• BMB Reports
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.180-182
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• 1996

One of the essential functions of virus surface proteins is the recognition of specific receptors on target cell membranes, and cellular receptors play an important role in viral pathogenesis. But the earliest steps of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, such as hepatocyte receptor interaction with the virus, are poorly understood. Previous work has suggested an important role of the preS1 region of HBV envelope protein in mediating viral binding to hepatocytes. Although hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection appears to be initiated by specific binding of virions to cell membrane structures via one or potentially several viral surface proteins, data showing the identification or isolation of the HBV receptor (s) are not yet available. The receptor-like proteins on the plasma membrane surface of HepG2 cells that bind to PreS1 were separated and identified using affinity chromatography, and the amino-terminal amino acid sequences of the receptor-like proteins were determined.

• BMB Reports
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.175-179
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• 1996

Viral surface proteins are known to play an essential role in attachment of the virus particle to the host cell membrane. In case of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) several reports have described potential receptors on the target cell side, but no definite receptor protein has been isolated yet. As for the viral side, it has been suggested that the preS region of the envelope protein, especially the preS1 region, is involved in binding of HBV to the host cell. In this study, preS1 region was recombinantly expressed in the form of a maltose binding protein (MBP) fusion protein and used to identify and visualize the expression of putative HBV receptor(s) on the host cell. Using laser scanned confocal microscopy and by FACS analysis, MBP-preS1 proteins were shown to bind to the human hepatoma cell line HepG2 in a receptor-ligand specific manner. The binding kinetic of MBP-preS1 to its cellular receptor was shown to be temperature and time dependent. In cells permeabilized with Triton X-100 and treated with the fusion protein, a specific staining of the nuclear membrane could be observed. To determine the precise location of the receptor binding site within the preS1 region, several short overlapping peptides from this region were synthesized and used in a competition assay. In this way the receptor binding epitope in preS1 was revealed to be amino acid residues 27 to 51, which is in agreement with previous reports. These results confirm the significance of the preS1 region in virus attachment in general, and suggest an internalization pathway mediated by direct attachment of the viral particle to the target cell membrane.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.35 no.5_6
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• pp.352-352
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• 2000

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.30 no.4 s.48
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• pp.479-483
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• 2004

An attempt was made to develop a proteinchip for screening of MITF (microphthalmia transcription factor) inhibitor. Binding of MITF to E-box causes transcription of several pigmenting genes including tyrosinase gene. We investigated binding of MITF and its DNA binding site (E-box) using a protein-DNA chip with various detection methods including flurorescence (Cyt3). SPR (surface plasmon resonance) and SPRi (surface plasmon resonance imaging). A fusion protein (MITF-Maltose Binding Protein) was attached on the glass plate by chemical modification. An inhibitory synthetic DNA oligomer, artificially designed based on the E-box sequence, inhibited the binding of MITF and E-box. These results showed the potentials of flurorescence-based MITF protein chip as a microarray for high throughput screening (HTS) system of depigmenting agents.

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 1998.04a
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• pp.31-35
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• 1998

1. INTRODUCTION : Recognition and binding of organic substrates by biological molecules are of vital importance in biophysics and biophysical chemistry. Most studies of the application focused on the development of biosensors, which detected reaction products generated by the binding between enzymes and substrates. Other types of biosensors in which membrane proteins (e.g., nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, auxin receptor ATPase, maltose bining protein, and glutmate receptor) were utilized as a receptor function were also developed. In the previous study[1], the shifts in membrane potential, caused by the injection of substrates into a permeation cell, were measured using immobilized glucose oxidase membranes. It was suggested that the reaction product was not the origin of the potential shifts, but the changes in the charge density in the membrane due to the binding between the enzyme and the substrates generated the potential shifts. In this study, $\gamma$-globulin was immobilized (entrapped) in a poly($\gamma$-amino acid) network, and the shifts in the membrane potential caused by the injection of some amino acids were investigated.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.190-196
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• 2016

In this study, the Brucella abortus ohr gene coding for an organic hydroperoxide resistance protein (Ohr) was cloned into a maltose fusion protein expression system (pMAL), inserted into Escherichia coli, and purified, and its immunogenicity was evaluated by western blot analysis using Brucella-positive mouse sera. The purified recombinant Ohr (rOhr) was treated with adjuvant and injected intraperitoneally into BALB/c mice. A protective immune response analysis revealed that rOhr induced a significant increase in both the IgG1 and IgG2a titers, and IgG2a reached a higher level than IgG1 after the second and third immunizations. Additionally, immunization with rOhr induced high production of IFN-γ as well as proinflammatory cytokines such as TNF, MCP-1, IL-12p70, and IL-6, but a lesser amount of IL-10, suggesting that rOhr predominantly elicited a cell-mediated immune response. In addition, immunization with rOhr caused a significantly higher degree of protection against a virulent B. abortus infection compared with a positive control group consisting of mice immunized with maltose-binding protein. These findings showed that B. abortus rOhr was able to induce both humoral and cell-mediated immunity in mice, which suggested that this recombinant protein could be a potential vaccine candidate for animal brucellosis.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.102-108
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• 1994

Autonomously replicating sequence Binding Factor 1(ABF1) is a DNA-binding protein that specifically recognizes the $RTCRYN_5ACG$ at many sites in the yeast genome including the promoter element, mating-type silencer and ARS. To express the intact full-length ABF1 gene in E. coli, the ABF1 gene has been cloned into pMAL-c2 and His-61, Leu-353 and Leu-360 were substituted with other amino acid. ABF1 fusion proteins of wild type ABF1 and H61A, L353R and L360R nutants were purified by amylose resin affinity chromatography. Fusion protein of MBP and ABF1 was digested by Factor Xa and Characterized by gel retardation assay and complementation test. As aresult, we suggested that other DNA binding motif except atypical inc-finger motif is in the middle region of ABF1.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.446-451
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• 2008

We assessed heterologous protein expression in 64 strains obtained from the Escherichia coli Reference (ECOR) collection, a collection representing diverse natural E. coli populations. A plasmid generating a glutathione S-transferase and plant carbonic anhydrase fusion protein (GST-CA) under the control of the tac promoter was introduced into the ECOR strains, and the quantity of the fusion protein was determined by SDS-PAGE. The foreign protein was generated at various levels, from very high (40 strains, high producers) to very low (six strains, low producers). Immunoblotting showed that the high producers expressed approximately 250-500 times more GST-CA protein than the low producers. The results of semi-quantitative RT-PCR showed that the low producers generated mRNA levels comparable to those of the high producers, thereby suggesting that, at least in this case, inefficient translation is a major cause of the low production. We introduced a different plasmid, which expressed a maltose binding protein and plant guanylate kinase fusion protein (MBP-GK) into the six low producers. Interestingly, five of these expressed MBP-GK at very high levels. Thus, we conclude that the production of a particular protein from an expression vector can vary considerably, depending on the host strain. Strains in the ECOR collection could function as useful alternative hosts when a desired level of protein expression is not obtained from commonly used strains, such as E. coli K12 or B derivatives.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.164-166
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• 2001

To examine the characteristics of the recombinant thin aggregative fimbriae of Salmonella, the AgfA subunit gene was amplified from Salmonella enteritidis using a PCR. The maltose binding protein (MBP)-AgfA fusion protein was overproduced in E. coli and purified. The secondary structure of AgfA was then elucidated from the difference CD spectra. An estimation of the secondary structure of AgfA using the self-consistent method revealed a mostly ${\beta}-sheet$ structure.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.178-181
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• 2004

A gene encoding an extracellular nuclease was cloned from Aeromonas hydrophila strain ATCC14715. The gene was overexpressed and the enzyme was purified by fusing to maltose binding protein. It was shown that the protein possessed DNase activity on both single-stranded and double-stranded DNAs. It exhibited both endo- and exonuclease activities. It was also shown that the protein had an RNase activity. Possible roles of this extracellular enzyme in the A. hydrophila life cycle are discussed.