• KSBB Journal
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.251-256
• /
• 2008

The aim of this work was to investigate the fibrinolytic activity and characterization of Bacillus licheniformis HK-12, which produces the fibrinolytic enzyme excreted from naturally fermented Chungkook-Jang. Initially, the physiological and biochemical characteristics of strain HK-12 was examined. Both physiological analysis using BIOLOG system and phylogenetic analysis using 16S rRNA sequencing were performed to identify the strain, and the strain could be assigned to Bacillus licheniformis, designated as B. lichenformis HK-12, and registered in GenBank as [EU288193]. Phylogenetic analysis of B. licheniformis HK-12 was plotted based on 16S rRNA sequence comparisons. During the incubation period of B. licheniformis HK-12, the changes of bacterial growth, fibrinolytic activity, and pH were monitored. As the results, after 36 hours of incubation, the maximum fibinolytic activity was about 2.25 times than that of plasmin used as standard. Optimal conditions on the growth of B. licheniformis HK-12 associated with the fibrinolytic activity was initial pH 7.0 and 40$^{\circ}C$, respectively.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.34-39
• /
• 1998

We have already prepared a human lysozyme (HLY) structural gene from chemically synthesized 38 oligomers with high codon usage in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. For directing the synthesis and secretion of HLY in S. cerevisiae, two types of expression vectors, a YCp centromere-based vector, pHK101 and a YEp 2-$\mu\textrm{m}$ circle-based vector, pHK501 were constructed. With the resulting plasmids, we have confirmed that yeast transformant harboring pHK501 has more secreted HLY than pHK101-transformant by using a lysoplate and a turbidimetric assay. In flask cultivation, pHK501-transformant produced active HLY about 8 times (55 units/$m\ell$) higher than pHK101-transformant. From batch cultivation, the HLY productivity was obtained with 1.12 units/$m\ell$/h, corresponding to a 1.8-fold increase compared with flask fermentation. These results indicate that yeast transformant with pHK501 vector overexpressed and secreted HLY than that of YCp type vector.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
• /
• v.41 no.4
• /
• pp.243-247
• /
• 2013

Novel Phellinus linteus HN1009K (HK1009) has been characterized on speedy mycelial growth and yearly artificial cultivation. In this study, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of ethanol extract from mycelium and fruiting body of P. linteus HN1009K (HK1009) were compared to those of P. linteus (PL, Korea Sangwhang) and P. baumii (PB, Jangsu Sanghwang) as controls. HK1009 extract showed higher DPPH free radical scavenging activity in both mycelial and fruiting body samples than those of PL and PB. However, in xanthine oxidase assay, antioxidant effect was highly measured on mycelial samples of PL and HK1009. Mycelial extract of HK1009 induced high inhibitory effect on LPS-induced nitric oxide (NO) production in RAW264.7 cells comparing to PL and PB without toxicity on the cells. The results suggest that P. linteus HN1009K possesses superior antioxidant activity and anti-inflammatory effects.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.46 no.4
• /
• pp.346-351
• /
• 2010

The purpose of this work was to investigate the characteristics of a biosurfactant-producing bacterium isolated from crude-oil contaminated soils. During the incubation of strain HK-3 with 1% crude-oil, bacterial growth pattern, the amount of biosurfactant production, and pH changes were monitored. In order to examine the effect of supplemented carbons on the production of biosurfactant, cultivation of HK-3 cells in BH media with different carbons (e.g. glucose, dextrose, mannitol, citrate, or acetate) revealed that the production of biosurfactant reached the maximal level at the 72 h incubation with mannitol, which the area of clear zone was measured to approximately 7.64 $cm^2$. Identification test using the BIOLOG system, morphology study based on scanning electron microscopy and the 16S rRNA sequence-based phylogenetic analysis assigned strain HK-3 to a Pseudoalteromonas species, designated as Pseudoalteromonas sp. HK-3 which was registered in GenBank as [FJ477041].

• Korean Journal of Crystallography
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.1-5
• /
• 2006

After the definition of the basis vectors of the two-dimensional direct and reciprocal lattices, various interrelations between them are derived, and additionally how to calculate $\vec{d^*}(hk)//direction\;of\;(hk),\;d(hk)=1/d^*(hk),\;[uv]$, planes belonging to a direction [uv], areas and interplanar spacing of 2-dimensional low different lattices are shown.

• Journal of Arbitration Studies
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.191-209
• /
• 2013

The amount of international trade conducted through Hong Kong (HK) is increasing, thus rendering the legal framework governing contracts of sale between Mainland China (China) and HK is of particular importance. The status of HK under the CISG is currently unclear, however. First, the CISG entered into force in China in 1988. This important development had no legal effect for HK though as China lacked the power to enter into international conventions for HK. Second, the "Letter of Notification" deposited to the Secretary-General of the UN referred a list of treaties to be applied to HK, taking effect from July 1, 1997. This list, however, made no mention of the CISG. Third, China made a reservation in Article 95 of the CISG. Pursuant to Article 1(1)(b) of the CISG, the CISG cannot apply to HK. As a result, the Chinese Arbitral Tribunal apply the Chinese law according to the closest connection principle with the contract. In this case, attention must be given to the different result to which the CISG is applied. Liability for damages pursuant to the Chinese Contract Law (CCL) is just the same as Article 74 CISG, but CCL does not govern the case with substitute transaction and without substitute transaction when the contract is avoided. Therefore, the contract should be governed by the CISG from a business perspective when a contract is concluded between China and HK; otherwise, a promisee could not be fully compensated for all loss incurred.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.9 no.3
• /
• pp.800-806
• /
• 2008

The strain HK-12 was enriched and isolated from naturally fermented soybean for the production of fibrinolytic enzyme and the proteome of this enzyme induced during the incubation period was analyzed. The activity of fibrinolytic enzyme derived from supernatants of the HK-12 culture was performed by fibrin plate method for solid fibrinolytic activity. As the result, the fibrinolytic activity of HK-12 grown on the nutrient agar media was about 2.3 times greater than that of plasmin used as standard. The purified enzyme was prepared by a series of purification process including ammonium sulfate precipitation, DEAE-cellulose, Sephadex chromatography. The molecular weight of the enzyme was determined to approximately 23kDa with SDS-PAGE. In order to examine which strain HK-12 proteins increased or decreased during the incubation period, 2-DE analysis was performed. Protein spot #1 significantly expressed on the 2-DE gel of bacteria cultivated for 36-hrs was analysed. As the result of protein sequence analysis using MALDI-TOF MS, one protein was identified as serine protein kinase (PrkA).

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.32 no.7
• /
• pp.491-500
• /
• 2022

HK shiitake mushroom mycelium (HKSMM), containing 14% β-glucan, is a health functional food ingredient individually approved by the Korea Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for liver health. The anti-inflammatory effect of a 50% aqueous ethanol extract of HKSMM (designated HKSMM50) was studied in RAW 264.7 macrophage cells treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). An active hexose correlated compound (AHCC) was used as a positive control. LPS-activated RAW 264.7 cells were treated with HKSMM50 and AHCC (0, 20, 100, 500 ㎍/ml) and cultured for 24 hr. Inflammation-related elements in the supernatant were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits, and the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) proteins in the cells was analyzed by Western blotting. The HKSMM50 lowered iNOS and COX-2 protein expressions, and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) contents in a concentration-dependent manner as compared to LPS treatment. Similarly, the HKSMM50 lowered the content of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) contents and increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT). The efficacy of the AHCC treatment was similar to that of the HKSSM50 treatments. These results indicate that HKSMM50 showed an anti-inflammatory effect in LPS-treated RAW 264.7 cells by down-regulation of NF-κB signaling and suggest that HKSMM could be used as a health functional food ingredient to help improve immune function.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
• /
• v.43 no.1
• /
• pp.32-38
• /
• 2012

To examine the potentiation of Macrolepiota procera extracts (MPE-4) to act as adjuvant enhancing the tumor specific anti-tumor immune response, tumor vaccine prepared by boiling (HK vaccine) admixed with MPE-4 and immunized in mice. Vaccination of mice with HK vaccine in combination with MPE-4 resulted in higher inhibition in tumor metastasis compared with the mice of HK vaccine alone treatment against live syngeneic tumor cell challenge. The splenocytes from mice immunized HK vaccine mixed with MPE-4 was able to elicit a stronger cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response as compared with HK vaccine alone. In addition, the splenocytes from MPE-4 admixed HK vaccine immunized mice secreted a higher concentration of Th1 type cytokine such as IFN-${\gamma}$, and GM-CSF. Furthermore, the adoptive transfer of splenocytes from mice immunized HK vaccine and MPE-4 led to a more robust anti-tumour response than the HK vaccine alone. Overall, these results indicate that MPE-4 is a good candidate adjuvant of anti-tumor immune response.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.27 no.6
• /
• pp.533-540
• /
• 2023

Sweroside is a natural monoterpene derived from Swertia pseudochinensis Hara. Recently, studies have shown that sweroside exhibits a variety of biological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and hypoglycemic effects. However, its role and mechanisms in high glucose (HG)-induced renal injury remain unclear. Herein, we established a renal injury model in vitro by inducing human renal tubular epithelial cell (HK-2 cells) injury by HG. Then, the effects of sweroside on HK-2 cell activity, inflammation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) were observed. As a result, sweroside treatment ameliorated the viability, inhibited the secretion of inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, and VCAM-1), reduced the generation of ROS, and inhibited EMT in HK-2 cells. Moreover, the protein expression of SIRT1 was increased and the acetylation of p65 NF-kB was decreased in HK-2 cells with sweroside treatment. More importantly, EX527, an inhibitor of SIRT1, that inactivated SIRT1, abolished the improvement effects of sweroside on HK-2 cells. Our findings suggested that sweroside may mitigate HG-caused injury in HK-2 cells by promoting SIRT1-mediated deacetylation of p65 NF-kB.