• 한국지능시스템학회논문지
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• 제14권5호
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• pp.545-550
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• 2004

생태학, 환경공학, 임상진단 등 생물학 분야에서 미생물의 다양성 연구의 중요성이 대두되고 그 연구가 점증하고 있다. 특히 16S rRNA를 분자지표로한 DNA 염기서열 분석방법이 널리 사용되고 있다. 본 논문에서는 16S rRNA의 염기서열 분석과정을 각 단계별로 자동화하고, 생물학자들의 결과 판단이나 사용상의 편의를 도모하기 위하여 웹기반의 미생물 다양성 분석 어플리케이션을 개발하였다. 이를 위하여 단계별 자동화 및 인터페이스 개발에 적합한 폴더-프로세스-필터 모델을 고안하고 적용하였다. 제공되는 생물정보분석도구는 서열입력, 서열방향교정, 다중서열정렬 및 가시화, 서열동정 등의 분석이 있으며, 각 결과는 계통분류도구와 호환 가능하도록 하였다. 또한 신생아의 장내 세균총에 대한 분석을 수행하여 개발된 도구의 유용성을 확인하였다. 개발된 웹 어플리케이션은 리눅스 시스템 상에서 Perl 과 CGI를 이용하였으며, http://home.pusan.ac.kr/～genome/tools/rat.htm으로 접속하여 사용할 수 있다.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제40권11호
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• pp.823-827
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• 2017

Genome editing using programmable nucleases such as CRISPR/Cas9 or Cpf1 has emerged as powerful tools for gene knock-out or knock-in in various organisms. While most genetic diseases are caused by point mutations, these genome-editing approaches are inefficient in inducing single-nucleotide substitutions. Recently, Cas9-linked cytidine deaminases, named base editors (BEs), have been shown to convert cytidine to uridine efficiently, leading to targeted single-base pair substitutions in human cells and organisms. Here, we first report on the generation of Xenopus laevis mutants with targeted single-base pair substitutions using this RNA-guided programmable deaminase. Injection of base editor 3 (BE3) ribonucleoprotein targeting the tyrosinase (tyr) gene in early embryos can induce site-specific base conversions with the rates of up to 20.5%, resulting in oculocutaneous albinism phenotypes without off-target mutations. We further test this base-editing system by targeting the tp53 gene with the result that the expected single-base pair substitutions are observed at the target site. Collectively, these data establish that the programmable deaminases are efficient tools for creating targeted point mutations for human disease modeling in Xenopus.

• BMB Reports
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• 제41권5호
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• pp.369-375
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• 2008

Polygonatum cyrtonema Lectin (PCL), which is classified as a monocot mannose-binding lectin, has received great regards for its uniquely biological activities and potentially medical applications in cancer cells. This paper was initially aimed to study apoptosis of PCL on Hela cells. Thus, 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) method was carried out. Through observation of cell morphologic changes and Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity-based cytotoxicity assays, PCL induced HeLa cell apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. To further gain structural basis, multiple alignments, homology modeling and docking experiments were performed to analyze the correlation between its biological activities and mannose-binding sites. Eventually, considering docking data, chemical modification properties on the three mannose-binding sites were analyzed by a series of biological experiments (e.g., hemagglutinating and mitogenic activity assays, fluorescence and Circular Dichrosim (CD) spectroscopy) to profoundly identify the role of some key amino acids in the structure-function relationship of PCL.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제25권1호
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• pp.89-97
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• 2015

Bacillus subtilis HK176 with high fibrinolytic activity was isolated from cheonggukjang, a Korean fermented soyfood. A gene, aprE176, encoding the major fibrinolytic enzyme was cloned from B. subtilis HK176 and overexpressed in E. coli BL21(DE3) using plasmid pET26b(+). The specific activity of purified AprE176 was 216.8 ± 5.4 plasmin unit/mg protein and the optimum pH and temperature were pH 8.0 and 40℃, respectively. Error-prone PCR was performed for aprE176, and the PCR products were introduced into E. coli BL21(DE3) after ligation with pET26b(+). Mutants showing enhanced fibrinolytic activities were screened first using skim-milk plates and then fibrin plates. Among the mutants, M179 showed the highest activity on a fibrin plate and it had one amino acid substitution (A176T). The specific activity of M179 was 2.2-fold higher than that of the wild-type enzyme, but the catalytic efficiency (k_cat/K_m) of M179 was not different from the wild-type enzyme owing to reduced substrate affinity. Interestingly, M179 showed increased thermostability. M179 retained 36% of activity after 5 h at 45℃, whereas AprE176 retained only 11%. Molecular modeling analysis suggested that the 176^th residue of M179, threonine, was located near the cation-binding site compared with the wild type. This probably caused tight binding of M179 with Ca²⁺, whichincreased the thermostability of M179.

• 펄프종이기술
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• 제34권3호
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• pp.17-24
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• 2002

An unsteady-state moisture diffusion through cellulosic fibers in paper was characterized from the moisture sorption experiment and the mathematical modeling. The sorption experiment was conducted by exposing thin dry paper specimens to a constant temperature-humidity environment. Oven dried blotting papers and filter papers were used as test samples and the gains of their weights were constantly monitored and recorded as a function of sorption time. For a mathematical approach, the moisture transport was assumed to be an one-dimensional diffusion in thickness direction through the geometrically symmetric structure of paper. The model was asymptotically simplified with a short-term approximation. It gave us a new insight into the moisture uptake phenomena as a function of square root of sorption time. The fiber-phase moisture diffusivities(FPMD) of paper samples were then determined by correlating the experimental data with the unsteady-state diffusion model obtained. Their values were found to be on the order of magnitude of $10^{-6}-10^{-7}cm^2$/min., which were equivalent to the hypothetical effective diffusion coefficients at the limit of zero porosity. The moisture sorption curve predicted from the model fairly agreed with that obtained from the experiment at some limited initial stages of the moisture uptake process. The FPMD value of paper significantly varied depending upon the current moisture content of paper. The mean FPMD was about 0.7-0.8 times as large as the short-term approximated FPMD.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• 제13권6호
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• pp.273-277
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• 2012

The vacuum drying process for drying of paper in current transformers was modeled with an aim to develop an understanding of the drying mechanism involved and also to predict the water collection rates. A molecular as well as macroscopic approach was adopted for the prediction of drying rate. Ficks law of diffusion was adopted for the prediction of drying rates at macroscopic levels. A steady state and dynamic mass transfer simulation was performed. The bulk diffusion coefficient was calculated using weight loss experiments. The accuracy of the solution was a strong function of the relation developed to determine the equilibrium moisture content. The actually observed diffusion constant was also important to predict the plant water removal rate. Thermo gravimetric studies helped in calculating the diffusion constant. In addition, simulation studies revealed the formation of perpetual moisture traps (loops) inside the CT. These loops can only be broken by changing the temperature or pressure of the system. The change in temperature or pressure changes the kinetic or potential energy of the effusing vapor resulting in breaking of the loop. The cycle was developed based on this mechanism. Additionally, simulation studies also revealed that the actual mechanism of moisture diffusion in CT's is by surface jumps initiated by surface diffusion balanced against the surrounding pressure. Every subsequent step in the cycle was to break such loops. The effect of change in drying time on the electrical properties of the insulation was also assessed. The measurement of capacitance at the rated voltage and one third of the rated voltage demonstrated that the capacitance change is within the acceptance limit. Hence, the new cycle does not affect the electrical performance of the CT.

• 대한화장품학회지
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• 제24권3호
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• pp.6-16
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• 1998

Ceramides are currently emerging as the major skin care ingredients due to !heir barrier properties in the stratum corneum of the human skin. Thus, major cosmetic companies have developed synthetic ceramide analogs for their own use. In this study, several ceramide mimic compounds , new skin barrier lipids, were designed and synthesized, and their physical and biological properties were investigated to evaluate their skin care capability. Several structures were designed from the variation of hydrophobic alkyl chain and hydrophilic moiety by the use of molecular modeling software. The selected targets were synthesized, and their properties and activities were studied as the pure form, in the emulsion, or in the lamellar mixture containing cholesterol and fatty acid. Some compounds, such as 1,3-bis(N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-palmitoylamino)-2-hydroxypropane, enhanced the restoration of skin barrier damaged by SDS(sodium dodecyl sulfate), and by acetone treatment. The rate of restoration was comparable to that of natural ceramides. The synthesized compounds alleviated SDS induced skin irritation and facilitated lamellar phase liquid crystal formation. The treatment of 1,3-Dis(N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-palmitoylam ino)-2-hyd roxypropane on the acetone damaged skin revealed that the compound promoted the recovery of intercellular lipid lamellar structure of stratum corneum layer. The replacement of palmitoyl groups of the compound with shorter alkyl chain gave lower emulsion viscosity and liquid crystal density, suggesting easier formulation and poorer barrier activity. Most of the synthesized compounds were non-irritable in various toxicological tests proving that they can be safely introduced to the skin care formulations.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• 제42권2호
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• pp.63-70
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• 2017

Selecting an appropriate antigen with optimal immunogenicity and physicochemical properties is a pivotal factor to develop a protein based subunit vaccine. Despite rapid progress in modern molecular cloning and recombinant protein technology, there remains a huge challenge for purifying and using protein antigens rich in hydrophobic domains, such as membrane associated proteins. To overcome current limitations using hydrophobic proteins as vaccine antigens, we adopted in silico analyses which included bioinformatic prediction and sequence-based protein 3D structure modeling, to develop a novel periodontitis subunit vaccine against the outer membrane protein FomA of Fusobacterium nucleatum. To generate an optimal antigen candidate, we predicted hydrophilicity and B cell epitope parameter by querying to web-based databases, and designed a truncated FomA (tFomA) candidate with better solubility and preserved B cell epitopes. The truncated recombinant protein was engineered to expose epitopes on the surface through simulating amino acid sequence-based 3D folding in aqueous environment. The recombinant tFomA was further expressed and purified, and its immunological properties were evaluated. In the mice intranasal vaccination study, tFomA significantly induced antigen-specific IgG and sIgA responses in both systemic and oral-mucosal compartments, respectively. Our results testify that intelligent in silico designing of antigens provide amenable vaccine epitopes from hard-to-manufacture hydrophobic domain rich microbial antigens.

• BMB Reports
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• 제54권10호
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• pp.505-515
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• 2021

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) include human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) derived from blastocysts and human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) generated from somatic cell reprogramming. Due to their self-renewal ability and pluripotent differentiation potential, hPSCs serve as an excellent experimental platform for human development, disease modeling, drug screening, and cell therapy. Traditionally, hPSCs were considered to form a homogenous population. However, recent advances in single cell technologies revealed a high degree of variability between individual cells within a hPSC population. Different types of heterogeneity can arise by genetic and epigenetic abnormalities associated with long-term in vitro culture and somatic cell reprogramming. These variations initially appear in a rare population of cells. However, some cancer-related variations can confer growth advantages to the affected cells and alter cellular phenotypes, which raises significant concerns in hPSC applications. In contrast, other types of heterogeneity are related to intrinsic features of hPSCs such as asynchronous cell cycle and spatial asymmetry in cell adhesion. A growing body of evidence suggests that hPSCs exploit the intrinsic heterogeneity to produce multiple lineages during differentiation. This idea offers a new concept of pluripotency with single cell heterogeneity as an integral element. Collectively, single cell heterogeneity is Janus-faced in hPSC function and application. Harmful heterogeneity has to be minimized by improving culture conditions and screening methods. However, other heterogeneity that is integral for pluripotency can be utilized to control hPSC proliferation and differentiation.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제31권3호
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• pp.483-491
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• 2021

Two putative genes, lip29 and est29, encoding lipolytic enzymes from the thermophilic bacterium Geobacillus thermocatenulatus KCTC 3921 were cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant Lip29 and Est29 were purified 67.3-fold to homogeneity with specific activity of 2.27 U/mg and recovery of 5.8% and 14.4-fold with specific activity of 0.92 U/mg and recovery of 1.3%, respectively. The molecular mass of each purified enzyme was estimated to be 29 kDa by SDS-PAGE. The alignment analysis of amino acid sequences revealed that both enzymes belonged to GDSL lipase/esterase family including conserved blocks with SGNH catalytic residues which was mainly identified in plants before. While Est29 showed high specificity toward short-chain fatty acids (C4-C8), Lip29 showed strong lipolytic activity to long-chain fatty acids (C12-C16). The optimal activity of Lip29 toward p-nitrophenyl palmitate as a substrate was observed at 50℃ and pH 9.5, respectively, and its activity was maintained more than 24 h at optimal temperatures, indicating that Lip29 was thermostable. Lip29 exhibited high tolerance against detergents and metal ions. The homology modeling and substrate docking revealed that the long-chain substrates showed the greatest binding affinity toward enzyme. Based on the biochemical and insilico analyses, we present for the first time a GDSL-type lipase in the thermophilic bacteria group.