고 25% 암모니아용액을 이용하여 HA를 코팅하였다. 모델 약물로는 독소루비신을 사용하였다. HA코팅 리포솜의 크기는 120 nm 이었고, 약물봉입효율은 95% 이상이었다. 30% 혈장용액 내에서 HA코팅 리포솜의 입자크기는 일정한 상태를 유지하였으며, 대조군 리포솜은 크기가 1.4배 증가하였다. 외부 초음파 자극에 의한 리포솜으로부터 약물 방출을 유도한 후, 방출된 약물의 세포 이입율은 HA 코팅된 리포솜이 3배 이상 대조군 리포솜에 비하여 증가하였다. 본 연구에서는 외부 초음파 자극에 의하여 리포솜으로부터 약물의 방출을 극대화시키기 위한 초음파 민감형 리포솜을 개발하였고, 본 제형은 표적부위에서 약물의 방출을 효과적으로 제어하기 위한 분야에 활용이 가능할 것이다.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• 제13권12호
• /
• pp.6369-6374
• /
• 2012

Vitexicarpin (3', 5-dihydroxy-3, 4', 6, 7-tetramethoxyflavone), a polymethoxyflavone isolated from Viticis Fructus (Vitex rotundifolia Linne fil.), has long been used as an anti-inflammatory herb in traditional Chinese medicine. It has also been reported that vitexicarpin can inhibit the growth of various cancer cells. However, there is no report elucidating its effect on human prostate carcinoma cells. The aim of the present study was to examine the apoptotic induction activity of vitexicarpin on PC-3 cells and molecular mechanisms involved. MTT studies showed that vitexicarpin dose-dependently inhibited growth of PC-3 cells with an $IC_{50}{\sim}28.8{\mu}M$. Hoechst 33258 staining further revealed that vitexicarpin induced apoptotic cell death. The effect of vitexicarpin on PC-3 cells apoptosis was tested using prodium iodide (PI)/Annexin V-FITC double staining and flow cytometry. The results indicated that vitexicarpin induction of apoptotic cell death in PC-3 cells was accompanied by cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase. Furthermore, our study demonstrated that vitexicarpin induction of PC-3 cell apoptosis was associated with upregulation of the proapoptotic protein Bax, and downregulation of antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2, release of Cytochrome c from mitochondria and decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential. Our findings suggested that vitexicarpin may become a potential leading drug in the therapy of prostate carcinoma.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
• /
• 제12권2호
• /
• pp.53-58
• /
• 2021

Previous in vitro studies have demonstrated that ginsenoside Rc inhibits UGT1A9, but there are no available data to indicate that ginsenoside Rc inhibits UGT1A9 in vivo. The effect of single and repeated intravenous injection of ginsenoside Rc was evaluated on the pharmacokinetics of mycophenolic acid. After injection of ginsenoside Rc (5 mg/kg for one day or 3 mg/kg for five days), 2-mg mycophenolic acid was intravenously injected, and the pharmacokinetics of mycophenolic acid and mycophenolic acid-β-glucuronide were determined. Concentrations of mycophenolic acid and its metabolite from rat plasma were analyzed using a liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. Single or repeated pretreatment with ginsenoside Rc had no significant effects on the pharmacokinetics of mycophenolic acid (P > 0.05): The mean difference in maximum plasma concentration (C_max) and area under the concentration-time curve (AUC_inf) were within 0.83- and 0.62-fold, respectively, compared with those in the absence of the ginsenoside Rc. These results indicate that ginsenoside Rc has a negligible effect on the disposition of mycophenolic acid in vivo despite in vitro findings indicating that ginsenoside Rc is a selective UGT1A9 inhibitor. As a result, ginsenoside Rc has little possibility of interacting with drugs that are metabolized by UGT1A9, including mycophenolic acid.

• 한국수의병리학회지
• /
• 제1권2호
• /
• pp.91-96
• /
• 1997

General steps in the discovery and development of novel drugs in the United States are presented. The first step is the discovery of novel drugs. Brief histories and mechanisms of a few novel drugs in the American market are outlined. In this presentation preclinical animal toxicologic studies (drug safety evaluateion) are emphasized in regard to drug development. When preclinical animal studies have defined the toxicity and the doses at which it occurs an Investigational new Drug Application (IND) is submitted to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) An IND notifies the FDA the intention to begin testing a novel drug in human subjects.