• Journal of Photoscience
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• 제9권2호
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• pp.290-292
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• 2002

The intermediate M420 formed in a solution of firefly luciferin in deoxygenated dimethyl-sulfoxide added potassium f-butoxide was observed to emit yellow-green and red light by filter-photometry. By H-NMR, M420 was found to be deprotonated at the site where luciferin reacts with oxygen.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• 제41권1호
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• pp.54-58
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• 2007

목적: Firefly luciferase (이하 Fluc)는 분자영상 분야에 가장 널리 쓰이는 리포터 유전자 중 하나이다. 발광반응의 기질로 사용되는 D-luciferin 은 가격이 비싸고 실험동물의 무게에 비례해서 기질을 주입 하므로 마우스나 렛트와 같은 소동물을 대상으로 전임상 연구가 이루어지고 있다. 본 실험실에서는 중동물인 토끼의 관절강에 D-luciferin을 국소 주입하여 발광영상을 획득하였다. 대상 및 방법: 연골세포를 일주일 동안 배양한 후 Fluc 아데노바이러스에 감염시켰다. 감염된 연골세포를 토끼의 관절강에 주입 또는 이식하였다. 착상된 무릎의 관절강부위에 D-luciferin을 국소 주입한 후 본 실험실서 보유하고 있는 CCD 카메라가 장착된 실시간 영상장비를 이용하여 날짜 별로 분자영상을 획득하였다. 결과: 착상되어진 토끼의 관절강 부위에 기질을 국소주입하여 영상을 성공적으로 획득하였다. 연골세포 주입 및 이식 후 1일째부터 토끼의 관절강에서 빛이 방출되었으며 토끼의 관절강에 주입하는 것보다 이식하는 방법이 강한 빛을 방출함을 알 수 있었다. 또한 7일째까지 토끼의 관절강에 연골세포를 이식한 것이 주입한 것보다 총 광량이 5배에서 10배까지 강하게 나타남을 확인하였고 9일째에는 약 10배정도 강하게 나타났다. 결론: 중동물인 토끼를 이용하여 Fluc을 발현하는 연골세포를 주입 또는 이식한 관절강에 D-luciferin을 국소 주입하여 영상을 성공적으로 획득하였으며, 이러한 결과를 통해 중동물에 소량의 D-luciferin 국소주입하여도 발광영상을 얻는데 충분함을 알 수 있었다.

• BMB Reports
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• 제39권5호
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• pp.578-585
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• 2006

The cDNA of a firefly luciferase from lantern mRNA of Lampyroidea maculata has been cloned, sequenced and functionally expressed. The cDNA has an open reading frame of 1647 bp and codes for a 548-residue-long polypeptide. Noteworthy, sequence comparison as well as homology modeling showed the highest degree of similarity with H. unmunsana and L. mingrelica luciferases, suggesting a close phylogenetic relationship despite the geographical distance separation. The deduced amino acid sequence of the luciferase gene of firefly L. maculata showed 93% identity to H. unmunsana. Superposition of the three-dimensional model of L. maculata luciferase (generated by homology modeling) and three dimensional structure of Photinus pyralis luciferase revealed that the spatial arrangements of Luciferin and ATP-binding residues are very similar. Putative signature of AMP-binding domain among the various firefly species and Lampyroidea maculata was compared and a striking similarity was found. Different motifs and sites have been identified in Lampyroidea maculata by sequence analysis. Expression and purification of luciferase from Lampyroidea maculata was carried out using Ni-NTA Sepharose. Bioluminescence emission spectrum was similar to Photinus pyralis luciferase.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제33권11호
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• pp.1506-1512
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• 2023

Quantitative analysis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) has been widely used as a diagnostic tool in the food and medical industries. Particularly, the pathogenesis of a few diseases including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is closely related to high ATP concentrations. A bioluminescent D-luciferin/luciferase system, which includes a luciferase (FLuc) from the firefly Photinus pyralis as a key component, is the most commonly used method for the detection and quantification of ATP. Here, instead of isolating FLuc produced in recombinant Escherichia coli, we aimed to develop a whole-cell biocatalyst system that does not require extraction and purification of FLuc. To this end, the gene coding for FLuc was introduced into the genome of probiotic Saccharomyces boulardii using the CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing system. The linear relationship (r² = 0.9561) between ATP levels and bioluminescence generated from the engineered S. boulardii expressing FLuc was observed in vitro. To explore the feasibility of using the engineered S. boulardii expressing FLuc as a whole-cell biosensor to detect inflammation biomarker (i.e., ATP) in the gut, a colitis mouse model was established using dextran sodium sulfate as a colitogenic compound. Our findings demonstrated that the whole-cell biosensor can detect elevated ATP levels during gut inflammation in mice. Therefore, the simple and powerful method developed herein could be applied for non-invasive IBD diagnosis.