• BMB Reports
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.379-384
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• 2000

The native conformation of serpins (serine protease inhibitors) is strained. Upon cleavage of the reactive center loop of serpins by a protease, the amino terminal portion of the cleaved loop is inserted into the central ${\beta}-sheet$, A sheet, as the fourth strand, with the concomitant release of the native strain. We questioned the role of protease in this conformational switch from the strained native form into a stable relaxed state. Chemical cleavage of the reactive center loop of ${\alpha}_1-antitrypsin$, a prototype serpin, using hydroxylamine dramatically increased the stability of the serpin. A circular dichroism spectrum and peptide binding study suggests that the amino terminal portion of the reactive center loop is inserted into the A sheet in the chemically-cleaved ${\alpha}_1-antitrypsin$, as in the enzymatically-cleaved molecule. These results indicate that the structural transformation of a serpin molecule does not require interaction with a protease. The results suggest that the serpin conformational switch that occurred during the complex formation with a target protease is induced by the cleavage of the reactive center loop per se.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.414-421
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• 1999

Helicobacter pylori were found to be resistant to azide but sensitive to vanadate, suggesting that defect in the P-type ATPase activity rather than F-type ATPase would be lethal to cell survival or growth. To elucidate the relationship between this enzyme inhibition and H. pylori death, we determined the effect of omeprazole (OMP) plus vanadate on enzyme activity and cell growth. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC; ca. 0.8$\mu$mol/disk) of vanadate for H. pylori growth was lowered over l0-fold with the aid of OMP, whereby its inhibitory potential toward the P-type ATPase activity was diametrically increased. Alternatively, we found that this enzyme activity was essential for active transport in H. pylori. From these observations, we strongly suggest that the immediate cause of the growth inhibition of H. pylori cells with OMP and/or vanadate might be defective in the cell's active transport due to the lack of P-type ATPase activity. From the spectral data with circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, we found that activated OMP (OAS) at concentration below MIC did not disrupt helical structures of membrane proteins. Separately, we determined the cytopathic effect of OAS by SDS-PAGE, indicating the change in the production of cytoplasmic protein but not cell membrane.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetic Resonance Society
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.88-94
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• 2015

Bub1 is one of the spindle checkpoint proteins and plays a role in recruitment of the related proteins to kinetochore. Here, we studied the structural characteristic of the evolutionarily conserved 160 amino acid region in the N-terminus (hBub1 CD1), using Circular Dichroism (CD) and NMR. Our CD results showed that hBub1 CD1 is a highly helical protein and its structure was affected by pH: as pH was elevated to basic pH, the helical propensity increased. This could be related to the surface charge of the hBub1 CD1. However, the structural change did not largely depend on the salt concentration, though the thermal stability a little increased. The previous NMR analysis revealed that the hBub1 CD1 adopts eight helices, which is consistent with the CD result. Our result would be helpful for evaluating the molecular mechanism of the hBub1 CD1 and protein-protein interactions.

• BMB Reports
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.21-27
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• 2001

The structural stability of brain pyrydoxine-5'-phosphate (PNP) oxidase and the catalytic properties of the monomeric species were investigated. The unfolding of brain pyridoxine-5'-phosphate (PNP) oxidase by guanidine hydrochloride (GuHCl) was monitored by means of fluorescence and circular dichroism spectroscopy Reversible dissociation of the dimeric enzyme into subunits was attained by the addition of 2 M GuHCl. The perturbation of the secondary structure under the denaturation condition resulted in the release of the cofactor FMN. Separation of the processes of refolding and reassociation of the monomeric species was achieved by the immobilization method. Dimeric PNP oxidase was immobilized by the covalent attachment to Affi-gel 15 without any significant lass of its catalytic activity. Matrix-bound monomeric species were obtained from the reversible refolding processes. The matrix bound-monomer was found to be catalytically active, possessing only a slightly decreased specific activity when compared to the refolded dimeric enzyme. In addition, limited chymotrypsin digestion of the oxidase yields two fragments of 12 and 161 kDa with a concomitant increase of catalytic activity The catalytically active fragment was isolated by ion exchange chromatography and analyzed for association of two subunits using the FPLC gel filtration analysis. The retention time indicated that the catalytic fragment of 16 kDa behaves as a compact monomer. Taken together, these results are consistent with the hypothesis that the native quaternary structure of PNP oxidase is not a prerequisite for catalytic function, but it could play a role in the regulation.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.1192-1195
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• 2010

To investigate the influence of the N- or C-terminal regions of pleurocidin (Ple) peptide on antifungal activity, four analogs partially truncated in the N- or C-terminal regions were designed and synthesized. Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy demonstrated that all the analogs maintained an alpha-helical structure. The antifungal susceptibility testing also showed that the analogs exhibited antifungal activities against human fungal pathogens, without hemolytic effects against human erythrocytes. The result further indicated that the analogs had discrepant antifungal activities [Ple>Ple (1-22)>Ple (4-25)>Ple (1- 19)>Ple (7-25)] and that N-terminal deletion affected the activities much more than C-terminal deletion. Hydrophobicity [Ple>Ple (1-22)>Ple (4-25)>Ple (1-19)> Ple (7-25)] was thought to have been one of the consistent factors that influenced these activity patterns, rather than the other primary factors like the helicity [Ple>Ple (4-25) >Ple (1-22)>Ple (1-19)>Ple (7-25)] or the net charge [Ple=Ple (4-25)=Ple (7-25)>Ple (1-22)=Ple (1-19)] of the peptides. In conclusion, the hydrophobic amino acids in the N-terminal region of Ple is more crucial for antifungal activity than those in the C-terminal region.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.9
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• pp.1457-1466
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• 2018

In the present study, the stabilizing effect of four different biological osmolytes on Bacillus licheniformis ${\gamma}$-glutamyl transpeptidase (BlGGT) was investigated. BlGGT appeared to be stable under temperatures below $40^{\circ}C$, but the enzyme retained less than 10% of its activity at $60^{\circ}C$. The tested osmolytes exhibited different degrees of effectiveness against temperature inactivation of BlGGT, and sucrose was found to be the most effective among these. The use of circular dichroism spectroscopy for studying the secondary structure of BlGGT revealed that the temperature-induced conformational change of the protein molecule could be prevented by the osmolytes. Consistently, the molecular structure of the enzyme was essentially conserved by the osmolytes at elevated temperatures as monitored by fluorescence spectroscopy. Sucrose was further observed to counteract guanidine hydrochloride (GdnHCl)-and urea-induced denaturation of BlGGT. Taken together, we observed evidently that some well-known biological osmolytes, especially sucrose, make a dominant contribution to the structural stabilization of BlGTT.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.10-22
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• 1983

The interactions of ${\alpha}-cyclodextrin({\alpha}-CyD)$ and ${\beta}-cyclodextrin({\beta}-CyD)$ with several non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs were studied on the effects of ${\alpha}-$ and ${\beta}-CyD$ on the solubility of the drugs in aqueous medium. Indoprofen, niflumic acid, alclofenac, and naproxen were chosen as representatives of antiinflammatory drugs. The solubility of all drugs studied increased with the addition of ${\beta}-CyD$, while not with glucose or ${\alpha}-CyD$. The increase of the solubility with ${\beta}-CyD$ was considered due mainly to the formation of inclusion complexes between ${\beta}-CyD$ and drugs. From the solubility data, the apparent stability constants K of the complex could be calculated. Ultraviolet absorption and circular dichroism confirmed the inclusion of indoprofen, niflumic acid and naproxen with ${\beta}-CyD$ in the molar ratio of 1 : 1. Inclusion complexes in solid powder form were obtained by the freeze-drying method and the inclusion formation was confirmed again by infrared, diffential thermal analysis, and X-ray diffraction measurements.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetic Resonance Society
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.46-55
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• 2001

P23, a translationally controlled turner protein is involved in the interleukin-4 secretion from human basophils and is also known to be an IgE-dependent histamine-releasing factor. However, the precise physiological function and structure of P23 have not been elucidated. In the current study, we constructed the optimal expression and purification protocol of P23 and investigated the secondary structure and structural stability in various conditions. Circular dichroism (CD) investigation showed that the secondary structure of P23 adopts mainly a P-sheet conformation. CD spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry revealed that P23 is fairly stable in the pH range of neutral and mild-basic conditions and in the temperature range of 10 - 50$\^{C}$. Since the thermal stability and the P-sheet content of P23 were decreased by the addition of Ca$\^$2+/ ion, it could be suggested that Ca$\^$2+/ion induces structural change by partially destabilizing the structure of P23. In addition various H experiments were monitored to solve the aggregation of P23. Den results will provide the preliminary structural information about P23.

• Journal of Magnetics
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.182-188
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• 2006

The search for high-density recording materials has been one of most active and vigorous field in the field of magnetism. $FePt-L1_{0}$ nanoparticle has emerged as a potential candidate because of its high anisotropy. In this paper, we provide an overview of recent work at Argonne National Laboratory that contributes to the ongoing dialogue concerning the relation between structure and properties of the FePt nanoparticle system. In particular we discuss the ability to control structure and properties via dosing with Cr. Cr-dosed FePt films were grown via molecular beam epitaxy and annealed at $550^{\circ}C$ in an ultrahigh vacuum chamber, and were studied with the surface magneto-optic Kerr effect (SMOKE), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD). We found that small dosage of Cr helps to generate $L1_{0}$ phase FePt magnetic nanoparticles with small size, defined shape and regular spatial distribution on MgO (001) substrate. The nanostructures are ferromagnetic with high magnetic coercivity (${\sim}0.9T$) and magnetic easy axis in the desired out-of-plane orientation. We also show that controlling the lateral region where nanostructures exist is possible via artificial patterning with Cr.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.12
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• pp.3577-3585
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• 2013

Syndecan-4 (heparan sulfate proteoglycan), biologically important in cell-to-cell interactions and tumor suppression, was studied through mutation of the GXXXG motif of its transmembrane domain (Syd4-TM), a motif which governs dimerization. The expression and purification of the mutant (mSyd4-TM) were optimized here to assess the function of the GXXXG motif in the dimerization of Syd4-TM. mSyd4-TM was obtained in M9 minimal media and its oligomerization was identified by SDS PAGE, Circular Dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy. The mutant, unlike Syd4-TM, did not form dimers and was observed as monomers. The GXXXG motif of Syd-4TM was shown to be an important structural determinant of its dimerization.