• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.54-58
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• 2007

Purpose: Luciferase is one of the most commonly used reporter enzymes in the field of in vivo optical imaging. D-luciferin, the substrate for firefly luciferase has very high cost that allows this kind of experiment limited to small animals such as mice and rats. In this current study, we validated local injection of D-luciferin in the articular capsule for bioluminescence imaging in rabbits. Materials and Methods: Chondrocytes were cultured and infected by replication-defective adenoviral vector encoding firefly luciferase (Fluc). Chondrocytes expressing Fluc were injected or implanted in the left knee joint. The rabbits underwent optical imaging studies after local injection of D-luciferin at 1, 5, 7, 9 days after cellular administration. We sought whether optimal imaging signals was could be by a cooled CCD camera after local injection of D-luciferin. Results: Imaging signal was not observed from the left knee joint after intraperitoneal injection of D-luciferin (15 mg/kg), whereas it was observed after intraarticular injection. Photon intensity from the left knee joint of rabbits was compared between cell injected and implanted groups after intraarticular injection of D-luciferin. During the period of imaging studies, photon intensity of the cell implanted group was 5-10 times higher than that of the cell injected group. Conclusion: We successfully imaged chondrocytes expressing Fluc after intraarticular injection of D-luciferin. This technique may be further applied to develop new drugs for knee joint disease.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.290-292
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• 2002

The intermediate M420 formed in a solution of firefly luciferin in deoxygenated dimethyl-sulfoxide added potassium f-butoxide was observed to emit yellow-green and red light by filter-photometry. By H-NMR, M420 was found to be deprotonated at the site where luciferin reacts with oxygen.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.88-92
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• 1986

Determination of bacterial adenosine triphosphate (ATP) based on luciferin-luciferase bioluminescene reaction was applied to the measurement of bacteria on the surface of chicken as an alternative rapid method. The light yield was proportional to the concentration of ATP giving a straight line within a range of $10^{-10}\;to\;10^{-6}M$. The bacteria isolated from the surface of chicken were identified as Escherichia coli, Hafnia alvei, Pseudomonas putida and Aeromonas hydrophila. When the ATP contents of each bacteria were determined by bioluminescence reaction and compared, there was no significant difference (r = 0.95). The Patterns of growth curves for E. coli look very similar, when the bacterial growth was monitored by ATP content and viable cell count. When bacterial ATP of each samples collected every 2 days during storage for 14 days at $4^{\circ}C$was determined and compared with viable cell count, it gave a good correlation (r = 0.95, n = 32).

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.487-492
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• 2013

Cytochrome P450 4A11 (CYP4A11) is a fatty acid hydroxylase enzyme expressed in human liver. It catalyzes not only the hydroxylation of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, but the conversion of arachidonic acid to 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE), a regulator of blood pressure. In this study, we performed a directed evolution analysis of CYP4A11 using the luminogenic assay system. A random mutant library of CYP4A11, in which mutations were made throughout the entire coding region, was screened with luciferase activity to detect the demethylation of luciferin-4A (2-[6-methoxyquinolin-2-yl]-4,5-dihydrothiazole-4-carboxylic acid) of CYP4A11 mutants in Escherichia coli. Consecutive rounds of random mutagenesis and screening yielded three improved CYP4A11 mutants, CP2600 (A24T/T263A), CP2601 (T263A), and CP2616 (A24T/T263A/V430E) with ~3-fold increase in whole cells and >10-fold increase in purified proteins on the luminescence assay. However, the steady state kinetic analysis for lauric acid hydroxylation showed the significant reductions in enzymatic activities in all three mutants. A mutant, CP2600, showed a 51% decrease in catalytic efficiency ($k_{cat}/K_m$) for lauric acid hydroxylation mainly due to an increase in $K_m$. CP2601 and CP2616 showed much greater reductions (>75%) in the catalytic efficiency due to both a decrease in $k_{cat}$ and an increase in Km. These decreased catalytic activities of CP2601 and CP2616 can be partially attributed to the changes in substrate affinities. These results suggest that the enzymatic activities of CYP4A11 mutants selected from directed evolution using a luminogenic P450 substrate may not demonstrate a direct correlation with the hydroxylation activities of lauric acid.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.107-113
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• 1979

The present study was carried out to estimate the comparative effects of hydroponic heavy metals (Al, Cd, Hg, and Pb) on ATP content in plant leaves grown with Hoagland solution under green house condition. The two plants, kidneybean(Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and buckwheat(Fagopyrum esculentum M nch), showed similar inhibitory effect of heavy metals on ATP content in order of Hg, Cd, Pb, and Al. But the overall inhibitory effect was greater in kidneybean than in buckwheat. The affinity of heavy metals, in vitro, toward the enzyme (luciferin-luciferase) is in order of Hg, Al, Cd, and Pb, similar to that toward ATP. The results showed that the inhibitory effect of heavy metals on ATP hydrolysis is mainly due to the coordination of heavy metals with enzyme than ATP.

• Journal of Marine Life Science
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.74-85
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• 2022

Organisms constituting a large proportion of marine ecosystems, ranging from bacteria to fish, exhibit fluorescence and bioluminescence. A variety of marine organisms utilize these biochemically generated light sources for feeding, reproduction, communication, and defense. Since the discovery of green fluorescent protein and the luciferin-luciferase system more than a century ago, numerous studies have been conducted to characterize their function and regulatory mechanism. The unique properties of fluorescent and bioluminescent proteins offer great potential for their use in a broad range of applications. This short review briefly describes the functions and characteristics of fluorescent and bioluminescent proteins, in addition to summarizing the recent status of their applications.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.381-388
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• 2020

Bioluminescence refers to the production and emission of light in living organisms. This phenomenon arises from luciferase-catalyzed oxidation reaction of luciferin. Bioluminescence is widely observed in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some microorganisms and fungi. To date, approximately 80 species of fungi have been reported to be luminous. One such example is Omphalotus japonicus, which is a luminous fungus found in Korea. In this study, we examined the bioluminescence of Omphalotus japonicus mycelia. Light emission was detected at the edges of mycelia grown on solid agar medium. Notably, the intensity of bioluminescence was found to be significantly enhanced following wound induction. The increase in light intensity peaked at 3 h after mechanical damage. We also investigated the effects of extreme temperatures on bioluminescence. Unlike mechanical damage, high and low temperatures repressed the light emission from mycelia. Further investigations are required to reveal the physiological and ecological properties of fungal bioluminescent responses to environmental stresses.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.412-414
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• 2002

Several peroxovanadium(V) complexes with an organic chelate ligand decompose spontaneously, depending on the nature of the chelate ligand. The self-decomposition reactions of the dinuclear peroxovanadium(V) complex with 2-oxo-l,3-diaminopropane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetate (dpot) and the peroxovanadium(V) complexes with N-carboxymethylhistidinate (cmhist) and histamine-N,N-diacetate (histada) accompany the reduction of vanadium(V) to vanadium(IV). This implies that the peroxide anion acts as a reducing agent and thus the peroxide is oxidized in the decomposition process of the peroxovanadium(V) complexes. The oxidized dioxygen species have been characterized spectrophotometrically. Superoxide anion has been detected in 2-3 % yields using the reduction of cytochrome c method and chemiluminescence method utilized MCLA as a fluorescer. Singlet oxygen has also been detected in higher yields on the basis of chemiluminescence of tryptophan.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.315-321
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• 1999

Since it has been known that hypoxia increases inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) gene expression through hypoxia responsive element, it was possible to establish the hypothesis that nitric oxide could be a mediator of hypoxia to inhibit Cyplal promoter activity. In order to test this hypothesis, we have undertaken the study to examine the effects of hypoxia and nitric oxide on Cyplal promoter activity in Hepa I cells. Mouse Cyplal 5'flanking DNA, 1.6 Kb was cloned into pGL3 expression vector in order to construct pmCyplal-Luc. Hepa I cells were transfected with pmCyplal-Luc and were treated with $10^{-9}$ M TCDD and nitric oxide producing agents, such as lipopolysaccharide(LPS), sodium nitroprusside (SNP). Luciferase activity of reporter gene was measured from pmCyplal-Luc transfected Hepa I cell lysate which contains 2 g total protein using luciferin as a substrate. Nitric oxide producing agents, such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS), sodium nitroprusside(SNP) showed inhibition of luciferase activity that was induced by $10^{-9}$M TCDD treatment with dose dependent manner. Concomitant treatment of 1mM $N^G$-nitro-ι-arginine with $10^{-6}$~$10^{-4}$M sodium nitro-prusside recovered luciferase activity from the TCDD induced luciferase activity that was inhibited by nitric oxide producing agents. These demonstrated that nitric oxide could be a mediator of inhibitors on dioxin induced Cyplal expression in Hepa I cells.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 1994.04a
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• pp.280-280
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• 1994

혈행 장애 예방 및 치료 약물의 개발을 목적으로 혈소판 기능에 대한 약물의 영향을 연구하는데 있어, 효율적인 실험 조건의 선택은 중요하다. 본 연구에서는 마늘 메탄을 추출물의 혈소판 응집 억제능율 platelet rich plasma(PRP), washed platelet(Ca$^2$비첨가), washed platelet(Ca$^{2+}$ 첨가) 등 세가지 분리 조건을 사용하여 실험하였다. 그 결과 마늘 추출물의 $IC_{50}$/이 각각 2348 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ml, 221 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ml, 851 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ml로서, washed platelet(Ca$^{2+}$ 비첨가)가 마늘 추출물의 혈소판 응집 억제 작용에 가장 민감한 것으로 나타났다. 또한 마늘 추출물과는 다른 기전으로 혈소판 응집 억제 효과를 나타내는 menadione과 propranolol도 이와 동일한 결과를 보였다. 실험 조건에 따른 이러한 차이가 PRP 중에 존재하는 알부민 등과의 단백 결합에의한 약물의 유효농도 감소에 기인한다고 추정되어, washed platelet에 여러 농도의 알부민을 첨가하여 혈소판 응집 억제 실험을 실시한 결과 약물의 $IC_{50}$/은 알부민 농도 의존적으로 증가하였다. 혈소판 응집과 함께 혈소판 기능 변화를 측정하는 지표인 혈소판 분비능을 분비된 ATP를 Luciferin-Luciferase로 측정하여 알아보았다. 그 결과 thrombin에 의한 혈소판의 ATP 유리에 미치는 마늘 추출물의 영향을 위의 세 실험조건에서 실험하여 $IC_{50}$/을 비교한 결과 그 값이 washed platelet에서 가장 낮고 PRP에서 가장 높아, 혈소판 응집 억제 실험과 동일한 결과를 나타내었다. 이상의 결과는 세가지 혈소판 분리 조건 중 washed platelet(Ca$^{2+}$비첨가)가 약물에 의한 혈소판 기능 억제 실험에 가장 효율적임을 제시하고 있으며, 그 주요한 원인은 알부민 등 단백 결합에 의한 유효 약물 농도 감소때문 이라고 추정된다.