• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.209-215
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• 1998

Trypsin-like enzyme was purified from shrimp hepatopancreas through Q-Sepharose ionic exchange, benzamidine Sepharose-6B affinity, and Superdex 75 gel chromatography. Purity of trypsin-like enzyme was increased 69-fold with $44\%$ yield. The enzyme consisted of a single polypeptide chain with a molecular weight (M.W.) of 32 kDa judged by sodium dodecylsulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The enzyme was completely inactivated by serine enzyme inhibitors such as soybean trypsin inhibitor (SBTI), tosyl-L­lysine chloromethyl ketone (TLCK), and leupeptin. However, the enzyme was not affected by tosyl-L-phenylalanine chloromethyl ketone (TPCK) which is a chymotrypsin specific inhibitor. The enzyme had no activity against benzoyl-tyrosine ethyl ester (BTEE) which is a chymotrypsin specific substrate. The enzyme showed high activity on the carboxyl terminal of Phe, Tyr. Glu, Arg, and Asp. However. no activity was detected against the carboxyl terminal of Pro, Trp, Cys, Gly, Val, and Ala.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2006

Cathepsin K (cat K) is the major cysteine protease expressed in osteoclasts and was thought to play a key role in matrix degradation during bone resorption. It was shown that the intracellular maturation of cat K was prevented by the cAMP antagonist, Rp-cAMP, and the protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitors of KT5720 and H89. In contrast, forskolin, a adenylate cyclase agonist, rather induced Cat K processing and maturation in osteoclasts. Furthermore, to determine whether cat K processing and maturation signaling involves protein kinase C (PKC), mouse total bone cells were treated with calphostin C, a specific inhibitor of PKC, however, no effect was observed, indicating that calphostin C did not affect to osteoclast-mediated cat K processing and maturation. Thus, it is indicated that the cAMP-PKA signaling pathway regulates cat K maturation in osteoclasts. Since secreted proenzymes have the potential to reenter the cell via M6P receptor, to prevent this possibility, it was tested cAMP antagonist Rp-cAMP and the PKA inhibitors KT5720 and H89 in the absence or presence of M6P. Inhibition of cat K processing by Rp-cAMP, KT5720, or H89 was observed in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, the addition of M6P resulted in enhanced potency of Rp-cAMP, KT5720 and H89. These dose-dependently inhibited in vitro bone resorption with a potency similar to that observed for inhibition of cat K processing.

• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.51-54
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• 1990

Human leukocyte cathepsin-Gs are active participant in the active phase of inflammations like rheumatoid arthritis, emphysema and glomerular injury. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely used for treatment of these inflammatory diseases. Mechanism of action of NSAIDs for treatment of inflammatory diseases, especially like rheumatoid arthritis, are known as the inhibitors of prostaglandin synthesis. Inhibitions of the activities of human leukocyte cathepsin-Gs by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, however, were not same as the known pharmacological effects (inhibition of cyclooxygenase) of these drugs. Among them, especially, sulindac, salicylate, phenylbutazone, oxyphenbutazone, and salicyluric acid inhibited human leukocyte cathepsin-Gs effectively. $IC_{50}s$ of each drug were 4.3mM, 14.3mM, 6.5mM, 11mM and 15mM respectively. The drugs which have same chemical structure and same degree of inhibition effect on cyclooxygenase showed different degree or no effect on inhibition of cathepsin G. These inhibition effect might be, beside of inhibition of cyclooxygenase in the prostaglandin synthesis pathway, another benefitial antiinflammatory effect of NSAIDs by direct protection against tissue destruction in inflammatory diseases.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.111-122
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• 2009

When the cattail pollen was identified by using fibrinolytic agents, we found that the fibrinolytic activity was controlled by an enzyme. Therefore, for determining the fibrinolytic activity of cattail pollen, the fibrinolytic enzyme in cattail pollen was purified by gel filtration using DEAE-cellulose, Sephadex G-150 and HPLC. Also, its purity was certified by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and its physico-chemical properties, such as pH and temperature stabilities and effects of metal, inhibitors and substrates, were examined. The specific activity, purification fold, and molecular weight of the enzyme were 38U/mg, 86.4,and 75kDa, respectively. The optimum pH for the purified enzyme was at 4.0 and it was stable at pH 4.0-6.0. The optimum temperature was $55^{\circ}C$ and it was stable at $30-60^{\circ}C$. But the enzyme began to be inactivated at $70^{\circ}C$ and its activity was totally lost at temperatures above $80^{\circ}C$. As for substrate specificity, the enzyme was most effective in dissolving fibrin, followed by whole casein, ${\kappa}$-casein, ${\alpha}$-casein, ${\beta}$-casein, and BSA. With casein as the substrate, Km value was found to be 0.44mM and the enzyme showed a high affinity for casein. As for the metal ions affecting enzyme activity, $K^+$, $Na^+$, and $Mg^{2+}$ had no effect on enzyme reaction while $Zn^{2+}$ and $Fe^{2+}$ showed potent inhibitory activity. Judging from the fact that the purified enzyme was also strongly inhibited by PMSF, iodoacetic acid, and SDA, it assumed to be a serine protease.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.107-113
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• 2013

Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) is a member of serine protease inhibitor family, which regulates the activity of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA). In CNS, tPA/PAI-1 activity is involved in the regulation of a variety of cellular processes such as neuronal development, synaptic plasticity and cell survival. To gain a more insights into the regulatory mechanism modulating tPA/PAI-1 activity in brain, we investigated the effects of proteasome inhibitors on tPA/PAI-1 expression and activity in rat primary astrocytes, the major cell type expressing both tPA and PAI-1. We found that submicromolar concentration of MG132, a cell permeable peptide-aldehyde inhibitor of ubiquitin proteasome pathway selectively upregulates PAI-1 expression. Upregulation of PAI-1 mRNA as well as increased PAI-1 promoter reporter activity suggested that MG132 transcriptionally increased PAI-1 expression. The induction of PAI-1 downregulated tPA activity in rat primary astrocytes. Another proteasome inhibitor lactacystin similarly increased the expression of PAI-1 in rat primary astrocytes. MG132 activated MAPK pathways as well as PI3K/Akt pathways. Inhibitors of these signaling pathways reduced MG132-mediated upregulation of PAI-1 in varying degrees and most prominent effects were observed with SB203580, a p38 MAPK pathway inhibitor. The regulation of tPA/PAI-1 activity by proteasome inhibitor in rat primary astrocytes may underlie the observed CNS effects of MG132 such as neuroprotection.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.752-758
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• 2002

This study was investigated on properties and thermostability of gelatin-degrading proteinases in the fruit of Actinidia chinensis (kiwifruit) for the industrial application. Three gelatin-degrading proteinases (PI, PII and PIII) were detected from the pulp of fruits. The molecular weights of these proteinases, PI, PII and PIII, were approximately 220 kD, 51 kD, and 26 kD respectively, on the basis of gelatin-containing SDS-PACE. The optimum pH of these proteinases ranged from 2.0 to 5.0 with a maximal activity at pH 4.0. These proteinases had a high sensitivity to E-64 and iodoacetate which are cysteine protease inhibitors, and required DTT, cysteine, and $\beta$-mercaptoethanol for their activities which are stimulators for cysteine proteases. These results indicate that these proteinases are cysteine proteinases and the proteinase PIII is actinidin (EC 3.4.22.14), based on the molecular weight and/or susceptibility against proteinase inhibitors. These proteinases were strongly activated by $Ca^{2+}$, $Mg^{2+}$ and $Mn^{2+}$, whereas strongly inhibited by Zn$^{2＋}$ and Hg$^{2＋}$. However, these proteinases have slightly different susceptibility against other cations ($Ca^{2+}$, $Cu^{2+}$, $Al^{3+}$, $Ca^{3+}$. The temperature stability of proteinase PIII was more stable than proteinases PI and PII. Moreover, proteinase PIII remained stable below $50^{\circ}C$ for 48hr, showing the residual activity above 75% of the enzyme activity.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.81-87
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• 1994

Two different trypsin inhibitors, TRTI-1 and TRTI-2, were purified to near homogenity from Trichosanthes kirilowii root, by $0{\sim}90%$ saturated ammonium sulfate salting out, DEAE-Sephacel ion exchange chromatography, Sephadex G-50 gel filtration chromatography and trypsin-affinity chromatography. The molecular weight of TRTI-1 and TRTI-2 were estimated to be about 5,000 Da and 24,000 Da, respectively, by gel filtration and must be monomer and homodimer since they contain 4,000 Da and 10,000 Da each on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. TRTI-1 was stable after heating for at least 2 hr at $100^{\circ}C$ but TRTI-2 was completely inactivated after heating for 10 min at $90^{\circ}C$. When Bz-dl-Arg-pNA was used as a substrate of TPCK-treated trypsin, half-maximal inhibitions of TRTI-1 and TRTI-2 were observed at $0.8\;{\mu}M$ and 6\;${\mu}M$, repectively. Both TRTI-1 and TRTI-2 inhibited the hydrolysis of trypsin competitively and Km values were $0.97\;{\mu}M$ and $0.63\;{\mu}M$, respectively. Both TRTI-1 and TRTI-2 specifically inhibited trypsin but they did not inhibit other proteases tested, chymotrypsin, papain, elastase, collagenase, thermolysin, Nagarase, pepsin, and thrombin.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.838-844
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• 2010

A fibrinolytic enzyme of Streptomyces corcohrussi from soil sediment was purified by chromatography using DEAE-Sephadex A-50 and Sephadex G-50. The analysis of SDS-polyacrylamide gel suggested that the purified enzyme is a homogeneous protein and the molecular mass is approximately 34 kDa. The purified enzyme showed activity of 0.8 U/ml in a plasminogen-rich fibrin plate, while its activity in a plasminogen-free fibrin plate was only 0.36 U/ml. These results suggested that the purified enzyme acts as a plasminogen activator. The fibrinolytic activity of the enzyme under the supplementation of protease inhibitors, $\varepsilon$-ACA, t-AMCHA and mercuric chloride in the enzyme reaction was less than 24%, indicating that it could be modulated by the plasmin and/or fibrinogen inhibitors involved in the fibrinogen-to-fibrin converting process. As time passed, $Zn^{2+}$, a heavy metal ion, inhibited the activity to 34.1%. The optimum temperature of the purified enzyme was approximately $50^{\circ}C$ and over 92% of the enzyme activity was maintained between pH 5.0 and 8.0. Therefore, our results provide a potential fibrinolytic enzyme as a noble thrombolytic agent from S. corcohrussi.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2012

$Toxoplasma$ $gondii$ penetrates all kinds of nucleated eukaryotic cells but modulates host cells differently for its intracellular survival. In a previous study, we found out that serine protease inhibitors B3 and B4 (SERPIN B3/B4 because of their very high homology) were significantly induced in THP-1-derived macrophages infected with $T.$ $gondii$ through activation of STAT6. In this study, to evaluate the effects of the induced SERPIN B3/B4 on the apoptosis of $T.$ $gondii$-infected THP-1 cells, we designed and tested various small interfering (si-) RNAs of SERPIN B3 or B4 in staurosporine-induced apoptosis of THP-1 cells. Anti-apoptotic characteristics of THP-1 cells after infection with $T.$ $gondii$ disappeared when SERPIN B3/B4 were knock-downed with gene specific si-RNAs transfected into THP-1 cells as detected by the cleaved caspase 3, poly-ADP ribose polymerase and DNA fragmentation. This anti-apoptotic effect was confirmed in SERPIN B3/B4 overexpressed HeLa cells. We also investigated whether inhibition of STAT6 affects the function of SERPIN B3/B4, and vice versa. Inhibition of SERPIN B3/B4 did not influence STAT6 expression but SERPIN B3/B4 expression was inhibited by STAT6 si-RNA transfection, which confirmed that SERPIN B3/B4 was induced under the control of STAT6 activation. These results suggest that $T.$ $gondii$ induces SERPIN B3/B4 expression via STAT6 activation to inhibit the apoptosis of infected THP-1 cells for longer survival of the intracellular parasites themselves.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.753-763
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• 2018

Cysteine cathepsins are lysosomal enzymes that belong to the papain family and can induce the degradation of damaged proteins through the endo-lysosomal pathway. It is highly upregulated in many cancers by regulating gene amplification and transcriptional, translational, and post-transcriptional modifications. Cathepsin S is part of the cysteine cathepsin family. Many studies have demonstrated that cathepsin S not only plays a specific role in MHC class II antigen presentation but also plays a crucial role in cancers. Cathepsin S is more stable at a neutral pH compared to other cysteine cathepsins, which supports the importance of cathepsin S in disease microenvironments. Therefore, the dysregulation of cathepsin S has participated in a variety of pathological processes, including cancer, arthritis, and cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, a decrease or depletion in the expression of cathepsin S has been implicated in the processes of tumor growth, invasion, metastasis, and angiogenesis. Taken together, cathepsin S has been suggested as an attractive therapeutic target for cancer therapy. In this review, the known involvement of cathepsin S in diseases, particularly with respect to recent work indicating its role in cancer therapy, is examined. An overview of current literature on the inhibitors of cathepsin S as a therapeutic target for cancer is also provided.