• 한국지하수토양환경학회지:지하수토양환경
• /
• 제16권6호
• /
• pp.122-132
• /
• 2011

Mercury accumulates in biota mainly as methylmercury. In nature, methylmercury shows high affinity to organic matter and $CH_3Hg^+$-organic matter complexation affects the mobility and bioavailabiity of methylmercury. In this study, we examined the methylmercury binding sites in an aquatic humic acid as affected by the pH condition using Hg $L_{III}$-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS). We evaluated methylmercury binding humic ligands using methylmercury-thiol, methylmerury-carboxyl, and methylmercury-amine complexation models. When $CH_3Hg^+$-to-humic reduced sulfur ratio is 0.3, we found that most of $CH_3Hg^+$ binds to thiol ligands at pH 5 and 7. At pH 7, however, some carboxyl or amine ligand contribution is observed, unlike at pH 5 where $CH_3Hg^+$ almost exclusively binds to thiol ligands. The carboxyl or amine ligand contribution may indicate that some types of thiol ligands in the natural organic matter have relatively low complexation constants or acid dissociation constants compared to those of some carboxyl or amine ligands. Analysis results indicate that ~0.2 fraction of methylmercury binds to amine or carboxyl ligands and ~0.8 to thiol ligands at pH 7.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
• /
• 제21권4호
• /
• pp.452-457
• /
• 1998

Three compounds, 5-(acetoxymethyl)-5-(hydroxymethyl)-3-tetradecyl-2,5-dihydro-2-furanone (3), 5-(acetoxymethyl)-5-(hydroxymethyl)-3,3-dihexyltetrahydro-2-furanone (4) and 5-(acetoxymethyl)-5-(hydroxymethyl)-3,3-dioctyltetrahydro-2-furanone (5), were designed and synthesized as surrogates of the ultrapotent DAG analogue, 5-(acetoxymethyl)-5-(hydroxymethyl) 3-[(Z)-tetradecylideneltetrahydro-2-furanone (1), a compound that showed high affinity for PKC-$\alpha$ ($K_1$=35 nM) in a competition binding assay with [$^3H$-20]phorbol-12,13-dibutyrate (PDBU). In an attempt to overcome the problem of generating geometrical E- and Z- isomers, as encountered with 1, the double bond was moved to an endocyclic location as in 3, or an additional alkyl chain was appended to C3 to give the corresponding 3,3-dialkyl saturated lactones (4 and 5). The lactone was constructed from glycidyl-4-methoxyphenyl ether in 5 steps. The target compounds showed reduced binding affinities for PKC-.alpha. with $K_{i}$ values of 192 nM (3), 4,829 nM (4), and 2,812 nM (5), respectively. These results indicate that constrained DAG analogues having a tetrahydro-2-furanone template are effectively discriminated by PKC-(X in terms of the direction of the long alkyl chain connected to the 3-position.n.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• 제29권5호
• /
• pp.519-526
• /
• 2021

In a search for effective PPAR-γ agonists, 110 clinical drugs were screened via molecular docking, and 9 drugs, including parecoxib, were selected for subsequent biological evaluation. Molecular docking of parecoxib to the ligand-binding domain of PPAR-γ showed high binding affinity and relevant binding conformation compared with the PPAR-γ ligand/antidiabetic drug rosiglitazone. Per the docking result, parecoxib showed the best PPAR-γ transactivation in Ac2F rat liver cells. Further docking simulation and a luciferase assay suggested parecoxib would be a selective (and partial) PPAR-γ agonist. PPAR-γ activation by parecoxib induced adipocyte differentiation in 3T3-L1 murine preadipocytes. Parecoxib promoted adipogenesis in a dose-dependent manner and enhanced the expression of adipogenesis transcription factors PPAR-γ, C/EBPα, and C/EBPβ. These data indicated that parecoxib might be utilized as a partial PPAR-γ agonist for drug repositioning study.

• BMB Reports
• /
• 제30권5호
• /
• pp.303-307
• /
• 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.

• BMB Reports
• /
• 제32권3호
• /
• pp.311-316
• /
• 1999

Studies in adipocytes indicate that secretion of active lipoprotein lipase (LPL) was strictly regulated by a quality control system in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). However, there has been no report about the ER chaperones participating in the folding and assembly of LPL. Many chaperones are known to bind unfolded proteins and dissociate from them through the ATP-hydrolyzing reaction. In this study, putative ER chaperones for LPL were determined by affinity chromatography using denatured LPL as an affinity ligand and elution with ATP. BiP, grp94, calreticulin, and another 50 kDa K-D-E-L protein in the ER of rat adipose tissue were bound to denatured LPL and eluted by ATP. Calnexin was bound to denatured LPL; however, it was not eluted by ATP but by acetic acid. These results indicate that, at least, BiP, grp94, calreticulin, calnexin, and the unidentified 50 kDa protein might act as putative chaperones for the proper folding and assembly of LPL in ER.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• 제51권1호
• /
• pp.36-44
• /
• 2008

Organic forms of arsenic (As) were determined through fractionation procedure of soil organic matter (SOM) in soil, sediments and mine tailing samples from the Myungbong, Dongil, and Okdong mining areas of southern Korea. An alkaline extraction method was applied to soil samples followed by the fractionation procedures of SOM by the DAX-8 and XAD-4 resin adsorption method. Major fraction of organic As species (42% to 98%) was found in acid-soluble fraction, whereas minor fraction (0.1 % to 67.8%) was present in the humic-associated As. In acid-soluble fractions, the transphillic- and hydrophilic-associated As were dominant in addition to As binding with humic and fulvic SOM. Arsenic binding was the strongest between pH 6 to 8 and reduced to about 70% at both low and high pH regions. The amount of both transphillic and hydrophillic associated As was less changed than humic and fulvic-associated As, in both low and high pH regions. This apparently indicates that As has stronger affinity towards hydrophillic rather than hydrophobic organics. From the experimental observation of As-binding SOM in natural soil, the ligand exchange model may be a feasible explanation of transphillic and hydrophillic affinity of As.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• 제8권1호
• /
• pp.34-41
• /
• 1998

A method was developed for the controlled expression of an antimicrobial peptide magainin in Escherichia coli. A series of concatemeric magainin genes was constructed with a gene amplification vector, and fused to the 3'end of malE gene encoding the affinity ligand, E. coli maltose-binding protein (MBP). The construct directed the synthesis of the fusion protein with the magainin polypeptide fused to the C-terminus of MBP. The fusion protein was expressed in a tightly regulatable expression system which was under the control of an invertible promoter. The MBP-fused magainin monomer was expressed efficiently. However, the expression level of the MBP-fused magainin in E. coli decreased with the increasing size of multimers possibly because of the transcription and translation inhibition by the multimeric peptides. After purification using an amylose affinity column, the fusion protein was digested by factor Xa at a specific cleavage site between the monomers. The recombinant magainin had an antimicrobial activity identical to that of synthetic magainin. This experiment shows that a biologically active, antimicrobial peptide magainin can be produced by fusing to MBP, along with a promoter inversion vector system.

• 한국환경보건학회지
• /
• 제38권4호
• /
• pp.351-359
• /
• 2012

Objectives: This study was conducted in order to investigate the specific correlation between physicochemical properties and bioactivity in ecdysteroids found in living organisms. Methods: The examined steroidal compounds were classified into three groups according to their relevance to ecdysone activity. Each compound molecule was completely drawn to automatically calculate its physicochemical parameters and docked against 20-hydroxyecdysone to calculate the total distance. Electronic charge distribution was also observed for each molecule. All procedures were conducted using a computational chemistry program. Results: Ecdysone agonists showed different ranges of parameter values, such as log P, hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB), solubility parameter (SP), hydrophilic surface (HPS), hydrogen bond (HB) and Kappa 2, when compared with antagonists and steroids without ecdysone activity. They also showed a similar electronic charge distribution that is significantly different from the electron charge distribution of antagonists and steroids without ecdysone activity. The total distance values of agonists, estimated by docking them with 20-hydroxyecdysone, were relatively small but showed no correlation with binding affinity with receptor ligand. Conclusions: These results suggest that physicochemical properties such as steric and electronic effects, hydrophobicity and hydrogen bonding may operate in combination to determine the binding activity of ecdysteroids to the receptor protein.

• 원예과학기술지
• /
• 제29권3호
• /
• pp.255-259
• /
• 2011

Polyphenol oxidases (PPO) are copper-containing enzymes responsible for tissue browning in fruits and vegetables including potato, apple and pears. Although these enzymes have been studied for many years, their physiological roles in plants are not yet clear. Therefore, these enzymes need to be purified to characterize further from potato tubers. The classical methods used for the purification of PPO involve several steps. So in this study, we developed a one-step chromatography process for the potato tuber PPO purification. After removal of salts from dissolved ammonium sulfate precipitates of potato tuber extracts using Sephadex-G50 gel filtration, affinity chromatography was carried out on NHS-activated Sepharose 4B using p-aminobenzoic acid as a ligand. The purified enzyme was confirmed by silver staining and a zymogram. The optimum temperature and pH for the purified potato tuber PPO were $15^{\circ}C$ and pH 6.0, respectively. The results obtained in the present study will aid to evaluate PPO from various fruits and vegetables.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• 제30권8호
• /
• pp.1827-1831
• /
• 2009

Ligand molecules that can recognize and interact with cancer cell surface marker proteins with high affinity and specificity should greatly aid the development of novel cancer diagnostics and therapeutics. HER-2/ErbB2/Neu (HER-2), a member of the epidermal growth factor receptor family, is specifically overexpressed on the surface of breast cancer cells and serves as both a useful biomarker and a therapeutic target for breast cancer. In this study, we aimed to isolate RNA aptamers that specifically bind to a HER-2-overexpressing human breast cancer cell line, SK-BR-3, using Cell-SELEX strategy. The selected aptamers showed strong affinity to SK-BR-3, but not to MDAMB- 231, a HER-2-underexpressing breast cancer cell line. In addition, we confirmed the specific targeting of HER-2 receptor by aptamers using an unrelated mouse cell line overexpressing human HER-2 receptor. The HER-2-targeting RNA aptamers could become a useful reagent for the development of breast cancer diagnostics and therapeutics.