• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.277-284
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• 1993

A possible involvement of maturation promoting factor (nfPF) in the two-cell block phenomenon was studied by fusion experiments. Germinal vesicle (GlF) ooeyte was fused with a blastomore from late or blocked 2-cell mouse embryos. and germinal vesicle breakdoum (GVBD) of fused GV oocvtes in the presence of dbcAMP (100$\mu$g/ml) was scored as an index of MPF aniviD. GnD was induced approximately 30% by fusion of a blastomere derived from late 2-cell embryos, but not from blocked 2-cell embryos. The rate of GVBD was changed when GV oocyte was fused with a blastomere from late 2-cell embryos which were treated with u-amanitin, puromvcin or colcemid before and after hsion: Treatment of late 2-cell embryos with puromycin (50 Is/mll but not with u-amanitin (100 Is/ml) clearly inhibited GVBD, indicating that do novo protein synthesis maw be required for the appearance of MPF activity in late 2-cell embryos. Treatment of late 2-cell embryos w기h colcemid (0.1 Is/mll doubled GVBD, presumably due to the maintenance of metaphase or mitotic phase. SDS-PAGE and twoiimensional electrophoresis revealed that there was no difference in protein synthetic pattern in late and blocked 2-cell embryos, but three phosphoproteins with 27, 35 and 46 M)a, presumsblv M-phase components were phosphorylated in late 2-cell embryos but not in blocked 2-cell embryos. It seems then that MPF activity is closely related to phosphorylstion of M-phase components in late 2-cell embryos.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.111-119
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• 1994

"Spontaneous" hardening of the zona pellucida of mouse oocytes during in vitro culture is most likely due to cortical granules exocytosis. Thus the purpose of the present study was to determine whether the exocytosis factor is involved in spontaneous zona pellucida hardening during in vitro culture of the mouse. The results obtained form these experiments were summarized as follows; 1. When a protein synthesis inhibitor(100${\mu}g$/ml puromycin) was added to the culture medium, it did not prevent spontaneous ZPH of mouse oocyte during in vitro culture. 2. Calmodulin antagonists (trifluoperazine and chlorpromazine) and calcium channel blocker (verapamil) had no inhibitory effect in spontaneous ZPH. 3. A microtubule assembly inhibitor, colcemid had some inhibitory effect on spontaneous ZPH. 4. Treatment with a microfillament formation blocker(cytochalasin-B) at 1${\mu}g$/ml concentration, resulted in the excellent inhibitory effect on spontaneous ZPH. However cytochalasin-B did not inhibit ethanol-induced ZPH.

• BMB Reports
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.230-235
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• 2013

Nephrin, a structural molecule, is also a signaling molecule after phosphorylation. Inhibition of nephrin phosphorylation is correlated with podocyte injury. The PINCH-1-ILK-${\alpha}$-parvin (PIP) complex plays a crucial role in cell adhesion and cytoskeleton formation. We hypothesized that nephrin phosphorylation influenced cytoskeleton and cell adhesion in podocytes by regulating the PIP complex. The nephrin phosphorylation, PIP complex formation, and F-actin in Wistar rats intraperitoneally injected with puromycin aminonucleoside were gradually decreased but increased with time, coinciding with the recovery from glomerular/podocyte injury and proteinuria. In cultured podocytes, PIP complex knockdown resulted in cytoskeleton reorganization and decreased cell adhesion and spreading. Nephrin and its phosphorylation were unaffected after PIP complex knockdown. Furthermore, inhibition of nephrin phosphorylation suppressed PIP complex expression, disorganized podocyte cytoskeleton, and decreased cell adhesion and spreading. These findings indicate that alterations in nephrin phosphorylation disorganize podocyte cytoskeleton and decrease cell adhesion through a PIP complex-dependent mechanism.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.10
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• pp.1646-1649
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• 2006

Protein synthesis is the ultimate outcome of gene expression which, in turn, is regulated by several translation factors. We attempted to identify substances that can inhibit the translation process in vitro when the outcome protein is luciferase. To this end, we developed a sensitive cell-free protein synthesis assay using luciferase as the reporter. The synthesis of luciferase increased proportionately as mRNA was added to a $15-{\mu}l$reaction medium in concentrations raging from 5 ng to 500 ng. The maximum amount of luciferase was synthesized when the media were incubated at $25^{\circ}C$ for 40 min. The concentration of each compound that inhibited luciferase production by 50% ($IC_{50}$) was calculated. Hygromycin, puromycin, and cycloheximide yielded an $IC_{50}$ of 0.008, 0.8, and $0.7{\mu}g/ml$, respectively. A filtrate of Streptomyces spp. isolates inhibited protein synthesis up to S-fold when added to the in vitro translation assay mixture.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.175-185
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• 1996

To inhibit the enzymatic degradation of leucine enkephalin (Leu-Enk) and its synthetic analog. $[D-ala^2]$-leucine enkephalinamide (YAGFL), in the nasal, rectal and vaginal mucosal and serosal extracts of rabbits, effects of enzyme inhibitors such as amastatin (AM), puromycin (PM), thiorphan (TP), thimerosal (TM), EDTA, N-carboxymethyl-Phe-Leu (CPL), phenylethyl alcohol (PEA), phenylmercuric acetate (PMA), benzalkonium chloride (BC) and modified cyclodextrins, alone or in combination, were observed by assaying the pentapeptides staying intact during incubation. Mucosa extracts were prepared by exposing freshly-excised mucosal specimens mounted on Valia-Chien cells to isotonic phosphate buffer while stirring. The degradation of Leu-Enk and YAGFL followed the apparent first-order kinetics. The half-lives (mean) in the nasal, rectal and vaginal mucosal extracts were found to be 1.07, 0.33 and 1.14 hr for Leu-Enk, and 16.9, 6.2 and 6.8 hr for YAGFL, respectively. AM or PM, which is an aminopeptidase inhibitor, did not show a sufficient inhibition of Leu-Enk $(50\;{\mu}g/ml)$ degradation in all kinds of extracts. $Dimethyl-{\beta}-cyclodextrin\;(DM-{\beta}-CyD)$ decreased the degradation rate constants of Leu-Enk about 2 or 3 times, comparing with no additive. However, the use of mixed inhibitors of AM $(50\;{\mu}M)$/TM (0.25 mM)/EDTA (5 mM) resulted in a full stabilization of Leu-Enk by decreasing the degradation rate constants 67.3, 161.3 and 113.8 times far the nasal, rectal and vaginal mucosal extracts, respectively, comparing with no inhibitor. With mixed inhibitors, Leu-Enk remained intact more than 90% after 6 hr-incubation. In the stabilization of YAGFL, hM, TP or CPL alone showed little efffct, and some additives demonstrated a considerable inhibition of YAGFL degradation in the rank order of TM > BC > EDTA. However, the addition of mixed inhibitors such as TM (0.5 mM) and EDTA (5 mM) into the extracts protected YAGFL from the degradation by more than 85% even after 24 hr-incubation, suggesting almost complete inhibition of YAGFL degradation in the extract. On the other hand, $DM-{\beta}-CyD\;or\;hydroxypropyl-{\beta}-cyclodextrin$ (10%) were also found to retard enzymatic degradation rates of YAGFL markedly, and resulted in staying intact more than 80% of YAGFL in the nasal and vaginal mucosal extracts, and more than 60% in the rectal mucosal extract after 16 hr-incubation.