• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.7
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• pp.905-913
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• 2014

Lj-RGD3, an RGD (Arg-Gly-Asp) toxin protein from the salivary gland of Lampetra japonica, exhibits antifungal activity against Candida albicans. Lj-RGD3 has three RGD motifs and shows homology to histidine-rich glycoprotein. We synthesised two mutant derivatives of Lj-RGD3: Lj-26, which lacks all three RGD motifs and contains no His residues; and Lj-112, which lacks only the three RGD motifs. We investigated the effects of the wild-type and mutated toxins on a gram-positive bacterium (Escherichia coli), a gram-negative bacterium (Staphylococcus aureus), and a fungus (C. albicans). rLj-RGD3 and its mutants exhibited antifungal but not antibacterial activity, as measured by a radial diffusion assay. The C. albicans inhibition zone induced by rLj-112 was larger than that induced by the other proteins, and its inhibitory effect on C. albicans was dose-dependent. In viable-count assays, the rLj-112 MIC was $7.7{\mu}M$, whereas the MIC of the positive control (ketoconazole) was $15{\mu}M$. Time-kill kinetics demonstrated that rLj-112 effectively killed C. albicans at $1{\times}$ and $2{\times}$ MIC within 12 and 6 h, respectively. Electron microscopy analysis showed that rLj-RGD3 and rLj-112 induced C. albicans lysis. Our results demonstrate a novel anticandidal activity for rLj-RGD3 and its mutant derivatives.

• Proceedings of the Microbiological Society of Korea Conference
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• 2005.05a
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• pp.143-147
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• 2005

The non-pathogenic, non-glycopeptide-producing actinomycete Streptomyces coelicolor carries a cluster of seven genes (vanSRJKHAX) that confers inducible, high-level resistance to vancomycin. The van genes are organised into four transcription units, vanRS, vanJ, vanK and vanHAX, and these transcripts are induced by vancomycin in a vanR-dependent manner. vanHAX are orthologuous to genes found in vancomycin resistant enterococci that encode enzymes predicted to reprogramme peptidoglycan biosynthesis such that cell wall precursors terminate in D-Ala-D-Lac, rather than D-Ala-D-Ala. vanR and vanS encode a two-component signal transduction system that mediates transcriptional induction of the seven van genes. vanJ and vanK are novel genes that have no counterpart in previously characterised vancomycin-resistance clusters from pathogens. VanK is essential for vancomycin resistance in S. coelicolor and it is required for adding Gly branch to stem peptides terminating D-Ala-D-Lac. Because VanK can recognise D-Lac-containing precursors but the constitutively expressed femX enzyme, encoded elsewhere on the chromosome, cannot recognize D-Lac-containing precursors as a substrate, vancomycin-induced expression of VanHAX in a vanK mutant is lethal. Further, femX null mutants are viable in the presence of glycopeptide antibiotics but die in their absence. Bioassay using vanJp-neo fusion reporter system also showed that all identified inducers for van genes expression were glycopeptide antibiotics, but teicoplanin, a membrane-anchored glycopeptide, failed to act as an inducer.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.183-190
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• 2010

To search the new potent herbicidal agents by receptor-based approach, the interactions between receptor and substrate molecules from molecular docking to acetyl-CoA carboxylase(PDB code: 3K8X) of 2-(4-(6-chloro-2-benzoxazolyl)oxy)phenoxy-N-phenylpropionamide analogues (1-38) as substrate molecules were performed and discussed quantitatively. The most of the substrate molecules were formated 2 H-bonds between carbonyl oxygen atom of the substrate molecules and the amino acid residues (Ala1627 and Ile1735) in binding site of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase). But, the substrate molecules such as $R_l$=Acetyl substituents (6 & P9) were formated 3 H-bonds between H-bond acceptors in the substrate molecules and the H-bond donors in three amino acid residues including the rest residue (Gly 1998). Therefore, the inhibitory activity factors of the substrate molecules against ACCase are due to the H-bonding characters that will be able to apply to the optimization of herbicidal agents.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.82-88
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• 2015

Acidovorax citrulli, the causal agent of bacterial fruit blotch, has caused an economically destructive damage in cucurbits cultivation fields worldwide. To consider more effective disease management, 33 A. citrulli isolates collected from various cucurbits in Korea were analysed by multi-locus phylogeny using five conserved loci(16S rRNA, adk, gltA, glyA, pilT). Two distinct groups (KCC1 and KCC2) in the population were identified on the base of group-specific genetic variation. Out of them, the predominant group was KCC2 and both groups included isolates from melon, cucumber and watermelon. Sixty-four percent of KCC1 isolates were recovered from non-watermelon hosts and seventy-two percent of KCC2 isolates from watermelon. This study presented that there was genetic differentiation among A. citrulli population in Korea. Also, these results will be applied as a very useful data in effective disease management.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.466-472
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• 2019

This study was conducted to investigate anti-photoaging effects of collagen hydrolysate containing collagen tripeptides (CTP) in both HaCaT cells and SKH-1 hairless mice. CTP treatment was nontoxic to HaCaT cells and improved expression of biomarkers associated with aging of skin, such as, collagen 1A, metalloproteinase (MMP)-1, and MMP-13 after subjecting mice to ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiation. In animal studies, the depth and width of wrinkles in the skin of mice were determined upon subjecting them to UVB irradiation. However, positive effects on wrinkles on the skin of mice were seen following CTP supplementation. Collagen content and density of mouse skin were restored following CTP supplementation for 14 weeks after UVB irradiation. These results were based on the effects of CTP on protein levels of collagen 1A, MMP-1, and MMP-13. Therefore, CTP might have positive effects on the number, depth, and width of wrinkles caused by UVB irradiation in SKH-1 hairless mice.

• BMB Reports
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.740-748
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• 2007

To gain insight into the structure and function of repressor proteins of bacteriophages of gram-positive bacteria, repressor of temperate Staphylococcus aureus phage ${\phi}11$ was undertaken as a model system here and purified as an N-terminal histidine-tagged variant (His-CI) by affinity chromatography. A ~19 kDa protein copurified with intact His-CI (~ 30 kDa) at low level was resulted most possibly due to partial cleavage at its Ala-Gly site. At ~10 nM and higher concentrations, His-CI forms significant amount of dimers in solution. There are two repressor binding sites in ${\phi}11$ cI-cro intergenic region and binding to two sites occurs possibly by a cooperative manner. Two sites dissected by HincII digestion were designated operators $O_L$ and $O_R$, respectively. Equilibrium binding studies indicate that His-CI binds to $O_R$ with a little more strongly than $O_L$ and binding species is probably dimeric in nature. Interestingly His-CI binding affinity reduces drastically at elevated temperatures ($32-42^{\circ}C$). Both $O_L$ and $O_R$ harbor a nearly identical inverted repeat and studies show that ${\phi}11$ repressor binds to each repeat efficiently. Additional analyses indicate that ${\phi}11$ repressor, like $\lambda$ repressor, harbors an N-terminal domain and a C-terminal domain which are separated by a hinge region. Secondary structure of ${\phi}11$ CI even nearly resembles to that of $\lambda$ phage repressor though they differ at sequence level. The putative N-terminal HTH (helix-turn-helix) motif of ${\phi}11$ repressor belongs to the HTH -XRE-family of proteins and shows significant identity to the HTH motifs of some proteins of evolutionary distant organisms but not to HTH motifs of most S. aureus phage repressors.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 1996.11a
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• pp.153-159
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• 1996

${\alpha}$-Melanotropin (Ac-Ser-Tyr- Ser-Met-Glu$\^$5/-His-Phe-Arg-Trp-Gly$\^$10/-Lys-Pro-Val-NH$_2$) is one of the first peptide hormones to be isolated and have its structure determined. It was early recognized to have essentially the same N-terminal tridecapeptide sequence as adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) except that the N-terminal was acetylated in the case of ${\alpha}$-MSH but not in the case of ACTH, indicating that their biosyntheses were different (Figure 1). Subsequently it was discovered that ${\alpha}$-MSH and ACTH were derived from the same gene, currently referred to as proopiomelanocortin (POMC). Its original bioactivity was pigmentation, but it also was recognized that it may have activity in the central nervous system, though the precise nature of these central activities have been controversial. The recent cloning and expression of five melanocortin receptors, with the MC3 and MC4 receptors found primarily in the brain and the MC5 receptor (MC5-R) found throughout the body, has provided new impetus to understand the structure-activity relationships of ${\alpha}$-MSH at these receptors. The effects of ${\alpha}$-MSH on pigmentation are mediated by the MC1-R expressed specifically on the surface of melanocytes. Similarly the MC2-R is involved in the regulation of adrenal steroidogenesis by ACTH. However, given the complexity of expression of the MC3, MC4, and MC5 receptors, it has not been possible to identify any simple correlations between these receptors and the reported biological activities of the melanocortin peptides. Consequently, potent and receptor specific agonists and especially antagonists would be extremely valuable tools for the determination of the physiological roles of the MC3, MC4, and MC5 receptors. Though the extensive structure-activity relationships have provided much information on agonist activity related to pigmentary effects, only recently has it been possible to begin to systematically develop potent and selective antagonists.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.45 no.12
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• pp.911-922
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• 2022

A structural protein of SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), nucleocapsid (N) protein is phosphorylated by glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3 on the serine/arginine (SR) rich motif located in disordered regions. Although phosphorylation by GSK-3β constitutes a critical event for viral replication, the molecular mechanism underlying N phosphorylation is not well understood. In this study, we found the putative alpha-helix L/FxxxL/AxxRL motif known as the GSK-3 interacting domain (GID), found in many endogenous GSK-3β binding proteins, such as Axins, FRATs, WWOX, and GSKIP. Indeed, N interacts with GSK-3β similarly to Axin, and Leu to Glu substitution of the GID abolished the interaction, with loss of N phosphorylation. The N phosphorylation is also required for its structural loading in a virus-like particle (VLP). Compared to other coronaviruses, N of Sarbecovirus lineage including bat RaTG13 harbors a CDK1-primed phosphorylation site and Gly-rich linker for enhanced phosphorylation by GSK-3β. Furthermore, we found that the S202R mutant found in Delta and R203K/G204R mutant found in the Omicron variant allow increased abundance and hyper-phosphorylation of N. Our observations suggest that GID and mutations for increased phosphorylation in N may have contributed to the evolution of variants.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.489-494
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• 2008

In order to develop a potent antidementia $\beta$-secretase inhibitor from phytochemicals, $\beta$-secretase inhibitory activities of extracts from many medicinal plants and herbs were determined. Water extracts from Rubus coreanus showed the highest $\beta$-secretase inhibitory activity of 84.5%. After purification of the $\beta$-secretase inhibitor from R. coreanus using systematic solvent extraction, ultrafiltration, Sephadex G-10 column chromatography, and reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), a purified $\beta$-secretase inhibitor with $IC_{50}$ inhibitory activity of $6.3{\times}10^3\;ng/mL$ ($1.56{\times}10^{-6}\;M)$ was obtained with a 0.08% solid yield. The molecular mass of the purified $\beta$-secretase inhibitor was estimated to be 576 Da by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and $\beta$-secretase inhibitor also is a new tetrapeptide with the sequence Gly-Trp-Trp-Glu. The purified $\beta$-secretase inhibitory peptide inhibited $\beta$-secretase non-competitively and also show less inhibition on trypsin, however no inhibition on other proteases such as $\alpha$-secretase, chymotrypsin, and elastase.

• BMB Reports
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.244-249
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• 2001

The anabolic acetolactate synthase III was purified to homogeneity from Serratia marcescens using DEAE-Sepharose, Phenyl-Sepharose, and hydroxylapatite column chromatography The native molecular weight of the enzyme was approximately 165 kDa. The enzyme is composed of two large and two small subunits with molecular weights of 64 and 15 kDa, respectively. The N-terminal sequence of the large and small subunit of the enzyme was Ser-Ala-Thr-Pro-Gln-Pro-Ser-Thr-Arg-Phe-Thr-Cys-Ala-Gln-Leu-Ile-Ala-His-Leu and Met-Leu-Gln-Pro-Gln-Asp-Lys-Pro-Gln-Val-Ile-Leu-Glu-Leu-Ala-Val-Arg-Asn-His-Pro-Gly-Val-Met-Ser-His-Val, respectively. The optimum pH and pI value were 7.5 and 5.5, respectively The $IC_{50}$ values were $20\;{\mu}M$ and $14\;{\mu}M$ for valine and herbicide SU7, respectively. The substrate specificity ratio, R value, was determined to be approximately 40, which suggests that this enzyme prefers the formation of $\alpha$-aceto-$\alpha$-hydroxybutyrate leading to the synthesis of isoleucine.