• The Journal of Korean Society of Virology
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.183-193
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• 1999

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) envelope glycoprotein is synthesized as a 160 KDa precursor, gp160, that is cleaved by a cellular protease to form the gp120 and gp41 subunits. Mammalian expression vectors were designed that are capable of efficient expression of various mutant envelope glycoproteins derived from a molecular clone of HIV-1. To construct these vectors, one type of mutation was made at the gp120-gp41 cleavage site by oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis. And another mutation was made to change amino acids in the membrane spanning region of HIV-1 gp41 important for membrane anchorage. Next, these two mutations were combined to generate a vector to have double mutations in cleavage site and membrane-spanning region. These mutants were transiently expressed in mammalian cells. The effect of these mutations on envelope glycoprotein synthesis, proteolytic processing and secretion was determined. In addition, cell surface expression and ability of the glycoprotein to induce syncytium formation were examined. This study provides a mammalian expression system that is capable of efficient expression and secretion of soluble gp160.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.245-249
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• 1989

Extracellular proteases of Bacillus licheniformis were partially purified using ammonium sulfate fractionation and Sephadex G-75 gel filtration chromatography. The partial purification permited the weparation of two different protease activities, type I and type II. Protease type I is an enzyme with rather high protealytic activity toward dasein and was highly susceptible to organofluoride and EDTA inhibitions. It showed maximal proteolytic activity at pH 7.5 and was rapidly denatured at $71^{\circ}C$. Protease type II is a protease with relatively lower proteolytic activity than the type I. It was also inhibited by 10mM of EDTA and 1mM of PMSF by 30 min incubation. The enzyme showed maximal activity at pH 8.0 and was denatured relatively slowly at $71^{\circ}C$.

• BMB Reports
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.138-142
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• 1995

An anticoagulant/fibrinolytic protease was purified to homogeneity from the earthworm Lumbricus rubellus. The protein was a single chain glycoprotein of 32 kDa that exhibited strong proteolytic activity on human thrombin and fibrin clots. Proteolytic degradation of these plasma proteins by the purified enzyme occurred at a neutral pH range. Among several human plasma proteins tested as possible substrates for the protease reaction, the 32 kDa enzyme specifically hydrolyzed both thrombin and fibrin polymers without affecting other proteins, such as serum albumin, immunoglobulin, and hemoglobin. Treatment of the purified enzyme at neutral pH with either phenylmethylsulfonylfluoride or soybean trypsin inhibitor resulted in a loss of catalytic activity. The enzyme hydrolyzed the chromogenic substrate H-D-Phe-L-Pipecolyl-L-Arg-p-nitroanilide with a $K_m$ value of 1.1 ${\mu}M$ at a neutral pH. These results suggest that the anticoagulant/fibrinolytic enzyme from Lumbricus rubellus is a member of the serine protease family having a trypsin-like active site, and one of the potential clevage sites for the enzyme is the carbonyl side of arginine residues in polypeptide chains.

• BMB Reports
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• v.45 no.11
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• pp.623-628
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• 2012

Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMPs; TIMP-1, -2, -3 and -4) are endogenous inhibitor for matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) that are responsible for remodeling the extracellular matrix (ECM) and involved in migration, invasion and metastasis of tumor cells. Unlike under normal conditions, the imbalance between MMPs and TIMPs is associated with various diseased states. Among TIMPs, TIMP-1, a 184-residue protein, is the only N-linked glycoprotein with glycosylation sites at N30 and N78. The structural analysis of the catalytic domain of human stromelysin-1 (MMP-3) and human TIMP-1 suggests new possibilities of the role of TIMP-1 glycan moieties as a tuner for the proteolytic activities by MMPs. Because the TIMP-1 glycosylation participate in the interaction, aberrant glycosylation of TIMP-1 presumably affects the interaction, thereby leading to pathogenic dysfunction in cancer cells. TIMP-1 has not only the cell proliferation activities but also anti-oncogenic properties. Cancer cells appear to utilize these bilateral aspects of TIMP-1 for cancer progression; an elevated TIMP-1 level exerts to cancer development via MMP-independent pathway during the early phase of tumor formation, whereas it is the aberrant glycosylation of TIMP-1 that overcome the high anti-proteolytic burden. The aberrant glycosylation of TIMP-1 can thus be used as staging and/or prognostic biomarker in colon cancer.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.392-397
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• 1996

To produce low salt fermented anchovy by an accelerated method with Asp. oryzae and Bacillus sp. koji, enzyme activity and variation of microflora during the 60 day fermentation were examined. Bacterial counts changed a little during the fermentation with the highest on day 40 for proteolytic and anaerobic bacteria and on day 20 for aerobic bacteria. Proteolytic, lipolytic, aerobic, and anaerobic bacteria counts were higher in the Bacillus sp. koji added anchovy paste than in others. The protease and lipase activities reached the highest point on day 20 and 30, respectively, and decreased gradually afterwards. The protease activity was higher in Asp. oryzae koji than in bacillus sp. koji, but the lipase activity was to the contrary.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.730-736
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• 1995

The solubilization and proteolytic process of $\delta $-endotoxin was analvsed to compare the biochemical property of the toxin isolated from B. thuringiensis subsp. sotto. The purified crystals were dissolved in 50 mM carbonate buffer containing 10 mM dithiothreitol at pH 10 for various times. The electrophoretic pattern showed that a rapid disappearance of 138 kDa protein band. This disappearance of protein with high molecular weight was accompanied by the appearance of new protein fragment with 104 kDa, 60 kDa, and 25 kDa. For proteolvtic processing, the soluble crystals were digested with trypsin for various times. The soluble crystal protein of 104 kDa was completely disappeared. However, the protein fragment of 60 kDa and 25 kDa still remained after complete proteolysis. The comparative immunoblot analysis showed that the antiserum against intact crystals showed strong immunoreactivity to the homologous inclusion protein of 138 kDa, 104 kDa, and 25 kDa, and to the intact spores of 221 kDa and 138 kDa, but not to the vegetative cell homogenate. The sera against crystals and spores had no immunoreactivity to the vegetative cell homogenate.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.897-904
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• 2007

The aim of this paper is to discuss the methodology of our investigation of the dynamics of protein degradation and the total in situ protealytic activity in meso/eutrophic, eutrophic, and hypereutrophic freshwater environments. Analysis of the kinetics and rates of enzymatic release of amino acids in water samples preserved with sodium azide allows determination of the concentrations of labile proteins $(C_{LAB})$, and their half-life time $(T_{1/2})$. Moreover, it gives more realistic information on resultant activity in situ $(V_{T1/2})$ of ecto- and extracellular proteases that are responsible for the biological degradation of these compounds. Although the results provided by the proposed method are general y well correlated with those obtained by classical procedures, they better characterize the dynamics of protein degradation processes, especially in eutrophic or hypereutrophic lakes. In these environments, processes of protein decomposition occur mainly on the particles and depend primarily on a metabolic activity of seston-attached bacteria. The method was tested in three lakes. The different degree of eutrophication of these lakes was clearly demonstrated by the measured real proteolytic pattern and confirmed by conventional trophic state determinants.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.161-168
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• 2010

In this study, the metabolic activities of five strains of Pediococcus spp., in terms of the quantities they produced of lactic acid, hydrogen peroxide, exopolysaccharides, and proteolytic activity, were determined. Lactic acid levels produced by these strains were found to be in the range of 2.5-5.6 mg/ml. All strains produced hydrogen peroxide. The P. pentosaceus Z13P strain produced the maximum amount (0.25 mg/ml) of proteolytic activity. Exopolysaccharide (EPS) production by the Pediococcus strains during growth in MRS (de Man, Rogosa, and Sharpe) medium was in the range 25-64 mg/l. The susceptibility of 10 different antibiotics against these strains was also tested. All strains were found to be resistant to amoxicillin, gentamicin, and vancomycin. Antimicrobial effects of the Pediococcus spp. on pathogens were also determined by an agar diffusion method. All of the strains were able to inhibit L. monocytogenes. The tolerance of the strains to low pH, their resistance to bile salts of strains, and their abilities to autoaggregate and coaggregate with L. monocytogenes were also evaluated.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.39-46
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• 1999

As a preliminary study for the explanation of pathobiology of Neodiplostomum seoulense infection. a 54 kDa protease was purified from the crude extract of adult worms by sequential chromatographic methods. The crude extract was subjected to DEAE-Sepharose Fast Flow column, and protein was eluted using 25 mM Tris-HC1 (pH 7.4) containing 0.05. 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4 M NaC1 in stepwise elution. The 0.2 M NaCl fraction was further purified by Q-Sepharose chromatography and protein was eluted using 20 mM sodium acetate (pH 6.4) containing 0.05, 0.1. 0.2 and 0.3 M NaCl, respectively. The 0.1M NaCl fraction showed a single protein band on SDS-PAGE carried out on a 7.5-15% gradient gel. The proteolytic activities of the purified enzyme were specifically inhibited by L-trans-epoxy-succinylleucylamide (4-guanidino) butane (E-64) and iodoacetic acid. The enzyme, cysteine protease. showed the maximum proteolytic activity at pH 6.0 in 0.1 M buffer, and degraded extracellular matrix proteins such as collagen and fibronectin with different activities. It is suggested that the cysteine protease may playa role in the nutrient uptake of N. seoulense from the host intestine.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.173-175
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• 2000

Nine strains of pathogenic Vibrio sp. of clinical and environmental origin were examined for the degradation of gelatin, casein and hemolysin which is important to the virulence of this bacterium. Culture filtrates of all nine strains of Vibrio exhibited proteolytic activities. Especially, four strains of V. parahaemolyticus and one V. alginolyticus showed strong gelatin-degrading activity. In terms of hemolytic activity, three V. parahaemolyticus and V. mimicus showed strong $\beta$-hemolysis whereas those of strains of V. alginolyticus, V. fluvialis, V. vulnificus examined lacked this activity.