• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.31 no.8
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• pp.2180-2184
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• 2010

We synthesized and tested the anti-HIV activity of the SATE prodrug of a 2'-methyl 5'-norcarbocyclic adenine analogue. The introduction of a methyl group in the 2'-position was performed by the addition of a carbonyl using isopropenyl magnesium bromide. The adenine base was efficiently coupled using the Mitsunobu reaction. The chemical stability study of the bis(SATE) derivative 18 was measured at neutral (pH 7.2) and slightly acid (milli-Q water, pH 5.5) pH, and compounds 16 and 18 were evaluated as potential anti-HIV-1 agents.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.580-586
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• 2000

A soluble Cr(VI) reductase was purified from the Cr(VI) reducing strain Escherichia coli ATCC33456 by ammonium sulfate fractionation, and chromatographies on Q-Sepharose FF, Cibacron blue 3GA dye affinity, Mono-Q 5/5, and Superdex 200 HR 10/30 columns. The estimated molecular mass of the purified enzyme was 27 kDa on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and 54 kDa on gel filtration, thus indicating a dimeric structure. The isoelectric point of the enzyme was pH 4.85. The optimum reaction pH and storage pH were both 7.0, the optimum reaction temperature was $37^{\circ}C$, and the storage temperature was $4^{\circ}C$. NADH and NADPH both served as electron donors for the reductase, with $V_{max}$ of 68.3 ${\mu}M$ Cr(VI)/min/mg protein and Km of 7.6 $\mu$M using HADH, and Vmax of 42.3 ${\mu}M$ Cr(VI)/min/mg protein and Km of 14.6 $\muM$ using NADPH. When 1 mM EDTA was added, the Cr(VI) reducing activity increased 4-fold.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.833-839
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• 2021

Bacillus subtilis CH3-5 isolated from cheonggukjang secretes a 28 kDa protease with a strong fibrinolytic activity. Its gene, aprE3-5, was cloned and expressed in a heterologous host (Jeong et al., 2007). In this study, the promoter of aprE3-5 was replaced with other stronger promoters (P_cry3A, P₁₀, P_SG1, P_srfA) of Bacillus spp. using PCR. The constructed chimeric genes were cloned into pHY300PLK vector, and then introduced into B. subtilis WB600. The P10 promoter conferred the highest fibrinolytic activity, i.e., 1.7-fold higher than that conferred by the original promoter. Overproduction of the 28 kDa protease was confirmed using SDS-PAGE and fibrin zymography. RT-qPCR analysis showed that aprE3-5 expression was 2.0-fold higher with the P10 promoter than with the original promoter. Change of the initiation codon from GTG to ATG further increased the fibrinolytic activity. The highest aprE3-5 expression was observed when two copies of the P₁₀ promoter were placed in tandem upstream of the ATG initiation codon. The construct with P10 promoter and ATG and the construct with two copies of P10 promoter in tandem and ATG exhibited 117% and 148% higher fibrinolytic activity, respectively, than that exhibited by the construct containing P10 promoter and GTG. These results confirmed that significant overproduction of a fibrinolytic enzyme can be achieved by suitable promoter modification, and this approach may have applications in the industrial production of AprE3-5 and related fibrinolytic enzymes.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.645-651
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• 2018

The carcinogenicity of chemicals in the environment is a major concern. Recently, numerous studies have attempted to develop methods for predicting carcinogenicity, including rodent and cell-based approaches. However, rodent carcinogenicity tests for evaluating the carcinogenic potential of a chemical to humans are time-consuming and costly. This study focused on the development of an alternative method for predicting carcinogenicity using quantitative PCR (qPCR) and colon cancer stem cells. A toxicogenomic method, mRNA profiling, is useful for predicting carcinogenicity. Using microarray analysis, we optimized 16 predictive gene sets from five carcinogens (azoxymethane, 3,2'-dimethyl-4-aminobiphenyl, N-ethyl-n-nitrosourea, metronidazole, 4-(n-methyl-n-nitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone) used to treat colon cancer stem cell samples. The 16 genes were evaluated by qPCR using 23 positive and negative carcinogens in colon cancer stem cells. Among them, six genes could differentiate between positive and negative carcinogens with a p-value of ${\leq}0.05$. Our qPCR-based prediction system for colon carcinogenesis using colon cancer stem cells is cost- and time-efficient. Thus, this qPCR-based prediction system is an alternative to in vivo carcinogenicity screening assays.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.707-713
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• 2018

This study was done to search for positional candidate genes associated with the back fat thickness trait using a Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) in purebred Yorkshires (N = 1755). Genotype and phenotype analyses were done for 1,642 samples. As a result of the associations with back fat thickness using the Gemma program (ver. 0.93), when the genome-wide suggestive threshold was determined using the Bonferroni method ($p=1.61{\times}10^{-5}$), the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers with suggestive significance were identified in 1 SNP marker on chromosome 2 (MARC0053928; $p=3.65{\times}10^{-6}$), 2 SNP markers on chromosome 14 (ALGA0083078; $p=7.85{\times}10^{-6}$, INRA0048453; $p=1.27{\times}10^{-5}$), and 1 SNP marker on chromosome 18 (ALGA0120564; $p=1.44{\times}10^{-5}$). We could select positional candidate genes (KCNQ1, DOCK1, LOC106506151, and LOC110257583), located close to the SNP markers. Among these, we identified a potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily Q member gene (KCNQ1) and the dedicator of cytokinesis 1 (DOCK1) gene associated with obesity and Type-2 diabetes. The SNPs and haplotypes of the KCNQ1 and DOCK1 genes can contribute to understanding the genetic structure of back fat thickness. Additionally, it may provide basic data regarding marker assisted selection for a meat quality trait in pigs.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.25 no.11
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• pp.1676-1680
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• 2004

We demonstrate that wide-angle X-ray scattering pattern from photoactive yellow protein (PYP) in solution using a high flux third generation synchrotron X-ray source reflects not only the overall structure, but also fine structures of the protein. X-ray scattering data from PYP in solution have been collected in q ranges from 0.02 ${\AA}^{-1}$ to 2.8 ${\AA}^{-1}$. These data are sensitive to the protein structure and consistent with the calculation based on known crystallographic atomic coordinates. Theoretical scattering patterns were also calculated for the intermediates during the photocycle of PYP to estimate the feasibility of time-resolved wide-angle X-ray scattering experiments on such proteins. These results demonstrate the possibility of using the wide-angle solution X-ray scattering as a quantitative monitor of photo-induced structural changes in PYP.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2017.06a
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• pp.92-92
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• 2017

Bakanae disease is one of the most serious and oldest problems of rice production, which was first described in 1828 in Japan. This disease has also been identified in Asia, Africa, North America, and Italy. Germinating rice seeds in seed boxes for mechanical transplantation has caused many problems associated with diseases, including bakanae disease. Bakanae disease has become a serious problem in the breeding of hybrid rice, which involves the increased use of raising plants in seed beds. The indica rice variety Shingwang was selected as resistant donor to bakanae disease. One hundred sixty nine NILs, YR28297 ($BC_6F_4$) generated by five backcrosses of Shingwang with the genetic background of susceptible japonica variety, Ilpum were used for QTL analysis. Rice bakanae disease pathogen, CF283, was mainly used in this study and inoculation and evaluation of bakanae disease was performed with the method of the large-scale screening method developed by Kim et al. (2014). SSR markers evenly distributed in the entire rice chromosomes were selected from the Gramene database (http://www.gramene.org), and the polymorphic markers were used for frame mapping of a $BC_5F_5$ resistant line. Here, we developed 168 near-isogenic rice lines (NILs, $BC_6F_4$) to locate a QTL for resistance against bakanae disease. The lines were derived from a cross between Shingwang, a highly resistant variety (indica), and Ilpum, a highly susceptible variety (japonica). The 24 markers representing the Shingwang allele in a bakanae disease-resistant NIL, YR24982-9-1 (parental line of the $BC_6F_4$ NILs), were located on chromosome 1, 2, 7, 8, 10, 11, and 12. Single marker analysis using an SSR marker, RM9, showed that a major QTL was located on chromosome 1. The QTL explained 65 % of the total phenotype variation in $BC_6F_4$ NILs. The major QTL designated qBK1 was mapped in 91 kb region between InDel15 and InDel21. The identification of qBK1 and the closely linked SSR marker, InDel18, could be useful for improving rice bakanae disease resistance in marker-assisted breeding.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.223-228
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• 2013

The calcium-activated $K^+$ ($BK_{Ca}$) channel is one of the potassium-selective ion channels that are present in the nervous and vascular systems. $Ca^{2+}$ is the main regulator of $BK_{Ca}$ channel activation. The $BK_{Ca}$ channel contains two high affinity $Ca^{2+}$ binding sites, namely, regulators of $K^+$ conductance, RCK1 and the $Ca^{2+}$ bowl. Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA, 1-radyl-2-hydroxy-sn-glycero-3-phosphate) is one of the neurolipids. LPA affects diverse cellular functions on many cell types through G protein-coupled LPA receptor subtypes. The activation of LPA receptors induces transient elevation of intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ levels through diverse G proteins such as $G{\alpha}_{q/11}$, $G{\alpha}_i$, $G{\alpha}_{12/13}$, and $G{\alpha}s$ and the related signal transduction pathway. In the present study, we examined LPA effects on $BK_{Ca}$ channel activity expressed in Xenopus oocytes, which are known to endogenously express the LPA receptor. Treatment with LPA induced a large outward current in a reversible and concentration-dependent manner. However, repeated treatment with LPA induced a rapid desensitization, and the LPA receptor antagonist Ki16425 blocked LPA action. LPA-mediated $BK_{Ca}$ channel activation was also attenuated by the PLC inhibitor U-73122, $IP_3$ inhibitor 2-APB, $Ca^{2+}$ chelator BAPTA, or PKC inhibitor calphostin. In addition, mutations in RCK1 and RCK2 also attenuated LPA-mediated $BK_{Ca}$ channel activation. The present study indicates that LPA-mediated activation of the $BK_{Ca}$ channel is achieved through the PLC, $IP_3$, $Ca^{2+}$, and PKC pathway and that LPA-mediated activation of the $BK_{Ca}$ channel could be one of the biological effects of LPA in the nervous and vascular systems.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2019.04a
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• pp.128-128
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• 2019

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2019.09a
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• pp.27-27
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• 2019