• YAKHAK HOEJI
• /
• v.47 no.6
• /
• pp.410-416
• /
• 2003

Autotaxin(ATX) was originally purified from conditioned media of A2058 human melanoma cells and shown to be a potent cell motility-stimulating factor, possessing a type II nucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase (NPP2) activity. Recombinant ATX has recently demonstrated that human plasma lysophosholipase D is identical to ATX and uses lysophosphatidylcholine as a substrate to mediate various biological functions including tumor cell growth and motility through G-protein coupled receptor. However, despite pivotal roles of ATX on physiological or pathophysiological states, the production of ATX is solely depends on complicated purification method which employs multiple column steps, but resulted in very poor yield. This limited the use of ATX for extensive analysis. We, therefore, expressed six histidine-tagged recombinant human ATX(His-ATX) in High Five TM insect cells to improve the generation of ATX and to make simple the purification of ATX. The signal sequence of the human ATX gene was truncated and replaced with sequence of insect cell secretion signal within expression vector. In addition, codons for six histidines were added to the C-termini of 120kDa ATX cDNA construct. A simple purification scheme utilizing two-step affinity column chromatography was designed to purify His-ATX to homogeneity from the culture supernatant of transfected insect cells. Homogenous His-ATX was detected and isolated from the concentrated insect cell medium using concanavalin A agarose and nickel affinity chromatography. Purified His-ATX was in full length with ATX capacity. A combination of this expression system and purification scheme would be useful for production and purification of high-quality functional ATX for research and practical application of multiple functional motogen, ATX/NPP-2.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.22 no.12
• /
• pp.1361-1365
• /
• 2001

Recombinant immunotoxins are hybrid cytotoxic proteins designed to selectively kill cancer cells. A divalent immunotoxins, [B3(FabH1)-PE38]2, was constructed by recombining Fab domain of B3 antibody as a cell-targeting domain and Pseudo monas exotoxin A (PE) as a cytotoxic domain. Monoclonal antibody, B3, is the murine antibody (IgG1k) directed against Lewis Y-related carbohydrate antigens, which are abundant on the surface of many carcinomas. Fab fragment of this antibody was used in this study with the modified hinge sequence where last two cysteines out of three were mutated to serine. PE is a 66 kDa bacterial toxin that kills eukaryotic cells by inhibiting protein synthesis with ADP ribosylation of ribosomal elongation factor 2 (EF2). Fc region of B3 antibody was substituted with the truncated form of PE (38 kDa, PE38) on DNA level. [B3(FabH1)-PE38]2 was formed by disulfide bond between cysteines in the modified hinge region of B3(FabH1)-PE38. Each polypeptide for recombinant immunotoxins was overexpressed in Escherichia coli and collected as inclusion bodies. Each inclusion body was solubilized and refolded, and cytotoxic effects were measured. Divalent immunotoxins, [B3(FabH1)-PE38]2, had ID50 values of about 10 ng/mL on A431 cell lines and about 4 ng/mL on CRL1739 cell lines. Control immunotoxins, B3(scFv)-PE40, had ID50 values of about 28 ng/mL on A431 cell lines and about 41 ng/mL on CRL1739 cell lines. Divalent immunotoxins, [B3(FabH1)-PE38]2, had higher cytotoxic effects than B3(scFv)-PE40 control immunotoxins.

• Plant Breeding and Biotechnology
• /
• v.6 no.4
• /
• pp.413-425
• /
• 2018

A previous work developed and identified a new omega-5 gliadin deficient wheat line named O-free by crossing Keumkang and Olgeuru, which is nutritionally quite meaningful in that omega-5 gliadin is one of the known wheat allergens. To verify the characteristics of the O-free, we performed RNA sequencing (RNAseq) analysis of the O-free and the two parent lines (Keumkang and Olgeuru). The results of the similarity analysis with the ESTs for gliadins and glutenins showed that the O-free ESTs had no similarity with the omega-5 gliadin sequences but had similarity to other gliadins and glutenins. Furthermore, mapping results between the raw RNAseq data from the O-free and the omega-5 gliadin sequence showed a clear deletion of the N-terminal sequences which are an important signature of omega-5 gliadin. We also designed specific PCR primers that could identify omega-5 gliadin in the genomic DNA. The results showed that no omega-5 gliadin fragments were detected in the O-free. According to these results, we confirmed that the deficiency of omega-5 gliadin in the O-free is not caused by post-transcriptional or post-translational regulations such as epigenetic phenomena but by a simple deletion in the chromosome. Furthermore, we showed that the low-molecular weight glutenin subunit (LMW-GS) gene in the O-free had a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) causing a premature stop codon, resulting in a truncated polypeptide. We expect that the O-free line may serve as an excellent source of wheat that could prevail in the hypo-allergen wheat market, which has recently gained interest world-wide.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
• /
• v.36 no.4
• /
• pp.431-438
• /
• 2007

In the present study, twenty eight marine algae species were evaluated for their antiproliferative effect on HT-29 human colon cancer cells. Among these, the methanolic extract of Symphyocladia latiuscula (SL Ex) showed the highest inhibitory activity on HT-29 cell growth. In this study, we examined the mechanism by which SL Ex inhibited the HT-29 cell growth. Cells were cultured with various concentrations of $(0{\sim}20{\mu}g/mL)$ SL Ex. The SL Ex substantially decreased the viable cell numbers and induced apoptosis of HT-29 cells in a dose-dependent manner Western blot analyses of total cell lysates revealed that SL Ex increased the levels of cleaved caspase-8, -9, -7, and -3, and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase in HT-29 cells. In addition, SL Ex increased truncated Bid levels but moderately decreased Bax levels at only $20{\mu}g/mL$. Furthermore, SL Ex did not affect Bcl-2 protein levels but increased the levels of Fas in HT-29 cells. The present results indicate that SL Ex inhibits cell growth via inducing apoptosis in human colon cancer cells. The mechanism of apoptosis induction by SL Ex involves caspase-8 activation leading to changes in mitochondrial events and subsequent activation of the caspase-7/caspase-3 cascade. Our finding may lead to the development of new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of colon cancer.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.28 no.4
• /
• pp.588-596
• /
• 2018

An endo-${\beta}$-1,4-glucanase gene, cel9K, was cloned using the shot-gun method from Paenibacillus sp. X4, which was isolated from alpine soil. The gene was 2,994 bp in length, encoding a protein of 997 amino acid residues with a predicted signal peptide composed of 32 amino acid residues. Cel9K was a multimodular enzyme, and the molecular mass and theoretical pI of the mature Cel9K were 103.5 kDa and 4.81, respectively. Cel9K contains the GGxxDAGD, PHHR, GAxxGG, YxDDI, and EVxxDYN motifs found in most glycoside hydrolase family 9 (GH9) members. The protein sequence showed the highest similarity (88%) with the cellulase of Bacillus sp. BP23 in comparison with the enzymes with reported properties. The enzyme was purified by chromatography using HiTrap Q, CHT-II, and HiTrap Butyl HP. Using SDS-PAGE/activity staining, the molecular mass of Cel9K was estimated to be 93 kDa, which is a truncated form produced by the proteolytic cleavage of its C-terminus. Cel9K was optimally active at pH 5.5 and $50^{\circ}C$ and showed a half-life of 59.2 min at $50^{\circ}C$. The CMCase activity was increased to more than 150% in the presence of 2 mM $Na^+$, $K^+$, and $Ba^{2+}$, but decreased significantly to less than 50% by $Mn^{2+}$ and $Co^{2+}$. The addition of Cel9K to a commercial enzyme set (Celluclast 1.5L + Novozym 188) increased the saccharification of the pretreated reed and rice straw powders by 30.4% and 15.9%, respectively. The results suggest that Cel9K can be used to enhance the enzymatic conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to reducing sugars as an additive.

• Development and Reproduction
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.143-153
• /
• 2018

The large extracellular domain of glycoprotein hormone receptors is a unique feature within the G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) family. After interaction with the hormone, the receptor becomes coupled to Gs, which, in turn stimulates adenylyl cyclase and the production of cAMP. Potential phosphorylation sites exist in the C-terminal region of GPCRs. The experiments described herein represent attempts to determine the functions of the eel follicle-stimulating hormone receptor (eelFSHR). We constructed a mutant of eelFSHR, in which the C-terminal cytoplasmic tail was truncated at residue 614 (eelFSHR-t614). The eelFSHR-t614 lacked all potential phosphorylation sites present in the C-terminal region of eelFSHR. In order to obtain the eelFSHR ligand, we produced recombinant follicle-stimulating hormone ($rec-eelFSH{\beta}/{\alpha}$) in the CHO-suspension cells. The expression level was 2-3 times higher than that of the transient expression of eelFSH in attached CHO-K1 cells. The molecular weight of the $rec-eelFSH{\beta}/{\alpha}$ protein was identified to be approximately 34 kDa. The cells expressing eelFSHR-t614 showed an increase in agonist-induced cAMP responsiveness. The maximal cAMP responses of cells expressing eelFSHR-t614 were lower than those of cells expressing eelFSHR-wild type (eelFSHR-WT). The $EC_{50}$ following C-terminal deletion in CHO-K1 cells was approximately 60.4% of that of eelFSHR-WT. The maximal response in eelFSHR-t614 cells was also drastically lower than that of eelFSHR-WT. We also found similar results in PathHunter Parental cells expressing ${\beta}$-arrestin. Thus, these data provide evidence that the truncation of the C-terminal cytoplasmic tail phosphorylation sites in the eelFSHR greatly decreased cAMP responsiveness and maximal response in both CHO-K1 cells and Path-Hunter Parental cells expressing ${\beta}$-arrestin.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.45 no.3
• /
• pp.239-245
• /
• 2009

Translation initiation factor eIF1A performs essential functions in various initiation steps including 43S preinitiation complex formation in eukaryotes, and contains a highly conserved oligonucleotide-binding (OB) fold. In our previous study, we discovered that eIF1A possesses RNA annealing activity and forms a stable complex with double-stranded RNA. In this study, we initiated site-directed mutations in eIF1A to find the active sites for these biochemical activities and to investigate whether they are essential functions for yeast cell growth. A truncated protein, eIF1A($\Delta$T), devoid of both N- and C-terminal domains but containing an intact OB-fold exhibited RNA annealing activity. In contrast, all point mutations in OB-fold domain, except R57D, impaired both RNA annealing and dsRNA binding activities, indicating that the intact OB-fold domain is required for both activities. Viabilities of the mutant yeast cells were not correlated with RNA annealing activity but with the in vivo protein stabilities in the case of R57D and K94D.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.347-354
• /
• 2013

Innate immunity is the ability to differentiate infectious agents from self. The innate immune system is comprised of a complicated network of recognition and effector molecules that act together to protect the host in the early stage of an infectious challenge. Mannose-binding lectin (MBL or mannose-binding protein, MBP) belongs to the family of $Ca^{2+}$-dependent lectins (C-type lectin with a collagen-like domain), which are considered an important component of innate immunity. While it is associated with increased risk and severity of infections and autoimmunity, the most frequent immuno-deficiency syndrome was reported to be low MBL level in blood. Deficiency of human MBL is caused by mutations in the coding region of the MBL gene. Rat homologue gene of human MBL gene was used to study functions of wild type and mutant MBL proteins. Although extensive studies have yielded the structural information of MBL, the functions of MBL, especially mutant MBL, still require investigation. We previously reported the cloning of rat wild-type MBL gene and the production of a truncated form of MBL protein and its antibody. Here, we present the cloning of mutant MBL cDNA in collagen-like domain (R40C, G42D, and G45E) using site-directed mutagenesis and differential behaviors of wild type and mutant MBL in cells. The major difference between wild type and mutant MBL was that while wild type MBL was secreted, mutant MBL was inhibited for secretion, retained in endoplasmic reticulum, and still functioned as a lectin.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.26-32
• /
• 2015

Objectives: Rheum undulatum L. has traditionally been used for the treatment of many diseases in Asia. However, its anti-proliferative activity in cancer has still not been studied. In the present study, we investigated the anti-cancer effects of methanol extract of Rheum undulatum L. (MERL) on human adenocarcinoma gastric cell lines (AGS). Methods: To investigate the anti-cancer effect of MERL on AGS cells, we treated the AGS cells with varying concentrations of MERL and performed 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays. Cell cycle analyses, measurements of the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), caspase activity assays and Western blots were conducted to determine whether AGS cell death occurred by apoptosis. Results: Treatment with MERL significantly inhibited growth of AGS cells in a concentration dependent manner. MERL treatment in AGS cells leaded to increased accumulation of apoptotic sub G1 phase cells in a concentration dependent manner. In control cultures, 5.38% of the cells were in the sub G1 phase. In MERL treated cells, however, this percentage was significantly increased (9.95% at $70{\mu}g/mL$, 15.94% at $140{\mu}g/mL$, 26.56% at $210{\mu}g/mL$ and 38.08% at $280{\mu}g/mL$). MERL treatment induced the decreased expression of pro-caspase-8 and -9 in a concentration dependent manner, whereas the expression of the active form of caspase-3 was increased. A subsequent Western blot analysis revealed increased cleaved levels of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) protein. Also, treatment with MERL increased the activities of caspase-3 and -9 compared with the control. MERL treatment increased the levels of the pro-apoptotic truncated Bid (tBid) and Bcl2 Antagonist X (Bax) proteins and decreased the levels of the anti-apoptotic B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) protein, whose is the stabilization of mitochondria. However, inhibitions of p38, extracellular signal regulated kinases (ERKs) and C-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK) by MERL treatment did not affect cell death. Conclusion: These results suggest that MERL mediated cell death is associated with an intrinsic apoptotic pathway in AGS cells.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.41 no.1
• /
• pp.17-25
• /
• 2013

The thermotolerant methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha is an attractive model organism for various fundamental studies, such as the genetic control of enzymes involved in methanol metabolism, peroxisome biogenesis, nitrate assimilation, and resistance to heavy metals and oxidative stresses. In addition, H. polymorpha has been highlighted as a promising recombinant protein expression host, especially due to the availability of strong and tightly regulatable promoters. In this study, we investigated the possibility of employing human serum albumin (HSA) as the fusion tag for the secretory expression of heterologous proteins in H. polymorpha. A set of four expression cassettes, which contained the methanol oxidase (MOX) promoter, translational HSA fusion tag, and the terminator of MOX, were constructed. The expression cassettes were also designed to contain sequences for accessory elements including His8-tag, $2{\times}(Gly_4Ser_1)$ linkers, tobacco etch virus protease recognition sites (Tev), multi-cloning sites, and strep-tags. To determine the effects of the size of the HSA fusion tag on the secretory expression of the target protein, each cassette contained the HSA gene fragment truncated at a specific position based on its domain structure. By using the Green fluorescence protein gene as the reporter, the properties of each expression cassette were compared in various conditions. Our results suggest that the translational HSA fusion tag is an efficient tool for the secretory expression of recombinant proteins in H. polymorpha.