• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.9
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• pp.1384-1391
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• 2006

The signal transduction system is one of the most important devices involved in maintaining life, and many protein kinases are included in the cellular signal transduction system. Finding a protein kinase inhibitor is very valuable, as it can be used to study cell biology and applied to pharmaceuticals. For the efficient and rapid screening of protein kinase inhibitors, two assay systems were combined; the nonradioactive protein kinase assay system that uses an FITC-labeled IRS-2 peptide and the cell-based paper disc assay system that uses Streptomyces griseus as the indicator strain. Among 330 kinds of herb extracts tested, the extract of Dalbergia odorifera exhibited the strongest inhibitory activity in the two assay systems and was selected for further isolation. Based on solvent extraction and many steps of chromatography, seven compounds were finally separated to homogeneity and their structures determined by $^{1}H$ and $^{13}C$ NMR spectroscopies. Four were to be flavonoids and identified as butin ($C_{15}H_{12}O_5$, Mw=272.07), 3'-hydroxymelanetin ($C_{16}H_{12}O_6$, Mw=300.06), liquiritigenin ($C_{15}H_{12}O_4$, Mw=256.07), and 2'-hydroxyformononetin ($C_{16}H_{12}O_{5}$, Mw=284.07). 3'-Hydroxymelanetin inhibited the phosphorylation of the GSK3 protein by Akt to 37% at a concentration of $10{\mu}g/ml$ and showed the strongest cytotoxicity ($ED_{50}<50{\mu}g/ml$) against the human cancer cell line HCT116. Under the same conditions, liquiritigenin also inhibited the phosphorylation of GSK3 by Akt to 26%, and its cytotoxicity against the HCT116 cell line was lower than $100{\mu}g/ml$.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.21 no.7
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• pp.667-674
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• 2011

The gene for esterase (rEst1) was isolated from a new species of genus Rheinheimera by functional screening of E. coli cells transformed with the pSMART/HaeIII genomic library. E. coli cells harboring the esterase gene insert could grow and produce clear halo zones on tributyrin agar. The rEst1 ORF consisted of 1,029 bp, corresponding to 342 amino acid residues with a molecular mass of 37 kDa. The signal P program 3.0 revealed the presence of a signal peptide of 25 amino acids. Esterase activity, however, was associated with a homotrimeric form of molecular mass 95 kDa and not with the monomeric form. The deduced amino acid sequence showed only 54% sequence identity with the closest lipase from Cellvibrio japonicus strain Ueda 107. Conserved domain search and multiple sequence alignment revealed the presence of an esterase/ lipase conserved domain consisting of a GXSXG motif, HGGG motif (oxyanion hole) and HGF motif, typical of the class IV hormone sensitive lipase family. On the basis of the sequence comparison with known esterases/ lipases, REst1 represents a new esterase belonging to the class IV family. The purified enzyme worked optimally at $50^{\circ}C$ and pH 8, utilized pNP esters of short chain lengths, and showed best catalytic activity with p-nitrophenyl butyrate ($C_4$), indicating that it was an esterase. The enzyme was completely inhibited by PMSF and DEPC and showed moderate organotolerance.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.65-74
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• 2021

Serine proteases are the most versatile proteolytic enzymes with tremendous applications in various industrial processes. This study was designed to investigate the biochemical properties, critical residues, and the catalytic potential of alkaline serine protease using in-silico approaches. The primary sequence was analyzed using ProtParam, SignalP, and Phyre2 tools to investigate biochemical properties, signal peptide, and secondary structure, respectively. The three-dimensional structure of the enzyme was modeled using the MODELLER program present in Discovery Studio followed by Molecular Dynamics simulation using GROMACS 5.0.7 package with CHARMM36m force field. The proteolytic potential was measured by performing docking with casein- and keratin-enriched residues, while the effect of the inhibitor was studied using phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, (PMSF) applying GOLDv5.2.2. Molecular weight, instability index, aliphatic index, and isoelectric point for serine protease were 39.53 kDa, 27.79, 82.20 and 8.91, respectively. The best model was selected based on the lowest MOLPDF score (1382.82) and DOPE score (-29984.07). The analysis using ProSA-web revealed a Z-score of -9.7, whereas 88.86% of the residues occupied the most favored region in the Ramachandran plot. Ser327, Asp138, Asn261, and Thr326 were found as critical residues involved in ligand binding and execution of biocatalysis. Our findings suggest that bioengineering of these critical residues may enhance the catalytic potential of this enzyme.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.287-292
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• 2000

Recombinant Aspergillus niger was constructed to express and secrete a biologically active murine granulaocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (mGM-CSF). A 500 bp fragment encoding the signal peptide and terminator of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gpd). The hygromycin phosphotrasferase gene (hph) was used as a selection marker for the fungal transformants. An expression vector was introduced into A. niger ATCC 9642, and a Northern blot analysis indicated the presence of a considerable amount of transcripts from the introduced mGM-CSF. The biological activity of recombinant mGM-CSF (rmGM-CSF) isolated from the culture filtrate was confirmend by measuring the proliferationof the GM-CSF dependent FDC-P1 cell line. It appeared that rmGM-CSF was amenable to the proteolytic activity produced by A. niger, since biological actibity was only observed when the transformants were grown in a protease-repressing medium, and the activity of rmGM-CSF dramatically decreased with an increase of age of the culture. The yield of rmGM-CSF, as determined by ELISA. was 640 ng/l of culture filtrate. Accordingly, its specific activity is estimated to be approximately two-and-a-half times higher than that of a commercial preparation from E. coli.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.459-464
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• 1997

The human liver cDNA clone UDPGTh2, encoding a liver UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UDPGT) was isolated from a .gamma. gt 11 cDNA library by hybridization to mouse transferase cDNA clone, UDPGTm1. UDPGTh2 encoded a 529 amino acid protein with an amino terminus membrane-insertion signal peptide and a carboxyl terminus membrane-spanning region. There were three potential asparagine-linked glycosylation sites at residues 67, 68, and 315. In order to obtain UDPGTh2 protein encoded from cloned human liver UDP-glucuronosyltransferase cDNA, the clone was inserted into the pSVL vector (pUDPGTh2) and expressed in COS 1 cells. The presence of a transferase with Mr-52,000 in transfected cells cultured in the presence of $[^{35}S]$ methionine was shown by immunocomplexed products with goat antimouse transferase IgG and protein A-Sepharose and analysis by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and autoradiography. The expressed UDPGT was a glycoprotein as indicated by electrophoretic mobility shift in Mr-3,000-4,000 when expressed in the presence of tunicamycin. The extent of glycosylation was difficult to assess, although one could assume that glycosyl structures incorporated at the level of endoplasmic reticulum were always the core oligosaccharides. Thus, it is likely that at least two moieties inserted can account for the shift of Mr-3,000-4,000. This study demonstrates the cDNA and deduced amino acid sequence of human liver UDP-glucuronosyltransferase cDNA, UDPGTh2.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2001.11a
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• pp.206-209
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• 2001

Recombinant human GM -CSF was expressed and secreted from transgenic rice cell suspension cultures in its biologically active form. This was accomplished by transforming rice callus tissues with an expression vector, pMYN44. containing the hGM -CSF cDNA. Regulated expression and secretion of hGM -CSF from this vector achieved using the promoter, signal peptide, and terminator from a rice alfa-amylase gene Amy3D. The Amy3D gene is expressed in response to sugar deprivation. The recombinant hGM -CSF was expressed from the transgenic rice cell culture on the sugar-free medium as a yield of about 110 mg/L in the culture filtrate, which was determined by ELISA. Biological activity of hGM-CSF was confirmed by measuring the proliferation of the hGM -CSF dependent TF -1 cells.(This work was supported by a grant from the NRL program of the Korean Ministry of Science and Technology. Shin, Y.- J.. Lee. J.-H and Kwon, T.-H. have been supported by BK21 program from the Korean Ministry of Education)

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.483-489
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• 2002

We investigated the biochemical properties of insect defensin expressed and secreted from Saccharomyces corevisiae. The defensin showed extremely high resistance to boiling for up to 30 min and to pH values tested from 2.0 to 12.0. The treatment of defensin with various proteases abolished antibacterial activity. However, amylases, cellulase, lipase and catalase had no effect on the activity. The defensin was purified to homogeneity through ammonium sulfate concentration of culture supernatant, SP-Sepharose column chromatography and RP-HPLC. Tricin-SDS-PAGE analysis revealed that the molecular weight of the defensin was about 4.0 kDa. The antibacterial activity of the purified defensin was verified by renaturation of stained gel and gel pouring assay using Micrococcus luteus as a test organism.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.115-121
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• 2007

Root nodule formation is controlled by plant hormones such as auxin. Auxin-repressed protein (ARP) genes have been identified in various plant species but their functions are not clear. We have isolated a full-length cDNA clone (EuNOD-ARP1) showing high sequence homology to previously identified ARP genes from root nodules of Elaeagnus umbellata. Genomic Southern hybridization showed that there are at least four ARP-related genes in the genome of E. umbellata. The cDNA clone encodes a polypeptide of 120 amino acid residues with no signal peptide or organelle-targeting signals, indicating that it is a cytosolic protein. Its cytosolic location was confirmed using Arabidopsis protoplasts expressing a EuNOD-ARP1:smGFP fusion protein. Northern hybridization showed that EuNOD-ARP1 expression was higher in root nodules than in leaves or uninoculated roots. Unlike the ARP genes of strawberry and black locust, which are negatively regulated by exogenous auxin, EuNOD-ARP1 expression is induced by auxin in leaf tissue of E. umbellata. In situ hybridization revealed that EuNOD-ARP1 is mainly expressed in the fixation zone of root nodules.

• BMB Reports
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.206-210
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• 2005

Gonadogenesis is a complicated process which involves multi-gene interactions. A rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) gene spermatogenesis associated 4 (SPATA4) was cloned and characterized from adult rainbow trout testis. The cDNA sequence of rainbow trout SPATA4 contains an open reading frame of 1, 081 nucleatides encoding a putative protein of 259 amino acids. The putative protein from rainbow trout shares a 76.8% homology with zebrafish SPATA4. No trans-membrane regions or signal peptide were detected using bioinformatics methods. Subcellular localization analysis revealed that rainbow trout SPATA4 was a nuclear protein with highest possibility (39.1%). Multi-tissue reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) was performed to examine the distribution of rainbow trout SPATA4 in eleven organs of adult rainbow trout. The result demonstrated that this gene express specifically in testis and slight amount of expression was detected in ovary. Further analysis of SPATA4 characterization and function in rainbow trout may provide insight into the understanding of gonadogenesis process.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.767-771
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• 2005

Expression in yeast may prove more amenable to generating large amounts of viral antigens for a vaccine candidate. We, therefore, cloned the gene encoding the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) structural proteins (C-El-E2, c740) fused in-frame with, and immediately 3' to, the chicken-lysozyme signal peptide (C-SIG) gene and under the control of the yeast glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase gene promoter. In yeast, the HCV structural proteins were expressed in two different forms: a processed and a nonprocessed aggregated form. Biophysical characterization by sucrose linear gradient centrifugation revealed that both forms were present in the same fractions with a buoyant density of 1.127-1.176 g/$cm^3$. These findings suggest that the efficient synthesis of HCV structural proteins in yeast may be an important tool to study virus assembly and may lead to the development of an HCV vaccine.