• BMB Reports
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.244-249
• /
• 2001

The anabolic acetolactate synthase III was purified to homogeneity from Serratia marcescens using DEAE-Sepharose, Phenyl-Sepharose, and hydroxylapatite column chromatography The native molecular weight of the enzyme was approximately 165 kDa. The enzyme is composed of two large and two small subunits with molecular weights of 64 and 15 kDa, respectively. The N-terminal sequence of the large and small subunit of the enzyme was Ser-Ala-Thr-Pro-Gln-Pro-Ser-Thr-Arg-Phe-Thr-Cys-Ala-Gln-Leu-Ile-Ala-His-Leu and Met-Leu-Gln-Pro-Gln-Asp-Lys-Pro-Gln-Val-Ile-Leu-Glu-Leu-Ala-Val-Arg-Asn-His-Pro-Gly-Val-Met-Ser-His-Val, respectively. The optimum pH and pI value were 7.5 and 5.5, respectively The $IC_{50}$ values were $20\;{\mu}M$ and $14\;{\mu}M$ for valine and herbicide SU7, respectively. The substrate specificity ratio, R value, was determined to be approximately 40, which suggests that this enzyme prefers the formation of $\alpha$-aceto-$\alpha$-hydroxybutyrate leading to the synthesis of isoleucine.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.59-65
• /
• 2008

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of overexpression of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) on the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase and on the concentration of nitric oxide and to determine the mechanism for the relationship between HSP70 and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in sepsis. Methods: Experiments were performed on male Sprague-Dawley rats, and sepsis was induced by using cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). Glutamine (GLN) or saline was administered 1 h after initiation of sepsis. We acquired serum and lung tissues from the rats 12 h or 24 h after initiation of sepsis. We analyzed the concentration of nitric oxide, the expression of HSP70 in the lung, and the gene expression of iNOS in the lung. Results: In CLP+GLN, glutamine given after initiation of sepsis enhanced the expression of HSP70 in the lung at 12 h (CLP+GLN vs. CLP:: $47.19{\pm}10.04$ vs. $33.22{\pm}8.28$, p = 0.025) and 24 h (CLP+GLN vs. CLP: $47.06{\pm}10.60$ vs. $31.90{\pm}4.83$, p = 0.004). In CLP+GLN, glutamine attenuated the expression of iNOS mRNA in the lung at 12 h (CLP+GLN vs. CLP: $4167.17{\pm}951.59$ vs. $5513.73{\pm}1051.60$, p = 0.025) and 24 h (CLP+GLN vs. CLP: $9,437.65{\pm}2,521.07$ vs. $18,740.27{\pm}8,241.20$, p = 0.016) and reduced the concentration of nitric oxide in serum at 12 h (CLP+GLN vs. CLP: $0.86{\pm}0.48$ vs. $3.82{\pm}2.53{\mu}mol/L$, p = 0.016) and 24 h (CLP+GLN vs. CLP: $0.39{\pm}0.25$ vs. $1.85{\pm}1.70{\mu}mol/L$, p = 0.025). Conclusion: The overexpression of HSP70 induced by the administration of glutamine in sepsis attenuated the gene expression of iNOS and reduced the concentration of nitric oxide.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.17 no.2 s.82
• /
• pp.204-210
• /
• 2007

Previous reports indicated that the carboxyl terminal residues, glutamine276-threonine277 in particular, were important for actin affinity of the unacetylated smooth ${\alpha}-tropomyosin$. To determine the role of the glutamine and threonine residues in C-terminal region in actin binding, we constructed mutant striated muscle ${\alpha}-tropomyosin$ (TMs), in which these two residues were individually substituted. These mutant tropomyosins, designated TM18 (HT) and TM19 (QA), were overexpressed in E. coli as an either unacetylated form or Ala-Ser. (AS) dipeptide fusion form, and were analyzed F-actin affinity by cosedimentation. Unacetylated TM19 (QA) bound to actin approximately three times stronger than TM18 (HT) and much stronger than ST (HA). AS/TM19 (QA) showed four times stronger, in actin affinity than AS/ST (HA) while AS/TM14 (QT) bound to actin stronger to some extent than AS/TM18 (HT). These results suggested that the presence of Gln residue at 276 be primarily attributed to higher actin affinity of smooth ${\alpha}-tropomyosin$.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.1925-1931
• /
• 2016

Background: The XRCC1 protein facilitates various DNA repair pathways; single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in this gene are associated with a risk of gastrointestinal cancer (GIC) with inconsistent results, but no data have been previously reported for the Sabah, North Borneo, population. We accordingly investigated the XRCC1 Arg194Trp and Arg399Gln SNPs in terms of GIC risk in Sabah. Materials and Methods: We performed genotyping for both SNPs for 250 GIC patients and 572 healthy volunteers using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism approach. We validated heterozygosity and homozygosity for both SNPs using direct sequencing. Results: The presence of a variant 194Trp allele in the Arg194Trp SNP was significantly associated with a higher risk of GIC, especially with gastric and colorectal cancers. We additionally found that the variant 399Gln allele in Arg399Gln SNP was associated with a greater risk of developing gastric cancer. Our combined analysis revealed that inheritance of variant alleles in both SNPs increased the GIC risk in Sabah population. Based on our etiological analysis, we found that subjects ${\geq}50years$ and males who carrying the variant 194Trp allele, and Bajau subjects carrying the 399Gln allele had a significantly increased risk of GIC. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that inheritance of variant alleles in XRCC1 Arg194Trp and Arg399Gln SNPs may act as biomarkers for the early detection of GIC, especially for gastric and colorectal cancers in the Sabah population.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.16 no.8
• /
• pp.3285-3291
• /
• 2015

Background: Non-synonymous polymorphisms in XRCC1 hase been shown to reduce effectiveness of DNA repair and be associated with risk of certain cancers. In this study we aimed to clarify any association between XRCC1 Arg399Gln and colorectal cancer (CRC) risk by performing a meta-analysis of published case-control studies. Materials and Methods: PubMed and Google Scholar were searched to explore the association between XRCC1 and CRC. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to estimate the association strength. Publication bias was assessed by Egger's and Begg's tests. Results: Up to January 2015, 35 case control studies involving 9,114 CRC cases and 13,948 controls were included in the present meta-analysis. The results showed that the Arg399Gln polymorphism only under an allele genetic model was associated with CRC risk (A vs. G: OR 0.128, 95% CI 0.119-0.138, p<0.001). Also, this meta-analysis suggested that the XRCC1 Arg399Gln polymorphism might associated with susceptibility to CRC in Asians (A vs G: OR 0.124, 95% CI 0.112-0.138, p<0.001) and Caucasian (A vs G: OR 0.132, 95% CI 0.119-0.146, p<0.001) only under an allele genetic model. Conclusions: This meta-analysis confirms the association between XRCC1 Arg399Gln polymorphism and CRC risk and suggests that the heterogeneity is not strongly modified by ethnicity and deviation from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.501-508
• /
• 2013

The effects of amino acids and dipeptides on in vitro production of porcine embryos and accumulation of ammonia in culture medium during developmental stages were examined in this study. The maturation, fertilization and development of embryonic cultures were performed in modified Tissue culture medium (mTCM)-199 supplemented with 10% (v/v) porcine follicular fluid, modified Tyrode's albumin lactate pyruvate (mTALP) medium, and modified North Carolina State University (mNCSU)-23 medium, respectively. In addition, amino acids and dipeptides of different concentrations and combinations were used to treat the embryos. The addition of L-alanyl-L-glutamine (AlnGln)+L-glycyl-L-glutamine (GlyGln) significantly (p<0.05) improved oocyte maturation, fertilization and the incorporation and oxidation of 14C(U)-glucose when compared to the control group and other treatment groups. Additionally, 2-4 cell, 8-16 cell, morula and blastocyst development increased significantly (p<0.05) following treatment with AlnGln+GlyGln when compared to the control group and other treatment groups, while this treatment reduced the accumulation of ammonia. Taken together, these findings suggest that treatment with AlnGln+GlyGln may play an important role in increasing the rate of porcine oocyte maturation, fertilization and embryonic development by reducing the level of accumulated ammonia measured in the culture media.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.231-236
• /
• 2013

Background: Published data regarding the association between xeroderma pigmentosum group D (XPD) Lys751Gln and Asp312Asn polymorphisms and gastric cancer susceptibility havew been inconclusive. This meta-analysis was therefore performed toobtain a more precise estimation of any relationship. Materials and Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted to identify all case-control studies of Lys751Gln and Asp312Asn polymorphisms and susceptibility to gastric cancer. Summary odds ratios (ORs) and its 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated using a random-effects model with the software STATA (version10.0). Results: A total of 12 case-control studies including 3,147 cases and 4,736 controls were included. Overall, no significant associations were found in some models (for Lys751Gln: Lys/Gln vs Lys/Lys: OR=1.144, 95% CI=0.851-1.541, Gln/Gln vs Lys/Lys: OR=1.215, 95% CI = 0.740-1.955, dominant model: OR=1.137, 95% CI=0.818-1.582; recessive model: OR=1.123, 95% CI=0.765-1.650; for Asp312Asn: Asp/Asn vs Asp/Asp: OR=1.180, 95% CI=0.646-2.154, dominant model: OR=1.380, 95% CI = 0.812-2.346), but significantly elevated susceptibility was found for Asp312Asn polymorphism in some models (Asn/Asn vs Asp/Asp: OR=2.045, 95% CI=1.254-3.335, recessive model: OR=1.805, 95% CI =1.219-2.672), for the additive model, the XPD Lys751Gln and Asp312Asn polymorphisms were not significantly associated with gastric cancer susceptibility. In stratified analyses, significantly elevated susceptibility was found for some models in the Chinese population. Conclusion: This meta-analysis suggested the XPD Asp312Asn polymorphism might be a potential biomarker of gastric cancer susceptibility in overall population, while both XPD Lys751Gln and Asp312Asn polymorphisms might be risk factors of gastric cancer susceptibility in Chinese.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.43 no.5
• /
• pp.540-546
• /
• 1999

Solution conformation of cyclo-($Gln^1-Trp^2-Phe^3-{\beta}Ala^4-Leu^5-Met^6$), new NK-2 antagonist in dimethyl sulfoxide solution, has been determined by the use of two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy combined with simulated annealing calculations. The peptide exhibited converged structures with the atomic root-mean-square difference for the backbone atoms ($N,\;C^{\alpha},\;C'$) of all residues being 0.02${\AA}$ in the 25 annealed structures. The analysis of the structures indicated that the cyclic peptide has three intramolecular hydrogen bonds between $Met^6NH$ and ${\beta}Ala^4CO$, ${\beta}Ala^4NH$ and $Met^6CO$, $Phe^3NH$ and $Met^6CO$, and contain a type-I ${\beta}$-turn with Gln and Trp and ${\gamma}$-turn with Leu. The addition of an extra methylene group to Gly, i.e. P-Ala residue, may relax some unfavorable restraints in the cyclic backbone structure, hence enabling an additional hydrogen bond, which results in stabilizing one conformation.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
• /
• v.12 no.5
• /
• pp.196-206
• /
• 2012

Besides their role as building blocks of protein, there are growing evidences that some amino acids have roles in regulating key metabolic pathways that are necessary for maintenance, growth, reproduction, and immunity. Here, we evaluated the modulatory functions of several amino acids in protective immunity against mucosal infection of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). We found that glutamine (Gln) and leucine (Leu) showed enhanced protective immunity to HSV-1 mucosal infection when two administration of Gln and single administration of Leu per day, but not when administered in combinations. Ameliorated clinical signs of HSV-1 challenged mice by the intraperitoneal administration of Gln and Leu were closely associated with viral burden and IFN-${\gamma}$ production in the vaginal tract at 2 and 4 days post-infection. In addition, the enhanced production of vaginal IFN-${\gamma}$ appeared to be caused by NK and HSV-1 antigen-specific Th1-type CD4+ T cells recruited into vaginal tract of mice treated with Gln and Leu, which indicates that IFN-${\gamma}$, produced by NK and Th1-type CD4+ T cells, may be critical to control the outcome of diseases caused by HSV-1 mucosal infection. Collectively, our results indicate that intraperitoneal administration of Gln and Leu following HSV-1 mucosal infection could provide beneficial effects for the modulation of protective immunity, but dosage and frequency of administration should be carefully considered, because higher frequency and overdose of Gln and Leu, or their combined treatment, showed detrimental effects to protective immunity.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.7
• /
• pp.3273-3278
• /
• 2014

Background: Various studies have evaluated the relationship between X-ray repair cross-complementing group 1 (XRCC1) Arg399Gln polymorphism and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk, but the conclusions have been inconsistent and underpowered. The purpose of this updated meta-analysis was to examine whether XRCC1 Arg399Gln polymorphism confers susceptibility to HCC. Methods: Eligible studies extracted from PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, VIP (chinese) and CNKI (chinese) up to November 2013 were included in the study. Pooled odds ratio (OR) together with their 95% confidence interval (CI) were estimated to evaluate XRCC1 Arg399Gln polymorphism and HCC risk. Results: Finally, 21 studies with 4,170 cases and 5,030 controls were involved in our meta-analysis. The results demonstrated that there was significant association between Arg399Gln polymorphism and HCC risk under two contrast models in overall populations (AG vs GG: OR=1.265, 95%CI=1.036-1.545, p=0.021; AA+AG vs GG: OR=1.240, 95%CI=1.021-1.506, p=0.030). In subgroup analyses, significant association was found in Asians (A vs G: OR=1.175, 95%CI=1.013-1.362, p=0.033; AG vs GG: OR=1.317, 95%CI=1.070-1.622, p=0.009; AA+AG vs GG: OR=1.289, 95%CI=1.055-1.575, p=0.013) and Caucasians (A vs G: OR=0.591, 95%CI=0.361-0.966, p=0.036; AA+AG vs GG: OR=0.468, 95%CI=0.234-0.934, p=0.031). Conclusions: The results suggest that XRCC1 Arg399Gln polymorphism may increase HCC risk especially among Asians. However, XRCC1 Arg399Gln polymorphism might act as a protective role against HCC among Caucasians.