• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.171-174
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• 2007

Neuronal death is a common characteristic hallmark of a variety of neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. However, there have been no effective drugs to successfully prevent neuronal death in those diseases, whereas oriental medicinal plants have to possess valuable therapeutic potentials to treat neurodegenerative diseases. In the present study, in an attempt to provide neuroprotective agents from natural plants, 80% methanol extracts of a wide range of medicinal plants, which are native to Jeju Island in Korea, were prepared and their protective effects on hydrogen peroxide-induced apoptotic cell death were examined. Among those tested, extracts from Smilax china and Saururus chinesis significantly decreased hydrogen peroxide-induced apoptotic cell death. The extracts attenuated hydrogen peroxide($H_2O_2$)-induced caspase-3 activation in a dose-dependent manner. Further, plant extracts restored $H_2O_2$-induced depletion of intracellular glutathione, a major endogenous antioxidant. The data suggest that Jeju native medicinal plants could potentially be used as therapeutic agents for treating or preventing neurodegenerative diseases in which oxidative stress is implicated.

• BMB Reports
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.35-40
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• 2008

The molten globular conformation of V26A ubiquitin (valine to alanine mutation at residue 26) was studied by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in conjunction with amide hydrogen/deuterium exchange. Most of the amide protons that are involved in the native secondary structures were observed to be protected in the molten globule state with the protection factors from 1.2 to 6.7. These protection factors are about 2 to 6 orders of magnitude smaller than those of the native state. These observations indicate that V26A molten globule has native-like backbone structure with marginal stability. The comparison of amide protection factors of V26A ubiquitin molten globule state with those of initial collapsed state of the wild type ubiquitin suggests that V26A ubiquitin molten globule state is located close to unfolded state in the folding reaction coordinate. It is considered that V26A ubiquitin molten globule is useful model to study early events in protein folding reaction.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.313-331
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• 2022

Natural or native abiotic molecular hydrogen (H₂) is a major component in natural gas, however yet its importance in the global energy sector's usage as clean and renewable energy is underestimated. Here we review the occurrence and geological settings of native hydrogen to demonstrate the much widesprease H₂ occurrence in nature by comparison with previous estimations. Three main types of source rocks have been identified: (1) ultramafic rocks; (2) cratons comprising iron (Fe²⁺)-rich rocks; and (3) uranium-rich rocks. The rocks are closely associated with Precambrian crystalline basement and serpentinized ultramafic rocks from ophiolite and peridotite either at mid-ocean ridges or within continental margin(Zgonnik, 2020). Inorganic geological processes producing H₂ in the source rocks include (a) the reduction of water during the oxidation of Fe²⁺ in minerals (e.g., olivine), (b) water splitting due to radioactive decay, (c) degassing of magma at low pressure, and (d) the reaction of water with surface radicals during mechanical breaking (e.g., fault) of silicate rocks. Native hydrogen are found as a free gas (51%), fluid inclusions in various rock types (29%), and dissolved gas in underground water (20%) (Zgonnik, 2020). Although research on H₂ has not yet been carried out in Korea, the potential H₂ reservoirs in the Gyeongsang Basin are highly probable based on geological and geochemical characteristics including occurrence of ultramafic rocks, inter-bedded basaltic layers and iron-copper deposits within thick sedimentary basin and igneous activities at an active continental margin during the Permian-Paleogene. The native hydrogen is expected to be clean and renewable energy source in the near future. Therefore it is clear that the origin and exploration of the native hydrogen, not yet been revealed by an integrated studies of rock-fluid interaction studies, are a field of special interest, regardless of the presence of economic native hydrogen reservoirs in Korea.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.741-748
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• 2008

We have studied the folding mechanism of $\beta$ -hairpins in the proteins 1GB1, 3AIT and 1A2P by conducting unfolding simulations at moderately high temperatures. The analysis of trajectories obtained from molecular dynamics simulations in explicit aqueous solution suggests that the positions of the hydrophobic core residues lead to subtle differences in the details of folding dynamics. However, the folding of three different hairpins can be explained by a unified mechanism that is a blend of the hydrogen-bond-centric and the hydrophobiccentric models. The initial stage of $\beta$-hairpin folding involves various partially folded intermediate structures which are stabilized by both the van der Waals interactions of hydrophobic core residues and the electrostatic interactions of non-native hydrogen bonds. The native structure is obtained by forming native contacts in the final tune-up process. Depending on the relative positions of the hydrophobic residues, the actual mechanism of hairpi n folding may or may not exhibit well-defined intermediates.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.782-788
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• 2016

To check the possibility of using natural extracts for cosmetic substances, we tested the bioactive effects of 11 crude extracts originating from native plants grown in the Republic of Korea on anti-oxidant and anti-wrinkle activities. When DPPH scavenging activities were measured, the crude extracts of Vitex rotundifolia, Scirpus triangulatus, S. wichurae, S. tabernaemontani, and Aeschynomene indica assays had more than 70% of DPPH scavenging activities at 100 μg/ml concentration. The data from the hydrogen peroxide scavenging assay revealed that the crude extracts from the 10 species, except for Eleocharis mamillata var. cyclocarpa, could scavenge more than 90% at 1,000 μg/ml concentration. The crude extract of V. rotundifolia had the highest xanthine oxidase scavenging activity at a 1,000 μg/ml concentration. Based on the four anti-oxidant assays, the crude extracts of V. rotundifolia, S. triangulatus, S. wichurae, S. tabernaemontani, and A. indica were shown to have excellent anti-oxidant capacities overall. In addition to the anti-oxidant capacities, the crude extract from S. wichurae exhibited high collagenase inhibitory activity, therefore, it could be a promising candidate for a cosmetic ingredient with anti-oxidant and anti-wrinkle qualities. The results of this study indicate that many wild plants native to the Korea Peninsula can be used as excellent natural substances for cosmetics based on their bioactive effects.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.243-248
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• 2017

Antioxidants have been added to cryoprotectant or in vitro culture medium for sperm to reduce the detrimental damage, such as reactive oxygen species. However, curcumin, an antioxidant, shows dual effect on the viability and progressive motility of bovine sperm exposed to hydrogen peroxide. Low concentration of curcumin increases sperm viability and progressive motility, whereas high concentration of curcumin reduces them. This study was performed to identify whether TREK-1 channel is related to low sperm viability and motility induced by high concentration of curcumin. Curcumin reduced TREK-1 channel activity in a dose-dependent manner. TREK-1 channel was expressed in sperm obtained from Korean native bull. Treatment with TREK-1 channel blockers, such as curcumin, fluoxetine, $GdCl_3$, and spadin, significantly reduced sperm viability and motility (p < 0.05). However, TREK-1 channel activators showed different effect; linoleic acid showed an increase in sperm viability and motility, and wogonin did not affect them. These results show that TREK-1 channel is involved in the regulation of sperm viability and motility. In particular, high concentration of curcumin might reduce sperm viability and progressive motility of Korean native bull through blockage of TREK-1 channel.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.206-216
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• 2006

In this study, we have attempted to characterize the functions of YlaC and YlaD encoded by ylaC and ylaD genes in Bacillus subtilis. The GUS reporter gene, driven by the yla operon promoter, was expressed primarily during the late exponential and early stationary phase, and its expression increased as the result of hydrogen peroxide treatment. Northern and Western blot analyses revealed that the level of ylaC transcripts and YlaC increased as the result of challenge with hydrogen peroxide. A YlaC-overexpressing strain evidenced hydrogen peroxide resistance and a three-fold higher peroxidase activity as compared with a deletion mutant. YlaC-overexpressing and YlaD-disrupted strains evidenced higher sporulation rates than were observed in the YlaC-disrupted and YlaD-overexpressing strains. Analyses of the results of native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of recombinant YlaC and YlaD indicated that interaction between YlaC and YlaD was regulated by the redox state of YlaD in vitro. Collectively, the results of this study appear to suggest that YlaC regulated by the YlaD redox state, contribute to oxidative stress resistance in B. subtilis.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.158-164
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• 1998

Crystal structural analyses of the API-TLCK complex revealed that the ${\epsilon}$-amino group (NZ) of the lysyl part of TLCK forms hydrogen bonds with OD1 of $Asp^225$ which is a substrate specificity determinant of API, OG of $Ser^214$, O of $Ser^214$, OG1 of $Thr^189$, and O of $Thr^189$ l89/. The ${\beta}$-carboxyl oxygen of $Asp^225$ forms hydrogen bonds with the NE1 of $Trp^182$. From these observations, it is thought that besides $Asp^225$, $Thr^189$, $Ser^214$, and $Trp^182$ may also contribute to the steric specificity for lysine and high proteolytic activity of API. The side-chain hydroxyl groups of $Thr^189$ and $Ser^214$ were removed to elucidate the role of these hydrogen bonds in the $S_1$-pocket. The $k_{cat}$/$K_m$ of T189V, S214A, and T189V.S214A were decreased to 1/4, 1/3, and 1/46, respectively, of the value for native API. The decreased activities were mainly due to the increase of $K_m$. The CD and fluoroscence spectra of the three mutants were similar to those of wild-type API. With regards to the kinetic parameters ($K_i\;and\;k_2$) of mutants for the reaction involving TLCK and DFP, $k_2$decreased by increase of $K_1$ only. These results suggest that the decreased catalytic activity of these mutants is caused by the partial loss of the hydrogen bond network in the $S_1$-pocket. On the other hand, the similarity of enzymatic properties between W182F and the native enzyme suggests that the hydrogen bond between OD2 of $Asp^225$ and NE1 of $Trp^182$ is not directly related to the reaction of $Asp^225$ with the substrate.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.370-378
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• 2007

A superoxide dismutase was purified 62-fold in seven steps to homogeneity from Methylobacillus sp. strain SK1, an obligate methanol-oxidizing bacterium, with a yield of 9.6%. The final specific activity was 4,831 units per milligram protein as determined by an assay based on a 50% decrease in the rate of cytochrome c reduction. The molecular weight of the native enzyme was estimated to be 44,000. Sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis revealed two identical subunits of molecular weight 23,100. The isoelectric point of the purified enzyme was found to be 4.4. Maximum activity of the enzyme was measured at pH 8. The enzyme was stable at pH range from 6 to 8 and at high temperature. The enzyme showed an absorption peak at 280 nm with a shoulder at 292 nm. Hydrogen peroxide and sodium azide, but not sodium cyanide, was found to inhibit the purified enzyme. The enzyme activity in cell-free extracts prepared from cells grown in manganese-rich medium, however, was not inhibited by hydrogen peroxide but inhibited by sodium azide. The activity in cell extracts from cells grown in iron-rich medium was found to be highly sensitive to hydrogen peroxide and sodium azide. One mol of native enzyme was found to contain 1.1 g-atom of iron and 0.7 g-atom of manganese. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the purified enzyme was Ala-Tyr-Thr-Leu-Pro-Pro-Leu-Asn-Tyr-Ala-Tyr. The superoxide dismutase of Methylobacillus sp. strain SK1 was found to have antigenic sites identical to those of Methylobacillus glycogenes enzyme. The enzyme, however, shared no antigenic sites with Mycobacterium sp. strain JC1, Methylovorus sp. strain SS1, Methylobacterium sp. strain SY1, and Methylosinus trichosproium enzymes.

• Journal of Institute of Convergence Technology
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.33-36
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• 2011

Ionic liquids based on formate and hydrogen carbonate anions were synthesized for use as solvents for the effective dissolution of cellulose and the regenerated cellulose was in the native lattice.