• BMB Reports
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.407-413
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• 2005

Calcium and zinc binding protein, calprotectin is a multifunctional protein with broad spectrum antimicrobial and antitumoural activity. It was purified from human neutrophil, using a two-step ion exchange chromatography. Since surface hydrophobicity of calprotectin may be important in membrane anchoring, membrane penetration, subunits oligomerization and some biological roles of protein, in this study attempted to explore the effect of calcium in physiological range on the calprotectin lipophilicity. Incubation of human calprotectin ($50\;{\mu}g/ml$) with different calcium concentrations showed that 1-anilino-8-naphthalene sulfonic acid (ANS) fluorescence intensity of the protein significantly elevates with calcium in a dose dependent manner, suggesting an increase in calprotectin surface hydrophobicity upon calcium binding. Our study also indicates that calcium at higher concentrations (6, 8 and 10 mM) induces aggregation of human calprotectin. Our finding demonstrates that the starting time and the rate constant of calprotectin aggregation depend on the calcium concentration.

• BMB Reports
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.329-333
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• 2001

Active lipoprotein lipase (LPL) is known as a noncovalent homodimer of identical subunits, and dissociation of the dimer to a monomeric form renders the lipase inactive. In this study, the oligomerization status of LPL in human and rat plasma was investigated. The LPL activity was barely detectable in the control rat and human plasma. After the injection of heparin, the total lipolytic activity of plasma was rapidly increased, and reached its maximum in 30 min. Changes of the LPL protein correlated well with those of lipolytic activity. The LPL protein that is released by heparin into both human and rat plasma was active and dimeric in the sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation. In control rat plasma, LPL was inactive, and a great fraction was present as an aggregate. However, the inactive LPL protein in the control human plasma retained the dimeric state, indicating that dimerization can be an entity independent of the catalytic activity of LPL. The released LPL is transported as a complex with lipoproteins in plasma. Lipoprotein profiles, determined by NaBr ultracentrifugation, exhibited typical LDL- and HDL-mammal patterns in humans and rats, respectively, with a smaller amount of the LDL fraction observed in rats. The difference in the lipoprotein profiles might influence the fate of the released LPL in plasma.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.975-978
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• 2012

P63 is a gene product required in cell cycle regulation which plays vital roles in tumor differentiation. Aims of the present study were to assess the frequency, pattern, sensitivity and specificity of two p63 protein clones P63 4A4 and P63 4A4+Y4A3 in squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs). Thirty cases of head and neck region SCC diagnosed on the basis of H&E staining were examined along with 60 cases of head and neck region biopsies other than squamous cell carcinoma, negative on H&E staining, were taken as control. Immunostaining was performed on slides according to the Thermo Scientific UltraVision LP detection System. P63 4A4+Y4A3 clone is more sensitive 96.6% in comparison to 86% in P63 4A4 with having greater NPV of 98.3%. The results signify the importance of P63 4A4+Y4A3 marker over the old markers and may be used as a confirmatory marker of squamous cell carcinoma.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.121-127
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• 1968

In the oligomerization of p-aminophenol under the catalytic action of the metallic complexes, the effects of the ligands are studied. When the initial velocity of $O_2$ uptake at pH 8 using Fe(Ⅲ) as the central metal and N-hydroxylethylethylenediaminetriacetic acid (HEDTA), ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA), 1,2-cyclohexanediaminetetraacetic acid(CyDTA) as the ligands respectively are compared, the velocities are as the following order: HEDTA > EDTA > DTPA > CyDTA. Further when the effect of the ligands, nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA), HEDTA, EDTA, and DTPA, on the yields of oligomers are compared, the result shows as the following order: NTA > HEDTA > EDTA > DTPA. These are nearly reverse order of the stability constants of the complexes. In order to determine the composition of the mixed complexes at the initial step, the method of continuous variation is used, and it is found that the composition ratio of Fe-EDTA complex to monomer in the mixed complexes is one at pH 5-8 range. It is also found that at pH 9 or in the more alkaline range, side reactions occur to form water soluble dimer of quinone type and the catalytic action of the metallic complex markedly decreases on account of the hydrolysis of the central metal by the $OH^-$ ion.

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

• BMB Reports
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• v.47 no.7
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• pp.393-398
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• 2014

The role of Bax inhibitor-1 (BI-1) in the protective mechanism against apoptotic stimuli has been studied; however, as little is known about its role in death receptor-mediated cell death, this study was designed to investigate the effect of BI-1 on Fas-induced cell death, and the underlying mechanisms. HT1080 adenocarcinoma cells were cultured in high concentration of glucose media and transfected with vector alone (Neo cells) or BI-1-vector (BI-1 cells), and treated with Fas. In cell viability, apoptosis, and caspase-3 analyses, the BI-1 cells showed enhanced sensitivity to Fas. Fas significantly decreased cytosolic pH in BI-1 cells, compared with Neo cells, and this decrease correlated with BI-1 oligomerization, mitochondrial $Ca^{2+}$ accumulation, and significant inhibition of sodium-hydrogen exchanger (NHE) activity. Compared with Neo cells, a single treatment of BI-1 cells with the NHE inhibitor EIPA or siRNA against NHE significantly increased cell death, which suggests that the viability of BI-1 cells is affected by the maintenance of intracellular pH homeostasis through NHE.

• Proceedings of the Korean Magnetic Resonance Society Conference
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• 2002.08a
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• pp.90-90
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• 2002

Syndecans, transmembrane heparan sulfate proteoglycans, are coreceptors with integrin in cell adhesion process. It forms a ternary signaling complex with protein kinase C and phosphatidylinositol 4,5 bisphosphate (PIP2) for integrin signaling. NMR data indicates that cytoplasmic domain of syndecan-4 (4L) undergoes a conformational transition in the presence of PIP2, forming oligomeric conformation. The structure based on NMR data demonstrated that syndecan-4L itself forms a compact intertwined symmetric dimer with an unusual clamp shape for residues Leu$^{186}$ -Ala$^{195}$ . The molecular surface of the syndecan-4L dimer is highly positively charged. In addition, no inter-subunit NOEs in membrane proximal amino acid resides (Cl region) has been observed, demonstrating that the Cl region is mostly unstructured in syndecan-4L dimmer. However, the complex structure in the presence of PIP2 induced a high order multimeric conformation in solution. In addition, phosphorylation of cytoplasmic domain induces conformational change of syndecan-4, resulting inhibition of PKC signaling. The NMR structural data strongly suggest that PIP2 promotes oligomerization of syndecan-4 cytoplasmic domain for PKC activation and further induces structural reorganization of syndecan for mediating signaling network in cell adhesion procedure.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.519-524
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• 2014

We have previously shown that 2,4,3',5'-tetramethoxystilbene (TMS), a trans-stilbene analogue, induces apoptosis in human cancer cells. However, the detailed mechanisms of mitochondria-dependent apoptosis induced by TMS are not fully understood. In the present study, the possible roles of annexin A5 in TMS-mediated apoptosis were investigated in MCF7 human breast cancer cells. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis and Western blot analysis showed that the expression of annexin A5 was strongly increased in TMS-treated cells. TMS caused a strong translocation of annexin A5 from cytosol into mitochondria. Confocal laser scanning microscopic analysis clearly showed that TMS induced translocation of annexin A5 into mitochondria. TMS increased the expression and oligomerization of voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) 1, which may promote mitochondria-dependent apoptosis through disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential. When cells were treated with TMS, the levels of Bax, and Bak as well as annexin A5 were strongly enhanced. Moreover, we found that the cytosolic release of apoptogenic factors such as cytochrome c, or apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) in mitochondria was markedly increased. Annexin A5 depletion by siRNA led to decreased proapoptotic factors such as Bax, Bak, and annexin A5. Taken together, our results indicate that annexin A5 may play an important role in TMS-mediated mitochondrial apoptosis through the regulation of proapoptotic proteins and VDAC1 expression.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.173-182
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• 2012

The p53 protein plays a pivotal role in tumor suppression. The cellular level of p53 is normally kept low by proteasome-mediated degradation, allowing cell cycle progression and cell proliferation. Under stress conditions, such as DNA damage, p53 is stabilized and activated through various post-translational modifications of itself as well as of its regulatory proteins for induction of the downstream genes responsible for cell cycle arrest, DNA repair, and apoptosis. Therefore, the level of p53 should be tightly regulated for normal cell growth and for prevention of the accumulation of mutations in DNA under stress conditions, which otherwise would lead to tumorigenesis. Since the discovery of Mdm2, a critical ubiquitin E3 ligase that destabilizes p53 in mammalian cells, nearly 20 different E3 ligases have been identified and shown to function in the control of stability, nuclear export, translocation to chromatin or nuclear foci, and oligomerization of p53. So far, a large number of excellent reviews have been published on the control of p53 function in various aspects. Therefore, this review will focus only on mammalian ubiquitin E3 ligases that mediate proteasome-dependent degradation of p53.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.334-340
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• 2018

The cytoplasmic elicitor, nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich repeat containing domain receptors (NLRs) is well established molecules in its role in inflammatory response. Among 22 NLR receptors, NOD2 is one of the intensively studied genes of elucidating for the inflammatory bowel disease and Crohn's disease as well. Recent research have accumulated that common genetic mutations in Parkinson's disease (PD) are increasingly related to the susceptibility to Crohn's disease. In this study, with the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study, we aimed to perform the association between NOD2 polymorphisms and blood cell counts [WBC (white blood cell) count, RBC (red blood cell) count, platelet count], which linked supposedly to cytoplasmic inflammatory responses with clinical specialty. Linear regression analyses were performed, controlling for residential area, sex, and age as covariates. As a results, 12 SNPs from NOD2 gene were significantly associated with WBC counts (Bonferroni correction P-value criteria < 0.05/23=0.00218). In this study, we could ensure an association with NOD2 gene and WBC counts. This is the first report to have relationship between SNPs of NOD2 gene and WBC counts.