• International Journal of Oral Biology
• /
• v.45 no.4
• /
• pp.211-217
• /
• 2020

Molecular mimicry is the most common mechanism that breaches self-tolerance. We previously identified autoantibodies to aquaporin-5 (AQP5) in the sera of patients with Sjögren's syndrome and found that the aquaporin of Prevotella melaninogenica (PmAqp), an oral commensal, is highly homologous to human AQP5. This study aimed to test whether PmAqp can induce anti-AQP5 autoantibodies via molecular mimicry. From the amino acid sequence of PmAqp, an immunizing peptide; i.e., PmE-L, was designed, which contained both the B cell epitope "E" and T cell epitope. C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice were subcutaneously immunized with linear or cyclic forms of PmE-L emulsified in incomplete Freund's adjuvant. The concentrations of the antibodies in sera were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Both linear and cyclic PmE-L induced high levels of antibodies against not only the immunized peptides but also autoantibodies against AQP5E and antibodies against PmE, a Pm homolog of AQP5E. In C57BL/6 mice; however, the cyclic form of PmE-L was more efficient than the linear form in inducing autoantibodies against AQP5E that contained a cyclic epitope. The levels of anti-PmE antibodies and anti-AQP5E autoantibodies showed a strong positive correlation (r = 0.95, p < 0.0005), suggesting molecular mimicry. Collectively, the mice produced anti-AQP5E autoantibodies in response to a PmAqp-derived peptide. This model proved to be useful for studying the mechanisms of autoantibody production by molecular mimicry.

• Macromolecular Research
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.430-437
• /
• 2006

The ultra-drawing process of an ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) gel film was examined by incorporating linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) and $BaTiO_3$ nanoparticles. The effects of LLDPE and the draw ratios on the morphological development and mechanical properties of the nanocomposite membrane systems were investigated. By incorporating $BaTiO_3$ nanoparticles in the UHMWPE/LLDPE blend systems, the ultra-drawing process provided a highly extended, fibril structure of UHMWPE chains to form highly porous, composite membranes with well-dispersed nanoparticles. The ultra-drawing process of UHMWPE/LLDPE dry-gel films desirably dispersed the highly loaded $BaTiO_3$ nanoparticles in the porous membrane, which could be used to form multi-layered structures for electronic applications in various embedded, printed circuit board (PCB) systems.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2012.02a
• /
• pp.557-557
• /
• 2012

Silicatein-${\alpha}$, the enzyme extracted from silica spicules in glass sponges, has been studied extensively in the way of chemistry from 1999, in which the pioneering work by Morse, D. E. - the discovery of the enzymatic hydrolysis in Silicatein-${\alpha}$ - was published. Since its reaction conditions are physiologically favored, synthesis of various materials, such as gallium oxide, zirconium oxide, and silicon oxide, was achieved without any hazardous wastes. Although some groups synthesized oxide films and particles, they have not achieved yet controlled morphogenesis in the reaction conditions mentioned above. With the knowledge of catalytic triad involved in hydrolysis of silicone alkoxide and oligomerization of silicic acid, we designed the novel peptide amphiphiles to not only form self-assembled structure, but also display similar activities to silicatein-${\alpha}$. Designed templates were able to self-assemble into left-handed helices for the peptide amphiphiles with L-form amino acid, catalyzing polycondensation of silicic acids onto the surface of them. It led to the formation of silica helices with 30-50 nm diameters. These results were characterized by various techniques, including SEM, TEM, and STEM. Given the situation that nano-bio-technology, the bio-applicable technology in nanometer scale, has been attracting considerable attention; this result could be applied to the latest applications in biotechnology, such as biosensors, lab-on-a-chip, biocompatible nanodevices.

• Animal cells and systems
• /
• v.3 no.1
• /
• pp.1-7
• /
• 1999

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) was originally isolated as a hypothalamic peptide that regulates reproduction by stimulating the release of gonadotropins. Using comparative animal models has led to the discovery that GnRH has a more ancient evolutionary origin. Durinq evolution GnRH peptide underwent gene duplication and structural changes to give rise to multiple molecular forms of GnRHs. Mammalian GnRH initially considered to be the sole molecular form, is now grouped as a family of peptides along with GnRH variants determined from representatives in all classes of vertebrates. Vertebrate species including primates and humanshave more than one GnRH variant in individual brains; a unique GnRH form in the forebrain and chicken IIGnRH in the midbrain. Furthermore, several species of bony fish have three molecular variants of GnRH: salmon GnRH sea-bream GnRH and chicken II GnRH. Also, it has been shown that in addition to the olfactory placodes and the midbrain, there is a third embryonic source of GnRH neurons from the basal diencephalon in birds and fish, which might be true for other vertebrates. Therefore, comparative animal models like fish with discrete sites of expression of three molecular variants of GnRH in individual brains, could provide insight into novel functions of GnRH variants, conservation of gene regulation, and mechanisms governing reproduction in vertebrates.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.13 no.2
• /
• pp.140-145
• /
• 1992

The excited state intramolecular proton transfer and physical properties of 7-hydroxyquinoline are studied in various solutions and heterogeneous systems by measuring steady state and time-resolved fluorescence, reflection and NMR spectra. Proton transfer is observed only in protic solvents owing to its requirement of hydrogen-bonded solvent bridge for proton relay transfer. The activation energies of the proton transfer are 2.3 and 5.4 kJ/mol in $CH_3OH$ and in $CH_3OD$, respectively. Dimers of normal molecules are stable in microcrystalline powder form and undergo an extremely fast concerted double proton transfer upon absorption of a photon, consequently forming dimers of tautomer molecules. In the supercage of zeolite NaY, its tautomeric form is stable in the ground state and does not show any proton transfer.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
• /
• v.12 no.4
• /
• pp.145-152
• /
• 1982

Data from IR spectroscopy and X-ray diffractometry were used for the characterization of sulpiride polyethylene glycol coprecipitates related with polymorphism of sulpiride. Sulpiride Form II transformed to Form I during coprecipitating with polyethylene glycol and the transformation rate is increased in proportion to molecular size of polyethylene glycol and the content of polyethylene glycol in coprecipitate.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.46 no.1
• /
• pp.50.2-51
• /
• 2021

Stars form exclusively in cold and dense molecular clouds. To fully understand star formation processes, it is hence a key to investigate how molecular clouds form out of the surrounding diffuse atomic gas. With an aim of shedding light in the process of the atomic-to-molecular transition in the interstellar medium, we analyze Arecibo HI emission and absorption spectral pairs along with TRAO/PMO 12CO(1-0) emission spectra toward 58 lines of sight probing in and around molecular clouds in the solar neighborhood, i.e., Perseus, Taurus, and California. 12CO(1-0) is detected from 19 out of 58 lines of sight, and we report the physical properties of HI (e.g., central velocity, spin temperature, and column density) in the vicinity of CO. Our preliminary results show that the velocity difference between the cold HI (Cold Neutral Medium or CNM) and CO (median ~ 0.7 km/s) is on average more than a factor of two smaller than the velocity difference between the warm HI (Warm Neutral Medium or WNM) and CO (median ~ 1.7 km/s). In addition, we find that the CNM tends to become colder (median spin temperature ~ 43 K) and abundant (median CNM fraction ~ 0.55) as it gets closer to CO. These results hints at the evolution of the CNM in the vicinity of CO, implying a close association between the CNM and molecular gas. Finally, in order to examine the role of HI in the formation of molecular gas, we compare the observed CNM properties to the theoretical model by Bialy & Sternberg (2016), where the HI column density for the HI-to-H2 transition point is predicted as a function of density, metallicity, and UV radiation field. Our comparison shows that while the model reproduces the observations reasonably well on average, the observed CNM components with high column densities are much denser than the model prediction. Several sources of this discrepancy, e.g., missing physical and chemical ingredients in the model such as the multi-phase ISM, non-equilibrium chemistry, and turbulence, will be discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
• /
• v.34 no.9
• /
• pp.963-968
• /
• 1997

Coal tar pitch was used to study the effect of the pyrolysis conditions to produce mesophase pitch used as a matrix precursor for carbon/carbon composites. The pyrolysis conditions were presented in all cases that the total pressure was 1 atm and the first stage temperature was changed from 25$0^{\circ}C$ to 34$0^{\circ}C$ to remove the low molecular weight compounds in the pitch, and then, heated to 40$0^{\circ}C$ to form anisotropic mesophase as the second stage temperature. The first stage temperature was very affected to form resulting anisotropic mesophase pitch. The resulting mesophase pitches show a significantly increased anisotropic contents upto 30$0^{\circ}C$. However, the contents of mesophase were decreased above 30$0^{\circ}C$. It was the reason that the first stage temperature had been control the number of free radicals to react the aromatic compounds in the pitch to form high molecular weight compound. Therefore, the two stage pyrolysis method could be very effectively used to control various contents of anisotropic polyaromatic mesophase compared to continuous to continuous heating method.

• Macromolecular Research
• /
• v.8 no.3
• /
• pp.103-115
• /
• 2000

The structural changes viewed from the molecular level have been investigated for the isothermal crystallization phenomena of polyethylene (PE) and the solvent-induced crystallization phenomenon of syndiotactic polystyrene (sPS) glassy sample. The data, which were collected by the time-resolved measurements of Fourier-transform infrared spectra, Raman spectra, synchrotron-sourced small-angle X-ray scattering, wide-angle X-ray scattering, and so on, were combined together to extract the detailed structural information in these phase transition phenomena. In the case of PE, the isothermal crystallization from the melt to the orthorhombic form was found to occur via the conformationally-disordered trans chain form, followed by the formation of the lamellar stacking structure of regular orthorhombic-type crystals. In the case of sPS, the amorphous chains in the glassy sample were found to enhance the mobility through the interaction with the injected solvent molecules, which act as a trigger to cause the conformational ordering from the random coil to the regular T$_2$G$_2$-type helical form. The thus created short helical segments were found to grow into longer helices, which gathered together to form the crystallites, as revealed by the organized coupling of the infrared, Raman and X-ray scattering data.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.29 no.6
• /
• pp.530-534
• /
• 1996

Astrocyte are the major glial cell type in the central nervous system (CNS), and analogous to macrophage, mediates the number of immune responses such as production of cytokines including tumor necrosis factor alpha ($TNF-{\alpha}$) upon activation. $TNF-{\alpha}$ has been implicated in neuroimmunological disorders through killing oligodendrocytes and thus causing demyelination. It has been previously demonstrated that mitogen-activated T cells synthesized a 26 kDa precursor form of $TNF-{\alpha}$ which is bound to the surface of a membrane, and is later secreted as a 17 kDa mature version. In order to examine whether astrocytes would produce the transmembrane form of $TNF-{\alpha}$, astrocytes were stimulated with biological stimuli and the membrane form of $TNF-{\alpha}$ was analyzed by Western blot and FACS analysis. When astrocytes are stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), $IFN-{\gamma}/LPS$, or $IFN-{\gamma}/IL-1{\beta}$, they were able to express a membrane-anchored $TNF-{\alpha}$ of approximately 26 kDa protein which was immunoreactive to an $anti-TNF-{\alpha}$ antibody, whereas unstimulated astrocytes or astrocytes treated with $IFN-{\gamma}$ or $IL-1{\beta}$ alone was not. Our FACS data were also consistent with the immunoblot analysis. Our result suggests that the membrane form of $TNF-{\alpha}$ expressed by activated astrocytes may cause local damage to oligodendrocytes by direct cell-cell contact and contribute to demyelination observed in multiple sclerosis (MS) and experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE).