• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.438-443
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• 2003

For the investigations of the usefulness of immunoglobulin Y (IgY), we attempted to produce and isolate IgY from egg yolk of white Leghorn hens immunized with fetuin as a model antigen. We used three methods to optimize the recovery of IgY: water dilution, polyethylene glycol, and carrageenan. The daily yield of anti-fetuin IgY from egg yolk was also examined, and it was isolated using a fetuin-affinity column at a yield of IgY of 2.7% from total IgY Furthermore, peroxidase-labeled antifetuin IgY was prepared, and was used to determine the minimum sensitivity against fetuin, which was found to occur to a fetuin concentration of 1 ng/$m\ell$.

• BMB Reports
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.308-313
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• 2023

Phenotypic features such as ataxia and loss of motor function, which are characteristics of Parkinson's disease (PD), are expected to be very closely related to cerebellum function. However, few studies have reported the function of the cerebellum. Since the cerebellum, like the cerebrum, is known to undergo functional and morphological changes due to neuroinflammatory processes, elucidating key functional factors that regulate neuroinflammation in the cerebellum can be a beneficial therapeutic approach. Therefore, we employed PD patients and MPTP-induced PD mouse model to find cytokines involved in cerebellar neuroinflammation in PD and to examine changes in cell function by regulating related genes. Along with the establishment of a PD mouse model, abnormal shapes such as arrangement and number of Purkinje cells in the cerebellum were confirmed based on histological finding, consistent with those of cerebellums of PD patients. As a result of proteome profiling for neuroinflammation using PD mouse cerebellar tissues, fetuin-A, a type of cytokine, was found to be significantly reduced in Purkinje cells. To further elucidate the function of fetuin-A, neurons isolated from cerebellums of embryos (E18) were treated with fetuin-A siRNA. We uncovered that not only the population of neuronal cells, but also their morphological appearances were significantly different. In this study, we found a functional gene called fetuin-A in the PD model's cerebellum, which was closely related to the role of cerebellar Purkinje cells of mouse and human PD. In conclusion, morphological abnormalities of Purkinje cells in PD mice and patients have a close relationship with a decrease of fetuin-A, suggesting that diagnosis and treatment of cerebellar functions of PD patients might be possible through regulation of fetuin-A.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.116-121
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• 2018

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare serum fetuin-A levels and oxidative stress markers, as indicators of insulin resistance, in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and in healthy controls. Methods: This prospective case-control study included 46 patients with PCOS and 48 age- and body mass index-matched control women. Levels of serum hormones, fetuin-A, and oxidative stress markers were measured in blood samples taken during the early follicular period from each participant. Results: Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinising hormone (LH), total testosterone levels, and the LH/FSH ratio were found to be significantly higher in women with PCOS than in controls. Serum total antioxidant status, total oxidant status, and oxidative stress index parameters all indicated significantly higher levels of oxidative stress in PCOS patients than in controls. Serum fetuin-A levels, which were analyzed as an indicator of insulin resistance, were higher in the PCOS group than in the control group ($210.26{\pm}65.06{\mu}g/mL$ and $182.68{\pm}51.20{\mu}g/mL$, respectively; p= 0.024). Conclusion: The data obtained from the present study suggest that higher levels of both serum fetuin-A and oxidative stress markers might be related with PCOS.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.92-97
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• 2013

The calcification of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) is considered one of the major contributors for vascular disease. Phosphate is known as the inducer for VSMC calcification. In this study, we assessed whether phosphate affected cell viability and fetuin-A, a calcification inhibitor protein, both which are related to VSMC calcification. Also, VSMC viability by zinc level was assessed. The results showed that phosphate increased Ca and P deposition in VSMCs (A7r5 cell line, rat aorta origin). This phosphate-induced Ca and P deposition was consistent with the decreased A7r5 cell viability (P<0.05), which implies phosphate-induced calcification in A7r5 cells might be due to the decreased VSMC cell viability. As phosphate increased, the protein expression of fetuin-A protein was up-regulated. A7r5 cell viability decreased as the addition of cellular zinc level was decreased (P<0.05). The results suggested that zinc deficiency causes the decreased cell viability and it would be the future study to clarify how zinc does act for VSMC cell viability. The results suggest that the decreased VSMC viability by high P or low Zn in VSMCs may be the risk factor for vascular disease.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.259-263
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• 2007

We previously reported the isolation of a sialic acid-specific lectin eluted from the bark of Maackia fauriei using alkaline buffer on a fetuin-affinity column. Application of a borate-based elution buffer in the present study increased the specific activity of purified lectin from crude protein extract by 2.6-fold, whilst only slightly decreasing the recovery by 1.13%. The biological properties of the lectin eluted with borate buffer were the same as those of the lectin eluted with alkaline buffer such as in terms of the hemagglutination activity, hemagglutination inhibition activity, molecular mass, purity, and cytotoxicity to human breast cancer cells. A prepared biotin-labeled lectin conjugate was used to investigate the binding to various glycoproteins. Our results indicate that eluting with borate buffer is more efficient than using alkaline buffer to isolate the lectin adsorbed in a fetuin-affinity column.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 1997

It is well known that the zona pellucidae of mouse oocytes become "hardened" when they are allowed to mature in vitro in the absence of serum components. To see if oocytes already undergone meiotic resumption in vivo exhibit similar zona hardening, hardening of ZP of cumulus-enclosed oocytes(CEOs) was examined after culture in vitro since their release from follicles various hours after hCG injection. When CEOs matured in vivo for 3h or longer were subjected to culture in vitro for 14h with BSA alone, zona hardening was significantly reduced compared to those cultured in vitro from the begining of maturation. However, when CEOs matured in vivo for 5h were freed from cumulus cells and then cultured in vitro with BSA alone, little reduction of zona hardening was observed. Preincubation of CEOs for 5h with fetuin, one of the well known inhibitor of in vitro zone hardening, did not prevent zona hardening during its subsequent culture of CEOs for 14h without fetuin. However, when CEOs precultured with both fetuin and PMSG for 5h and then further cultured with BSA alone for 14h, zona hardening was dramatically reduced. Under these conditions, the expansion of cumulus cell was observed. In addition, CEOs cultured with both BSA and dbcAMP to prevent their meiotic resumption showed a significant increase of zona hardening. Whether the observed zona hardening was correlated with the conversion of ZP2 to $ZP2_{f}$ was examined. Zona pellucida, isolated from CEOs matured for 5h in vivo and then further cultured with BSA alone was subjected to SDS-PAGE. Most of ZP2 molecules from these CEOs did not undergo conversion from ZP2 to $ZP2_{f}$. From these results, it is concluded that CEOs undergone meiotic resumption in vivo do not exhibit zona hardening when they were subsequently cultured in vitro without serum components. It appears that cumulus cells play an important role in this phenomenon.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.166-171
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• 2006

A calcium-dependent sialic acid-binding lectin has been isolated by thyroglobulin-affinity chromatography from the coastal crab Macrophthalmus Japonicus. This lectin, Macrophthalmus Japonicus lectin (MJL), was eluted with 50mM Tris-HCl, 0.3 M NaCl, 10 mM EDTA, and the recovery yield from the crude protein extract was about 5.6%. The molecular weight of MJL was estimated as 65 kDa in SDS-PAGE both under reducing and non-reducing conditions. MJL induced an agglutination reaction in rabbit, rat, and mouse erythrocytes, but not in human ABO types. This activity was effectively inhibited by sialoglycoproteins such as fetuin, bovine submaxillary mucin, and thyroglobulin.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.57-64
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• 2001

The cDNA encoding human NeuAc ${\alpha}$2,3Gal$\beta$ 1,3GalNAc GalNac ${\alpha}$2,6-Sialyltransferase (hST6GalNac IV) was isolated by screening of human fetal liver cDNA library with a DNA probe generated from the cDNA sequence of mouse ST6Gal NAc IV (mkST6GalNAc IV). The cDNA sequence included an open reading frame coding for 302 amino acids, and comparative analysis of this cDNA with mST6GalNAc IV showed that each sequence of the predicted coding region contains 88% and 85% identifies in nucleotide and amino acid levels, respecively. The primary structure of this enzyme suggested a putative domain structure, like that in other glycosyltransferases, consisting of a short N-terminal cytoplamic domain, a transmembrane domain and a large C-terminal active domain. This enzyme expressed in COS-7 cells echibited transferase activity toward NeuAc ${\alpha}$2,3Gal$\beta$ 1,3GalNAc, fetuin and GM1b, although the activity toward the later is very low, no significant activity being detected toward Gal${\beta}$ 1,3Gal NAc or asialofetuin, the other glycoprotein substrates tested. The $^{14}$ C-sialylated residue of fetuin sialylated by this enzyem with CMP-[$^{14}$C]NeuAc was sensitive to treatment with ${\alpha}$2,8-specific sialidase of Vibrio cholerae but resistant to treatment with ${\alpha}$2,3-specific sialidase (NaNase I), and ${\alpha}$2,3- and ${\alpha}$2,8-specific sialidase of Newcastle disease virus. These results clearly indicated that the expressed enzyme is a type of GalNAc ${\alpha}$2,6-sialyltransferase like mST6GalNAc IV, which requires sialic acid residues linked to Gal${\beta}$1,3GalNAc-residues for its activity.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.304-309
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• 1999

Two Lectins, designated FVL-1 and FVL-2, were isolated and purified from the fruiting bodies of edible mushroom Flammulina veluripes using ammonium sulfate fractionation, ethanol treatment, DEAE-TOYPEARL ion-exchange column chromatography, and TSK-Gel HW-55F column chromatography. Specific activity increased 18 folds for FVL-1 and 7.9 folds for FVL-2 from ethanol treated sample. SDS-PAGE of FVL-1 and FVL-2 gave apparent molecular mass of 10.6 kDa and 37 kDa, respectively. FVL-2 agglutinated all type of human erythrocytes (A, B, AB, and O). However, FVL-1 agglutinated more human erythrocyte type O than type A, B, and AB. The hemagglutination activities of the FVL-1 were effectively inhibited by bovine submaxillary and porcine stomach mucins(BSM and PSM), fetuin, asialofetuin and cations, such as $Cu^{2+}$, $Mg^{2+}$, $Ca^{2+}$, $Mn^{2+}$ and $Fe^{2+}$. However, FVL-2 was not inhibited by any cations. The hemagglutination activities of the two lectins were not inhibited by the sugar, such as lactose, galactose and sugar derivatives. FVL-1 and FVL-2 were stable at pH $5{\sim}11$ and pH $4{\sim}7$, respectively. FVL-1 was stable below $55^{\circ}C$ and FVL-2 was below $45^{\circ}C$.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.10
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• pp.3298-3302
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• 2012

Although offline enrichment of phosphorylated peptides is widely used, enrichment for phosphopeptides using $TiO_2$ is often performed manually, which is labor-intensive and can lead to irreproducible results. To address the problems associated with offline enrichment and to improve the effectiveness of phosphopeptide detection, we developed an automated online enrichment system for phosphopeptide analysis. A standard protein mixture comprising BSA, fetuin, crystalline, ${\alpha}$-casein and ${\beta}$-casein, and ovalbumin was assessed using our new system. Our multidimensional system has four main parts: a sample pump, a 20-mm $TiO_2$-based column, a weak anion-exchange, and a strong cation-exchange (2:1 WAX:SCX) separation column with LC/MS. Phosphorylated peptides were successfully detected using the $TiO_2$-based online system with little interference from nonphosphorylated peptides. Our results confirmed that our online enrichment system is a simple and efficient method for detecting phosphorylated peptides.