• Title/Summary/Keyword: Metabolic Enzymes

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Microbial Degradation of Monohydroxybenzoic Acids

  • Kim, Chi-Kyung;Tim
    • Journal of Microbiology
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    • v.38 no.2
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    • pp.53-61
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    • 2000
  • Hydroxybenzoic acids are the most important intermediates in the degradative pathways of various aromatic compounds. Microorganisms catabolize aromatic compounds by converting them to hydroxylated intermediates and then cleave the benzene nucleus with ring dioxygenases. Hydroxylation of the benzene nucleus of an aromatic compound is an essential step for the initiation and subsequent disintegration of the benzene ring. The incorporation of two hydroxyl groups is essential for the labilization of the benzene nucleus. Monohydroxybenzoic acids such as 2-hydroxybenzoic acid, 3-hydroxybenzoic acid, and 4-hydrosybenzoic acid, opr pyrocattechuic acid that are susceptible for subsequent oxygenative cleavage of the benzene ring. These terminal aromatic intermediates are further degraded to cellular components through ortho-and/or meta-cleavage pathways and finally lead to the formation of constituents of the TCA cycle. Many groups of microorganisms have been isolated as degraders of hydroxybenzoic acids with diverse drgradative routes and specific enzymes involved in their metabolic pahtway. Various microorganisms carry out unusual non-oxidative decarboxylation of aromatic acids and convert them to respective phenols which have been documented. Futher, Pseudomonas and Bacillus spp. are the most ubiquitous microorganisms, being the principal components of microflora of most soil and water enviroments.

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Dynamic Gene Expression Profiling of Escherichia coli in Carbon Source Transition from Glucose to Acetate

  • Oh Min-Kyu;Cha Mee-Jeong;Lee Sun-Gu;Rohlin Lars;Liao James C.
    • Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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    • v.16 no.4
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    • pp.543-549
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    • 2006
  • DNA microarray was used to study the transcription profiling of Escherichia coli adapting to acetate as a sole carbon source. Bacteria grown in glucose minimal media were used as a reference. The dynamic expression levels of 3,497 genes were monitored at seven time points during this adaptation. Among the central metabolic genes, the glycolytic and glucose phosphotransferase genes were repressed as the bacteria entered stationary phase, whereas the glyoxylate pathway, TCA cycle, and gluconeogenic genes were induced. Distinct induction or repression patterns were recognized among different pathway genes. For example, the repression of glycolytic genes and the induction of gluconeogenic ones started immediately after glucose was depleted. On the other hand, the regulation of the pentose phosphate pathway genes and glyoxylate genes gradually responded to the glucose depletion or was more related to growth in acetate. When the whole genome was considered, many of the CRP, FadR, and Cra regulons were immediately responsive to the glucose depletion, whereas the $\sigma^s$, Lrp, and IHF regulons were gradually responsive to the glucose depletion. The expression profiling also provided differential regulations between isoenzymes; for example, malic enzymes A (sfcA) and B (maeB). The expression profiles of three genes were confirmed with RT-PCR.

Mechanisms of Amyloid-β Peptide Clearance: Potential Therapeutic Targets for Alzheimer's Disease

  • Yoon, Sang-Sun;AhnJo, Sang-Mee
    • Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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    • v.20 no.3
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    • pp.245-255
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    • 2012
  • Amyloid-${\beta}$ peptide ($A{\beta}$) is still best known as a molecule to cause Alzheimer's disease (AD) through accumulation and deposition within the frontal cortex and hippocampus in the brain. Thus, strategies on developing AD drugs have been focused on the reduction of $A{\beta}$ in the brain. Since accumulation of $A{\beta}$ depends on the rate of its synthesis and clearance, the metabolic pathway of $A{\beta}$ in the brain and the whole body should be carefully explored for AD research. Although the synthetic pathway of $A{\beta}$ is equally important, we summarize primarily the clearance pathway in this paper because the former has been extensively reviewed in previous studies. The clearance of $A{\beta}$ from the brain is accomplished by several mechanisms which include non-enzymatic and enzymatic pathways. Nonenzymatic pathway includes interstitial fluid drainage, uptake by microglial phagocytosis, and transport across the blood vessel walls into the circulation. Multiple $A{\beta}$-degrading enzymes (ADE) implicated in the clearance process have been identified, which include neprilysin, insulin-degrading enzyme, matrix metalloproteinase-9, glutamate carboxypeptidase II and others. A series of studies on $A{\beta}$ clearance mechanism provide new insight into the pathogenesis of AD at the molecular level and suggest a new target for the development of novel therapeutics.

Effects of Cladosiphon Okamuranus Dietary Fiber on Cholesterol in High Fat Diet-Fed Rats (큰실말에서 분리된 식이섬유가 고지방식이로 유도된 흰쥐의 콜레스테롤에 미치는 영향)

  • Bae, Gui-Jeong;Son, Jeong-Hyeon;Lee, Jae-Hwa;Jeong, Nam-Ock;Ha, Bae-Jin
    • Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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    • v.29 no.4
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    • pp.370-375
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    • 2014
  • Cladosiphon okamuranus is edible brown algae cultured commercially and massively at Okinawa coast. Dietary fiber occupying most of C. okamuranus isn't digested and absorbed by digestive enzymes of human. But it is known to prevent and treat constipation as metabolic disease. This study was to investigate the effects of dietary fiber extracted from C. okamuranus on the damage of liver and the blood cholesterol level in the high fat diet-fed rats. The effects were measured by the levels of aspartate aminotransferase (ALT), alanine aminotransferase (AST), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein (LDL) and high density lipoprotein (HDL) in sera. The levels of ALT, AST, TC, TG and LDL were significantly reduced in the C. okamuranus-treated group compared with the high fat diet group. But HDL level was markedly increased. The results showed that the dietary fiber extracts from C. okamuranus have the inhibitive effects of cholesterol biosynthesis in the high fat diet-fed rats.

Liposoluble portion of the red alga Pyropia yezoensis protects alcohol induced liver injury in mice

  • Lee, Ji-Hyeok;Ahn, Ginne;Ko, Ju-Young;Kang, Nalae;Jung, Kyungsook;Han, Eui-Jeong;Kim, Gwang-Hoon;Kim, Hee Jeong;Choi, Cheol Soo;Jeon, You-Jin
    • ALGAE
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    • v.36 no.3
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    • pp.219-229
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    • 2021
  • The hepatoprotective effect of liposoluble portion of Pyropia yezoensis (PYLP) was investigated against alcohol-induced liver injury in mice. Fatty acids were predominant in PYLP obtained from hexane fraction of 70% EtOH extract after ultrasonication. In particular, polyunsaturated fatty acids such as eicosapentaenoic acid and linoleic acid accounted for 56.91% of the total lipids. PYLP significantly reduced liver damage induced by the alcohol treatment in mice. PYLP treatment increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes including superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathion peroxidase by reducing thiobarbituric acid reactive substances. Histological observations showed that PYLP minimizes damage to living tissue induced by alcohol treatment by modulating the expression level of proteins involved in the anti-apoptotic signaling pathway. Our results suggest that PYLP, rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids extracted from the red alga P. yezoensis, will be useful as a potential liver protectant in the hangover industry.

Oral manifestation and root canal therapy of the patient with mucopolysaccharidosis

  • Yoon, Ji-Hye;Lee, Hyo-Il;Jang, Ji-Hyun;Choi, Sung-Hyeon;Chang, Hoon-Sang;Hwang, Yun-Chan;Hwang, In-Nam;Lee, Bin-Na;Oh, Won-Mann
    • Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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    • v.44 no.2
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    • pp.14.1-14.7
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    • 2019
  • Mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) is an inherited metabolic disorder caused by a deficiency in enzymes that participate in the degradation of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) such as heparin sulfate and dermatan sulfate. Left untreated, patients show progressive mental and physical deterioration due to deposition of GAGs in organs. Death often occurs due to cardiac or respiratory failure before patients reach their early twenties. MPS has several oral and dental manifestations. An enlarged head, short neck, and open mouth associated with a large tongue are major characteristics of MPS patients. Dental complications can be severe, including unerupted dentition, dentigerous cyst-like follicles, malocclusions, condylar defects, and gingival hyperplasia. A 21-year-old female patient with MPS was described in this article, with special emphasis on oral manifestations and dental treatment.

Phosphate solubilization by phosphate solubilizing microorganisms: insight into the mechanisms

  • Buddhi Charana, Walpola;Kodithuwakku Kankanange Indika Upali, Arunakumara;Min Ho, Yoon
    • Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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    • v.49 no.3
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    • pp.463-481
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    • 2022
  • Phosphorous (P) is considered to be one of the key essential elements demanded by crop plants. Approximately 70 - 90% of phosphatic fertilizers applied to crops are fixed in soil as Ca, Fe, and Al metal cations, which are insoluble and thus not readily available for plant uptake. Therefore, most soils are deficient in plant available P. This is usually rectified by applying phosphate fertilizers continuously, although this is not economically viable or environmentally acceptable. The present paper reviews the mechanisms involved with phosphate solubilization and mineralization by phosphate solubilizing microorganisms (PSMs) with the associated factors that determine the success. PSMs are effectively involved in mediating the bioavailability of soil P. Their contribution includes mineralization of organic P solubilization of inorganic P minerals, and storing sizable amounts of P in biomass through different mechanisms such as the production of organic and inorganic acids, H2S, siderophores, exopolysaccharides, and production of enzymes such as phosphatases, phytase, and phosphonatases/C-P lyases, which are capable of chelating the metal ions, forming complexes, and making plant available P. PSMs manifest a wide range of metabolic functions in different environments, resulting in significantly higher plant growth, enhanced soil properties, and increased biological activities. Therefore, development of bio-inoculants with efficient novel PSM strains and further investigations on exploring such strains from diverse ecological niches with multifunctional plant-growth-promoting traits are needed.

Role of Citrate Synthase in Acetate Utilization and Protection from Stress-Induced Apoptosis

  • Lee, Yong-Joo;Kang, Hong-Yong;Maeng, Pil Jae
    • Proceedings of the Microbiological Society of Korea Conference
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    • 2008.05a
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    • pp.39-41
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    • 2008
  • The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been shown to contain three isoforms of citrate synthase (CS). The mitochondrial CS, Cit1, catalyzes the first reaction of the TCA cycle, i.e., condensation of acetyl-CoA and oxaloacetate to form citrate [1]. The peroxisomal CS, Cit2, participates in the glyoxylate cycle [2]. The third CS is a minor mitochondrial isofunctional enzyme, Cit3, and related to glycerol metabolism. However, the level of its intracellular activity is low and insufficient for metabolic needs of cells [3]. It has been reported that ${\Delta}cit1$ strain is not able to grow with acetate as a sole carbon source on either rich or minimal medium and that it shows a lag in attaining parental growth rates on nonfermentable carbon sources [2, 4, 5]. Cells of ${\Delta}cit2$, on the other hand, have similar growth phenotype as wild-type on various carbon sources. Thus, the biochemical basis of carbon metabolism in the yeast cells with deletion of CIT1 or CIT2 gene has not been clearly addressed yet. In the present study, we focused our efforts on understanding the function of Cit2 in utilizing $C_2$ carbon sources and then found that ${\Delta}cit1$ cells can grow on minimal medium containing $C_2$ carbon sources, such as acetate. We also analyzed that the characteristics of mutant strains defective in each of the genes encoding the enzymes involved in TCA and glyoxylate cycles and membrane carriers for metabolite transport. Our results suggest that citrate produced by peroxisomal CS can be utilized via glyoxylate cycle, and moreover that the glyoxylate cycle by itself functions as a fully competent metabolic pathway for acetate utilization in S. cerevisiae. We also studied the relationship between Cit1 and apoptosis in S. cerevisiae [6]. In multicellular organisms, apoptosis is a highly regulated process of cell death that allows a cell to self-degrade in order for the body to eliminate potentially threatening or undesired cells, and thus is a crucial event for common defense mechanisms and in development [7]. The process of cellular suicide is also present in unicellular organisms such as yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae [8]. When unicellular organisms are exposed to harsh conditions, apoptosis may serve as a defense mechanism for the preservation of cell populations through the sacrifice of some members of a population to promote the survival of others [9]. Apoptosis in S. cerevisiae shows some typical features of mammalian apoptosis such as flipping of phosphatidylserine, membrane blebbing, chromatin condensation and margination, and DNA cleavage [10]. Yeast cells with ${\Delta}cit1$ deletion showed a temperature-sensitive growth phenotype, and displayed a rapid loss in viability associated with typical apoptotic hallmarks, i.e., ROS accumulation, nuclear fragmentation, DNA breakage, and phosphatidylserine translocation, when exposed to heat stress. Upon long-term cultivation, ${\Delta}cit1$ cells showed increased potentials for both aging-induced apoptosis and adaptive regrowth. Activation of the metacaspase Yca1 was detected during heat- or aging-induced apoptosis in ${\Delta}cit1$ cells, and accordingly, deletion of YCA1 suppressed the apoptotic phenotype caused by ${\Delta}cit1$ mutation. Cells with ${\Delta}cit1$ deletion showed higher tendency toward glutathione (GSH) depletion and subsequent ROS accumulation than the wild-type, which was rescued by exogenous GSH, glutamate, or glutathione disulfide (GSSG). Beside Cit1, other enzymes of TCA cycle and glutamate dehydrogenases (GDHs) were found to be involved in stress-induced apoptosis. Deletion of the genes encoding the TCA cycle enzymes and one of the three GDHs, Gdh3, caused increased sensitivity to heat stress. These results lead us to conclude that GSH deficiency in ${\Delta}cit1$ cells is caused by an insufficient supply of glutamate necessary for biosynthesis of GSH rather than the depletion of reducing power required for reduction of GSSG to GSH.

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Effects of Flower of Pueraria lobata on Lipid Peroxidation and Activities of Alcohol Metabolic Enzymes in Alcohol-treated Rats (갈화가 에탄올을 투여한 흰쥐의 지질과산화와 알코올 대사효소의 활성도에 미치는 영향)

  • 이정숙;김나영;이경희;김갑순;박희준;최종원;김석화
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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    • v.29 no.5
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    • pp.935-942
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    • 2000
  • This study was designed to investigate the effect of flower of Pueraria lobata on liped peroxidation and activities of alcohol metabolic enzymes in alcohol-treated rats. Male Spra gue-Dawley rats were given 25% ethanol (Alcohol), 25% ethanol and 5 mg tectorigenin/kg B.W.(Alc.-Tec), 25% ethanol and 5mg kaikasaponin III/kg B.W. (Alc-Kai). The contents of serum total lipid, triglyceride and phospholipid were increased by ethanol treatment and were lower in the Alc.-Tec and Alc.-Kai group than in the Alcohol group. Decreased serum HDL-cholesterol by alcohol treatment was recovered by tectorigenin and kaikasaponin III. Microsomal cytochrome P-450, aniline hydroxylase and aminopyrine N-demethylase activities were increased by ethanol and were lower in the Alc. Tec and Alc.-Kai group than in the Alcohol group. Activity of hepatic alcohol dehydrogenase was increased by ethanol and was higher in the Alc.-Tec and Alc.-Kai group than in the Alcohol group. Microsomal ethanol oxidizing system activity was higher in Alc.-Tec group than in the other group. No significant difference was found in catalase activity among treatment groups. These data indicate that tectorigenin and kaikasaponin III were effected alcohol metabolic enzyme system and the liver damage associated with chronic ethanol consumption.

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Effects of low dietary cation-anion difference induced by ruminal ammonium chloride infusion on performance, serum, and urine metabolites of lactating dairy cows

  • Wang, Kun;Nan, Xuemei;Zhao, Puyi;Liu, Wei;Drackley, James K.;Liu, Shijie;Zhang, Kaizhan;Bu, Dengpan
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.31 no.5
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    • pp.677-685
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    • 2018
  • Objective: The objective of the present study was to determine ammonium chloride tolerance of lactating dairy cows, by examining effects of negative dietary cation anion difference (DCAD) induced by ruminal ammonium chloride infusion on performance, serum and urine minerals, serum metabolites and enzymes of lactating dairy cows. Methods: Four primiparous lactating Chinese Holstein cows fitted with ruminal cannulas were infused with increasing amounts (0, 150, 300, or 450 g/d) of ammonium chloride in a crossover design. The DCAD of the base diet was 279 mEq/kg dry matter (DM) using the DCAD formula (Na + K - Cl - S)/kg of DM. Ammonium chloride infusion added the equivalent of 0, 128, 330, and 536 mEq/kg DM of Cl in treatments. According to the different dry matter intakes (DMI), the resulting actual DCAD of the four treatments was 279, 151, -51, and -257 mEq/kg DM, respectively. Results: DMI decreased linearly as DCAD decreased. Yields of milk, 4% fat-corrected milk, energy-corrected milk, milk fat, and milk protein decreased linearly as DCAD decreased. Concentrations of milk protein and milk urea nitrogen increased linearly with decreasing DCAD. Concentration of Cl- in serum increased linearly and concentration of PO43- in serum increased quadratically as DCAD decreased. Urine pH decreased linearly and calculated urine volume increased linearly with decreasing DCAD. Linear increases in daily urinary excretion of $Cl^-$, $Ca^{2+}$, $PO_4{^{3-}}$, urea N, and ammonium were observed as DCAD decreased. Activities of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and ${\gamma}-glutamyl$ transferase in serum and urea N concentration in serum increased linearly as DCAD decreased. Conclusion: In conclusion, negative DCAD induced by ruminal ammonium chloride infusion resulted in a metabolic acidosis, had a negative influence on performance, and increased serum enzymes indicating potential liver and kidney damage in lactating dairy cows. Daily ammonium chloride intake by lactating dairy cows should not exceed 300 g, and 150 g/d per cow may be better.