• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제29권6호
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• pp.999-1007
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• 2019

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and related infection cases have been reported in over 20 countries. Roughly 10,000 human cases have so far been reported in total with fatality rates at up to 40%. The majority of cases have occurred in Saudi Arabia with mostly sporadic outbreaks outside the country except for the one in South Korea in 2015. The Korean MERS-CoV strain was isolated from the second Korean patient and its genome was fully sequenced and deposited. To develop virus-specific protective and therapeutic agents against the Korean isolate and to investigate molecular determinants of virus-host interactions, it is of paramount importance to generate its full-length cDNA. Here we report that two full-length cDNAs from a Korean patient-isolated MERS-CoV strain were generated by a combination of conventional cloning techniques and efficient Gibson assembly reactions. The full-length cDNAs were validated by restriction analysis and their sequence was verified by Sanger method. The resulting cDNA was efficiently transcribed in vitro and the T7 promoter-driven expression was robust. The resulting reverse genetic system will add to the published list of MERS-CoV cDNAs and facilitate the development of Korean isolate-specific antiviral measures.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• 제34권6호
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• pp.459-469
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• 2018

Plants and microorganisms (microbes) use information from chemicals such as volatile compounds to understand their environments. Proficiency in sensing and responding to these infochemicals increases an organism's ecological competence and ability to survive in competitive environments, particularly with regard to plant-pathogen interactions. Plants and microbes acquired the ability to sense and respond to biogenic volatiles during their evolutionary history. However, these signals can only be interpreted by humans through the use of state-of the-art technologies. Newly-developed tools allow microbe-induced plant volatiles to be detected in a rapid, precise, and non-invasive manner to diagnose plant diseases. Beside disease diagnosis, volatile compounds may also be valuable in improving crop productivity in sustainable agriculture. Bacterial volatile compounds (BVCs) have potential for use as a novel plant growth stimulant or as improver of fertilizer efficiency. BVCs can also elicit plant innate immunity against insect pests and microbial pathogens. Research is needed to expand our knowledge of BVCs and to produce BVC-based formulations that can be used practically in the field. Formulation possibilities include encapsulation and sol-gel matrices, which can be used in attract and kill formulations, chemigation, and seed priming. Exploitation of biogenic volatiles will facilitate the development of smart integrated plant management systems for disease control and productivity improvement.

• BMB Reports
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• 제54권1호
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• pp.2-11
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• 2021

Antibody-based therapeutics targeting the inhibitory receptors PD-1, PD-L1, or CTLA-4 have shown remarkable clinical progress on several cancers. However, most patients do not benefit from these therapies. Thus, many efforts are being made to identify new immune checkpoint receptor-ligand pathways that are alternative targets for cancer immunotherapies. Nectin and nectin-like molecules are widely expressed on several types of tumor cells and play regulatory roles in T- and NK-cell functions. TIGIT, CD226, CD96 and CD112R on lymphoid cells are a group of immunoglobulin superfamily receptors that interact with Nectin and nectin-like molecules with different affinities. These receptors transmit activating or inhibitory signals upon binding their cognate ligands to the immune cells. The integrated signals formed by their complex interactions contribute to regulating immune-cell functions. Several clinical trials are currently evaluating the efficacy of anti-TIGIT and anti-CD112R blockades for treating patients with solid tumors. However, many questions still need to be answered in order to fully understand the dynamics and functions of these receptor networks. This review addresses the rationale behind targeting TIGIT, CD226, CD96, and CD112R to regulate T- and NK-cell functions and discusses their potential application in cancer immunotherapy.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제5권4호
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• pp.162-167
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• 1984

Equilibrium and dynamical behaviors of an n-alkane poymer (decane) in solution have been investigated by a molecuar dynamics simulation method. The polymer is assumed to be a chain of elements $(CH_2)$ interconnected by bonds having a fixed bond length and bond angle, but esch bond of the polymer is allowed to execute hindered internal rotation. The calculation explicitly considers the molecular naturer of solvent by including the intermolecular interactions between slovent-solvent molecules and chain element-solvent molecule. We present the results of calculations on (1) equilibrium properties (the solvent molecule-chain element pair correlation function, chain element-chain element pair correlation function, the mean square end-to-end distance and the mean square radius of gyration of the polymer) and (2) dynamic properties (four different autocorrelation functions, namely, the autocorrelation functions for the end-to-end distance and the radius of gyration, and the velocity autocorrelation functions for the center of mass and the end point of the chain). We found that the physical properties of the polymer chain depends sensitively on temperature. Comparison of the present work with other authors' results is also presented.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• 제20권3호
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• pp.129-142
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• 2021

Effects of corrosion inhibitors (i.e., sodium nitrite, sodium hexametaphosphate, trimethylamine (TEA), sugar, and urea) on the corrosion resistance of carbon steel in CaCl₂ solution were investigated. The test solution was designed with response surface methodology of design of experiments (DOE) in the range of 0 ~ 50 ppm for NaNO₂, 0 ~ 200 ppm for (NaPO₃)₆, 0 ~ 2000 ppm for TEA, 0 ~ 3000 ppm for sugar, 0 ~ 200 ppm for urea with 3 wt% CaCl₂. The corrosion potential and the corrosion rate were measured with potentiodynamic polarization tests and analyzed statistically to find main effects of inhibitor concentrations and interactions between them. As a result, hexametaphosphate was the most effective compound in reducing the corrosion rate. Sugar also reduced the corrosion rate significantly possibly because it covered the surface effectively with a high molecular weight. The inhibiting action of sugar was found to be enhanced by adding trimethylamine into the solution. Nevertheless, trimethylamine did not appear to be effective in inhibiting corrosion by itself. However, urea and sodium nitrite showed almost no inhibition on corrosion resistance of steel.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제43권12호
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• pp.1023-1034
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• 2020

Complement fragment iC3b serves as a major opsonin for facilitating phagocytosis via its interaction with complement receptors CR3 and CR4, also known by their leukocyte integrin family names, αMβ2 and αXβ2, respectively. Although there is general agreement that iC3b binds to the αM and αX I-domains of the respective β2-integrins, much less is known regarding the regions of iC3b contributing to the αX I-domain binding. In this study, using recombinant αX I-domain, as well as recombinant fragments of iC3b as candidate binding partners, we have identified two distinct binding moieties of iC3b for the αX I-domain. They are the C3 convertase-generated N-terminal segment of the C3b α'-chain (α'NT) and the factor I cleavage-generated N-terminal segment in the CUBf region of α-chain. Additionally, we have found that the CUBf segment is a novel binding moiety of iC3b for the αM I-domain. The CUBf segment shows about a 2-fold higher binding activity than the α'NT for αX I-domain. We also have shown the involvement of crucial acidic residues on the iC3b side of the interface and basic residues on the I-domain side.

• 통합자연과학논문집
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• 제15권4호
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• pp.145-152
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• 2022

Colon rectal cancer is one of the frequently diagnosed cancers worldwide. In recent times the drug discovery for colon cancer is challenging because of their speedy metastasis and morality of these patients. C-jun N-terminal kinase signaling pathway controls the cell cycle survival and apoptosis. Evidence has shown that JNK1 promotes the tumor progression in various types of cancers like colon cancer, breast cancer and lung cancer. Recent study has shown that inhibiting, JNK1 pathway is identified as one of the important cascades in drug discovery. One of the recent approaches in the field of drug discovery is drug repurposing. In drug repurposing approach we have virtually screened ChEMBL dataset against JNK1 protein and their interactions have been studied through Molecular docking. Cross docking was performed with the top compounds to be more specific with JNK1 comparing the affinity with JNK2 and JNK3.The drugs which exhibited higher binding were subjected to Conceptual - Density functional theory. The results showed mainly Entrectinib and Exatecan showed better binding to the target.

• BMB Reports
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• 제56권1호
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• pp.15-23
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• 2023

After birth, animals are colonized by a diverse community of microorganisms. The digestive tract is known to contain the largest number of microbiome in the body. With emergence of the gut-brain axis, the importance of gut microbiome and its metabolites in host health has been extensively studied in recent years. The establishment of organoid culture systems has contributed to studying intestinal pathophysiology by replacing current limited models. Owing to their architectural and functional complexity similar to a real organ, co-culture of intestinal organoids with gut microbiome can provide mechanistic insights into the detrimental role of pathobiont and the homeostatic function of commensal symbiont. Here organoid-based bacterial co-culture techniques for modeling host-microbe interactions are reviewed. This review also summarizes representative studies that explore impact of enteric microorganisms on intestinal organoids to provide a better understanding of host-microbe interaction in the context of homeostasis and disease.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• 제49권4호
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• pp.316-324
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• 2022

Hair loss causes psychological stress due to its effect on appearance. Therefore, the global market for hair loss treatment products is rapidly growing. The present study demonstrated that ginseng berry-derived and sequence-modified peptides promoted the proliferation rate of dermal papilla (DP) cells and keratinocytes, in addition to having antioxidant properties. Moreover, the potential role of these ginseng berry peptides as TGF-β2 antagonists was confirmed through in silico computer docking. In addition to promoting the growth of ,the ginseng berry-derived peptides also promoted the proliferation of keratinocytes experimental Particularly, an unmodified ginseng berry-derived peptide (GB-1) and two peptides with sequence modifications (GB-2 and GB-3) decreased ROS generation and exhibited a protective effect on damaged HaCaT keratinocytes. Computer-aided peptide discovery was conducted to identify the potential interactions of important proteins with transforming growth factor-beta 2 (TGF-β2), a key protein that plays a crucial role in the human hair growth cycle. Our results demonstrated that MAGH, an amino acid sequence present in herbal supplements and plant-based natural compounds, can inhibit TGF-β2.

• Applied Microscopy
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• 제52권
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• pp.9.1-9.5
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• 2022

The compact smooth muscle 10S myosin II is a type of a monomer with folded tail and the heads bending back to interact with each other. This inactivated form is associated with regulatory and enzymatic activities affecting myosin processivity with actin filaments as well as ATPase activity. Phosphorylation by RLC can however, shuttle myosin from the inhibited 10S state to an activated 6S state, dictating the equilibrium. Multiple studies contributed by TEM have provided insights in the structural understanding of the 10S form. However, it is only recently that the true potential of Cryo-EM in deciphering the intramolecular interactions of 10S myosin state has been realized. This has led to an influx of new revelations on the 10S inactivation, unfolding mechanism and association in various diseases. This study reviews the gradual development in the structural interpretation of 10S species from TEM to Cryo-EM era. Furthermore, we discuss the utility of Cryo-EM in future myosin 10S studies and its contribution to human health.