• 한국게임학회 논문지
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• 제9권1호
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• pp.93-103
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• 2009

기능성 게임은 게임기술과 게임이론을 바탕으로 개발된 하드웨어 및 소프트웨어 애플리케이션으로 즐거움 외에 교육 및 특정 분야의 문제해결 등의 다른 목적을 가지는 게임을 말한다. 이러한 기능성 게임은 게임적인 재미뿐만 아니라 교육적인 효과 때문에 과학기술 분야 및 산업 기술 분야의 교육 및 훈련에 유용하다. 본 연구에서는 사용자가 직관적인 멀티 모달 인터페이스를 사용하여 생명공학에 적용한 기능성 게임을 제안한다. 이를 위하여 3차원 분자 구조를 특수 모니터를 사용하여 입체 시각화 하였으며 입체 영상화된 분자 구조를 효율적으로 제어하기 위하여 멀티 모달 인터페이스인 WiiRemote를 사용하였다. 본 논문에서 제안된 시스템은 분자도킹 시뮬레이션이 가지던 문제점인 3차원 분자 모델들의 결합 및 조작이 사용자의 직관과 경험에 많이 의존하기 때문에 초보자들의 접근이 어려운 점을 게임적 요소를 적용하여 재미를 느끼게 하면서 해결하도록 하였다. 이를 위해 사용자가 조작을 하는 객체와 사용자의 수에 따른 게임적 요소인 레벨 업 개념을 적용하여 반복학습이 이루어지도록 하였다. 실험은 AIDS 바이러스와 신약 치료 후보 물질을 대상으로 사용자가 바이러스와 후보 물질이 결합되는 위치인 Active Site를 찾는 도킹 실험을 하였으며 바이오 기능성 게임을 적용하지 않은 기존의 방법과 비교를 하였다.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제43권3호
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• pp.442-451
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• 2019

Background: Ginseng has a wide range of beneficial effects on health, such as the mitigation of minor and major inflammatory diseases, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. There are abundant data regarding the health-enhancing properties of whole ginseng extracts and single ginsenosides; however, no study to date has determined the receptors that mediate the effects of ginseng extracts. In this study, for the first time, we explored whether the antiinflammatory effects of Rg3-enriched red ginseng extract (Rg3-RGE) are mediated by retinoid X receptor ${\alpha}$-peroxisome-proliferating receptor ${\gamma}$ ($RXR{\alpha}-PPAR{\gamma}$) heterodimer nuclear receptors. Methods: Nitric oxide assay, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazoliumbromide assay, quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, nuclear hormone receptor-binding assay, and molecular docking analyses were used for this study. Results: Rg3-RGE exerted antiinflammatory effects via nuclear receptor heterodimers between $RXR{\alpha}$ and $PPAR{\gamma}$ agonists and antagonists. Conclusion: These findings indicate that Rg3-RGE can be considered a potent antiinflammatory agent, and these effects are likely mediated by the nuclear receptor $RXR{\alpha}-PPAR{\gamma}$ heterodimer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제16권9호
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• pp.3759-3765
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• 2015

Background: Approaches in disruption of MDM2-p53 interactions have now emerged as an important therapeutic strategy in resurrecting wild type p53 functional status. The present study highlights virtual screening strategies in identification of high affinity small molecule non-peptidic inhibitors. Nutlin3A and RG7112 belonging to compound class of Cis-imidazoline, MI219 of Spiro-oxindole class and Benzodiazepine derived TDP 665759 served as query small molecules for similarity search with a threshold of 95%. The query molecules and the similar molecules corresponding to each query were docked at the transactivation binding cleft of MDM2 protein. Aided by MolDock algorithm, high affinity compound against MDM2 was retrieved. Patch Dock supervised Protein-Protein interactions were established between MDM2 and ligand (query and similar) bound and free states of p53. Compounds with PubCid 68870345, 77819398, 71132874, and 11952782 respectively structurally similar to Nutlin3A, RG7112, Mi219 and TDP 665759 demonstrated higher affinity to MDM2 in comparison to their parent compounds. Evident from the protein-protein interaction studies, all the similar compounds except for 77819398 (similar to RG 7112) showed appreciable inhibitory potential. Of particular relevance, compound 68870345 akin to Nutlin 3A had highest inhibitory potential that respectively showed 1.3, 1.2, 1.16 and 1.26 folds higher inhibitory potential than Nutilin 3A, MI 219, RG 7112 and TDP 1665759. Compound 68870345 was further mapped for structure based pharamacophoric features. In the study, we report Cis-imidazoline derivative compound; Pubcid: 68870345 to have highest inhibitory potential in blocking MDM2-p53 interactions hitherto discovered.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• 제14권3호
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• pp.104-111
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• 2016

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito borne pathogen, belongs to Flaviviridae family having a positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome, currently known for causing large epidemics in Brazil. Its infection can cause microcephaly, a serious birth defect during pregnancy. The recent outbreak of ZIKV in February 2016 in Brazil realized it as a major health risk, demands an enhanced surveillance and a need to develop novel drugs against ZIKV. Amodiaquine, prochlorperazine, quinacrine, and berberine are few promising drugs approved by Food and Drug Administration against dengue virus which also belong to Flaviviridae family. In this study, we performed molecular docking analysis of these drugs against nonstructural 3 (NS3) protein of ZIKV. The protease activity of NS3 is necessary for viral replication and its prohibition could be considered as a strategy for treatment of ZIKV infection. Amongst these four drugs, berberine has shown highest binding affinity of -5.8 kcal/mol and it is binding around the active site region of the receptor. Based on the properties of berberine, more similar compounds were retrieved from ZINC database and a structure-based virtual screening was carried out by AutoDock Vina in PyRx 0.8. Best 10 novel drug-like compounds were identified and amongst them ZINC53047591 (2-(benzylsulfanyl)-3-cyclohexyl-3H-spiro[benzo[h]quinazoline-5,1'-cyclopentan]-4(6H)-one) was found to interact with NS3 protein with binding energy of -7.1 kcal/mol and formed H-bonds with Ser135 and Asn152 amino acid residues. Observations made in this study may extend an assuring platform for developing anti-viral competitive inhibitors against ZIKV infection.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제28권5호
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• pp.479-491
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• 2024

Improving liver regeneration (LR) remains a medical issue, and there is currently a lack of safe and effective drugs for LR. Rhizoma Dioscoreae (SanYak, SY) is a traditional Chinese medicine. However, the underlying action mechanism of SY treatment for LR is yet to be fully elucidated. To explore the mechanism by which SY affects LR, we have conducted a series of methods for network pharmacological analysis, molecular docking, and in vivo experimental validation in mice. Overall, 9 compounds and 30 predicted target genes of SY were found to be associated with the therapeutic effects of LR. Compared with the model group, hematoxylin and eosin staining revealed that the mice with preoperative drug intervention possessed fewer postoperative hepatocyte bubbles and relatively regular morphology. Furthermore, the serum alanine transaminase and aspartate aminotransferase levels were reduced, immunohistochemistry revealed elevated proliferating cell nuclear antigen positivity rate, and Western blotting demonstrated that the phospho-protein kinase B (AKT)/AKT ratio was downregulated and that vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) expression levels were upregulated. This study explored dioscin, the main active ingredient of SY, and its potential therapeutic effects on LR. It repairs damaged liver following surgery and promotes liver cell proliferation. The action mechanism comprises reducing AKT phosphorylation levels and upregulating VEGFA expression levels. Thus, this study provides a new direction for further research on the mechanism of SY promoting LR.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권10호
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• pp.4331-4338
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• 2014

$N^1$-(2, 5-dimethoxyphenyl)-$N^8$-hydroxyoctanediamide (N25) is a novel SAHA cap derivative of HDACi, with a patent (No. CN 103159646). This invention is a hydroxamic acid compound with a structural formula of $RNHCO(CH_2)6CONHOH$ (wherein R=2, 5dimethoxyaniline), a pharmaceutically acceptable salt which is soluble. In the present study, we investigated the effects of N25 with regard to drug distribution and molecular docking, and anti-proliferation, apoptosis, cell cycling, and $LD_{50}$. First, we designed a molecular approach for modeling selected SAHA derivatives based on available structural information regarding human HDAC8 in complex with SAHA (PDB code 1T69). N25 was found to be stabilized by direct interaction with the HDAC8. Anti-proliferative activity was observed in human glioma U251, U87, T98G cells and human lung cancer H460, A549, H1299 cells at moderate concentrations ($0.5-30{\mu}M$). Compared with SAHA, N25 displayed an increased antitumor activity in U251 and H460 cells. We further analyzed cell death mechanisms activated by N25 in U251 and H460 cells. N25 significantly increased acetylation of Histone 3 and inhibited HDAC4. On RT-PCR analysis, N25 increased the mRNA levels of p21, however, decreased the levels of p53. These resulted in promotion of apoptosis, inducing G0/G1 arrest in U251 cells and G2/M arrest in H460 cells in a time-dependent and dose-dependent manner. In addition, N25 was able to distribute to brain tissue through the blood-brain barrier of mice ($LD_{50}$: 240.840mg/kg). In conclusion, our findings demonstrate that N25 will provide an invaluable tool to investigate the molecular mechanism with potential chemotherapeutic value in several malignancies, especially human glioma.

• BMB Reports
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• 제56권6호
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• pp.359-364
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• 2023

KAI1/CD82, a membrane tetraspanin protein, can prevent various cancers and retinal disorders through its anti-angiogenic and anti-metastatic capacity. However, little is known about its anti-inflammatory effect and molecular mechanism. Therefore, the present study aimed to inLPSvestigate effect of a recombinant protein of the large extracellular domain of human KAI1 (Gly 111-Leu 228, rhKAI1) on lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophage-like cells and mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM) and to identify its underlying mechanism. Our data showed that rhKAI1 suppressed expression levels of classically macrophages (M1) phenotype-related surface markers F4/80+CD86+ in LPS-stimulated BMDM and RAW264.7 cells. In addition, LPS markedly increased mRNA expression and release levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and mediators such as interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, cyclooxygenase-2, nitric oxide and prostaglandin E2, whereas these increases were substantially down-regulated by rhKAI1. Furthermore, LPS strongly increased expression of NF-κB p65 in the nuclei and phosphorylation of ERK, JNK, and p38 MAPK. However, nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 and phosphorylation of JNK were greatly reversed in the presence of rhKAI1. Especially, rhKAI1 markedly suppressed expression of toll-like receptor (TLR4) and prevented binding of LPS with TLR4 through molecular docking predict analysis. Importantly, Glu 214 of rhKAI1 residue strongly interacted with Lys 360 of TLR4 residue, with a binding distance of 2.9 Å. Taken together, these findings suggest that rhKAI1 has an anti-inflammatory effect on LPS-polarized macrophages by interacting with TLR4 and down-regulating the JNK/NF-κB signaling pathway.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제28권3호
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• pp.307-313
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• 2018

탈모증상은 겉으로 보이는 모습으로 인해 정신적인 스트레스로 작용한다. 그래서 탈모 방지관련 제품의 글로벌 시장 규모는 지속적으로 성장하고 있다. Timosaponin A III는 지모 추출물에서 발견되는 대표적인 saponin 계열의 생리 활성 효능 성분이다. 본 연구에서는 5-beta reductase 단백질 길항제(antagonist) finasteride, androgen receptor 단백질 길항제 minoxidil, 그리고 지모 추출물의 효능 성분 timosaponin A III의 각각의 타깃 단백질 활성 부위에 대한 친화도 분석 실험을 in silico 컴퓨터 분자결합 분석 방법을 통해 비교하였다. 5-beta reductase 및 androgen receptor 의 3차원 구조 정보는 PDB database (5-beta reductase PDB ID: 3G1R / androgen receptor PDB ID:4K7A)를 활용하였다. In silico 결합 분석을 수행하기 위해 PyRx, Autodock Vina, Discovery Studio Version 4.5, and NX-QuickPharm 프로그램을 각 분석 조건에 따라 활용하였다. 5-beta reductase 활성 부위에 대한 timosaponin A III의 최대 결합친화도는 -12.20 kcal/mol으로 나왔으며 이는 -11.70 kcal/mol으로 분석된 finasteride의 5-beta reductase 활성부위에 대한 결합 친화도 보다 훨씬 더 높고 효율적인 것으로 분석되었다. Androgen receptor 활성 부위에 대한 timosaponin A III의 최대결합친화도 또한 -9.00 kcal/mol으로 -7.40 kcal/mol의 minoxidil에 비하여 훨씬 우수한 결합친화도 값을 나타내었다. Finasteride와 timosaponin A III의 5-beta reductase 단백질 활성 부위에 대한 X,Y,Z Grid 값은 유사한 좌표로 분석되었으나 minoxidil과 timosaponin A III의 androgen receptor 활성 부위에 대한 X,Y,Z centroid grid 좌표는 상당한 거리를 두고 떨어져 있음이 확인 되었다. 즉, timosaponin A III는 minoxidil이 androgen receptor에 결합하는 부위와는 다른 부위에 결합하여 단백질 활성에 영향을 주는 것으로 사료되었다. 이상의 연구 결과들을 바탕으로 분석해 볼 때, 5-beta reductase 길항제 finasteride와 androgen receptor 길항제 minoxidil보다 지모 추출물 생리 활성 물질인 timosaponin A III가 보다 더 효율적인 길항제로 작용할 수 있음을 확인하였다. 결론적으로 지모 추출물 또는 timosaponin 계열이 함유된 효능 성분은 탈모 방지 효능 및 모발 건강 개선을 위한 의약품, 의약외품 및 신물질 연구 개발 분야에 효율적으로 활용할 수 있을 것으로 사료된다.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제30권4호
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• pp.552-560
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• 2020

Human carbonic anhydrase (CA) isozyme II has been used as protein target for disorder treatment including glaucoma. Current clinically used sulfonamide-based CA inhibitors can induce side effects, and so alternatives are required. This study aimed to investigate a natural CA inhibitor from Murraya paniculata. The previously developed yeast-based assay was used to screen 14 compounds isolated from M. paniculata and identified by NMR analysis for anti-human CA isozyme II (hCAII) activity. Cytotoxicity of the compounds was also tested using the same yeast-based assay but in a different cultivation condition. Two flavonoid candidate compounds, 5, 6, 7, 8, 3', 4', 5'-heptamethoxyflavone (4) and 3, 5, 7, 8, 3', 4', 5'-heptamethoxyflavone (9), showed potent inhibitory activity against hCAII with a minimal effective concentration of 10.8 and 21.5 μM, respectively, while they both exhibited no cytotoxic effect, even at the highest concentration tested (170 μM). The results from an in vitro esterase assay of the two candidates confirmed their hCAII inhibitory activity with IC₅₀ values of 24.0 and 34.3 μM, respectively. To investigate the potential inhibition mechanism of compound 4, in silico molecular docking was performed using the FlexX and SwissDock software. This revealed that compound 4 coordinated with the Zn²⁺ ion in the hCAII active site through its methoxy oxygen at a distance of 1.60 Å (FlexX) or 2.29 Å (SwissDock). The interaction energy of compound 4 with hCAII was -13.36 kcal/mol. Thus, compound 4 is a potent novel flavonoid-based hCAII inhibitor and may be useful for further anti-CAII design and development.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권23호
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• pp.10345-10350
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• 2015

Background: Punica granatum (family: Lythraceae) is mainly found in Iran, which is considered to be its primary centre of origin. Studies on pomegranate peel have revealed antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenesis activities, with prevention of premature aging and reducing inflammation. In addition to this it is also useful in treating various diseases like diabetes, maintaining blood pressure and treatment of neoplasms such as prostate and breast cancer. Objectives: In this study we identified anti-cancer targets of active compounds like corilagin (tannins), quercetin (flavonoids) and pseudopelletierine (alkaloids) present in pomegranate peel by employing dual reverse screening and binding analysis. Materials and Methods: The potent targets of the pomegranate peel were annotated by the PharmMapper and ReverseScreen 3D, then compared with targets identified from different Bioassay databases (NPACT and HIT's). Docking was then further employed using AutoDock pyrx and validated through discovery studio for studying molecular interactions. Results: A number of potent anti-cancerous targets were attained from the PharmMapper server according to their fit score and from ReverseScreen 3D server according to decreasing 3D scores. Conclusion: The identified targets now need to be further validated through in vitro and in vivo studies.