• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제81권3호
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• pp.222-227
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• 2018

Background: Rifampicin (RFP) is one of the principal first-line drugs used in combination chemotherapies against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and its use has greatly shortened the duration of chemotherapy for the successful treatment of drug-susceptible tuberculosis. Compensatory mutations have been identified in rpoC that restore the fitness of RFP-resistant M. tuberculosis strains with mutations in rpoB. To investigate rpoC mutation patterns, we analyzed 93 clinical M. tuberculosis isolates from patients in South Korea. Methods: Drug-resistant mycobacterial isolates were cultured to determine their susceptibility to anti-tubercular agents. Mutations in rpoC were identified by sequencing and compared with the relevant wild-type DNA sequence. Results: In total, 93 M. tuberculosis clinical isolates were successfully cultured and tested for drug susceptibilities. They included 75 drug-resistant tuberculosis species, of which 66 were RFP-resistant strains. rpoC mutations were found in 24 of the 66 RFP-resistant isolates (36.4%). Fifteen different types of mutations, including single mutations (22/24, 91.7%) and multiple mutations (2/24, 8.3%), were identified, and 12 of these mutations are reported for the first time in this study. The most frequent mutation involved a substitution at codon 452 (nt 1356) resulting in amino acid change F452L. Conclusion: Fifteen different types of mutations were identified and were predominantly single-nucleotide substitutions (91.7%). Mutations were found only in dual isoniazid- and RFP-resistant isolates of M. tuberculosis. No mutations were identified in any of the drug-susceptible strains.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제35권9호
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• pp.2809-2812
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• 2014

The 43-residue defensin-like peptide coprisin, which is isolated from dung bettle, Copris tripartitus, is a potent antimicrobial peptide. In our previous work, we determined the tertiary structure of coprisin and found that alpha helical region of coprisin from residue 19 to residue 30 is important for its antimicrobial activities. Here, we designed cop12mer and cop9mer analogs of coprisin based on the tertiary structure of coprisin. To investigate the relationship between hydrophobicity and antimicrobial activities and develop the potent peptide antibiotics, we designed cop9mer-1 with substitution of $His^2$ with Trp in cop9mer. The results showed that cop9mer-1 has higher toxicities as well as improved antimicrobial activities compared to cop9mer. In order to reduce the toxicity of cop9mer-1, we designed cop9mer-2 and cop9mer-3 with substitution of $Cys^3$ with Lys or Ser. Substitution of $Cys^3$ with these hydrophilic amino acids results in lower cytotoxicities compared to cop9mer-1. Cop9mer-2 with substitution of $Cys^3$ with Lys in Cop9mer-1 showed high antibacterial activities against drug resistant bacteria without cytotoxicity. Antibiotic action of cop9mer-1 analog appears to involve permeabilization of the bacterial cell membrane while cop9mer-2 and cop9mer-3 may have different mechanism of action. These results imply that that optimum balance in hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity in these 9-meric peptides plays key roles in their antimicrobial activities as well as cytotoxicities.

• Journal of Korean Dental Science
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• 제5권1호
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• pp.1-6
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• 2012

Patients with gingival overgrowth are easily seen in dental clinics. Cyclosporin-A (CsA), a widely prescribed immunosuppressant induces gingival overgrowth in up to 35% of patients with medical history of organ transplantation. The immunosuppressant CsA can transform genetic expression of gingival fibroblasts, resulting in gingival overgrowth. Meticulous plaque control is recommended for treatment of gingival overgrowth. Substitution of the drug or surgical procedures such as gingivectomy and periodontal flaps should be considered after re-evaluation. Azithromycin is often recommended as a supplementary drug to reduce this side effect. Recent studies show that tacrolimus can be a more economic, efficient and safe substitute for CsA.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• 제11권3호
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• pp.262-267
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• 2006

The objective of this study was to develop new self-organized nanogels as a means of drug delivery in patients with cancer. Pullulan (PUL) and deoxycholic acid (DOCA) were conjugated through an ester linkage between the hydroxyl group in PUL and the carboxyl group in DOCA. Three types of PUL/DOCA conjugates were obtained, differing in the number of DOCA substitutions (DS; 5, 8, or 11) per 100 PUL anhydroglucose units. The physicochemical properties of the resulting nanogels were characterized by dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy. The mean diameter of DS 11 was the smallest (approx. 100 nm), and the size distribution was unimodal. To determine the organizing behavior of these conjugates, we calculated their critical aggregation concentrations (CACs) in a 0.01-M phosphate buffered saline solution. They were $10.5{\times}10^{-4}mg/mL,\;7.2{\times}10^{-4} mg/mL,\;and\;5.6{\times}10^{-4} mg/mL$ for DS 5, 8, and 11, respectively. This indicates that DOCA can serve as a hydrophobic moiety to create self-organized nanogels. To monitor the drug-releasing behavior of these nanogels, we loaded doxorubicin (DOX) onto the conjugates. The DOX-loading efficiency increased with the degree of DOCA substitution. The release rates of DOX from PUL/DOCA nanogels varied inversely with the DS. We concluded that the PUL/DOCA nanogel has some potential for use as an anticancer drug carrier because of its low CAC and satisfactory drug-loading capacity.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제35권10호
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• pp.2922-2928
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• 2014

To investigate the possible isosteric replacement of imidazolidinone moiety in 4-phenyl-1-arylsulfonylimidazolidinones (2) for broad and potent anti-cancer agents, a series of 5-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-3-yl 1-(acyl)indoline-5-sulfonates (4) and 1-(1-(acyl)indolin-5-ylsulfonyl)-5-phenylpyrazolidin-3-ones (5) were prepared and evaluated for their cytotoxicity against six human cancer cell lines. Although the pyrazoles 4 or pyrazolidinones 5 showed relatively good activity, still they showed lesser activity in comparison to imidazolidinones 2. These activity decreases could be interpreted with the effect of change of the hydrogen bonding characteristics and the substitution pattern on structural variations of five membered rings from imidazolidinones 2 to pyrazoles 4 and pyrazolidinones 5, respectively. Therefore, it can be concluded that 4-phenyl-1-arylsulfonylimidazolidinone is a basic pharmacophore of imidazolidinones 2.

• 통합자연과학논문집
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• 제7권4호
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• pp.253-259
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• 2014

Protein kinase C theta (PKC-${\theta}$) is a serine/threonine specific protein kinase. It is largely expressed in the T-cells and CD28 signaling. PKC-${\theta}$ phosphorylates diverse proteins that are involved in the various cellular signaling pathways. Activated PKC-${\theta}$ in turn activates other transcription factors that control the proliferation and differentiation of T- cells. PKC-${\theta}$ is considered to be an interesting therapeutic target due to its crucial role in the proliferation, differentiation and survival of T-cells. In the present study, we have performed ligand-based CoMFA study on a series of pyridylpyrazolopyridine derivatives as PKC-${\theta}$ inhibitors. An acceptable CoMFA model ($q^2$=0.544; ONC=4; $r^2$=0.876) was developed and validated by Bootsrapping and progressive sampling. The CoMFA contour map suggested the regions to increase the activity. Bulky substitutions in R2 position of the piperizine ring could increase the activity. Similarly positive, small substitution in the R1 position of the Pyridine ring could considerably increase the activity. Our work could assist in designing more potent PKC-${\theta}$ inhibitors of pyridylpyrazolopyridine derivatives.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제33권12호
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• pp.4035-4040
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• 2012

Presented study describes the synthesis of photo cross-linkable and water soluble hydroxyethyl starch hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HESHEMA) samples with different degree of substitution (DS) by functionalization of hydroxyethyl starch (HES) with hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) or hydroxyethyl methacrylate carbonylimidazole (HEMACI) in DMSO using two different routes. It was revealed that the reaction time for HESHEMA synthesis can be reduced from 5 days to 24 h by conducting the reaction at $80^{\circ}C$ instead of at room temperature. Solubility of HESHEMA was found to be dependent on DS which in turn was dependent on ratio between HES and HEMA or HEMACI. HESHEMA samples with DS > 0.24 depicted insoluble in water, whereas the samples with DS < 0.05 did not form appreciable gel. HESHEMA samples with appropriate DS were converted into hydrogels by cross-linking polymer chains under UV radiations and resulting HESHEMA hydrogels showed swelling up to 1200%. Application of HESHEMA in controlled drug delivery was investigated by diffusion based encapsulation of Ondansetron, a serotonin 5-$HT_3$ receptor antagonist drug, mainly used for nausea and vomiting treatment.

• 통합자연과학논문집
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• 제7권1호
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• pp.45-49
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• 2014

The (c-Jun N-terminal kinase 3) JNK3 is a potential therapeutic target for various neurological disorders. Here, a three dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship (3D-QSAR) study on phenoxypyridine as JNK3 inhibitors was performed to rationalize the structural requirements responsible for the inhibitory activity of these compounds. The comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) using different partial atomic charges, was employed to understand the structural factors affecting JNK3 inhibitory potency. The Gasteiger-Marsili yielded a CoMFA model with cross-validated correlation coefficient ($q^2$) of 0.54 and non-cross-validated correlation coefficient ($r^2$) of 0.93 with five components. Furthermore, contour maps suggested that bulky substitution with oxygen atom in $R^3$ position could enhance the activity considerably. The work suggests that further chemical modifications of the compounds could lead to enhanced activity and could assist in the design of novel JNK3 inhibitors.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제16권9호
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• pp.1369-1376
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• 2006

Self-organized nanogels were prepared from pullulan/biotin conjugates (PU/Bio) for the development of an effective anticancer drug delivery system. The degree of biotin substitution was 11, 19, and 24 biotin groups per 100 anhydroglucose units of pullulan. The physicochemical properties of the nanogels (PU/Bio1, 2 and 3) in aqueous media were characterized by dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy. The mean diameter of all the samples was less than 300 nm with a unimodal size distribution. The critical aggregation concentrations (CACs) of the nanoparticles in distilled water were $2.8{\times}10^{-2},\;1.6{\times}10^{-2}$, and $0.7{\times}10^{-2}mg/ml$ for the PU/Bio1, 2, and 3, respectively. The aggregation behavior of the nanogels indicated that biotin can perform as a hydrophobic moiety. To observe the specific interaction with a hepatic carcinoma cell line (HepG2), the conjugates were labeled with rhodamine B isothiocyanate (RITC) and their intensities measured using a fluorescence microplate reader. The HepG2 cells treated with the fluorescence-labeled PU/Bio nanoparticles were strongly luminated compared with the control (pullulan). Confocal laser microscopy also confirmed internalization of the PU/Bio nanogels into the cancer cells. Such results demonstrated that the biotin in the conjugate acted as both a hydrophobic moiety for self-assembly and a tumor-targeting moiety for specific interaction with tumor cells. Consequently, PU/Bio nanogels would appear to be a useful drug carrier for the treatment of liver cancer.

• 한국포장학회지
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• 제12권1호
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• pp.7-12
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• 2006

합성수지의 식품 포장용 사용 적합성을 판단하기 위한 가장 기본적인 평가항목인 총이행량에 대한 유럽연합의 법규들을 살펴보았다. 유럽연합은 Council Directive에서 총이행량 실험에 필요한 모사용매의 종류, 용출 온도 및 시간을 각각 규정하고, 이들 세가지 조건을 조합하여 용출 실험하도록 하고 있으며, 이러한 조건들은 실제 접촉하는 식품의 종류 및 사용조건에 따라 비교적 자세히 세분화되어 있음을 알 수 있다. 그러나 지방성 식품 포장재에 대한 일부 실험 방법의 경우, 현실적으로 시간과 노력이 많이 들고 오차가 크다는 단점이 있어, 이를 대체할 수 있는 실험조건을 별도로 설정하고 있다. 또한 식품의 종류에 따라 reduction factor를 도입함으로써 지방성 식품 모사용매를 사용할 경우 과장될 수 있는 용출결과를 별도로 보정하도록 하고 있다.