• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.309-312
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• 2003

The transformation capacity (T$\_$c/) of Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b in the degradation of ethylene chlorides was determined by measuring the decrease of soluble methane monooxygenase (sMMO) activity of resting cells in batch experiments. All measurements of sMMO activity were taken in the presence of 20 mM formate to avoid the deficiency of reducing power, and within 2 hrs to avoid the effect of natural inactivation from instability of the resting cells. The constant T$\_$c/ values of 0.58 ${\pm}$ 0.132 and 0.80 ${\pm}$ 0.17 ${\mu}$mol/mg cell were obtained for trichloroethylene (TCE) and 1,2-dichloroethylene (cis and trans-1,2-DCE), respectively, regardless of their concentrations. The transformation capacity measured by this method can be used to predict the amount of cells that should be stimulated in in-situ bioremediation.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.315-320
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• 1992

The amino acid threonine was produced from glycine and ethanol in a reaction mixture using resting cells of a newly isolated gram-negative methylotrophic bacterium, capable of growth on methanol. The isolate could utilize $C_1$ compounds and a variety of multicarbon substrates as sole carbon and energy source. To obtain cells of isolate with high threonine producing activity, we investigated optimum cultural conditions. Optimal growth was at the initial concentration of 0.5%(v/v) methanol, at $30^{\circ}C$ and pH 7.0. The growth was not affected by antibiotics inhibiting cell wall synthesis, but was completely suppressed by those inhibiting protein synthesis. The optimum reaction conditions from threonine production by resting cells of this strain were found.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.17-26
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• 2005

The ultrastructure of germ cells during spermatogenesis and the structural changes in the epithelial cells of the seminal vesicle with testicular development in male Neptunea (Barbitonia) arthritica cumingii were investigated monthly based on electron microscopic and histologic observations. N. arthritica cumingii (Gastropod: Buccinidae) undergoes internal fertilization and possesses a modified type of spermatozoon, which is approximately 20$\mu$m long. The axoneme of the tail flagellum consists of nine peripheral pairs of microtubules and one central pair. Many spermatozoa occur in the acini of the testis in the ripe stage and are transported to the seminal vesicles in the accumulating phase. In males, the monthly gonadosomatic index began to increase in September and reached a maximum in February. Subsequently, it decreased rapidly after April. The testis of this species can be classified into four developmental stages: the active (August to September), ripe (October to July), copulation (April to July), and recovery (July to August) stages. Structural changes in the epithelial cells of the seminal vesicles of this species could be classified into three phases: (1) S-I (resting), (2) S-II (accumulating), and (3) S-III (spent) phases. The morphology and structure of the epithelial cells of the seminal vesicle differed in each phase; the cells were cuboidal, squamous, or columnar in the resting, accumulating, or spent phases, respectively.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.137-141
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• 2005

This study was undertaken to investigate the effects of [$D-Ala^2$, D-Leu^5$]-enkephalin (DADLE) on the spontaneous activity of medial vestibular nuclear neurons of the rat. Sprague-Dawley rats, aged 14 to 16 days, were anesthetized with ether and decapitated. After enzymatic digestion, the brain stem portion of medial vestibular nuclear neuron was obtained by micropunching. The dissociated neurons were transferred to a recording chamber mounted on an inverted microscope, and spontaneous action potentials were recorded by standard patch-clamp techniques. The spontaneous action potentials were increased by DADLE in 12 cells and decreased in 3 cells. The spike frequency and resting membrane potential of these cells were increased by DADLE. The depth of afterhyperpolarization was not affected by DADLE. The potassium currents were decreased in 20 cells and increased in 5 cells. These results suggest that DADLE increases the neuronal activity of the medial vestibular nuclear neurons by altering resting membrane potential.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.187-191
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• 2003

$Na^+/H^+$ exchanger (NHE) has a critical role in regulation of intracellular pH (pHi) in the renal proximal tubular cells. It has recently been shown that dopamine inhibits NHE in the renal proximal tubules. Nevertheless, there is a dearth of information on the effects of long-term (chronic) dopamine treatment on NHE activities. This study was performed to elucidate the pHi regulatory mechanisms during the chronic dopamine treatments in renal proximal tubular OK cells. The resting pHi was greatly decreased by chronic dopamine treatments. The initial rate and the amplitude of intracellular acidification by isosmotical $Na^+$ removal from the bath medium in chronically dopamine-treated cells were much smaller than those in control. Although it seemed to be attenuated in $Na^+$-dependent pH regulation system, $Na^+$-dependent pHi recovery by NHE after intracelluar acid loading in the dopamine-treated groups was not significantly different from the control. The result is interpreted to be due to the balance between the stimulation effects of lower pHi on the NHE activity and counterbalance by dopamine. Our data strongly suggested that chronic dopamine treatment increased intrinsic intracellular buffer capacity, since higher buffer capacity was induced by lower resting pHi and this effect could attenuate pHi changes under extracellular $Na^+$-free conditions in chronically dopamine-treated cells. Our study also demonstrated that intracellular acidification induced by chronic dopamine treatments was not mediated by changes in NHE activity.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.291-298
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• 1988

The effect of Vanadate on the isometric contraction, membrane potential and intracellular calcium ion activities of rabbit myocardial cells were investigated, using calcium selective microelectrode, filled with neutral calcium ion carrier, ETH-1001. The resting tension, the membrane potential and the intracellular calcium ion activities were recorded in normal Tyrode solution and compared with those in the contracture induced by 10 mM Vanadate. The following results were obtained: 1. The dose-response relationship between the contraction of Vanadate and twitch tension showed near-maximum response in 5mM with no corresponding changes in action potential. 2. The resting tension increased up to the amplitude of a control twitch in 10mM Vanadate with resting membrane potential, hyperpolarized. 3. Increase in intracellular calcium ion activities proceeded the contracture by 10mM Vanadate which were restored to the control level in accordance with a decrease of intracellular calcium ion activities. 4. The amplitude of contractures by 10mM Vanadate were 90-120% of the control twitch tension in which the intracellular calcium ion activities were increased about 70 times from p Ca, 7.1 in the control to p Ca, 5.8 in contractures.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.3 no.6
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• pp.547-554
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• 1999

The aim of the present study is to investigate the contribution of $Ca^{2+} ?activated\;K^+\;(K_{Ca})$ channels and delayed rectifier $K^+\;(K_V)$ channels to the resting membrane potential (RMP) in rabbit middle cerebral arterial smooth muscle cells. The RMP and membrane currents were recorded using the whole-cell patch configuration and single $K_{Ca}$ channel was recorded using the outside-out patch configuration. Using the pipette solution containing 0.05 mM EGTA, the RMP was $-25.76{\pm}5.08$ mV (n=12) and showed spontaneous transient hyperpolarizations (STHPs). The membrane currents showed time- and voltage-dependent outward currents with spontaneous transient outward currents (STOCs). When we recorded the membrane potential using the pipette solution containing 10 mM EGTA, the RMP was depolarized and did not show STHPs. The membrane currents showed no STOCs but only showed slowly inactivating outward currents. External TEA (1 mM) reversibly inhibited the STHPs, depolarized the RMP, reduced the membrane currents, abolished STOCs, and decreased the open probability of single $K_{Ca}$ channel. When $K_V$ currents were isolated, the application of 4-AP (5 mM) depolarized the RMP. The important aspect of our results is that $K_{Ca}$ channel is responsible for the generation of the STHPs in the membrane potential and plays an important role in the regulation of the RMP and $K_V$ channel is also responsible for the regulation of the RMP in rabbit middle cerebral arterial smooth muscle cells.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.341-350
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• 1993

As an effort to develop an alternative transportation fuel, the production of methanol from methane gas was studied using the resting cells of an obligatory methanotroph, Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b. The reaction was carried out in high concentration phosphate buffer solutions with the flask-grown cells containing the exclusively cytoplasmic methane monooxygenase (sMMO) activity. The methanol accumulation rate was observed to be 79nmo1/mg·min during the initial 4.5hr. Phosphate-dependent inhibition was found for both sMMO and methanol dehydrogenase (MDH) activities, and the inhibition constants were 185mM and 42mM, respectively. The inhibition mode was noncompetitive. Methanol was found to be very inhibitory to the sMMO activity and the inhibition constant (noncompetitive) was 21mM when propylene was used as substrate. The sMO activity in the resting cells was declined very fast and the rate became very high during the methanol production. These results indicate that the use of M. trichosporium OB3b as a biocatalyst for the methanol production is heavily dependent on the stable maintenance of the whole-cell SMO activity as well as the effective alleviation of product inhibition.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 1995

An optimal condition for the continuous production of ${\delta}-aminolevulinate$(ALA) was investigated using high concentrated resting cells of Rhodocyclus gelatinosus KUP-74. The increase of the amount of extracellular ALA versus the concentration of resting cells showed rectangular hyperbolic pattern until 20 mg cells/ml, but no further increase in the ALA amount by increasing its concentration was occurred. The highest yield of the extracellular ALA was observed after 3 hr of incubation of 1 ml reaction system containing 20 mg cells, 4 mM levulinate and 5 mM L-glutamate. On the other hand, the immobilized cells prepared by Ca-alginate inclusive method needed to incubate for 6 hr with 6 mM levulinate and 10 mM L-glutamate to give maximal yield of the extracellular ALA. In addition, under these conditions the resulted continuous productivities of the ALA by immobilized cells and highly concentrated resting cells were appeared 50 percent decreases after incubations for 185 hr and 100 hr, respectively, and the method of the cells to be immobilized was more efficient to recover the extracellular ALA produced.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2000.11a
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• pp.549-552
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• 2000

A microorganism which can desulfurize dibenzothiophene (DBT) to 2-hydroxybiphenyl (2-HBP) was isolated from coal samples. The rate of DBT desulfurization was enhanced by the presence of yeast extract. In the case of DBT desulfurization by resting cells the rate and extent of 2-HBP production was enhanced with the addition of Tween 80.