• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.426-436
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• 2001

Background : Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD) is one of the major contributors to morbidity and mortality among the adult population. Cigarette smoking(CS) is undoubtedly the single most important factor in the pathogenesis of COPD. However, its mechanism is unclear. The current hypothesis regarding the pathogenesis of COPD postulates that an imbalance between proteases and antiproteases leads to the destructive changes in the lung parenchyma. This study had two aims. First, to evaluate the effect of CS exposure on histologic changes of the lung parenchyme, and second, to evaluate the effect of CS exposure on the expression of the gelatinolytic enzymes in BAL fluid cells in guinea pigs. Methods : Two groups of five guinea pigs were exposed to the whole smoke of 20 commercial cigarettes per day, 5 hours/day, 5 days/week, for 6weeks, and 12 weeks, respectively, using a smoking apparatus. Five age-matched guinea pigs exposed to room air were used as controls. Five or more sections were microscopically extamined(${\times}400$) and the number of cellular infiltration of the alveolar wall was measured in order to evaluate the effect of CS exposure on the histologic changes of lung parenchyme. The statistical significance was analyzed by a linear regression method. To evaluate the expression of the gelatinolytic enzymes in intraalveolar cells, BAL fluid was obtained and the intraalveolar cells were separated by centrifugation (500 g for 10 min at $4^{\circ}C$). Two sets of culture plates were loaded with $1{\times}10^6$ intraalveolar cells. One plate, contained O.1mM EDTA, a inhibitor of matrix metalloproteases(MMPs), and the other plate had no EDTA. Both plates were incubated for 48 hours at $37^{\circ}C$. After incubation, gelatinolytic protease expression in the supernatants was analyzed by gelatin zymography. Results : At the end of CS exposure, the level of blood carboxy Hb had increased significantly(4.1g/dl in control group, 24g/dl immediately after CS exposure, 18g/dl 30 min after CS exposure, 15g/dl 1 hour after CS exposure). Alveolar inflammatory cells were identified in the CS exposed guinea pigs. The number of alveolar cellular cells observed in a microscopic field ($400{\times}$) was $121.4{\pm}7.2$, $158.0{\pm}20.2$, $196.8{\pm}32.8$, in the control, the 6 weeks, and the 12 weeks group, respectively. The increased extent of inflammatory cellular infiltration of the lung parenchema showed a statistically significant linear relationship with the duration of CS exposure(p=0.001, $r^2=0.675$). Several types of gelatinolytic enzymes in the intraalveolar cells of CS exposed guinea pigs were expressed, of which some were inhibited by EDT A. However, the gelatinolytic enzymes were not expressed in the control groups. Conclusion : CS exposure increases inflammatory cellular infiltration of the alveolar wall and the expression of gelatinolytic proteases in guinea pigs. EDTA inhibits some of the gelatinolytic proteases. These findings suggest a possibility that CS exposure may increase MMP expression in the lungs of guinea pigs.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.165-169
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• 2003

This study describes the characterization of 80 kDa pretense showing gelationlytic property among three pretenses in the excretory/secretory proteins (ESP) from Toxoplasma gondii. The pretense activity was detected in the ESP but not in the somatic extract of RH tachyzoites. This pretense was active only in the presence of calcium ion but not other divalent cationic ions such as $Cu^{2+},{\;}Zn^{2+},{\;}Mg^{2+},{\;}and{\;}$Mn^{2+}$, implying that $Ca^{2+}$ is critical factor for the activation of the protease. The 80 kDa pretense was optimally active at pH 7.5. Its gelatinolytic activity was maximal at $37^{\circ}C$, and significant level of enzyme activity of the pretense remained after heat treatment at $56^{\circ}C$ for 30 min or $100^{\circ}C$ for 10 min, This thermostable enzyme was strongly inhibited by metal chelators, i.e., EDTA, EGTA, and 11 10-phenanthroline. Thus, the 80 kDa pretense in the ESP secreted by T. gondii was classified as a calcium dependent neutral metalloprotease.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.151-155
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• 2010

Allergen extracts from dust mites and cockroaches commonly found in Korean homes were used to evaluate their enzymatic activity as they are believed to influence allergenicity. Allergen extracts were prepared from 3 dust mite species (Dermatophagoides farinae, D. pteronyssinus, and Tyrophagus putrescentiae) and 3 cockroach species (Blattella germanica, Periplaneta americana, and P. fuliginosa) maintained in the Korea National Arthropods of Medical Importance Resource Bank. Proteins were extracted in PBS after homogenization using liquid nitrogen. The activities of various enzymes were investigated using the API Zym system. No significant difference in phosphatase, lipase, or glycosidase activity was observed among the 6 allergen extracts, but much difference was observed in protease activity. Protease activity was assessed in more detail by gelatin zymography and the EnzChek assay. Extract from T. putrescentiae showed the highest protease activity, followed by those of the cockroach extracts. Extracts from D. farinae and D. pteronyssinus showed only weak protease activity. Gelatinolytic activity was detected mainly in a 30-kDa protein in D. farinae, a 28-kDa protein in D. pteronyssinus, a > 26-kDa protein in T. putrescentiae, a > 20-kDa protein in B. germanica, and a > 23-kDa protein in P. americana and P. fuliginosa. The information on various enzymatic activities obtained in this study may be useful for future studies. In particular, the strong protease activity found in cockroach extracts could contribute to sensitization to cockroach allergens, which is known to be associated with the development of asthma.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.289-294
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• 2003

Gelatinase is a proteolytic enzyme that hydrolyzes gelatin. Gelatinolytic activity was detected from culture broths of Streptomyces griseus IFO13350 and HH1 by paper disc assays on 0.5% agar plates containing 1% gelatin. The concentrated extracellular protein from the S. griseus was analyzed by SDS polyacrylamide gel, and two proteins, with molecular weights of 30 and 28 kDa, respectively, were identified to have gelatinase activity by gelatin zymography. The protein with a molecular weight of 28 kDa was confirmed to be S. griseus trypsin (SGT). The effects of metal ions and metal chelators on the protease activity of the SGT were studied. Of the metal ions tested, only manganese was found to enhance the protease activity, 2.6 times, however, $Co^{2+},\;Cu^{2+},\;and\;Zn^{2+}$, and metal chelators, such as EDTA and EGTA, inhibited the SGT activity. When the protease activity of the SGT was measured at various pHs, in the presence of 5 mM $MnCl_2$, its highest activity was at pH 11.0, whereas only 60% of the maximum activity was observed between pHs 4.0 and pH 6.0, and almost 80% activity between pHs 7.0 to pH 10.0. The protease activity was measured at various temperatures in the presence of 5 mM $MnCl_2$. The SGT was found to be stable up to $60^{\circ}C$ for 30 min, while only 16% of the enzyme activity remained at $60^{\circ}C$, and at $80^{\circ}C$ almost all the activity was lost. The optimal temperature for the protease activity was $50^{\circ}C$.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.83-93
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• 2011

Biochemical and enzymatic characterization for extracellular protease isolated from Cordyceps militaris cultivated on rice bran medium was investigated. C militaris produced proteolytic enzymes from 10 days after inoculation, maximum enzyme production was found at 25 days. The optimum temperature and pH of proteases production was at $25^{\circ}C$ and pH 7.0, respectively. The protease activity was observed in the four peaks (Pro-I, Pro-II, Pro-III, and Pro-IV) separated through Sephadex G-100 column chromatography. The separated protease was optimally active at $25^{\circ}C$. Optimum pH of the protease was between 7 and 8. Enzyme was also stable over at $30-80^{\circ}C$. The enzyme was highly stable in a pH range of 4-9. Protease activity was found to be slightly decreased by the addition of $Mg^{2+}$, $Mn^{2+}$, $Zn^{2+}$, $Fe^{2+}$ and $Cu^{2+}$, whereas inhibited by the addition of $Ca^{2+}$ and $Co^{2+}$ Protease activity was inhibited by protease inhibitor PMSF. On the other hand, the partially purified protease was investigated on proteolytic protease activity by zymogram gel electrophoresis using three substances (casein, gelatin and fibrin). Four active bands (F-I, FII, F-III, and F-IV) of fibrin degradation were revealed on fibrin zymogram gels. Both of F-II and FIII showed caseinolytic, fibrinolytic and gelatinolytic activities in three gels. Thermostability, pH stability, and pH-thermostability of the enzyme determined the residual fibrinolytic activity also displayed on fibrin zymogram gel. The only one enzyme (F-II) displayed over a broad range of temperature at $30-90^{\circ}C$. The FII displayed fibrinolytic activity in the pH range 3-5, but was inactivated in the range of pH 6-11. The F-I and F-III showed enzyme activity in the pH range of 6-11. In the pH-thermostability, the F-II only kept fibrinolytic activity after heating at $100^{\circ}C$ for 10, 20 and 30 min at pH 3 and pH 7, respectively. On the other hand, the F-II was retained activity until heating for 10 min under pH 11 condition. By using fibrin zymogram gel electrophoresis, extracellular fibrinolytic enzyme F-II from C. militaris showed unusual thermostable under acid and neutral conditions.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.196-203
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• 2008

Hwangtae, dried Alaska pollack, is a major storage product in the fish processing industry. Hwangtae is prepared by removing the internal organs and drying outdoors during the cold witner months by allowing it to thaw during the daytime and re-freeze at night under sub-zero ($-10^{\circ}C$) conditions and gradually dry from December until the next April for around 5 months from Myungtae. In this study, ground Hwangtae was hydrolyzed using two proteolytic enzymes (pepsin and alcalase) which produced five soluble active peptides from Hwangtae (yellowish dried Pollack, Theragra chalcogramma) protein. Two different peptides with strong antioxidative activity were isolated from the hydrolysate using consecutive chromatographic methods of Sephadex G-25 gel, ion-exchange chromatography on a Sepharose-Sephadex C-25 gel, and high-performance liquid chromatography. The isolated peptides, APO1 and APO2, were composed of 16 and 13 amino acid residues, respectively. Both peptides contained a Gly residue at the C-terminus and the repeating motif Gly-Pro-Hyp. The peptide with a molecular weight less than 1,000 Daltons (APACE) obtained from enzymatic hydrolysates of Hwangtae exhibited the highest ACE inhibitory activity. The APACE peptides was composed of 4 amino acid residues (Gly-Leu-Leu-Pro). These results suggest that Hwangtae hydrolysates could be a good source of peptides with ACE inhibitory activity. Biochemical analysis indicated that two 70 kDa peptides (APG1 and APG2) isolated from the hydrolysate had gelatinoytic activity, which was shown to be a calcium dependent protease type as showed by gelatin SDS PAGE.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.183-190
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• 2017

Ficus carica L. (common fig), one of the first plants cultivated by humans, originated in the Mediterranean basin and currently grows worldwide, including southwest Asia and South Korea. It has been used as a traditional medicine for treatment of metabolic, cardiovascular, and respiratory diseases as well as hemorrhoids and skin infections. Its pharmacological properties have recently been studied in detail, but research on the anti-cancer effect of its latex has been only been studied on a limited basis on several cell lines, such prostate cancer, breast cancer, and leukemia. In this study, we investigated the anti-cancer activity of the latex of Ficus carica L.and its underlying mechanism in FaDu human hypopharynx squamous carcinoma cells. (See Ed. note above) We confirmed through SDS-PAGE analysis and gelatinolytic activity analysis that the latex of Ficus carica contains cysteine protease ficin. Our data showed that the latex inhibited cell growth in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, the latex treatment markedly induced apoptosis in FaDu cells as determined by FACS analysis, elevated expression level of cleaved caspase-9, -3 and PARP (poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase), and. increased the expression of Bax (pro-apoptotic factor) while decreasing the expression of Bcl-2 (anti-apoptotic factor). Taken together, these results suggested that latex containing the ficin inhibited cell growth and induced apoptosis by caspase and the Bcl-2 family signaling pathway in FaDu human hypopharynx squamous carcinoma cells. These findings point to the potential of latex of Ficus carica to provide a novel chemotherapeutic drug due to its growth inhibition effects and induction of apoptosis in human oral cancer cells.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.148-161
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of chlorhexidine (CHX) on microtensile bond strength (${\mu}TBS$) of dentin bonding systems. Dentin collagenolytic and gelatinolytic activities can be suppressed by protease inhibitors, indicating that MMPs (Matrix metalloproteinases) inhibition could be beneficial in the preservation of hybrid layers. Chlorhexidine (CHX) is known as an inhibitor of MMPs activity in vitro. The experiment was proceeded as follows: At first, flat occlusal surfaces were prepared on mid-coronal dentin of extracted third molars. GI (Glass Ionomer) group was treated with dentin conditioner, and then, applied with 2 % CHX. Both SM (Scotchbond Multipurpose) and SB (Single Bond) group were applied with CHX after acid-etched with 37% phosphoric acid. TS (Clearfil Tri-S) group was applied with CHX, and then, with adhesives. Hybrid composite Z-250 and resin-modified glass ionomer Fuji-II LC was built up on experimental dentin surfaces. Half of them were subjected to 10,000 thermocycle, while the others were tested immediately. With the resulting data, statistically two-way ANOVA was performed to assess the ${\mu}TBS$ before and after thermo cycling and the effect of CHX. All statistical tests were carried out at the 95 % level of confidence. The failure mode of the testing samples was observed under a scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Within limited results, the results of this study were as follows; 1. In all experimental groups applied with 2 % chlorhexidine, the microtensile bond strength increased, and thermo cycling decreased the micro tensile bond strength (P > 0.05). 2. Compared to the thermocycling groups without chlorhexidine, those with both thermocycling and chlorhexidine showed higher microtensile bond strength, and there was significant difference especially in GI and TS groups. 3. SEM analysis of failure mode distribution revealed the adhesive failure at hybrid layer in most of the specimen. and the shift of the failure site from bottom to top of the hybrid layer with chlorhexidine groups. 2 % chlorhexidine application after acid-etching proved to preserve the durability of the hybrid layer and microtensile bond strength of dentin bonding systems.