• BMB Reports
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.128-137
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• 2003

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), zinc dependent proteolytic enzymes, cleave extracellular matrix (ECM: collagen, laminin, firbronectin, etc) as well as non-matrix substrates (growth factors, cell surface receptors, etc). The deregulation of MMPs is involved in many diseases, such as tumor metastasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and periodontal disease. Metastasis is the major cause of death among cancer patients. In this review, we will focus on the roles of MMPs in tumor metastasis. The process of metastasis involves a cascade of linked, sequential steps that involve multiple host-tumor interactions. Specifically, MMPs are involved in many steps of tumor metastasis. These include tumor invasion, migration, host immune escape, extravasation, angiogenesis, and tumor growth. Therefore, without MMPs, the tumor cell cannot perform successful metastasis. The activities of MMPs are tightly regulated at the gene transcription levels, zymogen activation by proteolysis, and inhibition of active forms by endogenous inhibitors, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP), and RECK. The detailed regulations of MMPs are described in this review.

• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.71-76
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• 1983

Aminoglycoside antibiotics are reported to enhance the amylase release from isolated slices of pancreas in vitro and the mode of action of aminoglycosides on amylase release is considered different from those of acetylcholine or cholecystokinin(CCK), i.e., electronmicroscopically intact zymogen granules are appeared in the lumen of pancreatic acini by treatment of aminoglycosides. It is known that atropine blocks the secretagogue effect of acetylcholine, and phenoxybenzamine is reported to block the effects of CCK or its analogue caerulein. Present study was undertaken to investigate the mode of action of aminoglycosides on the amylase release using atropine, phenoxybenzamine and propranolol as a membrane stabilizing agent in slices of chicken pancreas. The results are summarized as follows : 1) Streptomycin and kanamycin increased the amylase release significantly from slices of chicken pancreas. 2) The effect of streptomycin was inhibited by atropine but not by phenoxybenzamine or propranolol. 3) The amylase release by acetylcholine was blocked by atropine tut the effect of cholecystokinin octapeptide(CCK-8) was not influenced by atropine, phenoxybenzamine or propranolol. 4) Pretreatment of streptomycin enhanced the secretagogue effect of acetylcholine or CCK-8. From these results it is suggested that amylase releasing effects of aminoglycosides are mediated in part by cholinergic stimulation and in part by membrane alteration and these effects are enhanced by acetylcholine or cholecystokinin.

• BMB Reports
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• v.46 no.11
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• pp.544-549
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• 2013

High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is involved in the pathogenesis of vascular diseases. Unlike activated protein C (APC), the activation of PAR-1 by thrombin is known to elicit proinflammatory responses. To determine whether the occupancy of EPCR by the Gla-domain of APC is responsible for the PAR-1-dependent antiinflammatory activity of the protease, we pretreated HUVECs with the PC zymogen and then activated PAR-1 with thrombin. It was found that thrombin downregulates the HMGB1-mediated induction of both TNF-${\alpha}$ and IL-6 and inhibits the activation of both p38 MAPK and NF-${\kappa}B$ in HUVECs pretreated with PC. Furthermore, thrombin inhibited HMGB1-mediated hyperpermeability and leukocyte adhesion/migration by inhibiting the expression of cell adhesion molecules in HUVECs if EPCR was occupied. Collectively, these results suggest the concept that thrombin can initiate proinflammatory responses in vascular endothelial cells through the activation of PAR-1 may not hold true for normal vessels expressing EPCR under in vivo conditions.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.369-374
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• 2017

The curtailment of production cost is important for the mass production of biosensors. Since horseradish peroxidase, which is a key material of enzyme electrodes for hydrogen peroxide analysis is rather expensive, this has been a limiting factor for fabricating carbon paste based enzyme electrodes. In this paper, the acacia leaf tissue as a zymogen easily obtainable in our living environment was used as an alternative to horseradish peroxidase for developing a hydrogen peroxide sensor and the electrochemical properties were evaluated. Ten or more electrochemical parameters alongside the other experimental results acquired by the potentiostatic method demonstrated that our enzyme electrodes can be used for the quantitative analysis of hydrogen peroxide. This also indicates that acacia leaves can take the place of the marketed peroxidase.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.111-116
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• 2005

Resveratrol (3,4',5-trihydroxy-trans-stilbene), a naturally occuring polyphenol compound which present in the skin of grapes and red wine has been considered to posses chemopreventive and antioxidant properties. However, little is known about the cellular actions by which resveratrol mediates its therapeutic effects. In this study, the effect of resveratrol on cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis in human osteogenic sarcoma (HOS) cells was investigated. $IC_{50}$ value was determined to be approximately $6.0{\mu}g/ml$. Chromosomal DNA framgmentation analysis showed the appearance degraded DNA in time-and dose-dependent manner upon treatment of resveratrol. In order to observe the molecular mechanism involved in resveratrol-induced apoptosis, Western blot analysis was performed. We observed the decrease in the level of procaspase-3, the zymogen form of active caspase-3 in resveratrol-treated cells. This result implies that caspase-3 is activated upon treatment of resveratrol. The activation of caspase-3 was confirmed by the cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. Taken together, our data demonstrate that resveratrol has anti-proliferative effect on HOS cells and induced apoptosis through activation of caspase-3 and PARP cleavage.

• Proceedings of the Zoological Society Korea Conference
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• 1995.10b
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• pp.83-83
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• 1995

The three chitin synthetases of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Chs1, Chs2, and Chs3, participate in septum and cell wall formation of vegetative cells and in wall morphogenesis of conjugating cells and spores. Because of the differences in the nature and in the time of execution of their functions, the synthetases must be specifically and individually regulated. The nature of that regulation has been investigated by measuring changes in the levels of the three synthetases and of the messages of the three corresponding gnes, CDSI, CHS2, and CAL1/CSD2/DITl0l(referred to below as CAL1), during the budding cycles. For Chs1 and Chs3, posttranslational regulation, probably by activation of latent forms, appears to be predominant. Since Chs2, like Chs1, is found in the cell in the zymogenic form, a posttranslational activation step appears to be necessary for this synthetase also. The regulation mechanism was investigated to search the relationship of CAL1, CAL2 and CALJ which is involved in Chs3 activity us ing different assay methods other than previous one. Treatment of Chs3-containing membranes with detergents drastically reduced the enzymatic activity. Activity could, however, be restored by subsequent incubation with trypsin or other pro teases in the presence of UDPGlcNAc. Experiments wi th mutants in the three genes invoIved in Chs3 activity-CAL1, CAL2, and CALJ-showed that only CAL1 and CALJ are required for the proteaseelicited (zymogenic) activity. It is concluded that Chs3 IS a zymogen and that the CAL2 product funct ions as its activator.ivator.

• BMB Reports
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• v.42 no.8
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• pp.506-510
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• 2009

The Toll signalling pathway in invertebrates is responsible for defense against Gram-positive bacteria and fungi, leading to the expression of antimicrobial peptides via NF-$\kappa$B-like transcription factors. Gram-negative binding protein 3 (GNBP3) detects beta-1,3-glucan, a fungal cell wall component, and activates a three step serine protease cascade for activation of the Toll signalling pathway. Here, we showed that the recombinant N-terminal domain of Tenebrio molitor GNBP3 bound to beta-1,3-glucan, but did not activate down-stream serine protease cascade in vitro. Reversely, the N-terminal domain blocked GNBP3-mediated serine protease cascade activation in vitro and also inhibited beta-1,3-glucan-mediated antimicrobial peptide induction in Tenebrio molitor larvae. These results suggest that the N-terminal GNBP homology domain of GNBP3 functions as a beta-1,3-glucan binding domain and the C-terminal domain of GNBP3 may be required for the recruitment of immediate down-stream serine protease zymogen during Toll signalling pathway activation.

• Clinical Endoscopy
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.665-673
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• 2022

Background/Aims: In patients undergoing endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), calcineurin activates zymogen, which results in pancreatitis. In this study, we aimed to determine the efficacy of tacrolimus, a calcineurin inhibitor, in preventing post-ERCP pancreatitis (PEP). Methods: This was a prospective pilot study in which patients who underwent ERCP received tacrolimus (4 mg in two divided doses); this was the Tac group. A contemporaneous cohort of patients was included as a control group. All patients were followed-up for PEP. PEP was characterized by worsening abdominal pain with an acute onset, elevated pancreatic enzymes, and a duration of hospital stay of more than 48 hours. Serum tacrolimus levels were measured immediately before the procedure in the Tac group. Results: There were no differences in the baseline characteristics between the Tac group (n=48) and the control group (n=51). Only four out of 48 patients (8.3%) had PEP in the Tac group compared to eight out of 51 patients (15.7%) who had PEP in the control group. The mean trough tacrolimus level in patients who developed PEP was significantly lower (p<0.05). Conclusions: Oral tacrolimus at a cumulative dose of 4 mg safely prevents PEP. Further randomized controlled studies are warranted to establish the role of tacrolimus in this context.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.707-718
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• 1997

The present study was designed to investigate the morphological developments of the stomach in the prenatal and postnatal rats. The gastric fundus of 16- to 22-day-old fetuses, neonates, 7-day-old, 14-day-old, 21-day-old, and adult rats were observed by transmission electron microscopy. 1. In the 19-day-old fetuses, the gastric pits and the parietal cells were the primitive state, but the parietal cells contained numerous microvilli and mitochondria. 2. In the 20-day-old fetuses, the intracellular canaliculus appeared in the parietal cells, and glycogen granules were localized mainly in the basal part of the epithelial cells and parietal cells. 3. In the 20-day-old fetuses, the mucous granules and zonular occludens appeared in the gastric glandular cells adjacent to the parietal cells. 4. In the 21-day-old fetuses, the chief cells were identified in the lamina propria and these cells contained granular endoplasmic reticulum and zymogen granules. 5. In the 20- to 22-day-old fetuses, the definitive parietal cells were firstly appeared in pairs or groups within the lamina propria. These cells tended to be placed near the basement membrane and blood capillary, and frequently tended to be extruded into lumen of gland. 6. The endocrine cells were appeared at the basal areas of the gastric gland after the 14-day-old.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.178-182
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• 2004

In the vegetative hyphae of Aspergillus nidulans, a zymogenic form of the class I chitin synthase activity was successfully measured by the assay condition for Saccharomyces cerevisiae class I chitin synthase, Chsl. The class I chitin synthase activity of the A. nidulans chsC wild type strain was increased about six-fold by trypsin-pretreatment, but that of the chsC disruption strain revealed no increase. Interestingly enough, level of the class I chitin synthase activity of the chsC disruption strain was almost the same as that of the chsC wild type without trypsin-pretreatment. These results indicated that the A. nidulans ChsC activity could be measured by account-ing the class I chitin synthase activity without the trypsin-pretreatment as an internal control. Consistence to the expression pattern of the chsC revealed by northern blot analysis, the activity of ChsC was increased upon reaching the culture time for acquiring developmental competence. Our results shown here also supported the previous report suggesting the possible involvement of ChsC in vegetative hyphal growth of A. nidulans.