• BMB Reports
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.303-307
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• 1997

Grb2, which is composed of a Src homology 2 (SH2) domain and two Src homology 3 (SH3) domains, is known to serve as an adaptor protein in signaling for Ras activation. Thus, a blocker of the Grb2 interactions with other proteins can be a potential candidate for an anticancer drug. In this study, we have developed a high throughput screening method for SH3 domain binding ligands and blockers. Firstly, we made and purified the glutathione S-transferase (GST)-fusion proteins with the Grb2 SH2 and SH3 domains, and the entire Grb2. This method measures the binding of a biotin-labeled oligopeptide, derived from a Grb2/SH3 binding motif in the hSos, to the GST-fusion proteins, which are precoated as glutathione S-transferase fusion protein on a solid phase. When $1\;{\mu}g$ of each fusion protein was used to coat the wells, both N- and C- terminal SH3 the domains as well as the whole of Grb2 were able to interact with the biotin-conjugated ligand peptide, while the SH2 domain and GST alone showed no binding affinity. Although N- and C- terminal SH3 domains showed an increase of binding to the ligand peptide in proportion to the amount of peptide, the GST fusion protein with Grb2 demonstrated much higher binding affinity. GST-Grb2 coating on the solid phase showed a saturation curve; 66 and 84% of the maximal binding was observed at 100 and 300 ng/$100\;{\mu}l$, respectively. This binding assay system was peptide sequence-specific, showing a dose-dependent inhibition with the unlabeled peptide of SH3 binding motif. Several other peptides, such as SH2 domain binding motifs and PTB domain binding motif, were ineffective to inhibit the binding to the biotin-conjugated ligand peptide. These results suggest that our method may be useful to screen for new anticancer drug candidates which can block the signaling pathways mediated by SH3 domain binding.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.1006-1013
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• 2006

To High Throughput Screening (HTS), a homogeneous fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA) was developed for the quantitative determination of ochratoxin A(OTA) using a $Victor^3$ (PerkinElmer). The homologous tracer, fluorescein-labelled OTA-EDF were synthesized and a specific OTA antibody has been used in the development of the method. It allowed the determination of OTA in the concentration range 0.5-200 ng/ml, with the detection limit of 0.3 ng/ml. The method developed was highly specific and reproducible. OTA spikes in unpolished rice extracts were determinable by FPIA with good recovery. For naturally contaminated unpolished rice samples some disagreement was observed between the results obtained by FPIA and HPLC, which could be related to the a little matrix effect observed for FPIA. Further research is needed to validate the procedure. On the basis of these initial results, this FPIA appears to meet the performance criteria for OTA screening of food samples without a complicated clean-up.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.275-280
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• 2005

Anthrax is an infectious disease caused by the gram-positive bacterium, Bacillus anthracis. Anthrax toxin is a tripartite toxin comprising of protective antigen (PA), lethal factor (LF) and edema factor (EF). PA is the receptor-binding component, which facilitates the entry of LF or EF onto the cytosol. LF is a zinc-dependent metalloprotease, which is a critical virulence factor in cytotoxicity of infected animals. Therefore, it is of interest to develop its potent inhibitors for the neutralization of anthrax toxin. The first step to identify the inhibitors is the development of a rapid, sensitive, and simple assay method with a high-throughput ability. Much efforts have been concentrated on the preparation of powerful assays and on the screening of inhibitors using these system. In the present study, we have tried to construct anthrax lethal factor in yeast expression system to prepare cell-based high-throughput assay system. Here, we have shown the results covering the construction of a new vector system, subcloning of LF gene, and the expression of target gene. Our results are first trial to express LF gene in eukaryote and provide the basic steps in design of cell-based assay system.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.9
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• pp.1336-1349
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• 2023

Objective: The study was conducted to screen differentially expressed miRNAs in sows at early pregnancy by high-throughput sequencing and explore its mechanism of action on embryo implantation. Methods: The blood serum of pregnant and non-pregnant Landrace×Yorkshire sows were collected 14 days after artificial insemination, and exosomal miRNAs were purified for high throughput miRNA sequencing. The expression patterns of 10 differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs were validated by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The qRT-PCR quantified the abundance of serum exosomal miR-192 in pregnant and control sows, and the diagnostic power was assessed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The target genes of DE miRNAs were predicted with bioinformatics software, and the functional and pathway enrichment analysis was performed on gene ontology and the Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes terms. Furthermore, a luciferase reporter system was used to identify the target relation between miR-192 and integrin alpha 4 (ITGA4), a gene influencing embryo implantation in pigs. Finally, the expression levels of miRNAs and the target gene ITGA4 were analyzed by qRT-PCR, and western blot, with the proliferation of BeWo cells detected by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8). Results: A total of 221 known miRNAs were detected in the libraries of the pregnant and non-pregnant sows, of which 55 were up-regulated and 67 were down-regulated in the pregnant individuals compared with the non-pregnant controls. From these, the expression patterns of 10 DE miRNAs were validated. The qRT-PCR analysis further confirmed a significantly higher expression of miR-192 in the serum exosomes extracted from pregnant sows, when compared to controls. The ROC analysis revealed that miR-192 provided excellent diagnostic accuracy for pregnancy (area under the ROC curve [AUC]=0.843; p>0.001). The dual-luciferase reporter assay indicated that miR-192 directly targeted ITGA4. The protein expression of ITGA4 was reduced in cells that overexpressed miR-192. Overexpression of miR-192 resulted in the decreased proliferation of BeWo cells and regulated the expression of cell cycle-related genes. Conclusion: Serum exosomal miR-192 could serve as a potential biomarker for early pregnancy in pigs. miR-192 targeted ITGA4 gene directly, and miR-192 can regulate cellular proliferation.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2011

Techniques to evaluate gene expression profiling, such as sufficiently sensitive cDNA microarrays or real-time quantitative PCR, are efficient methods for monitoring human pluripotent stem cell (hESC/iPSC) cultures. However, most of these high-throughput tests have a limited use due to high cost, extended turn-around time, and the involvement of highly specialized technical expertise. Hence, there is an urgency of rapid, cost-effective, robust, yet sensitive method development for routine screening of hESCs/hiPSCs. A critical requirement in hESC/hiPSC cultures is to maintain a uniform undifferentiated state and to determine their differentiation capacity by showing the expression of gene markers representing all three germ layers, including ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm. To quantify the modulation of gene expression in hESCs/hiPSC during their propagation, expansion, and differentiation via embryoid body (EB) formation, we developed a simple, rapid, inexpensive, and definitive multimarker, semiquantitative multiplex RT-PCR platform technology. Among the 9 gene primers tested, 5 were pluripotent markers comprising set 1, and 3 lineage-specific markers were combined as set 2, respectively. We found that these 2 sets were not only effective in determining the relative differentiation in hESCs/hiPSCs, but were easily reproducible. In this study, we used the hES/hiPS cell lines to standardize the technique. This multiplex RT-PCR assay is flexible and, by selecting appropriate reporter genes, can be designed for characterization of different hESC/hiPSC lines during routine maintenance and directed differentiation.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.587-601
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• 2013

During the last few decades, it has become evident that the compatibility of the yeast biochemical environment with the ability to process and translate the RNA transcript, along with its capacity to modify a translated protein, are relevant requirements for selecting this host cell for protein expression in several pharmaceutical and clinical applications. In particular, Pichia pastoris is used as an industrial host for recombinant protein and metabolite production, showing a powerful capacity to meet required biomolecular target production levels in high-throughput assays for functional genomics and drug screening. In addition, there is a great advantage to using P. pastoris for protein secretion, even at high molecular weights, since the recovery and purification steps are simplified owing to relatively low levels of endogenous proteins in the extracellular medium. Clearly, no single microexpression system can provide all of the desired properties for human protein production. Moreover, chemical and physical bioprocess parameters, including culture medium formulation, temperature, pH, agitation, aeration rates, induction, and feeding strategies, can highly influence product yield and quality. In order to benefit from the currently available wide range of biosynthesis strategies using P. pastoris, this mini review focuses on the developments and technological fermentation achievements, providing both a comparative and an overall integration analysis. The main aim is to highlight the relevance and versatility of the P. pastoris biosystem to the design of more cost-effective microfactories to meet the increasing demands for recombinant membrane proteins and clinical antibodies for several therapeutic applications.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2018.10a
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• pp.21-21
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• 2018

Natural product substances have historically served as the most significant also be prepared by source of new leads for pharmaceutical development. They can chemical synthesis(both semisynthesis and total synthesis) and have played a important role in the field of organic chemistry by providing synthetic targets. Rcently, they have also been extended for commercial purpose to refer to medicinal products, health functional foods, dietary supplements and cosmetics from natural sources. A large number of currently prescribed drugs have been either directly derived from or inspired by natural products. However, with the advent of robotics, bioinformatics, high throughput screening(HTS), molecular biology-biotechnology, combinatorial chemistry, in silico(molecular modeling) and other methodologies, the pharmaceutical industry has largely moved away from plant derived natural products as a source for leads and prospective drug candidates. The strategy for natural prduct industry is now changing from drug approaches to health foods by identifying effective natural products as preparations. In Korea, a lot of development of natural product based drugs have been done, but very few on health functional foods. The concept of natural product based health foods is not active components as lead compounds but standardized extracts or preparation mixed with other medicinal plants. The representative material has been recently known to be a standardized ginseng extract "Ginsana G 115" developed by Swiss Pharmaton company. The purpose of this presentation is to underline how natural products research continues to make significant contributions in the domain of discovery and development of new health functional foods. It is proposed to present the development of high value added health food or health functional foods through scientific investigation on efficacy and standardization of new materials form natural products.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.365-370
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• 2014

For real-time monitoring of colloidal nanoparticles (NPs) in aqueous media, a light sheet type dark-field microscopy system combined with a microfluidic concentration gradient generator (${\mu}FCGG$-LSDFM) was developed. Various concentrations of colloidal Au NPs were simultaneously generated with the iFCGG and characterized with the LSDFM setup. The number concentrations and hydrodynamic size distributions were measured via particle counting and tracking analysis (PCA and PTA, respectively) approaches. For the 30 nm Au NPs used in this study, the lower detection limit of the LSDFM setup was 3.6 ng/mL, which is about 400 times better than that of optical density measurements under the same ${\mu}FCGG$ system. Additionally, the hydrodynamic diameter distribution of Au NPs was estimated as $39.7{\pm}12.2nm$ with the PTA approach, which agrees well with DLS measurement as well as the manufacturer's specification. We propose this ${\mu}FCGG$-LSDFM setup with features of automatic generation of NP concentration gradient and real-time monitoring of their physicochemical characteristics (e.g., number concentration, and hydrodynamic size distribution) as an important component of future high-throughput screening or high-content analysis platforms of nanotoxicity.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.175-190
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• 2023

Objective: The study was conducted to screen differentially expressed long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) in chickens by high-throughput sequencing and explore its mechanism of action on intramuscular fat deposition. Methods: Herein, Rose crown and Cbb broiler chicken embryo breast and leg muscle lncRNA and mRNA expression profiles were constructed by RNA sequencing. A total of 96 and 42 differentially expressed lncRNAs were obtained in Rose crown vs Cobb broiler chicken breast and leg muscle, respectively. lncRNA-ENSGALT00000046546, with high interspecific variability and a potential regulatory role in lipid metabolism, and its predicted downstream target gene 1-acylglycerol-3-phosphate-O-acyltransferase 2 (AGPAT2), were selected for further study on the preadipocytes. Results: lncRNA-46546 overexpression in chicken preadipocyte 2 cells significantly increased (p<0.01) the expression levels of AGPAT2 and its downstream genes diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 and diacylglycerol acyltransferase 2 and those of the fat metabolism-related genes peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ, CCAAT/enhancer binding protein α, fatty acid synthase, sterol regulatory element-binding transcription factor 1, and fatty acid binding protein 4. The lipid droplet concentration was higher in the overexpression group than in the control cells, and the triglyceride content in cells and medium was also significantly increased (p<0.01). Conclusion: This study preliminarily concludes that lncRNA-46546 may promote intramuscular fat deposition in chickens, laying a foundation for the study of lncRNAs in chicken early embryonic development and fat deposition.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.378.2-378.2
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• 2016

Biosensors currently suffer from severe non-specific adsorption of proteins, which causes false positive errors in detection through overestimation of the affinity value. Overcoming this technical issue motivates our research. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is well known for its ability to reduce the adsorption of biomolecules; hence, it is widely used in various areas of medicine and other biological fields. Likewise, amine functionalized surfaces are widely used for biochemical analysis, drug delivery, medical diagnostics and high throughput screening such as biochips. As a result, many coating techniques have been introduced, one of which is plasma polymerization - a powerful coating method due to its uniformity, homogeneity, mechanical and chemical stability, and excellent adhesion to any substrate. In our previous works, we successfully fabricated plasmapolymerized PEG (PP-PEG) films [1] and amine functionalized films [2] using the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) technique. In this research, an amine functionalized PP-PEG film was fabricated by using the plasma co-polymerization technique with PEG 200 and ethylenediamine (EDA) as co-precursors. A biocompatible amine functionalized film was surface characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The density of the surface amine functional groups was carried out by quantitative analysis using UV-visible spectroscopy. We found through surface plasmon resonance (SPR) analysis that non-specific protein adsorption was drastically reduced on amine functionalized PP-PEG films. Our functionalized PP-PEG films show considerable potential for biotechnological applications such as biosensors.