• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.11
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• pp.1659-1669
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• 2020

1,3-α-3,6-anhydro-L-galactosidase (α-neoagarooligosaccharide hydrolase) catalyzes the last step of agar degradation by hydrolyzing neoagarobiose into monomers, D-galactose, and 3,6-anhydro-L-galactose, which is important for the bioindustrial application of algal biomass. Ahg943, from the agarolytic marine bacterium Gayadomonas joobiniege G7, is composed of 423 amino acids (47.96 kDa), including a 22-amino acid signal peptide. It was found to have 67% identity with the α-neoagarooligosaccharide hydrolase ZgAhgA, from Zobellia galactanivorans, but low identity (< 40%) with the other α-neoagarooligosaccharide hydrolases reported. The recombinant Ahg943 (rAhg943, 47.89 kDa), purified from Escherichia coli, was estimated to be a monomer upon gel filtration chromatography, making it quite distinct from other α-neoagarooligosaccharide hydrolases. The rAhg943 hydrolyzed neoagarobiose, neoagarotetraose, and neoagarohexaose into D-galactose, neoagarotriose, and neoagaropentaose, respectively, with a common product, 3,6-anhydro-L-galactose, indicating that it is an exo-acting α-neoagarooligosaccharide hydrolase that releases 3,6-anhydro-L-galactose by hydrolyzing α-1,3 glycosidic bonds from the nonreducing ends of neoagarooligosaccharides. The optimum pH and temperature of Ahg943 activity were 6.0 and 20℃, respectively. In particular, rAhg943 could maintain enzyme activity at 10℃ (71% of the maximum). Complete inhibition of rAhg943 activity by 0.5 mM EDTA was restored and even, remarkably, enhanced by Ca²⁺ ions. rAhg943 activity was at maximum at 0.5 M NaCl and maintained above 73% of the maximum at 3M NaCl. K_m and V_max of rAhg943 toward neoagarobiose were 9.7 mg/ml and 250 μM/min (3 U/mg), respectively. Therefore, Ahg943 is a unique α-neoagarooligosaccharide hydrolase that has cold- and high-salt-adapted features, and possibly exists as a monomer.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.581-590
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• 1998

We developed a novel water-soluble camptothecin analobue, CKD602, and evaluated the inhibition of topoisomerase I and the antitumor activities against mammalian tumor cells and human tumor xenografts. CKD602 was a nanomolar inhibitor of the topoisomerase I enzyme in the cleavable complex assay. CKD602 was found to be 3 times and slightly more potent than topotecan and camptothecin as inhibitors of topoisomerase, respecitively. In tumor cell cytotoxicity, CKD602 was more potent than topotecan in 14 out of 26 human cancer cell lines tested, while it was comparable to camptothecin. CKD602 was tested for the in vivo antitumor activity against the human tumor xenograft models. CKD602 was able to imduce regression of established HT-29, WIDR and CX-1 colon tumors, LX-1 lung tumor, MX-1 breast tumor and SKOV-3 ovarian tumor as much as 80, 94, 76, 67, 87% and 88%, respectively, with comparable body weight changes to those of topotecan. Also the therapeutic margin (R/Emax: maximum tolerance dose/$ED-{58}$) of CKD602 was significantly higher than that of topotecan by 4 times. Efficacy was determined at the maximal tolerated dose levels using schedule dependent i.p. administration in mice bearing L1210 leukemia. On a Q4dx4 (every 4 day for 4 doses) schedule, the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) was 25 mg/kg per administration, which caused great weight loss and lethality in <5% tumor bearing mouse. this schedule brought significant increase in life span (ILS), 212%, with 33% of long-term survivals. The ex vivo antitumor activity of CKD602 was compared with that of topotecan and the mean antitumor index (ATI) values recorded for CKD602 were significantly higher than that noted for topotecan. From these results, CKD602 warrants further clinical investigations as a potent inhibitor of topoisomerase I.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.7
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• pp.1308-1316
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• 2008

Propionibacterium acnes is known to playa pivotal role in the pathogenesis of acne vulgaris. CBT-SL5 is one of the antimicrobial peptides from Enterococcus faecalis SL5, and it has shown antimicrobial activity against P. acnes. The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of CBT-SL5 on the inflammation induced by P. acnes in cultured human keratinocyes. Cultured human keratinocytes derived from neonatal foreskin were treated with heat-killed P. acnes to induce inflammation, and then various concentrations of CBT-SL5 were added to the P. acnes-treated keratinocytes. The mRNA expression and protein secretion of interleukin (IL)-8, an inflammation marker, was analyzed by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. We also analyzed the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-$\kappaB$) p65 translocation by performing immunofluorescent staining. P. acnes treatment up regulated the IL-8 mRNA expression in the keratinocytes, and this was brought about through both toll-like receptor (TLR)2 and TLR4. At the concentrations of 10, 50, and 100 ng/ml, CBT-SL5 significantly down regulated the P. acnes-induced IL-8 mRNA expression and protein production (p<0.05). At 6 hand 12 h of the treatment, CBT-SL5 significantly suppressed the P. acnes-induced IL-8 mRNA expression. Secretion of IL-8 protein was significantly reduced at 24 h. The functional inhibitory activity of CBT-SL5 was shown by CBT-SL5 suppressing the P. acnes-induced NF-$\kappaB$ translocation from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. These results demonstrated that CBT-SL5 suppressed the P. acnes-induced IL-8 expression in keratinocytes. Therefore, CBT-SL5 may be a novel anti-inflammatory treatment for acne.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.33-55
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• 2007

Objectives In the present study, the author intended to investigate whether bojung-ikgitang-gamibang(BJGB) and seonbang-paedoktang(SBPT) significantly affect in vivo and in vitro mucin secretion from airway epithelial cells. Methods In vivo experiment, mice's mucin which is on a hypersecretion of airway mucin, mice's tracheal goblet cells in hyperplasia and mice's intraepithelial mucosubstances were exposed with SO2for3weeks. Effects of orally-administered BJGB and SBPT during 1 week on vivo mucin secretion and hyperplasia of tracheal goblet cells were assessed by using both enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) and staining goblet cells with alcian blue. In vitro experiment, confluent hamster tracheal surface epithelial(HTSE) cells were metabolically radiolabeled with 3H-glucosamine for 24hrs and chased for 30 min in the presence of each agent to figure out the effectiveness of 3H-mucin secretion. Total elution profiles of control spent media and treatment sample through Sepharose CL-4B column were analyzed. The effects of each agent on contractility of isolated tracheal smooth muscle and effects of each agent on MUC5AC gene expression in cultured HTSE cells were investigated. Also, possible cytotoxicities of each agent were assessed by measuring lactate dehydrogenase(LDH) release. Additionally, effects of BJGB and SBPT on both MUC5AC gene expression in cultured HTSE cells and TNF- or EGF-induced MUC5AC gene expression in human airway epithelial cells (NCI-H292) were investigated. Results (1) BJGB and SBPT inhibited hypersecretion of in vivo mucin. SBPT also inhibited the increase the number of goblet cells. However, BJGB did not affect the increase of number of goblet cells; (2) BJGB significantly increased mucin secretion from cultured HTSE cells, without significant cytotoxicity, and chiefly affected the 'mucin' secretion; (3) SBPT did not affect mucin secretion from cultured HTSE cells without significant cytotoxicity, and also did not affect the secretion of the other releseable glycoproteins; (4) BJGB and SBPT did not affect Ach-induced contraction of isolated tracheal smooth muscle; (5) SBPT significantly inhibit the expression levels of MUC5AC gene and BJGB significantly increased the expression levels of MUC5AC gene in both HTSE cells and NCI-H292 cells. Conclusions BJGB and SBPT can not only affect the secretion of mucin but also affect the expression of mucin gene. The author suggests that the effects BJGB and SBPT with their components should be further investigated and it is highly desirable to find from oriental medical prescriptions, novel agents which might regulate hypersecretion of mucin from airway epithelial cells.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.109-124
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• 2007

Objectives In the present study, the author intended to investigate whether Gamitonggyu-tang (GTT) significantly affects (since the subject is GTT, you need an 's') in vivo and in vitro mucin secretion from airway epithelial cells. Methods In vivo experiment, mice's mucin which is on a hypersecretion of an airway, mice's tracheal goblet cells in hyperplasia and mice's intraepithelial mucosubstances were exposed with SO2 for 3 weeks. Effects of orally-administered GTT for 1 week on in vivo mucin secretion and hyperplasia of tracheal goblet cells were assessed by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and staining goblet cells with alcian blue. In vitro experiment, confluent hamster tracheal surface epithelial (HTSE) cells were metabolically radiolabeled with 3H-glucosamine for 24 hrs and chased for 30 min in the presence of GTT to figure out the effectiveness of 3H-mucin secretion. Total elution profiles of control spent media and treatment sample through Sepharose CL-4B column were analyzed.Possible cytotoxicities of each agent were assessed by measuring lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release. Also, the effect of GTT on contractility of isolated tracheal smooth muscle was investigated. Results (1) GTT inhibited hypersecretion of in vivo mucin. However, it did not affect the increase the number of goblet cells (2) GTT significantly increased mucin release from cultured HTSE cells, without significant cytotoxicity (3) GTT chiefly affected the 'mucin' secretion and did not affect the secretion of the other releasable glycoproteins with less molecular weight than mucin (4) GTT did not affect Ach-induced contraction of isolated tracheal smooth muscle.Conclusions This result suggests that GTT can increase mucin secretion during short-term treatment (in vitro) whereas it can inihibit hypersecretion of mucin during long-term treatment (in vivo). The author suggests that the effect GTT with their components should be further investigated and it is valuable to find from oriental medical prescriptions, novel agents which might regulate mucin secretion from airway epithelial cells.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.57 no.6
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• pp.671-680
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• 2019

Cathepsin D (CatD, EC 3.4.23.5) is a member belonging to the subfamily of aspartic endopeptidases, which are classified into the MEROPS clan AA, family A1. Helminth parasites express a large set of different peptidases that play pivotal roles in parasite biology and pathophysiology. However, CatD is less well known than the other classes of peptidases in terms of biochemical properties and biological functions. In this study, we identified 2 novel CatDs (CsCatD1 and CsCatD2) of Clonorchis sinensis and partially characterized their properties. Both CsCatDs represent typical enzymes sharing amino acid residues and motifs that are tightly conserved in the CatD superfamily of proteins. Both CsCatDs showed similar patterns of expression in different developmental stages of C. sinensis, but CsCatD2 was also expressed in metacercariae. CsCatD2 was mainly expressed in the intestines and eggs of C. sinensis. Sera obtained from rats experimentally infected with C. sinensis reacted with recombinant CsCatD2 beginning 2 weeks after infection and the antibody titers were gradually increased by maturation of the parasite. Structural analysis of CsCatD2 revealed a bilobed enzyme structure consisting of 2 antiparallel β-sheet domains packed against each other forming a homodimeric structure. These results suggested a plausible biological role of CsCatD2 in the nutrition and reproduction of parasite and its potential utility as a serodiagnostic antigen in clonorchiasis.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.15 no.6 s.73
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• pp.884-888
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• 2005

An agar-degrading bacterium was isolated from north-eastern sea of Jeju island and cultured in marine agar 2216 media. Biochemical and morphologicl characteristics and 165 rRNA gene revealed that isolated strain was member of Agarivorans genus, and named Agarivorans sp. JA-1. Agarase was produced as growth-related and expressed regardless of agar presence. Optimal pH was 8 at 50 mM Clycine-NaOH buffer, and activity was maximum at $40^{\circ}C$E Enzymatic activity was maintained over $80\%$ at $60^{\circ}C$t and $70\%$ at $80^{\circ}C$ which is thermotolerant. Hence isolated novel Agarivorans sp. JA-1 strain and its beta-agarase could be used for the production of functional oligosaccharide from agar in solution state.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.242-250
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• 2017

Actinobacteria tolerating extreme conditions can be a rich source of bioactive compounds and enzymes. In this study filamentous actinobacteria were isolated from soils of Ulleung Island, and their physiological properties were examined. Soil samples were collected, serially diluted and spread on various agar media. The average viable counts of total bacteria were $1.28{\times}10^7CFU/g$ for soil sample 1 (ULS1) and $2.05{\times}10^7CFU/g$ for soil sample 2 (ULS2). As a result, 34 strains of actinobacteria were isolated and assigned to the genera Streptomyces (16 strains), Isoptericola (5 strains), Rhodococcus (4 strains), Agromyces (3 strains), Micrococcus (2 strains), Arthrobacter (1 strain), Williamsia (1 strain), Microbacterium (1 strain), and Oerskovia (1 strain) based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. Enzyme activity and plant growth promoting potential were tested for representative isolates. Multiple strains of Streptomyces degraded starch, casein and Tween 80. As for plant growth promoting potential, strains of Oerskovia, Williamsia, Isoptericola, and Streptomyces solubilized phosphate, and those of Agromyces, Oerskovia, Micrococcus, Rhodococcus, Streptomyces, and Isoptericola produced 3-indole-acetic acid (IAA), respectively. Selected strains of Streptomyces exhibited strong antagonistic activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis as well as Candida albicans. This study confirms that actinobacteria from Ulleung Island can be a good source of novel bioactive compounds.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.11
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• pp.1776-1788
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• 2019

Objective: The demands for measures to improve disease resistance and productivity of livestock are increasing, as most countries prohibit the addition of antibiotics to feed. This study therefore aimed to uncover functional feed additives to help enhance livestock immunity and disease resistance, using Acanthopanax sessiliflorus fruit extract (ASF). Methods: ASF was extracted with 70% EtOH, and total polyphenolic and catechin contents were measured by the Folin-Ciocalteu and vanillin assay, respectively. The 3D4/31 porcine macrophage cells ($M{\Phi}$) were activated by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), and cell survival and growth rate were measured with or without ASF treatment. Flow-cytometric analysis determined the lysosomal activity, reactive oxygen species levels (ROS), and cell cycle distribution. Nuclear factor kappa B ($NF-{\kappa}B$) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) protein expression levels were quantified by western blotting and densitometry analysis. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction was applied to measure the lipid metabolism-related genes expression level. Lastly, the antibacterial activity of 3D4/31 $M{\Phi}$ cells was evaluated by the colony forming unit assay. Results: ASF upregulated the cell viability and growth rate of 3D4/31 $M{\Phi}$, with or without PMA activation. Moreover, lysosomal activity and intracellular ROS levels were increased after ASF exposure. In addition, the antioxidant enzyme SOD2 expression levels were proportionately increased with ROS levels. Both ASF and PMA treatment resulted in upregulation of $NF-{\kappa}B$ protein, tumor necrosis factor $(TNF){\alpha}$ mRNA expression levels, lipid synthesis, and fatty acid oxidation metabolism. Interestingly, co-treatment of ASF with PMA resulted in recovery of $NF-{\kappa}B$, $TNF{\alpha}$, and lipid metabolism levels. Finally, ASF pretreatment enhanced the in vitro bactericidal activity of 3D4/31 $M{\Phi}$ against Escherichia coli. Conclusion: This study provides a novel insight into the regulation of $NF-{\kappa}B$ activity and lipid metabolism in $M{\Phi}$, and we anticipate that ASF has the potential to be effective as a feed additive to enhance livestock immunity.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.11-22
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• 2020

In this study, we investigated anti-pigmentation effect of a hexapeptide. The peptide significantly reduced melanin contents and inhibited tyrosinase activity in a dose-dependent manner, in which tyrosinase is a key enzyme in melanogenesis. The peptide also significantly reduced the expression levels of tyrosinase (TYR), tyrosinase-related protein 1 (TYRP1) and their upstream transcription factor, microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF). Furthermore, the peptide suppressed the phosphorylation level of cAMP-response element binding protein (CREB), a transcription factor of MITF, and increased the phosphorylation level of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), a kinase mediates MITF phosphorylation and proteasomal degradation. The peptide significantly inhibited the expression of Rab27A, Melanophilin, and MyosinVa, the components of motor complex involved in intracellular movement of melanosome. These results suggest that Hexapeptide could be used as an effective whitening agent that has inhibitory effect on melanin production and melanosome transport by regulating expression and degradation of MITF in melanocytes.