• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.1129-1133
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• 2004

For the purpose of developing new anti-HIV agents from natural sources, the extracts of Kalopanax pictus were tested for their inhibitory effects on HIV-1 replication and its essential enzymes as the reverse transcriptase (RT). protease and α-glucosidase. In the assay of HIV-1-infected human T-cell line, water extracts of stem and leafstalk inhibited the HIV-1-induced cytopathic effects with Ie (inhibitory concentration) of 25 and 50㎍/㎖, respectively. Moreover water extracts (100㎍/㎖) of stem and leafstalk showed strong activity of 80% and 90% on anti-HIV-1 RT using Enzyme Linked Oligonucleotide Sorbent Assay (ELOSA) method. In the HIV-1 protease inhibition assay, aqueous stem extract inhibited the activity of the enzyme to cleave an oligopeptide, resembling one of the cleavage sites in the viral polyprotein which can only be processed by HIV-1 protease with 58%, but no glucosidase inhibitory activities. We found out this result, for these samples it is possible that the inhibition of the viral replication in vitro is due to the inhibition at least one of RT and protease. It would be of great interest to identify the compounds which are responsible for this inhibition, since all therapeutically useful agent up to date are RT, PR and α-glucosidase inhibitors.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.27 no.9
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• pp.1371-1376
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• 2006

BACE 1 ($\beta$-secretase), a membrane bound aspartic protease, is a key enzyme in the process of amyloid precursor protein (APP) into A$\beta$ peptide which is considered to play a causative role in Alzheimers Disease (AD). Here, we reported the synthesis and inhibitory activity of optically active 3-amino-4-aryl-piperidines.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 2006.04a
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• pp.95-105
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• 2006

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder that is characterized by dementia. Amounts of p25 and cdk5 kinase activity are specifically upregulated in AD patient's brain samples. Considerable evidence now points importance of p25/cdk5 in generation of A$\beta$ peptides and hyperphosphorylation of tau linking amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, two major pathological hallmarks of AD. We demonstrated that P25/CDK5 phosphorylates BACE1, the first step protease to produce A$\beta$. P25/CDK5 inhibitors to reduce BACE1 phosphorylation and the secretion of A$\beta$ are screened through in silica, in vitro, and cell-based assays. Out of 4.3 million chemicals we finally selected two compounds to have IC50 of 10 microM in cell-based assays. The inhibitors block Tau phosphrorylation as well as BACE1 phosphorylation. In conclusion P25 should be one of the best targets for AD therapeutics.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.23 no.7
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• pp.1003-1010
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• 2002

Caspase 3, a member of cysteine protease family, is well known as a major apoptosis effector and is involved in cell death as a result of ischemic diseases such as stroke and myocardial infarction, therefore the inhibition of caspase 3 may protect those apoptotic cell damages. During the high-throughput screening of the compounds from the Korea Chemical Bank, berberine derivatives (A and B), an isoquinoline alkaloid, have been identified as potential inhibitors for caspase 3. Based on this finding we carried out molecular modeling study to identify the pharmacophoric elements of berberine structure which interact with a substrate-recognition binding site of caspase 3 and came up with several novel scaffolds. In this report, we will discuss the molecular modeling, syntheses and the enzyme inhibitory activities of these novel compounds.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.777-780
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• 1999

N-Chloroacetyl-N-hydroxy- β-Phe-NHMe and N-chloroacetyl-N-hydroxy-α-Phe-OMe were designed, synthe-sized and evaluated as irreversible inhibitors of thermolysin, a representative zinc protease. Analysis of kinetic data of the enzymic activity of thermolysin in the presence of these inhibitors revealed that they are indeed potent inactivators of thermolysin having the k(inact)/K(I ) values of 3.06 and 0.05 M (-1) s(-1) , respectively. We have established that the inhibitory activity of N-chloroacetyl-N-hydroxy-β-Phe-NHMe stems mainly from the (R)-enantiomer that belongs to the "L" series. The (R)-enantiomer is also responsible for the inactivation in the case of N-chloroacetyl-N-hydroxy-α-Phe-OMe, but this enantiomer belongs to the "D"-series.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.237-241
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• 1992

The protease from Halomonas sp. ES 10 was purified by methanol precipitation, gel filtration on Sephadex G-150 and G-200, and ion exchange chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex A-50. The purified enzyme was found to be homogeneous by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The specific activity of purified enzyme was 1,014 units/mg protein, and the yield of the total activity from the culture filtrate was 7%. The optimal temperature and pH for the enzyme activity were $35^{\circ}C$, and pH 11.0, respectively. And the enzyme was stable in the range of $pH\;7.5{\sim}11.0$. The residual activity of the enzyme was 70%, when the enzyme was incubated at $50^{\circ}C$ for 40 min. The Km value of the enzyme was 7.4 mg/ml to milk casein. $Li^+$, $Ca^{2+}$, SDS and Tween 80 were appeared to activators, whereas $Hg^{2+}$ and EDTA to inhibitors. The addition of DFP and PMSF showed the relative enzyme activities of 63% and 107%, respectively, suggesting that the enzyme may not belong to serine type protease. When the alkaline protease was treated with 0.5 M and 1 M NaCl, the relative enzyme activities were 95% and 65%, respectively. This enzyme showed 20% and 15% higher enzyme activity than that of Aspergillus oryzae (Sigma Chemical Company product, P4755) in the presence of 0.5 M and 1 M NaCl.

• Proceedings of the Korean Biophysical Society Conference
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• 1996.07a
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• pp.14-14
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• 1996

The metastable native state of proteins plays an important role in regulating biological functions. The native strain of serpins (serine protease inhibitors) are considered to be crucial for the inhibitory function. Several thermostable mutations of human $\alpha$$_1$-antitrypsin, a prototype inhibitory serpin, were identified in a systematic search targeted at the hydrophobic core of the molecule [Nature structural biology, vol. 3, no. 6, 497-500(1996)]. (omitted)

• Proceedings of the Korean Biophysical Society Conference
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• 1999.06a
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• pp.41-41
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• 1999

The native forms of some proteins such as inhibitory serpins (serine protease inhibitors) and viral membrane fusion proteins are metastable, which is critical to their functions. To understand the mechanism of how native metastability regulates the inhibitory function of serpins, we characterized stabilizing mutations of $\alpha$$_1$-antitrypsin, a prototype serpin, in which Gly 117 was replaced by a series of larger hydrophobic residues.(omitted)

• Proceedings of the Korean Biophysical Society Conference
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• 1997.07a
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• pp.39-39
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• 1997

Native strain of inhibitory SERPINS (Serine protease inhibitors) is thought to be used in the facile conformational switch to play biological regulation. Many heat stable variants of $\alpha$$_1$-antitrypsin, a prototype of inhibitory serpins, increased their stability by reducing the native strain.(omitted)

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.334-342
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• 2013

Proteases and protease inhibitors play key roles in most physiological processes, including cell migration, cell signaling, and cell surface and tissue remodeling. Among these, the matrix metalloproteinase (MMPs) pathway is one of the most efficient biosynthetic pathways for controlling the activation of enzymes responsible for protein degradation. This also indicates the association of MMPs with the maturation of spermatozoa. In an attempt to investigate the effect of MMP activation and inhibitors in cultures with various hormones during sperm capacitation, we examined and monitored the localization and expression of MMPs (MMP-2 and MMP-9), tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMP-2 and TIMP-3), as well as their expression profiles. Matured spermatozoa were collected from cultures with follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and Lutalyse at 1 h, 6 h, 18 h, and 24 h. ELISA detected the expression of MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-2, and TIMP-3 in all culture media, regardless of medium type (FSH-supplemented fertilization Brackett-Oliphant medium (FFBO), LH-supplemented FBO (LFBO), or Lutalyse-supplemented FBO (LuFBO)). TIMP-2 and TIMP-3 expression patterns decreased in LFBO and LuFBO. MMP-2 and MMP-9 activity in FBO and FFBO progressively increased from 1 h to 24 h but was not detected in LFBO and LuFBO. The localization and expression of TIMP-2 and TIMP-3 in sperm heads was also measured by immunofluorescence analysis. However, MMPs were not detected in the sperm heads. MMP and TIMP expression patterns differed according to the effect of various hormones. These findings suggest that MMPs have a role in sperm viability during capacitation. In conjunction with hormones, MMPs play a role in maintaining capacitation and fertilization by controlling extracellular matrix inhibitors of sperm.