• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.109-115
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• 2009

The gene encoding a putative aspartate aminotransferase in Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) was cloned using PCR technique. The gene was ligated with pET-21(a) vector containing His6 tag and expressed in E. coli BL21(DE3). Affinity purification of the recombinant aspartate aminotransferase with Ni-NTA resin resulted in one band by SDS-PAGE analysis. The purified enzyme showed a molecular weight of 43 kDa, as expected. The enzyme was the most active toward L-aspartate as an amino donor, indicating that the purified enzyme is one of aspartate aminotrans-ferases exist in Xoo. Optimal activity of the enzyme was observed at around pH 7.5 and stability was much higher at alkaline pH rather than acidic pH values. The enzyme was considerably activated by the presence of manganese ion, showing about 157% of control activity at 1.0 mM.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.210-218
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• 2005

The rice genome contains at least 28 EXPA (${\alpha}$-expansin) genes. We have obtained near full-length cDNAs from the previously uncharacterized genes. Analysis of these newly identified clones together with the 12 identified earlier showed that the EXPA genes contain up to two introns and encode proteins of 240 to 291 amino acid residues. The EXPA proteins contain three conserved motifs: eight cysteine residues at the N-terminus, four tryptophan residues at the C-terminus, and a histidine-phenylalanine-aspartate motif in the central region. EXPA proteins could be divided into six groups based on their sequence similarity. Most were strongly induced in two-day-old seedlings and in the roots of one-week-old plants. However, only 14 genes were expressed in the aboveground organs, and their patterns were quite diverse. Transcript levels of EXPA7, 14, 15, 18, 21, and 29 were greater in stems, while EXPA2, 4, 5, 6, and 16 were highly expressed in both stem and sheath but not in leaf blade. EXPA1 is leaf blade-preferential, and EXP9 is leaf sheath-preferential. Most of the root-expressed genes were more strongly expressed in the dividing zone. However, the Group 2 EXPA genes were also strongly expressed in both mature and dividing zones, while EXPA9 was preferentially expressed in the elongation zone. Fourteen EXPA genes were expressed in developing panicles, with some being expressed during most developmental stages, others only as the panicles matured. These diverse expression patterns of EXPA genes suggest that in general they have distinct roles in plant growth and development.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.61-67
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• 2011

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) sprouts are a vegetable commonly used as a functional food material due to its high vitamin C concentration and antioxidant activity. In this experiment, we measured the changes in the antioxidant activity of several barley cultivars as well as in the concentrations of related compounds such as ascorbate and glutathione upon treatment with UV-B or salicylic acid (SA). The six barely cultivars were grown in a plant growth chamber (25/$18^{\circ}C$, 14/10 h, 200 ${\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-1}{\cdot}s^{-1}$, 70% relative humidity) for 10 days. All barely cultivars showed different 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activities, which were increased by UV-B treatment and not by SA treatment. The changes in ascorbate concentrations were correlated with DPPH scavenging activity in both the treatments, suggesting that the antioxidant activity in barley sprouts was mainly dependent on ascorbate concentration. Furthermore, changes in ascorbate concentration showed similar tendencies to changes in free sugar concentration, especially glucose and sucrose, in both treatments. On the other hand, the concentrations of glutathione and cysteine highly increased by SA treatment, representing different tendencies compared to the DPPH scavenging activity and ascorbate concentration. 'Donghanchal' cultivar showed comparatively higher antioxidant activity, both constitutively and inducingly by UV-B treatment, with its higher concentrations of ascorbate and glutathione. These results suggest that barley sprouts could be used as a health-functional vegetable, contributing to the overall supply of antioxidant and sulfur-containing organic compounds.

• BMB Reports
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.260-265
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• 2020

Scorpion venom comprises a cocktail of toxins that have proven to be useful molecular tools for studying the pharmacological properties of membrane ion channels. HelaTx1, a short peptide neurotoxin isolated recently from the venom of the scorpion Heterometrus laoticus, is a 25 amino acid peptide with two disulfide bonds that shares low sequence homology with other scorpion toxins. HelaTx1 effectively decreases the amplitude of the K⁺ currents of voltage-gated Kv1.1 and Kv1.6 channels expressed in Xenopus oocytes, and was identified as the first toxin member of the κ-KTx5 subfamily, based on a sequence comparison and phylogenetic analysis. In the present study, we report the NMR solution structure of HelaTx1, and the major interaction points for its binding to voltage-gated Kv1.1 channels. The NMR results indicate that HelaTx1 adopts a helix-loop-helix fold linked by two disulfide bonds without any β-sheets, resembling the molecular folding of other cysteine-stabilized helix-loop-helix (Cs α/α) scorpion toxins such as κ-hefutoxin, HeTx, and OmTx, as well as conotoxin pl14a. A series of alanine-scanning analogs revealed a broad surface on the toxin molecule largely comprising positively-charged residues that is crucial for interaction with voltage-gated Kv1.1 channels. Interestingly, the functional dyad, a key molecular determinant for activity against voltage-gated potassium channels in other toxins, is not present in HelaTx1.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.573-580
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• 2016

Caspases, a family of cysteine proteases, cleave substrates and play significant roles in apoptosis, autophagy, and development. Recently, our group identified 72 genes that interact with Death Caspase-1 (DCP-1) proteins in Drosophila by genetic screening of 15,000 EP lines. However, the cellular functions and molecular mechanisms of the screened genes, such as their involvement in apoptosis and autophagy, are poorly understood in mammalian cells. In order to study the functional characterizations of the genes in human cells, we investigated 16 full-length human genes in mammalian expression vectors and tested their effects on apoptosis and autophagy in human cell lines. Our studies revealed that ALFY, BIRC4, and TAK1 induced autophagy, while SEC61A2, N-PAC, BIRC4, WIPI1, and FALZ increased apoptotic cell death. BIRC4 was involved in both autophagy and apoptosis. Western blot analysis and luciferase reporter activity indicated that ALFY, BIRC4, PDGFA, and TAK1 act in a p53-dependent manner, whereas CPSF1, SEC61A2, N-PAC, and WIPI1 appear to be p53-independent. Overexpression of BIRC4 and TAK1 caused upregulation of p53 and accumulation of its target proteins as well as an increase in p53 mRNA levels, suggesting that these genes are involved in p53 transcription and expression of its target genes followed by p53 protein accumulation. In conclusion, apoptosis and/or autophagy mediated by BIRC4 and TAK1 may be regulated by p53 and caspase activity. These novel findings may provide valuable information that will aid in a better understanding of the roles of caspase-related genes in human cell lines and be useful for the process of drug discovery.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.9
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• pp.1439-1450
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• 2021

Objective: With the rapid development of proteomics sequencing and RNA sequencing technology, multi-omics analysis has become a current research hotspot. Our previous study indicated that Xinjiang brown cattle have better meat quality than Kazakh cattle. In this study, Xinjiang brown cattle and Kazakh cattle were used as the research objects. Methods: Proteome sequencing and RNA sequencing technology were used to analyze the proteome and transcriptome of the longissimus dorsi muscle of the two breeds of adult steers (n = 3). Results: In this project, 22,677 transcripts and 1,874 proteins were identified through quantitative analysis of the transcriptome and proteome. By comparing the identified transcriptome and proteome, we found that 1,737 genes were identified at both the transcriptome and proteome levels. The results of the study revealed 12 differentially expressed genes and proteins: troponin I1, crystallin alpha B, cysteine, and glycine rich protein 3, phosphotriesterase-related, myosin-binding protein H, glutathione s-transferase mu 3, myosin light chain 3, nidogen 2, dihydropyrimidinase like 2, glutamate-oxaloacetic transaminase 1, receptor accessory protein 5, and aspartoacylase. We performed functional enrichment of these differentially expressed genes and proteins. The Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes results showed that these differentially expressed genes and proteins are enriched in the fatty acid degradation and histidine metabolism signaling pathways. We performed parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) verification of the differentially expressed proteins, and the PRM results were consistent with the sequencing results. Conclusion: Our study provided and identified the differentially expressed genes and proteins. In addition, identifying functional genes and proteins with important breeding value will provide genetic resources and technical support for the breeding and industrialization of new genetically modified beef cattle breeds.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.454-460
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• 1995

Acetylxylan esterase II was produced by Escherichia coli HB101 harboring the recombinant plasmid pKMG7 which contained the estII gene of Bacillus stearothermophilus. Optimal medium for the production of the acetylxylan esterase by E. coli HB101/pKMG7 was determined to contain 0.5% galactose, 1% yeast extract and 1% NaCl. The enzyme produced was purified to homogeneity using a combination of 20-50% ammonium sulfate precipitation, DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B chromatography and Sephacryl S-200 gel filtration. The temperature and pH optimum of the esterase were 45$\circ$C and pH 6, respectively. The essential amino acids for the esterase activity were found to be methionine, serine, and cysteine. Molecular weight of the esterase was determined to be 28 kDa by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and 120 kDa by gel filtration. This suggests that the functional enzyme is a homomeric tetramer. The esterase had an isoelectric point of pH 3.4. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the enzyme was Ala-Leu-Phe-Glu-Ser-Arg-Phe-Phe-Ser-Glu-Val-Leu-Gly-Leu.

• BMB Reports
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.234-241
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• 2000

A new type of the human TSA homologous gene was cloned from a HeLa cell cDNA and characterized. The gene product consists of 161 amino acids with a molecular mass of 16,900. The TSA homologous protein, as a new 6th member of the human TSA (hTSA VI), exerted a thioldependent peroxidase activity with the use of thioredoxin system as a physiological electron donor. The values of $V_{max}/K_m$ of hTSA VI for $H_2O_2$ and t-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BOOH) were calculated as $5.53{\times}10^{-2}$ and $3.70{\times}10^{-2}$, respectively. This implies that hTSA VI is a peroxidase, which reduces $H_2O_2$ and t-BOOH. The mutation of $Cys^{47}$ to serine resulted in a complete loss of the peroxidase activity. This suggests that $Cys^{47}$ acts as a primary site of catalysis. The analysis of the tryptic digest derived from hTSA VI revealed that the $Cys^{47}$ exists as a free thiol form. Taken together, these results suggest that the TSA homologous protein is a new type of the human family, which exerts thioredoxin-linked peroxidase activity toward $H_2O_2$ and alkyl hydroperoxide.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.39 no.12
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• pp.909-914
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• 2016

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a critical step in the acquisition of the migratory and invasive capabilities associated with metastatic competence. Cysteine-rich protein 61 (CCN1/Cyr61) has been implicated as an important mediator in the proliferation and metastasis of breast cancer. Hence, Cyr61 and associated pathways are attractive targets for therapeutic interventions directed against the EMT. In the present study, we report that baicalein significantly inhibits the expression of Cyr61 and migration and invasion of MDA-MB231 human breast cancer cells. Exposure to baicalein led to increased E-cadherin expression, possibly due to the ubiquitination of Snail and Slug, which was mediated by the Cyr61/Akt/glycogen synthase kinase $3{\beta}$ ($GSK3{\beta}$) pathway. Further analysis revealed that baicalein inhibited the expression of lysyl oxidase like-2 (LOXL-2), which is a functional collaborator of Snail and Slug, and subsequently attenuated the direct interaction between LOXL-2 and Snail or Slug, thereby enhancing $GSK3{\beta}$-dependent Snail and Slug degradation. Our findings provide new insights into the antimetastatic mechanism of baicalein and may contribute to its beneficial use in breast cancer therapies.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.431-437
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• 2012

Calpains are a class of proteins that belong to the calcium-dependent, non-lysosomal cysteine proteases. There are three major types of calpains expressed in the skeletal muscle, namely, ${\mu}$-calpain, m-calpain, and calpain 3, which show proteolytic activities. Skeletal muscle fibers possess all three calpains, and they are $Ca^{2+}$-dependent proteases. The functional role of calpains was found to be associated with apoptosis and myogenesis. However, calpain 3 is likely to be involved in sarcomeric remodeling. A defect in the expression of calpain 3 leads to limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2A. Calpain 3 is found in skeletal muscle fibers at the N2A line of the large elastic protein, titin. A substantial proportion of calpain 3 is activated 24 h following a single bout of eccentric exercise. In vitro studies indicated that calpain 3 can be activated 2-4 fold higher than normal resting cytoplasmic [$Ca^{2+}$]. Characterization of the calpain system in the developing muscle is essential to explain which calpain isoforms are present and whether both ${\mu}$-calpain and m-calpain exist in differentiating myoblasts. Information from such studies is needed to clarify the role of the calpain system in skeletal muscle growth. It has been demonstrated that the activation of ubiquitous calpains and calpain 3 in skeletal muscle is very well regulated in the presence of huge and rapid changes in intracellular [$Ca^{2+}$].