• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.878-895
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• 2017

Phosphorylation, a critical mechanism in biological systems, is estimated to be indispensable for about 30% of key biological activities, such as cell cycle progression, migration, and division. It is synergistically balanced by kinases and phosphatases, and any deviation from this balance leads to disease conditions. Pathway or biological activity-based abnormalities in phosphorylation and the type of involved phosphatase influence the outcome, and cause diverse diseases ranging from diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and numerous cancers. Protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) are of prime importance in the process of dephosphorylation and catalyze several biological functions. Abnormal PTP activities are reported to result in several human diseases. Consequently, there is an increased demand for potential PTP inhibitory small molecules. Several strategies in structure-based drug designing techniques for potential inhibitory small molecules of PTPs have been explored along with traditional drug designing methods in order to overcome the hurdles in PTP inhibitor discovery. In this review, we discuss druggable PTPs and structure-based virtual screening efforts for successful PTP inhibitor design.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.18-23
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• 2002

Ailanthus altissima has been used to settle an upset stomach, to alleviate a fever and as an insecticide. We reported that the water extract of A. altissima induced apoptotic cell death in Jurkat T-acute Iymphoblastic leukemia cells. Here, we showed the dose-dependent inhibitions of cell viability by the extract, as measured by cell morphology. The cell cycle control genes are considered to play important roles in tumorigenesis. The purpose of the present study is also to investigate the effect of A. altissima on cell cycle progression and its molecular mechanism in the cells. The level of p21 protein was increased after treatment of the extract, whereas both Bcl-2 and Bax protein levels were not changed. These results suggest that A. altissima induces apoptotic cell death via p21-dependent signaling pathway in Jurkat cells which delete wild type p53. Gl checkpoint related gene products tested (cyclin D3, cyclin dependent kinase 4, retinoblastoma, E2Fl) were decreased in their protein levels in a dose-dependent manner after treatment of the extract Taken together, these results indicate that the increase of apoptotic cell death by A. altissima may be due to the inhibition of cell cycle in Jurkat cells.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.357-363
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• 1986

Synthesis of threonine and methionine in yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae shares a common pathway from aspartate via homoserine. HOM6 gene encodes homoserine dehydrogenase (HSDH) which catalyzes the inter-conversion of beta-aspartate semialdehyde and homoserine. The level of HSDH is under methionine specific control. A recombinant plasmid (pEK1: 13.3kb), containing HOM6 gene, has been isolated and cloned into E. coli by complenemtary transformation of a homoserine auxotrophic yeast strain M-20-20D (hom6, trp1, ura3) to a prototrophic M20-20D/pEK1, using a library of yeast genomic DNA fragments in a yeast centromeric plasmid, YCp50(8.0kb). Isolation of HOM6has been primarily confirmed by retransformation of the original yeast strain M20-20D, using the recombinant plasmid DNA which was extracted from M20-20D/pEK1 and subsequently amplified in E. coli. Eleven cleavage sites in the insery (5.3kb) have been localized through fragment analysis for 8 restriction endonucleases; Bgl II(2 site), Bgl II(1), Cla I(3), Eco RI(1), Hind III(2), Kpn I (1), Pvu II(1) and Xho I(1).

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.21
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• pp.9259-9264
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• 2014

Background: Previous studies concerning the association between the 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T gene polymorphism with lung cancer in Asian populations have provided inconclusive findings. Aim: A meta-analysis was performed to investigate a more reliable association between MTHFR C677T polymorphism and lung cancer in Asians. Materials and Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted to identify all case-control studies of MTHFR polymorphisms and lung cancer in Asia, using odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to assess the strength of any association. Results: Meta-analysis results suggested that the MTHFR C677T polymorphism contributed to an increased lung cancer risk in Asian populations (for T vs C: OR=1.11, 95%CI=1.0-1.23; for CT vs CC: OR= 1.1, 95%CI= 0.95-1.2 ; for TT+CT vs CC: OR=1.13, 95%CI=1.0-1.30; for TT vs CC: OR=1.25, 95%CI=1.01-1.30; for TT vs CT+CC: OR=1.16, 95%CI=1.0-1.36). Conclusions: MTHFR C677T polymorphism is significantly associated with lung cancer in Asians.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.1731-1735
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• 2013

Objective: We aimed to identify key genes, pathways and function modules in the development of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) with microarray data and interaction network analysis. Methods: Microarray data sets for 7 DLBCL samples and 7 normal controls was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified with Student's t-test. KEGG functional enrichment analysis was performed to uncover their biological functions. Three global networks were established for immune system, signaling molecules and interactions and cancer genes. The DEGs were compared with the networks to observe their distributions and determine important key genes, pathways and modules. Results: A total of 945 DEGs were obtained, 272 up-regulated and 673 down-regulated. KEGG analysis revealed that two groups of pathways were significantly enriched: immune function and signaling molecules and interactions. Following interaction network analysis further confirmed the association of DEGs in immune system, signaling molecules and interactions and cancer genes. Conclusions: Our study could systemically characterize gene expression changes in DLBCL with microarray technology. A range of key genes, pathways and function modules were revealed. Utility in diagnosis and treatment may be expected with further focused research.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.28 no.7
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• pp.1109-1113
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• 2007

Acetohydroxyacid synthase (AHAS, EC 2. 2. 1. 6) is the enzyme that catalyses the first step in the common pathway of the biosynthesis of the branched chain amino acids, valine, leucine and isoleucine. For the first time, the AHAS gene from Bacillus anthracis was cloned into the expression vector pET28a(+), and was expressed in the E. coli strain BL21(DE3). The purified enzyme was checked on 12% SDS-PAGE to be a single band with molecular weight of 65 kDa. The optimum pH and temperature for B. anthracis AHAS was at pH 7.5 and 37 oC, respectively. Kinetic parameters of B. anthracis were as follows: Km for pyruvate, K0.5 for ThDP and Mg2+ was 4.8, 0.28 and 1.16 mM respectively. AHAS from B. anthracis showed strong resistance to three classes of herbicides, Londax (a sulfonylurea), Cadre (an imidazolinone), and TP (a triazolopyrimidine). These results indicated that these herbicides could be used in the search for new anti-bacterial drugs.

• BMB Reports
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.87-93
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• 2002

Neural cell survival is an essential concern in the aging brain and many diseases of the central nervous system. Neural transplantation of the stem cells are already applied to clinical trials for many degenerative neurological diseases, including Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, and strokes. A critical problem of the neural transplantation is how to reduce their apoptosis and improve cell survival. Neurotrophic factors generally contribute as extrinsic cues to promote cell survival of specific neurons in the developing mammalian brains, but the survival factor for neural stem cell is poorly defined. To understand the mechanism controlling stem cell death and improve cell survival of the transplanted stem cells, we investigated the effect of plausible neurotrophic factors on stem cell survival. The neural stem cell, HiB5, when treated with PDGF prior to transplantation, survived better than cells without PDGF. The resulting survival rate was two fold for four weeks and up to three fold for twelve weeks. When transplanted into dorsal hippocampus, they migrated along hippocampal alveus and integrated into pyramidal cell layers and dentate granule cell layers in an inside out sequence, which is perhaps the endogenous pathway that is similar to that in embryonic neurogenesis. Promotion of the long term-survival and differentiation of the transplanted neural precursors by PDGF may facilitate regeneration in the aging adult brain and probably in the injury sites of the brain.

• BMB Reports
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.28-32
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• 1999

Annexin I (also called lipocortin 1), a 37-kDa member of the annexin family of proteins, has been implicated in the mitogenic signal transduction by epidermal growth factor (EGF). Annexin I is phosphorylated by the EGF signal, however, the role of annexin I in the EGF signal transduction is still unknown. To transduce extracellular signals into the intracellular targets, selective translocation of the signaling molecules to their targets would be necessary. In this study, we examined the subcellular locations of annexin I during EGF signal transduction. Treatment of A549 cells with EGF resulted in the translocation of cytoplasmic annexin I to the nucleus and perinuclear region as determined by Western blot and immunofluorescent staining. The nuclear translocation of annexin I was inhibited by tyrphostin AG 1478 and genistein, the inhibitors of EGF receptor kinase and downstream tyrosine kineses, respectively. Pretreatment of cells with cyclohexamide did not inhibit the nuclear translocation. The results suggest that nuclear translocation of annexin I is controlled by a series of kinase dependent events in the EGF receptor signaling pathway and may be important in tranducing the signals by EGF.

• BMB Reports
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.202-207
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• 2000

The depletion of intracellular calcium stores by thapsigargin treatment evoked extracellular calcium-dependent membrane currents in Xenopus laevis oocytes. These currents have been compared to those evoked by microinjection of a calcium influx factor (CIF) purified from Jurkat T lymphocytes. The membrane currents elicited by thapsigargin treatment (peak current, $163{\pm}60$ nA) or CIF injection (peak current, $897{\pm}188$ nA) were both dependent on calcium entry, based on their eradication by the removal of extracellular calcium. The currents were, in both cases, attributed primarily to well-characterized $Ca^{2+}-dependent$ $Cl^-$ currents, based on their similar reversal potentials (-24 mV vs. -28 mV) and their inhibition by niflumic acid (a $Cl^-$ channel blocker). Currents induced by either thapsigargin treatment or CIF injection exhibited an identical pattern of inhibitory sensitivity to a panel of lanthanides, suggesting that thapsigargin treatment or CIF injection evoked $Cl^-$ currents by stimulating calcium influx through pharmacologically identical calcium channels. These results indicate that CIF acts on the same calcium entry pathway activated by the depletion of calcium stores and most lanthanides are novel pharmacological tools for the study of calcium entry in Xenopus oocytes.

• BMB Reports
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• v.48 no.9
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• pp.487-488
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• 2015

The ubiquitin-proteasome system and the autophagy lysosome system are the two major protein degradation machineries in eukaryotic cells. These two systems coordinate the removal of unwanted intracellular materials, but the mechanism by which they achieve this synchronization is largely unknown. The ubiquitination of substrates serves as a universal degradation signal for both systems. Our study revealed that the amino-terminal Arg, a canonical N-degron in the ubiquitin-proteasome system, also acts as a degradation signal in autophagy. We showed that many ER residents, such as BiP, contain evolutionally conserved arginylation permissive pro-N-degrons, and that certain inducers like dsDNA or proteasome inhibitors cause their translocation into the cytoplasm where they bind misfolded proteins and undergo amino-terminal arginylation by arginyl transferase 1 (ATE1). The amino-terminal Arg of BiP binds p62, which triggers p62 oligomerization and enhances p62-LC3 interaction, thereby stimulating autophagic delivery and degradation of misfolded proteins, promoting cell survival. This study reveals a novel ubiquitin-independent mechanism for the selective autophagy pathway, and provides an insight into how these two major protein degradation pathways communicate in cells to dispose the unwanted proteins. [BMB Reports 2015; 48(9): 487-488]