• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.1755-1760
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• 2008

Energy minimization and conformational studies of molecular ions generated by ESI (electrospray ionization) tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) can be used for the discrimination of stereoisomeric permethylated and sodium cationized trisaccharides. Sets of fucose-containing trisaccharides having different internal and terminal linkages have been synthesized to analyze the reducing terminal linkage positions using BT and IT fusion approaches. A detailed investigation has been undertaken on the conformational behaviors of four trisaccharide fragments from human milk and blood group determinants of Type 1 and Type 2, namely Fuc($\alpha$1- 3)Gal($\beta$1-3)GalNAc and Fuc($\alpha$1-3)Gal($\beta$1-X)GlcNAc where X = 3, 4 and 6 using molecular modeling methods. Three dimensional rigid and adiabatic phi-psi-energy maps (Surfer program) describing the energy as a function of rotation around corresponding glycosidic linkages were calculated by SYBYL molecular modeling and MM4 force field programs conjunction with cleavage energies of ESI MS/MS for the side group orientations. This approach predicted conformational behaviors exhibited by isomer saccharides for future applications on biologically active glycoconjugates and to exploit a faster method of synthesizing a series of structural isomeric oligosaccharides.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.89-96
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• 2023

Uric acid produced by guanine deaminase (GDA) is involved in photoaging and hyperpigmentation. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by uric acid plays a role in photoaging. However, the mechanism by which uric acid stimulates melanogenesis in GDA-overexpressing keratinocytes is unclear. Keratinocyte-derived paracrine factors have been identified as important mechanisms of ultraviolet-induced melanogenesis. Therefore, the role of paracrine melanogenic growth factors in GDA-induced hypermelanosis mediated by uric acid was examined. The relationships between ROS and these growth factors were examined. Primary cultured normal keratinocytes overexpressed with wild type or mutant GDA and those treated with xanthine or uric acid in the presence or absence of allopurinol, H₂O₂, or N-acetylcysteine (NAC) were used in this study. Intracellular and extracellular bFGF and SCF levels were increased in keratinocytes by wild type, but not by loss-of-function mutants of GDA overexpression. Culture supernatants from GDA-overexpressing keratinocytes stimulated melanogenesis, which was restored by anti-bFGF and anti-SCF antibodies. Allopurinol treatment reduced the expression levels of bFGF and SCF in both GDA-overexpressing and normal keratinocytes exposed to exogenous xanthine; the exogenous uric acid increased their expression levels. H₂O₂-stimulated tyrosinase expression and melanogenesis were restored by NAC pretreatment. However, H₂O₂ or NAC did not upregulate or downregulate bFGF or SCF, respectively. Overall, uric acid could be involved in melanogenesis induced by GDA overexpression in keratinocytes via bFGF and SCF upregulation not via ROS generation.

• Kyungpook Mathematical Journal
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.175-181
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• 1975

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.307-311
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• 2000

Abstract Extracellular chitinase was purified from the culture liquid of the marine bacterium, Bacillus sp. LJ-25 , and its enzymatic properties were examined. The purified chitinase exhibited a single band on SDS-PAGE and the molecular weight was estimated to be approximately 50 kDa. The optimum pH and temperature for the enzymatic activity were 7.0 and $35^{\circ}C$, respectively. The activity of the chitinase was strongly inhibited by $Zn^{2+}$ and slightly inhibited by $Ba^{2+},{\;}Co^{2+},{\;}Mn^{2+},{\;}and{\;}Cu^{2+}$. The purified chitinase did not hydrolyze $p-nitrophenolN-acetyl-{\bata}-D-glucosaminide{\;}(GlcNAc)_2$ and Micrococcus lysodeikticus cells, which are known to be the substrates for exo-type chitinase. Among the hydrolyzates of colloidal chitin, $(GlcNAc)_2$ was in the highest concentration with small amounts of GlcNAc and $(GlcNAc)_3$..

• Journal of mucopolysaccharidosis and rare diseases
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.13-16
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• 2016

Mucolipidosis (ML) II/III are autosomal recessive diseases caused by deficiency of post-translational modification of lysosomal enzymes. The mannose-6-phosphate (M6P) residue in lysosomal enzymes synthesized by N-acetylglucosamine 1-phosphotransferase (GlcNAc-phosphotransferase) serves as recognition marker for trafficking in lysosomes. GlcNAc-phosphotransferase is encoded by GNPTAB and GNPTG. Mutations in GNPTAB cause severe ML II alpha/beta and the attenuated ML III alpha/beta. Whereas mutations in GNPTG cause the ML III gamma, the attenuated type of ML III variant. For the diagnostic approaches, increased urinary oligosaccharides excretion could be a screening test in clinically suspicious patients. To confirm the diagnosis, instead of measuring the activity of GlcNAc phosphotransferase, measuring the enzymatic activities of different lysosomal hydrolases are useful for diagnosis. The activities of several lysosomal hydrolases are decreased in fibroblasts but increased in serum of the patients. In addition, the sequence analysis of causative gene is warranted. Therefore, the confirmatory diagnosis requires a combination of clinical evaluation, biochemical and molecular genetic testing. ML II/III show complex disease manifestations with lysosomal storage as the prime cellular defect that initiates consequential organic dysfunctions. As there are no specific therapy for ML to date, understanding the molecular pathogenesis can contribute to develop new therapeutic approaches ultimately.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.99-107
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• 2021

Objectives: To compare and evaluate the degree of abrasion of the denture base resin according to the type of denture cleansers. Methods: Denture base resin specimens were prepared and dried. The resin specimens were installed in the automatic brushing machine so that the toothbrush weighed 200 g. The brushing was performed 1,000 times each, a total of 10,000 times using (1) distilled water (DW), (2) non-abrasive cleanser (NAC), and (3) toothpaste (TP), respectively. Thirty specimens were allocated for each group. The thickness of abrasion by brushing was calculated by converting the weight of the specimen. Results: In all DW, NAC, and TP groups, significant differences were found in the average amount of abrasion of the resin specimen due to 1,000 to 10,000 brushings (p<0.001). The average abrasion amount of the resin specimen due to brushing 10,000 times was 2.31±1.20 ㎛ in DW group, 2.52±0.25 ㎛ in NAC group, 6.50±0.60 ㎛ in TP group, and the amount of abrasion in the TP group was statistically significant compared to other groups (p<0.001). Conclusions: The use of TP is not recommended as a method for maintaining the longevity of dentures and for oral health, and NAC was considered to be possible to be used as a denture cleanser because it had a similar amount of abrasion of that of DW.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.163-172
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• 2023

Background: Synaptic plasticity contributes to nociceptive signal transmission and modulation, with calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMK II) playing a fundamental role in neural plasticity. This research was conducted to investigate the role of CaMK II in the transmission and regulation of nociceptive information within the nucleus accumbens (NAc) of naïve and morphine-tolerant rats. Methods: Randall Selitto and hot-plate tests were utilized to measure the hindpaw withdrawal latencies (HWLs) in response to noxious mechanical and thermal stimuli. To induce chronic morphine tolerance, rats received intraperitoneal morphine injection twice per day for seven days. CaMK II expression and activity were assessed using western blotting. Results: Intra-NAc microinjection of autocamtide-2-related inhibitory peptide (AIP) induced an increase in HWLs in naïve rats in response to noxious thermal and mechanical stimuli. Moreover, the expression of the phosphorylated CaMK II (p-CaMK II) was significantly decreased as determined by western blotting. Chronic intraperitoneal injection of morphine resulted in significant morphine tolerance in rats on Day 7, and an increase of p-CaMK II expression in NAc in morphine-tolerant rats was observed. Furthermore, intra-NAc administration of AIP elicited significant antinociceptive responses in morphine-tolerant rats. In addition, compared with naïve rats, AIP induced stronger thermal antinociceptive effects of the same dose in rats exhibiting morphine tolerance. Conclusions: This study shows that CaMK II in the NAc is involved in the transmission and regulation of nociception in naïve and morphine-tolerant rats.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.567-573
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• 1996

Chitinase (EC 3.2.1.14) from culture fluid of Bacillus licheniformis KFB-C14 was purified 66-folds to homogenity in overall yield of 21% by ammonium sulfate fractionation, DEAE-Toyopearl, Butyl-Toyopearl and TSK-Gel HW-55F column chromatography. The enzyme protein had a molecular weight of about 86,000 and was composed of one subunit. The enzyme was significantly stable not only at high temperature but also on treatment with organic solvents and protein denaturants such as SDS, urea and guanidine-HC1. The optimum temperature and pH for reaction was 60$\circ $C and 6.0, respectively. The enzyme activity was inhibited by only Mn$^{2+}$ ion, but not inhibited by EDTA, N- ethylmaleimide and pCMB. The enzyme had high activity with colloidal chitin (V$_{max}$: 421) and commercial chitin (V$_{max}$: 480), but not with typical substrates of exo type chitinase. The thermostable chitinase had an useful reactivity for producing functional chitooligosaccharide, showing the production of (GlcNAc)$_{1}, (GlcNAc)$_{3}$, and (GlcNAc)$_{2}$ as major product.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Intelligent Systems
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.519-524
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• 2009

Recently, reinforcement learning methods have drawn much interests in the area of machine learning. Dominant approaches in researches for the reinforcement learning include the value-function approach, the policy search approach, and the actor-critic approach, among which pertinent to this paper are algorithms studied for problems with continuous states and continuous actions along the line of the actor-critic strategy. In particular, this paper focuses on presenting a method combining the so-called ACFRL(actor-critic fuzzy reinforcement learning), which is an actor-critic type reinforcement learning based on fuzzy theory, together with the RLS-NAC which is based on the RLS filters and natural actor-critic methods. The presented method is applied to a control problem for crawling robots, and some results are reported from comparison of learning performance.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Life Science Conference
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• 2002.12a
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• pp.13-19
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• 2002

To elucidate the regulatory mechanism for expression of sialyl-glycoconjugates and their biological functions, ninetheen sialyltransferase cDNAs including eleven by our group or co-works have been cloned and characterized so far. The cloned sialyltransferases are classified into four families according to the carbohydrate linkages they synthesize: ${\alpha}2,3-sialyltransferase$ (ST3Gal I-VI), ${\alpha}$ 2,6-sialyltransferase (ST6Gal I), GalNAc ${\alpha}$ 2,6-sialyltransferase (ST6GalNAc I-VI), and ${\alpha}2,8-sialyltransferase$ (ST8Sia I-VI). Each of the sialyltransferase genes is differentially expressed in a tissue-, cell type-, and stage-specific manner. These enzymes differ in their substrate specificity and various biochemical parameters. However, enzymatic analysis conducted in vitro with recombinant enzyme revealed that one linkage can be synthesized by multiple enzymes. We present here an overview of structure and function of sialyltransferases performed by our group and co-works. Genomic structures and transcriptional regulation of two kinds of human sialyltransferase gene are also presented.