• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.109-117
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• 2020

Cre recombinase is widely used to manipulate DNA sequences for both in vitro and in vivo research. Attachment of a trans-activator of transcription (TAT) sequence to Cre allows TAT-Cre to penetrate the cell membrane, and the addition of a nuclear localization signal (NLS) helps the enzyme to translocate into the nucleus. Since the yield of recombinant TAT-Cre is limited by formation of inclusion bodies, we hypothesized that the positively charged arginine-rich TAT sequence causes the inclusion body formation, whereas its neutralization by the addition of a negatively charged sequence improves solubility of the protein. To prove this, we neutralized the positively charged TAT sequence by proximally attaching a negatively charged poly-glutamate (E12) sequence. We found that the E12 tag improved the solubility and yield of E12-TAT-NLS-Cre (E12-TAT-Cre) compared with those of TAT-NLS-Cre (TAT-Cre) when expressed in E. coli. Furthermore, the growth of cells expressing E12-TAT-Cre was increased compared with that of the cells expressing TAT-Cre. Efficacy of the purified TAT-Cre was confirmed by a recombination test on a floxed plasmid in a cell-free system and 293 FT cells. Taken together, our results suggest that attachment of the E12 sequence to TAT-Cre improves its solubility during expression in E. coli (possibly by neutralizing the ionic-charge effects of the TAT sequence) and consequently increases the yield. This method can be applied to the production of transducible proteins for research and therapeutic purposes.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2000.11a
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• pp.721-724
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• 2000

The possibility of the enzymatic in vitro glycosylation using peptide-N-glycosidase F was examined. Oligosaccharide chains in the glycoproteins are important for the biological activity, solubility, immunogenecity, recognition, and prevention of degradation. After 4 h incubation of deglycosylated glycoprotein with excess glucose oligomer and ammonia in acetone at $50^{\circ}C$, upper shift of protein band was observed on SDS-PAGE. And the different deglycosylation characteristics of glucose oxidase and fetuin were investigated.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.231-238
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• 2008

The second family member of tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases, TIMP-2, is a 21kDa protein which inhibits matrix metalloproteinases 2 (MMP-2). Expression of mammalian proteins in E. coli often forms inclusion bodies that are made up of mis-folded or insoluble protein aggregates. The requirement for the formation of 6 disulfide bonds in the process of the TIMP-2 folding is likely to be incompatible with the reducing environment of E. coli. However, this incompatibility can be often overcome by introducing a mutagenesis that could lead to enhancement of the protein solubility. In this reason, we have attempted to express the soluble TIMP-2 in E. coli by applying a modified staggered extension process (StEP), one of the in vitro PCR-based recombinant mutagenesis methods, and error-prone PCR. C-terminally located CAT fusion protein with respect to mutated TIMP-2 proteins enables us to differentiate the soluble TIMP-2 from the insoluble in E. coli by virtue of chloramphenicol resistance. According to this scheme, E. coli harboring properly-folded CAT fused to TIMP-2 protein was selected, and some of the resulting colonies exhibited an enhanced, soluble expression of TIMP-2 compared to the wild type, implying (i) the StEP technique is successfully employed to enhance the proper folding thereby increasing the solubility of TIMP-2, and (ii) the CAT dependent screening may be a simple and effective method to differentiate the soluble protein expression in E. coli.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.59-74
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• 2012

Buffer solubility and protein fractionation were evaluated from the hays (timothy, alfalfa and klein) and straws (tall fescue and rice), and $In$ $vitro$ trial was conducted to examine the effect of buffer extraction on fermentation characteristics, degradability and gas ($CO_2$ and $CH_4$) production. Buffer soluble protein (SP) content and A fraction in total protein were highest in alfalfa hay as 61% and 41.77%, respectively while lowest in rice straw (42.8% and 19.78%, respectively). No difference was observed in B1 fraction among forages but B2 fraction was slightly increased in klein hay (12.34%) and tall fescue straw (10.05%) compared with other forages (6.34~8.85%). B3 fraction of tall fescue was highest as 38.49% without difference among other forages while C fraction was highest in rice straw. pH in incubation solution was higher in all forages after extraction than before extraction at 3h (P<0.01) and 6h (P<0.05), and pH from hays of timothy and alfalfa was higher than the other forages at 6h (P<0.05) and 12h (P<0.001). Regardless of extraction, ammonia-N concentration from alfalfa hay was increased at all incubation times and extraction effect was appeared only at 3h incubation time (P<0.01). Total VFA concentration from alfalfa hay was highest up to 24h incubation while those from tall fescue straw and rice straw were lowest. Buffer extraction decreased (P<0.01~P<0.001) the total VFA concentration. Acetic acid proportion was increased (P<0.001) before extraction of forages but no difference was found between forages. Propionic acid($C_3$) proportion was also increased(P<0.001) before extraction in all forages than in straws at 3h, 24h and 48h incubations, and $C_3$ from hays were mostly higher (P<0.05) than from straws. Butyric acid proportion, however, was not affected by extraction at most incubation times. Parameter 'a' regarding to the dry matter (DM) degradation was increase (P<0.001) in all forages before extraction, and was decreased (P<0.05) in tall fescue straw and rice straw compared with hays. Parameter 'b' was also increased (P<0.001) before extraction but no difference was found between forages. Effective degradability of DM (EDDM) was higher (P<0.001) before extraction in most forages except for rice straw. Buffer extraction decreased (P<0.05) all parameters (a, b, and c) regrading to the crude protein (CP) degradation but no difference was found between forages. Effective degradation of CP (EDCP) was lower (P<0.05) in straws than in hays. Parameters 'a' and 'b' regarding to the NDF degradation (P<0.01) and effective degradability of NDF (EDNDF, P<0.001) were also higher in forages before extraction than after extraction but no difference was found between forages. Buffer extraction reduced (P<0.05~P<0.001) $CO_2$ production from all the forages uo to 24h incubation and its production was greater (P<0.05~P<0.01) from hays than straws. Methane ($CH_4$) production was also greater (P<0.01~P<0.001) in all forages at all incubation times, and its production was greater (P<0.05) from hays than from straws at most incubation times. Based on the results of the current study, it can be concluded that buffer solubility and CP fractionation might be closely related with $In$ $vitro$ VFA concentration, degradability and gas ($CO_2$ and $CH_4$) production. Thus, measurement of buffer solubility and protein fractionation of forages might be useful to improve TMR availability in the ruminants.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.46 no.12
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• pp.764-777
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• 2023

Recombinant immunotoxins (RITs) are fusion proteins consisting of a targeting domain linked to a toxin, offering a highly specific therapeutic strategy for cancer treatment. In this study, we engineered and characterized RITs aimed at mesothelin, a cell surface glycoprotein overexpressed in various malignancies. Through an extensive screening of a large nanobody library, four mesothelin-specific nanobodies were selected and genetically fused to a truncated Pseudomonas exotoxin (PE24B). Various optimizations, including the incorporation of furin cleavage sites, maltose-binding protein tags, and tobacco etch virus protease cleavage sites, were implemented to improve protein expression, solubility, and purification. The RITs were successfully overexpressed in Escherichia coli, achieving high solubility and purity post-purification. In vitro cytotoxicity assays on gastric carcinoma cell lines NCI-N87 and AGS revealed that Meso(Nb2)-PE24B demonstrated the highest cytotoxic efficacy, warranting further characterization. This RIT also displayed selective binding to human and monkey mesothelins but not to mouse mesothelin. The competitive binding assays between different RIT constructs revealed significant alterations in IC₅₀ values, emphasizing the importance of nanobody specificity. Finally, a modification in the endoplasmic reticulum retention signal at the C-terminus further augmented its cytotoxic activity. Our findings offer valuable insights into the design and optimization of RITs, showcasing the potential of Meso(Nb2)-PE24B as a promising therapeutic candidate for targeted cancer treatment.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.312-319
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• 1988

The functional properties of plasteins have been compared with those of sardine protein concentrate and egg albumin. The solubility of plasteins was higher than that of FPG and the glu-plastein had 84% solubility in the range of pH 3-10. The dispersibility of plasteins was lower than that of egg albumin, however those of plasteins was higher than that of sardine protein concentrate. The water holding capacity of plasteins was higher than that of egg albumin. Lipid absorption of leu-papain plastein was the highest, holding 2.2m119, and that of the other plastein was higher than that of egg albumin. The emulsifying activity of leu-papain plastein was the highest, holding 66.4%, and that of glu-papain plastein was the lowest, holding 51.2%, The emulsifying stability of plasteins was similar to that of the emulsifying activity. The foaming capacitt of leu-papain plastein was the highest, holding 460%, and those of the other plasteins was higher than that of egg albumin. The foaming stability of plasteins was superior to that of egg albumin. The viscosity of plasteins was lower than that of see albumin. The in vitro digestibility of plasteins was 67.6-78.0% range. The digestibility by four pretense were somewhat lower in the glu-papain plastein than in the FPG. The digest of plasteins treated with the microbiol pretense such as molsin and pretense(from Streptomyces griceus), which had a storage broth taste.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.596-601
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• 1990

The effects of peroxidized lipid on the protein in the biological system of rice bran was studied by determining the changes in the content of functional groups under two different storage conditions. One stored at controlled atmosphere of $35^{\circ}C$ with relative humidity 65% and the other one was exposed to the air of $25^{\circ}-30^{\circ}C$ with relative humidity 70-90%. The lipid peroxidation started after the lipolysis was almost completed. The autoxidation occurred much faster in the bran exposed to the air than that stored in the controlled atmosphere. Substantial changes in the physiochemical characteristics were observed in all of the major functional groups in both of the samples. The content of sulfhydryl and available lysine decrease·1 as lipid peroxidation progressed. Protease activity was lost almost completely. Protein solubility and in vitro digestibility also decreased during storage. The lipid peroxidation and contents of major protein functional groups were significantly correlated (p<0.05) and the correlation coefficients were higher than -0.8, for the both of the sample. peroxidized lipid was found to deteriorate protein in the biological system as well.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.10
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• pp.1507-1516
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• 2002

Meat and bone meal is a valuable protein and mineral source in diets of production animals and contributes to the protein, energy and mineral component of diets. The aim of the present study was to more accurately characterise the apparent ileal amino acid digestibility of meat and bone meals produced in New Zealand and evaluate routine in vitro assays used in practise to measure meat and bone meal quality. A total of 94 commercial meat and bone meals from 25 New Zealand rendering plants over a two and a half year period were analysed for proximates, gross energy, gross amino acid content (incl. hydroxyproline, hydroxylysine and lanthionine), apparent ileal amino acid digestibility, pepsin nitrogen digestibility, protein solubility and bone content. The mean crude protein content of the 94 meat and bone meal samples was 56.8% with a range of >35% units and a coefficient of variation of 9.8%. The mean crude fat and ash content were 10.0 and 28.4% respectively. These latter components showed a large range (16 and 43%, respectively) with coefficients of variation above 22%. Amino acid digestibility between samples was highly variable with lysine and sulphur amino acids digestibility ranging between 45.8-89.0 and 38.2-85.5%, respectively. Pearson correlation coefficients are presented between crude protein content and individual gross amino acids, crude protein content and individual digestible amino acid content, and pepsin N digestibility and individual digestible amino acid content. There was a significant relationship between the digestible amino acid nitrogen content and the crude protein content while pepsin nitrogen digestibility was not correlated to ileal amino acid nitrogen digestibility (r=-0.06). Meat meals with a high protein content had relatively low hydroxyproline and hydroxylysine levels something that was attributed to the levels of collagen from bone. The data indicated that lanthionine (formed upon heat treatment of cysteine with a hydroprotein) is not a good indicator of the heat treatment employed to meat and bone meals. Step-wise multiple regression equations to predict the apparent digestible content of amino acids from rapid in vitro assays are presented. The most selected variables included ash and crude fat content. In general the equations derived for the essential amino acids had a higher degrees of fit (R2) compared to the non-essential amino acids. The R2 for the essential amino acids ranged from 0.43 for histidine and 0.68 for leucine. These equations provide a means of more rapidly estimating the apparent ileal digestible amino acid content (protein quality) of meat and bone meal using standard analyses.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.493-501
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• 1986

The present work aims to estimate the effect of heat treatment on the in vitro protein digestibility and formation of trypsin inhibitor or trypsin indigestible substrate(TIS) of raw and defatted flounder. It was also carried out to assess the formation of lipid-protein complexes under the conditions of different ratio of lipid addition. The in vitro protein digestibility increased when steamed for 5 min showing $88.09\%$ in raw and $90.56\%$ in defatted samples, respectively. After 40 min steaming, the digestibility decreased by $2{\sim}4\%$. As for microwaving, heating for 1 min resulted in slight increase of digestibility, however, heating for 7 min did decrease of digestibility by $3{\sim}4\%$ for both raw and defatted materials. There was no difference in fatty acid composition found with heat treatment. The major fatty acids of flounder meat were $C_{16:0},\;C_{16:1},\;C_{18:1},\;C_{20:5},\;C_{22:6}$ and the ratio of the unsaturated to saturated was 67.3:32.6. Fat oxidation and nonenzymatic browning were enhanced by heat treatment and protein solubility decreased necessarily as the brown pigment formation increased. On the other hand, the effects on the digestibility and TIS of the complexes formed from interaction of lipid and myofibrillar or meat protein of flounder were examined. The interaction of protein with lipid was considered to mostly contribute to the drop of digestibility of fish products. The digestibility of myofibrillar protein was $93.72\%$ for flounder, and it generally decreased as the amount of lipid added to protein and reaction time increased. Also mixed and heated samples were more active in digestibility decline than those mixed after heating. The result probably indicated that lipid-protein interaction was involved in the drop of digestibility which coincided with protein denaturation.

• BMB Reports
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• v.49 no.9
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• pp.455-456
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• 2016

Mutations of APC and KRAS are frequently observed in human colorectal cancers (CRCs) and the Wnt/β-catenin and Ras pathways are consequently activated in a significant proportion of CRC patients. Mutations in these two genes are also known to synergistically induce progression of CRCs. Through a series of studies, we have demonstrated that inhibition of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway negatively regulates Ras stability, therefore, Ras abundance is increased together with β-catenin in both mice and human CRCs harboring adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) mutations. In a recent study, we identified KY1220, a small molecule that simultaneously degrades β-catenin and Ras by inhibition of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, and obtained its derivative KYA1797K, which has improved activity and solubility. We found that KYA1797K binds the RGS domain of axin and enhances the binding affinity of β-catenin or Ras with the β-catenin destruction complex components, leading to simultaneous destabilization of β-catenin and Ras via GSK3β activation. By using both in vitro and in vivo studies, we showed that KYA1797K suppressed the growth of CRCs harboring APC and KRAS mutations through destabilization of β-catenin and Ras. Therefore, our findings indicate that the simultaneous destabilization of β-catenin and Ras via targeting axin may serve as an effective strategy for inhibition of CRCs.