• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제26권5호
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• pp.458-463
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• 2018

The phosphorylation of JNK is known to induce insulin resistance in insulin target tissues. The inhibition of JNK-JIP1 interaction, which interferes JNK phosphorylation, becomes a potential target for drug development of type 2 diabetes. To discover the inhibitors of JNK-JIP1 interaction, we screened out 30 candidates from 4320 compound library with In Cell Interaction Trap method. The candidates were further confirmed and narrowed down to five compounds using the FRET method in a model cell. Among those five compounds, Acebutolol showed notable inhibition of JNK phosphorylation and elevation of glucose uptake in diabetic models of adipocyte and liver cell. Structural computation showed that the binding affinity of Acebutolol on the JNK-JIP1 interaction site was comparable to the known inhibitor, BI-78D3. Our results suggest that Acebutolol, an FDA-approved beta blocker for hypertension therapy, could have a new repurposed effect on type 2 diabetes elevating glucose uptake process by inhibiting JNK-JIP1 interaction.

• 한국독성학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국독성학회 2006년도 추계학술대회
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• pp.65-74
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• 2006

Modem drug discovery requires rapid pharmacokinetic evaluation of chemically diverse compounds for early candidate selection. This demands the development of analytical methods that offer high-throughput of samples. Naturally, liquid chromatography / tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) is choice of the analytical method because of its superior sensitivity and selectivity. As a result of the short analysis time(typically 3-5min) by LC-MS/MS, sample preparation has become the rate- determining step in the whole analytical cycle. Consequently tremendous efforts are being made to speed up and automate this step. In a typical automated 96-well SPE(solid-phase extraction) procedure, plasma samples are transferred to the 96-well SPE plate, internal standard and aqueous buffer solutions are added and then vacuum is applied using the robotic liquid handling system. It takes only 20-90 min to process 96 samples by automated SPE and the analyst is physically occupied for only approximately 10 min. Recently, the ultra-high flow rate liquid chromatography (turbulent-flow chromatography)has sparked a huge interest for rapid and direct quantitation of drugs in plasma. There is no sample preparation except for sample aliquotting, internal standard addition and centrifugation. This type of analysis is achieved by using a small diameter column with a large particle size(30-5O ${\mu}$m) and a high flow rate, typically between 3-5 ml/min. Silica-based monolithic HPLC columns contain a novel chromatographic support in which the traditional particulate packing has been replaced with a single, continuous network (monolith) of pcrous silica. The main advantage of such a network is decreased backpressure due to macropores (2 ${\mu}$m) throughout the network. This allows high flow rates, and hence fast analyses that are unattainable with traditional particulate columns. The reduction of particle diameter in HPLC results in increased column efficiency. use of small particles (<2 urn), however, requires p.essu.es beyond the traditional 6,000 psi of conventional pumping devices. Instrumental development in recent years has resulted in pumping devices capable of handling the requirements of columns packed with small particles. The staggered parallel HPLC system consists of four fully independent binary HPLC pumps, a modified auto sampler, and a series of switching and selector valves all controlled by a single computer program. The system improves sample throughput without sacrificing chromatographic separation or data quality. Sample throughput can be increased nearly four-fold without requiring significant changes in current analytical procedures. The process of Bioanalytical Method Validation is required by the FDA to assess and verify the performance of a chronlatographic method prior to its application in sample analysis. The validation should address the selectivity, linearity, accuracy, precision and stability of the method. This presentation will provide all overview of the work required to accomplish a full validation and show how a chromatographic method is suitable for toxirokinetic sample analysis. A liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method developed to quantitate drug levels in dog plasma will be used as an example of tile process.

• 한국정보과학회논문지:데이타베이스
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• 제31권6호
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• pp.641-649
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• 2004

약물의 화학적 구조와 그 약물의 약리작용간의 연관성은, 'Medicinal Chemistry' 분야에서 활발히 연구된다. 이는 화학구조를 기반으로 하여 신약을 설계하려는 시도로서, 약학자는 신약 개발 시 만들고자 하는 약물과 비슷한 화학구조를 가지고 있는 기존 약물들에는 어떠한 것들이 있는지 조사하며, 특정 화학구조가 어떤 약물들에서 나타나는지 신속히 검색하기를 원한다. 이처럼 어떤 화차구조에서, 특정한 부분구조가 존재하는지를 검사하는 것을 부분구조검색(Substructure Searching)이라 하며, 이는 그래프 이론에서 NP-complete인 동형성 판정(Subgraph Isomorphism) 문제로 귀결된다. 검색 시간을 단축시키고자 여러 다른 전근방법들이 연구되었는데, 1990년대에는 구조에 대한 인덱스를 미리 만들어 RDBMS에 저장한 후, 검색시 이론 이용하여 성능을 높이는 방법으로 미국 특허를 획득한 RS3 시스템(http://www.acelrys.com/rs3)이 현재 상용화되어 쓰이고 있다. 본 논문에서는 RS3 시스템의 문제점을 규명하고, 이의 개선방안으로서 새로운 인덱스를 제안한다 RS3 시스템은 각 원자를 중심으로 다른 원자와의 구조를 문자연로 표현하고, 부분구조검색 쿼리를 부분문자열 검색을 실행함으로써 수행하는데, 이의 화학구조를 기술하는 인덱스에는 동일 원자, 동릴 결합에 대한 정렬이 불가능하여 재현율(Recall)과 정도(Precision)가 낮다. 이론 개선하기 위하여 본 논문에서는 2차원의 화학구조를 나누어 1차원의 구조 단편으로 만들고 이를 문자열로 기술하는 방안을 제시하며 구체적인 방법으로 한 인자를 중심으로 최소비용신장트리를 구성한 다음 레벨별로 경로를 나누어 기술하는 방안을 제안하며, 이와 같은 방법의 새로운 인덱스로 재현율과 정도가 급격히 향상됨을 보인다.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제31권1호
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• pp.1-15
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• 2023

Autophagy is a process of eliminating damaged or unnecessary proteins and organelles, thereby maintaining intracellular homeostasis. Deregulation of autophagy is associated with several diseases including cancer. Contradictory dual roles of autophagy have been well established in cancer. Cytoprotective mechanism of autophagy has been extensively investigated for overcoming resistance to cancer therapies including radiotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and chemotherapy. Selective autophagy inhibitors that directly target autophagic process have been developed for cancer treatment. Efficacies of autophagy inhibitors have been tested in various pre-clinical cancer animal models. Combination therapies of autophagy inhibitors with chemotherapeutics are being evaluated in clinal trials. In this review, we will focus on genetical and pharmacological perturbations of autophagy-related proteins in different steps of autophagic process and their therapeutic benefits. We will also summarize combination therapies of autophagy inhibitors with chemotherapies and their outcomes in pre-clinical and clinical studies. Understanding of current knowledge of development, progress, and application of cytoprotective autophagy inhibitors in combination therapies will open new possibilities for overcoming drug resistance and improving clinical outcomes.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제25권6호
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• pp.656-662
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• 2015

천연물을 기반으로 한 신약 개발은 일반적으로 오랜 기간 동안의 원료 약물로써 사용해 온 경험에 의한 다양한 임상적 결과의 축적과 이로 인한 안정성(stability)과 안전성(safety)의 확보 및 신약 개발 시간의 단축과 같은 이점을 가지고 있어, 천연물 유래 약물 연구는 꼭 필요한 실정이다. 다양한 신경질환에서 신경세포의 사멸과 미세아교세포의 과도한 활성화 즉 뇌염증이 관찰되며 이를 억제할 수 있는 물질에 대한 연구는 활발히 진행 중이지만, 현재까지 신경세포 사멸과 뇌염증을 동시에 억제하는 물질 개발 시도는 거의 없었다. 따라서, 본 연구에서는 천연물에서 추출한 물질로 총 240개로 구성된 라이브러리로부터 신경전달물질 중의 하나인 glutamate 과잉처리에 의한 산화적 스트레스 유도 신경세포(HT22) 사멸과 LPS에 의한 미세아교세포(BV2)의 과도한 활성화 즉 뇌염증의 표지 인자 중 하나인 NO의 생산량의 감소 효과가 동시에 나타나는 물질을 검출한 결과, 대황에서 추출한 Chrysophanol이 검출되었으며 더욱이 Chrysophanol이 신경세포와 미세아교세포 모두에서 glutamate와 LPS에 의해 각각 유도된 세포내 활성산소(ROS) 발생을 억제하는 것을 확인하였다. 앞으로 Chrysophanol에 대한 보다 깊은 연구를 통하여 산화적 스트레스에 의한 신경세포 사멸과 미세아교세포의 과잉 활성화에 따른 뇌염증의 발생을 동시에 억제하는 신경질환의 치료 및 예방 신약개발 후보 물질 가능성을 제시 하고자 한다.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제33권10호
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• pp.3285-3292
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• 2012

The interaction of thiazole drug with (6,0) zigzag single-walled boron nitride nanotube of finite length in gas and solvent phases was studied by means of density functional theory (DFT) calculations. In both phases, the binding energy is negative and presenting characterizes an exothermic process. Also, the binding energy in solvent phase is more than that the gas phase. Binding energy corresponding to adsorption of thiazole on the BNNT model in the gas and solvent phases was calculated to be -0.34 and -0.56 eV, and about 0.04 and 0.06 electrons is transferred from the thiazole to the nanotube in the phases. The significantly changes in binding energies and energy gap values by the thiazole adsorption, shows the high sensitivity of the electronic properties of BNNT towards the adsorption of the thiazole molecule. Frontier molecular orbital theory (FMO) and structural analyses show that the low energy level of LUMO, electron density, and length of the surrounding bonds of adsorbing atoms help to the thiazole adsorption on the nanotube. Decrease in global hardness, energy gap and ionization potential is due to the adsorption of the thiazole, and consequently, in the both phases, stability of the thiazole-attached (6,0) BNNT model is decreased and its reactivity increased. Presence of polar solvent increases the electron donor of the thiazole and the electrophilicity of the complex. This study may provide new insight to the development of functionalized boron nitride nanotubes as drug delivery systems for virtual applications.

• 대한한의학회지
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• 제40권4호
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• pp.1-15
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• 2019

Objectives: Here, we investigated the effects of concentrated and lyophilized powders Blue honeysuckle (BH) on the PK of tamoxifen, to establish the pharmacokinetics (PK) profiles as one of essential process in new drug development. Methods: After single oral treatment of 0.4 mg/ml of tamoxifen or tamoxifen 0.4 with BH 40, 20 and 10 mg/ml, the plasma were collected at 0.5 hr before administration, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 and 24 hr after end of single or mixed formula treatment. Plasma concentrations of tamoxifen were analyzed using LC-MS/MS methods. Tmax, Cmax, AUC, t1/2 and MRTinf were analyzed using noncompartmental PK data analyzer programs. Results: Tamoxifen and BH 40 mg/ml did not induce any significant change on the plasma tamoxifen concentrations, while significant decreases were observed in tamoxifen and BH 10 mg/ml from 2 to 8 hr as compared with tamoxifen only, respectively. Furthermore, significant increases of Tmax in tamoxifen and BH 40 mg/ml, significant decreases of Cmax in tamoxifen and BH 20 mg/ml, significant decreases of AUC0-t, AUC0-inf and MRTinf in tamoxifen and BH 10 mg/ml were demonstrated as compared with tamoxifen only. Conclusion: Taken together, tamoxifen and BH 10 mg/ml induced significant decrease of the oral bioavailability of tamoxifen, while tamoxifen and BH 40 or 20 mg/ml did not critically influenced, suggesting formulated BH concentration-independencies. It, therefore, seems to be needed that pharmacokinetic study after repeated administration should be tested to conclude the effects of BH on the pharmacokinetics of tamoxifen.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제20권6호
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• pp.573-580
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• 2016

Caspases, a family of cysteine proteases, cleave substrates and play significant roles in apoptosis, autophagy, and development. Recently, our group identified 72 genes that interact with Death Caspase-1 (DCP-1) proteins in Drosophila by genetic screening of 15,000 EP lines. However, the cellular functions and molecular mechanisms of the screened genes, such as their involvement in apoptosis and autophagy, are poorly understood in mammalian cells. In order to study the functional characterizations of the genes in human cells, we investigated 16 full-length human genes in mammalian expression vectors and tested their effects on apoptosis and autophagy in human cell lines. Our studies revealed that ALFY, BIRC4, and TAK1 induced autophagy, while SEC61A2, N-PAC, BIRC4, WIPI1, and FALZ increased apoptotic cell death. BIRC4 was involved in both autophagy and apoptosis. Western blot analysis and luciferase reporter activity indicated that ALFY, BIRC4, PDGFA, and TAK1 act in a p53-dependent manner, whereas CPSF1, SEC61A2, N-PAC, and WIPI1 appear to be p53-independent. Overexpression of BIRC4 and TAK1 caused upregulation of p53 and accumulation of its target proteins as well as an increase in p53 mRNA levels, suggesting that these genes are involved in p53 transcription and expression of its target genes followed by p53 protein accumulation. In conclusion, apoptosis and/or autophagy mediated by BIRC4 and TAK1 may be regulated by p53 and caspase activity. These novel findings may provide valuable information that will aid in a better understanding of the roles of caspase-related genes in human cell lines and be useful for the process of drug discovery.

• 생약학회지
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• 제50권3호
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• pp.198-204
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• 2019

A facile and convenient method was developed for the mass production of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) rich green tea extract (Er-GTE). The Er-GTE was successfully obtained from the crude water extract of green tea by the combination of two step purification, i.e., a simple adsorption process on the cation exchange resins (Trilite SCR-B) followed by the chromatography with Diaion HP-20 resins. The green tea extract produced by water extraction under $45^{\circ}C$ was subjected to adsorb on the strongly acidic cation exchange resin, Trilite SCR-B. The eluate passed through the resin was reabsorbed on Diaion HP-20 resin, which was subjected to elute with a mixture of water and alcohol by conventional chromatographical manner. The EGCG content in Er-GTE was estimated above 97% by HP-LC analysis and the newly developed method was regarded as the most suitable and appropriate process for the mass production of epigallocatechin gallate rich green tea extract (Er-GTE).

• 한국발생생물학회지:발생과생식
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• 제21권3호
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• pp.343-349
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• 2017

tWith the development of the third-generation gene scissors, CRISPR-Cas9, concerns are being raised about ethical and social repercussions of the new gene-editing technology. In this situation, this article explores the legislation and interpretation of the positive laws in South Korea. The BioAct does not specify and regulate 'gene editing' itself. However, assuming that genetic editing is used in the process of research and treatment, we can look to the specific details of the regulations for research on humans as well as gene therapy research in order to see how genetic editing is regulated under the BioAct. BioAct differentiates the regulation between (born) humans and embryos etc. and the regulation differ entirely in the manner and scope. Moreover, due to the fact that gene therapy products are regarded as drugs, they fall under different regulations. The Korean Pharmacopoeia Act put stringent sanctions on clinical trials for gene therapy products and the official Notification "Approval and Examination Regulations for Biological Products, etc." by Food and Drug Safety Administration may be applied to gene editing for gene therapy purposes.