• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.103-109
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• 1996

To investigate the effect of the third intracellular loop (i3 loop) peptide of human $\beta$$_2$-adrenergic receptor on receptor agonist binding, we expressed third intracellular loop region of human $\beta$$_2$-adrenergic receptor as glutathione S-transferase fusion protein in E. coli. DNA fragment of the receptor gene which encodes amino acid 221-274 of human $\beta$$_2$-adrenergic receptor was amplified by polymerase chain reaction and subcloned into the bacterial fusion protein expression vector pGEX-CS and expressed as a form of glutathione-S-transferase (GST) fusion protein in E. coli DH5$\alpha$. The receptor fusion protein was identified by SDS-PAGE and Western blot using monoclonal anti-GST antibody. The fusion protein expressed in this study was purified to an apparent homogeneity by glutathione Sepharose CL-4B affinity chromatography. The purified i3 loop fusion proteins at a concentration of 10 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ι caused right shift of the isoproterenol competition curve of [$^3$H]Dihydroalprenolol binding to hamster lung $\beta$$_2$-adrenergic receptor indicating lowered affinity of isoproterenol to $\beta$$_2$-adrenergic receptor possibly due to the uncoupling of receptor and G protein in the presence of the fusion protein. The uncoupling of receptor and G protein suggests that i3 loop region plays a critical role on $\beta$$_2$-adrenergic receptor G protein coupling.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.345-353
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• 2014

Copper has been widely used to control algae and pathogens in fish culture ponds. However, its toxic effects on fish depend not only on its concentration in the water but also on the water quality. A laboratory experiment was conducted to assess copper toxicity in the black rockfish Sebastes schlegeli using a panel of antioxidant enzymes, including glutathione (GSH), glutathione S-transferase (GST), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), at different levels of copper at three water temperatures (WT, 18, 23, $28^{\circ}C$) for 4 days. After exposure to two copper concentrations (100 and $200{\mu}g/L$), GSH levels and GST activities increased significantly, depending on WT (P < 0.05) in the liver, gill, and kidney of the black rockfish. GPx and SOD activities decreased significantly with both increasing WT and copper treatment in the organs of black rockfish (P < 0.05). These changes can be seen as initial responses to temperature stress and as a sustained response to copper exposure. This also indicates that GSH and related enzymes activities were sensitive indexes to stress by toxicants such as copper. The present findings suggest that simultaneous stress due to temperature change and copper exposure can accelerate changes in enzymes activities in the black rockfish. This provides another example of synergism between environmental temperature and pollutants, which may have important implications for the survival of fish in polluted environments during seasonal warming and/or global climate change.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.289-297
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• 2003

Using Agrobacterium-me야ated transformation method the auxin-regulated cotton GST (Gh-5) constructs were used to transform Rehmannia glutinosa L. The PCR analysis was conducted to verify transgenicity. Based on the PCR analysis, there was verified that the 988 bp DNA band had showed in transgenic plant genomes in PCR anaJysis using Gh5-1 and Gh5-2 primers. The effects of cocultivation with Agrobacterium tumefaciens, regeneration and selection conditions on the transformation efficiency of Chinese foxglove (Rehmannia glutinosa L.) were investigated. Factors such as cocultivation period, use of acetosyringone, postcultivation in darkness, and different kanamycin concentrations for selection were assessed. In vitro regeneration, the number of leaves, shoot lengths and numbers on MS medium were superior to on B5 and WPM medium, and the shoot formation rate was highest level of 95% in cultured base part containing leaf stalk. Addition of acetosyringone at concentration of $200{\mu}M$ to cocultivation medium and 3-day of cocultivation improved transformation frequencies. Exposure of explants to darkness for 4 weeks on selection medium resulted in further increased the regeneration frequency of transgenic shoots. In PCR analysis, the amplified fragments of Gh5 gene were detected (988 bp), and GST-expressing transgenic R. glutinosa L. plants had approximately three-fold higher activity in leaf extracts compared with control plant.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.13 no.3_4
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• pp.55-61
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• 1998

Glutathione-S-transferases (GSTs) detoxify electrophilic xenobiotics and reactive metabolites. Recently benzene-fused heterocycles have been shown to increase the total amount of hepatic GSTs in rats. Primarily this study aimed to determine the induction of GSTs by benzoazoles (BAs) including benzoxazole (BX), 2-methylbenzoxazole (M-BX), 2,5-dimethyl benzoxazole (D-BX), benzothiazole (BT), aminobenzothiazole (A-BT) and 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (M-BT) in rats. Hepatic cytosol and poly(A)$^+$ mRNA were prepared from rats after oral administration of BX, BT, M-BX, D-BX, A-BT and M-BT for 5 consecutive days at doses of 1 mmol/kg. Western immunoblot and northern blot analysis were conducted with rabbit anti-GST Ya, Yb$_1$, Yb$_2$, Yc antibodies and cDNA probes containing = 500 bps in the specific coding regions of Ya, Yb$_1$, Yb$_2$, Yc$_1$, and Yc$_2$, respectively. All BAs increased the amount of enzymes and mRNA levels of GSTs. BT was the most effective inducer of GSTs among the compounds examined in this study. Although A-BT and M-BT, the derivatives of BT, induced GSTs, these chemicals had lesser effect on induction of GSTs than BT. The derivatives of BX also induced less GSTs than the parent compound and the addition of methyl group to the benzene ring of BX reduced the induction of GSTs. BAs had better inductive effects on the class $\alpha$(Ya, Yc) than class $\mu$ GSTs (Yb$_1$, Yb$_2$). BAs enhanced mRNA levels of GSTs in parallel with the protein levels. These results indicate that 1) most of BAs induced various isozymes of GSTs, 2) the induction of GSTs appears to be correlated with the chemical structure of the derivatives, and 3) the expression of GST by BAs is presumably under the transcriptional regulation.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.418-424
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• 2012

This study focused on the enzymatic biotransformation of the major ginsenoside Rb1 into Rd for the mass production of minor ginsenosides using a novel recombinant ${\beta}$-glucosidase from Flavobacterium johnsoniae. The gene (bglF3) consisting of 2,235 bp (744 amino acid residues) was cloned and the recombinant enzyme overexpressed in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) was characterized. This enzyme could transform ginsenoside Rb1 and gypenoside XVII to the ginsenosides Rd and F2, respectively. The glutathione S-transferase (GST) fused BglF3 was purified with GST-bind agarose resin and characterized. The kinetic parameters for ${\beta}$-glucosidase had apparent $K_m$ values of $0.91{\pm}0.02$ and $2.84{\pm}0.05$ mM and $V_{max}$ values of $5.75{\pm}0.12$ and $0.71{\pm}0.01{\mu}mol{\cdot}min^{-1}{\cdot}mg$ of $protein^{-1}$ against p-nitrophenyl-${\beta}$-D-glucopyranoside and Rb1, respectively. At optimal conditions of pH 6.0 and $37^{\circ}C$, BglF3 could only hydrolyze the outer glucose moiety of ginsenoside Rb1 and gypenoside XVII at the C-20 position of aglycon into ginsenosides Rd and F2, respectively. These results indicate that the recombinant BglF3 could be useful for the mass production of ginsenosides Rd and F2 in the pharmaceutical or cosmetic industry.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.42-48
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• 2000

Urokinase (UK), a thrombolytic enzyme used to clear catheters obstructed by blood clots, can be also used industrially in the recombinant protein purification system to cleave a fusion protein linked with a certain fragment of GST. We have immobilized UK by covalent attachment to activated Sepharose 6B-Cl gels and evaluated its performance to cleave a fusion protein of hGH and GST. The Sepharose gels were activated by etherification with glycidol (2,3-epoxypropanol) and further oxidized with periodate resulting in glyceryl-Sepharose gels. After the activation treatment, surface density of the aldehyde groups was 7-30 $\mu$mol-aldehde/mL-gel. Immobilization yield was higher than 99% at high pH (10.5), and the immobilized UK maintained ca. 80% specific activity of the soluble UK. In a column reaction the cleavage yield heavily depended on the feed rate, and it was nearly 86% of that from soluble UK. And the immobilized UK was successfully regenerated by unfolding and refolding with 6M GuHCl. After cleavaging reaction, the monomeric hGH was purified by using expanded bed adsorption chromatography.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.288-295
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• 2010

Metal exposure experiments using polychaete (Perinereis nuntia) as a bio-indicator of trace metals contamination were conducted to evaluate the bioaccumulation and the biomarkers responses such as metallothionein-like protein (MTLPs) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) which was simultaneously exposed to Cadmium (Cd) and Copper (Cu). Cu and Cd concentrations in polychaete were enhanced with increasing exposure time and their concentrations of aqueous medium. Initial accumulation of Cd was higher than that of Cu. Our results showed that the bioaccumulation of Cu and Cd were prohibited, especially at higher Cu levels, suggesting the different cellular uptake mechanisms when Cu and Cd are co-exist. Net accumulation rate of Cu was declined with exposure time but it did not show any significant change for Cd. Although the highest MTLPs concentration was observed at 6 hr of exposure time, it did not show any significant change related to exposure times and metals concentrations. An increase of GST activity tended to increase as a function of exposure time and metals concentrations. And GST activities in P. nuntia have similar tendency with bioconcentration factors in high concentration of Cu (treatment group IV) at post 24 h of exposure. Our results provide new information of the bioaccumulation and biomarker responses to understand the effects of co-existing contaminants (Cu and Cd) using polychaete. Further studies are required to elucidate the bioaccumulation and biomarkers responses for various contaminants.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.37 no.10
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• pp.1238-1243
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• 2008

The root of Adenophora triphylla is widely used as traditional herbal medicine in Korea. We studied its effects on sodium nitroprusside (SNP) cytotoxicity and antioxidant genes expression in HepG2 cells. To study whether Adenophora triphylla ethylacetate extract (ATea) inhibited NO-induced cell death, HepG2 cells were preincubated for 24 hr with 50 and 100 $\mu$g/mL ATea followed by 24-hr exposure to 0.5 mM SNP (exogenous NO donor). No-induced cytotoxicity was inhibited by pretreatment of ATea, as assessed by mitochondrial dehydrogenase activity (MTT assay). We further investigated the effects of ATea on mRNA levels of various enzymes of the antioxidant system such as Cu, Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD 1), Mn SOD (SOD 2), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase and several enzymes of the glutathione metabolism [glutathione reductase (GR), $\gamma$-glutamyl-cystein synthetase (GCS), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), $\gamma$-glutamyltranspeptidase ($\gamma$-GT), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD)] by RT-PCR. CAT, GCS, GR and G6PD mRNA levels were increased after treatment with ATea. The SOD 1, SOD 2, GPx, GST and $\gamma$-GT mRNA levels were not affected in ATea-treated HepG2 cells. We concluded that ATea have an indirect antioxidant effects, perhaps via induction of CAT, GCS, GR and G6PD.

• BMB Reports
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.472-477
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• 2001

Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC, EC 4.1.1.17) is the first and key enzyme in eukaryotic polyamine biosynthesis. The cDNA encoding ornithine decarboxylase from Nicotiana glutinosa was cloned ($GeBank^{TM}$ AF 323910) and expressed in E. coli. Site directed mutagenesis were performed on several highly conserved cysteine residues. Among the mutants, C115A showed significant changes in the kinetic properties. The $K_m$ value of the C115A mutant was $1790\;{\mu}M$, which was 3-fold higher than that of the wild-type ODC. There was a dramatic decrease in the $k_{cat}$, values of the C115A mutant, compared to that of the wild-type ODC, which had a $k_{cat}$ value of $77.75\;s^{-1}$. C115A caused a shift in the optimal pH from 8.0 to 8.4. Considering these results, we suggest that cys-115 is involved in the catalytic activity of N. glutinosa ODC.

• Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.187-192
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• 2008

The effects of some coumarins(coumarin, 7-hydroxycoumarin, scopoletin and esculetin) were investigated on pumpkin(Cucurbita maxima Duch.) seedlings and on pumpkin glutathione S-transferases(GSTs). Coumarin and esculetin suppressed the growth of seedlings, especially the elongation of roots as well as hypocotyls. Among the compounds tested, only esculetin inhibited the activity of a particular pumpkin GST by 50%, CmGSTU3 toward 1-chloro-2, 4- dinitrobenzene(CDNB) and at a concentration of 22 ${\mu}M$. Both ethylacetae(EtOAc) and water fractions in pumpkin seedlings and different organs of one-month-old pumpkin plants contained esculetin or similar hydrophobic fluorescent substances as well as hydrophilic substances, which showed different degrees of inhibitory effects on CmGSTU3 activity.