• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제31권4호
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• pp.621-629
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• 2021

Shigella flexneri is a facultative intracellular pathogen that causes bacillary dysentery in humans. Infection with S. flexneri can result in more than a million deaths yearly and most of the victims are children in developing countries. Therefore, identifying novel and unique drug targets against this pathogen is instrumental to overcome the problem of drug resistance to the antibiotics given to patients as the current therapy. In this study, a comparative analysis of the metabolic pathways of the host and pathogen was performed to identify this pathogen's essential enzymes for the survival and propose potential drug targets. First, we extracted the metabolic pathways of the host, Homo sapiens, and pathogen, S. flexneri, from the KEGG database. Next, we manually compared the pathways to categorize those that were exclusive to the pathogen. Further, all enzymes for the 26 unique pathways were extracted and submitted to the Geptop tool to identify essential enzymes for further screening in determining the feasibility of the therapeutic targets that were predicted and analyzed using PPI network analysis, subcellular localization, druggability testing, gene ontology and epitope mapping. Using these various criteria, we narrowed it down to prioritize 5 novel drug targets against S. flexneri and one vaccine drug targets against all strains of Shigella. Hence, we suggest the identified enzymes as the best putative drug targets for the effective treatment of S. flexneri.

• Toxicological Research
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• 제18권3호
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• pp.293-300
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• 2002

Chemical carcinogen-induced alteration of aldehyde metabolic enzymes were examined in clone 9 cell. Diethylnitrosamine (DENA), N-nitrosoethylurea (NEU) and N-nitrosomorpholine (NNM) were wed as model carcinogens. Changes in enzyme activities by repetitive treatment of DENA, NEU or NNM were analyzed in terms of specific activities and activity stainings of the enzymes on the gel. Upon treatment of DENA, lipid peroxide level increased upto 10 fold, indicating strong oxidative stress state of the cell. Notable enhancement of ADH and ALDH activity occurred after DENA treatment, while glutathione-S-transferase activity was slightly increased. Furthermore, about 2.5 fold higher superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was detected during deactivation of catalase (CAT) activity by repetitive treatment of DENA. However in NEU-treated cell, about 2.3 fold higher ALDH activity was found while ADH activity was slightly increased. Notable increase CAT and SOD could also be found. In contrast, maximum 3.5 fold higher CAT activity occurred during SOD deactivation in NNM-treated cell. These results suggest that there might be different enzymatic responses in relation to cell protection against DENA, NEU or NNM.

• 한국유가공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국유가공기술과학회 2002년도 제54회 춘계심포지움 - 우유와 국민건강
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• pp.45-55
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• 2002

Recent developments in the application of molecular biology to food grade lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have shown that it could be feasible to engineer metabolic pathways to either enhance specific metabolic fluxes or to divert metabolites for the production of different or new end products. This engineering requires detailed knowledge of enzymes involved in metabolism and regulation within the targeted organism but little works have been done in this area. During biochemical and molecular characterisation of lactic bacterial enzymes, some of probiotic Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species were found to be very useful for food, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries. The enzymes are usually intracellular and the yields are very low to be useful for industrial applications. Among many enzymes and proteins of lactic bacteria studied, some of our gene cloning achievements have contributed to overproduction of lactic bacterial enzymes such as peptidases, esterases, lactases, bile salt hydrolases and linoleate isomerases for foods and nutraceuticals.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• 제5권6호
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• pp.422-430
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• 2000

Mechanism of lignin biodegradation caused by basidiomycetes and the history of lignin biodegradation studies were briefly reviewed. The important roles of fungal extracellular ligninolytic enzymes such as lignin and manganese peroxidases (LiP and MnP) were also summarized. These enzymes were unique in their catalytic mechanisms and substrate specificities. Either LiP or MnP system is capable of oxidizing a variety of aromatic substrates via a one-electron oxidation. Extracellular fungal system for aromatic degradation is non-specific, which recently attracts many people working a bioremediation field. On the other hand, an intracellular degradation system for aromatic compounds is rather specific in the fungal cell. Structurally similar compounds were prepared and metabolized, indicating that an intracellular degradation strategy consisted of the cellular systems for substrate recognition and metabolic response. It was assumed that lignin-degrading fungi might be needed to develop multiple metabolic pathways for a variety of aromatic compounds caused by the action of non-specific ligninolytic enzymes on lignin. Our recent results on chemical stress responsible factors analyzed using mRNA differential display techniques were also mentioned.

• BMB Reports
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• 제49권7호
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• pp.388-393
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• 2016

Although brown adipose tissue is important with regard to energy balance, the molecular mechanism of brown adipocyte differentiation has not been extensively studied. Specifically, regulation factors at the level of protein modification are largely unknown. In this study, we examine the changes in the expression level of enzymes which are involved in protein lysine methylation during brown adipocyte differentiation. Several enzymes, in this case SUV420H2, PRDM9, MLL3 and JHDM1D, were found to be up-regulated. On the other hand, Set7/9 was significantly down-regulated. In the case of SUV420H2, the expression level increased sharply during brown adipocyte differentiation, whereas the expression of SUV420H2 was marginally enhanced during the white adipocyte differentiation. The knock-down of SUV420H2 caused the suppression of brown adipocyte differentiation, as compared to a scrambled control. These results suggest that SUV420H2, a methyltransferase, is involved in brown adipocyte differentiation, and that the methylation of protein lysine is important in brown adipocyte differentiation.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제23권6호
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• pp.525-530
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• 2015

Ceramide is the most abundant lipid in the epidermis and plays a critical role in maintaining epidermal barrier function. Overall ceramide content in keratinocyte increases in parallel with differentiation, which is initiated by supplementation of calcium and/or vitamin C. However, the role of metabolic enzymes responsible for ceramide generation in response to vitamin C is still unclear. Here, we investigated whether vitamin C alters epidermal ceramide content by regulating the expression and/or activity of its metabolic enzymes. When human keratinocytes were grown in 1.2 mM calcium with vitamin C ($50{\mu}g/ml$) for 11 days, bulk ceramide content significantly increased in conjunction with terminal differentiation of keratinocytes as compared to vehicle controls (1.2 mM calcium alone). Synthesis of the ceramide fractions was enhanced by increased de novo ceramide synthesis pathway via serine palmitoyltransferase and ceramide synthase activations. Moreover, sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) hydrolysis pathway by action of S1P phosphatase was also stimulated by vitamin C supplementation, contributing, in part, to enhanced ceramide production. However, activity of sphingomyelinase, a hydrolase enzyme that converts sphingomyelin to ceramide, remained unaltered. Taken together, we demonstrate that vitamin C stimulates ceramide production in keratinocytes by modulating ceramide metabolicrelated enzymes, and as a result, could improve overall epidermal barrier function.

• 대한임상검사과학회지
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• 제49권3호
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• pp.248-255
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• 2017

대사적으로 건강한 비만인(metabolically healthy obese, MHO)은 대사적 합병증을 동반하지 않으며, 과도한 체지방에도 불구하고 인슐린 감수성을 유지하는 비만의 표현형이다. 이 연구는 20세 이상 70세 이하의 남성을 대상으로 비만과 대사적 이상 유무에 따라 MHNO, MHO와 MAO군으로 분류하여 간 효소의 차이를 알아보고 대사적으로 건강한 비만남성에서 간 효소가 대사적 이상을 예측할 수 있는 지표인지 그 임상적 의의를 확인하고자 하였다. Executive Summary of The Third Report of The National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III) 진단기준으로 대사적 이상을 평가하였으며, 비만 진단기준은 WHO에서 제시하는 아시아인의 기준을 따라 세 군으로 분류하였다. 최종 연구 대상자 9,683명 중 대사적으로 건강한 정상체중군(metabolically healthy non obese, MHNO) 2,878명, 대사적으로 건강한 비만군(metabolically healthy obese, MHO) 5,427명, 대사적으로 이상이 있는 비만군(metabolically abnormal obese, MAO) 1,378명 이었다. AST, ALT, GGT는 MAO군보다 MHO군에서 통계적으로 유의하게 낮았으나(각각 p<0.001), MHO군은 MHNO군보다는 간 효소치가 높게 나타났다(각각 p<0.001). 또한 간 효소는 대사증후군 위험요인과 관련이 있으며, 허리둘레, 공복혈당, 총콜레스테롤, 중성지방, HDL-C은 AST, ALT, GGT에 영향을 미치는 위험요인으로 나타났다. 결론적으로 대사적으로 건강한 비만남성에서 간 효소가 대사적 이상을 예측할 수 있는 지표인 것을 확인하였다.

• 약학회지
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• 제34권6호
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• pp.447-456
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• 1990

Various methods are available for the production of L-threonine. The microbial production of L-threonine has been achieved by breeding L-threonine analog-resistant auxotrophic mutants of various bacteria. The enzymatic production of L-threonine has been demonstrated by use of threonine metabolic enzymes such as threonine deaminase, threonine aldolase, or threonine dehydrogenase complex. Threonine synthesis from glycine and ethanol seems to be catalyzed by the enzymes Methanol dehydrogenase(MDH) and Serine hydroxymethyltransferase(SHMT), which was also found to catalyze the aldol condensation of glycine with acetaldehyde. The improved production of L-threonine has been achieved by amplifying the genes for the L-threonine biosynthetic enzymes using recombinant DNA techniques.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제32권6호
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• pp.476-481
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• 2022

유비퀴틴화는 단백질 안정성 조절을 통해 진핵세포 내 광범위한 과정에서 주요한 역할을 한다. 이 과정에서 탈유비퀴틴화 효소인 deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs)은 표적단백질의 유비퀴틴 혹은 ubiquitin-like proteins에 결합하여 표적단백질의 분해를 억제하는 기능을 한다. DUBs의 역할은 주로 암생물학에서 다루어져 왔으며, 이를 통해 다양한 암 치료용 DUBs 억제제가 개발 중인 상황이다. 한편, 최근의 연구는 이러한 DUBs가 비만, 당뇨, 지방간을 포함한 대사질환에서 주요한 역할을 할 수 있을 것이라고 보고했다. 대사질환의 발생 및 진행에 있어 각기 다른 종류의 DUBs는 양적 혹은 음적 조절 작용을 갖음을 제시하였다. DUBs는 세포 내 다양한 전사인자의 단백질 발현 등 조절함으로써 대사질환의 발생 및 진행에 기여할 수 있음 생체 내, 외 및 인간 조직을 활용한 연구에서 입증되었다. UCH, USP7 및 USP19는 지방세포의 분화, 체중 증가, 및 인슐린 저항성에 관련이 있음을 식이 혹은 유전자조작으로 인한 비만 유도 마우스에서 검증하였다. CYLD, USP4 및 USP18의 경우 지방간의 발생과 밀접한 관계를 갖는다고 보고되었으며 이는 경우에 따라 체중 변화를 동반한다. 종합적으로, 본 총설에서는 비만 및 이와 관련한 대사질환에서 DUBs의 역할에 대한 최신 연구 결과 및 동향에 대해 기술하였다. 또한 DUBs에 새로운 역할에 관한 기초지식 및 분자적메커니즘을 제공함으로써 궁극적으로는 DUBs가 대사질환의 새로운 유전자 타겟이 될 수 있음을 시사한다.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제33권6호
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• pp.715-723
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• 2023

Microbial biofilms are resilient, immune-evasive, often antibiotic-resistant health challenges, and increasingly the target for research into novel therapeutic strategies. We evaluated the effects of a nutraceutical enzyme and botanical blend (NEBB) on established biofilm. Five microbial strains with known implications in chronic human illnesses were tested: Candida albicans, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus simulans (coagulase-negative, penicillin-resistant), Borrelia burgdorferi, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The strains were allowed to form biofilm in vitro. Biofilm cultures were treated with NEBB containing enzymes targeted at lipids, proteins, and sugars, also containing the mucolytic compound N-acetyl cysteine, along with antimicrobial extracts from cranberry, berberine, rosemary, and peppermint. The post-treatment biofilm mass was evaluated by crystal-violet staining, and metabolic activity was measured using the MTT assay. Average biofilm mass and metabolic activity for NEBB-treated biofilms were compared to the average of untreated control cultures. Treatment of established biofilm with NEBB resulted in biofilm-disruption, involving significant reductions in biofilm mass and metabolic activity for Candida and both Staphylococcus species. For B. burgdorferi, we observed reduced biofilm mass, but the remaining residual biofilm showed a mild increase in metabolic activity, suggesting a shift from metabolically quiescent, treatment-resistant persister forms of B. burgdorferi to a more active form, potentially more recognizable by the host immune system. For P. aeruginosa, low doses of NEBB significantly reduced biofilm mass and metabolic activity while higher doses of NEBB increased biofilm mass and metabolic activity. The results suggest that targeted nutraceutical support may help disrupt biofilm communities, offering new facets for integrative combinational treatment strategies.