• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• 제10권2호
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• pp.125-129
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• 2005

Ribosome-associated membrane protein 4 (RAMP4) is a membrane protein that exposes its N-terminal hydrophilic portion on the cytoplasmic side and spans the membrane close to the C-terminal end. RAMP4 has previously been reported to belong to the set of proteins that remains associated with membrane-bound ribosomes, and controls the glycosylation of major histocompatbility complex class II-associated invariant chain. RAMP4 also may be relative to the stabilization of membrane proteins in response to stress, with other components of translocon, and molecular chaperons in ER. Application of 5'-RACE technique with specially designed primer, we cloned a 715 bp cDNA fragment which contains a 195 bp ORF, termed RAMP4. The deduced protein has 64 amino acid residues and contains a putative transmembrane-spanning domain at the COOH terminus.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• 제25권6호
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• pp.759-769
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• 2002

Mutated forms of ras are found in many human tumors and the rate of incidence is significantly higher in colon and pancreatic cancers. The protein product from the ras oncogene is a small G-protein, $p21^{ras}{\;}(Ras)$ that is known to playa key role in the signal transduction cascade and cell differentiation and proliferation. Mutated Ras is unable to regulate itself and remains constantly activated, leading to uncontrolled cell growth. The function of Ras in signal transduction requires its location near the growth factor receptor at the cell membrane. However, Ras does not have a transmembrane domain. Ras requires farnesylation to increase its hydrophobicity and subsequent plasma membrane association for its transforming activity. This key post-translational modification is catalyzed by the enzyme Ras farnesyltransferase (FTase), which transfers a farnesyl group from farnesylpyrophosphate to the C-terminal cysteine of the Ras protein. The requirement has focused attention on FTase as a target for therapeutic intervention. Selective inhibition of FTase will prevent Ras protein from association with the plasma membrane, leading to a disruption of oncogenic Ras function.

• BMB Reports
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• 제32권4호
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• pp.405-408
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• 1999

The transactivation potential of HIV-1 Vpu was identified from the yeast two-hybrid screening process. The helix II domain of HIV-1 Vpu protein and mutant Vpu protein lacking the transmembrane domain exhibited transactivation of the LacZ and Leu2 reporter genes carrying LexA upstream activating sequences, but full-length HIV-1 Vpu and the helix I domain of HIV-1 Vpu did not. The helix II domain of HIV-1 Vpu consists of a number of acidic amino acids, and is especially rich in glutamic acid, a characteristic of many transcription factors. This result suggests that protein-protein interaction may occur through the acidic helix II domain of HIV-1 Vpu.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제27권6호
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• pp.673-680
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• 2009

Conversion of the normal soluble form of prion protein, PrP ($PrP^C$), to proteinase K-resistant form ($PrP^{Sc}$) is a common molecular etiology of prion diseases. Proteinase K-resistance is attributed to a drastic conformational change from ${\alpha}$-helix to ${\beta}$-sheet and subsequent fibril formation. Compelling evidence suggests that membranes play a role in the conformational conversion of PrP. However, biophysical mechanisms underlying the conformational changes of PrP and membrane binding are still elusive. Recently, we demonstrated that the putative transmembrane domain (TMD; residues 111-135) of Syrian hamster PrP penetrates into the membrane upon the reduction of the conserved disulfide bond of PrP. To understand the mechanism underlying the membrane insertion of the TMD, here we explored changes in conformation and membrane binding abilities of PrP using wild type and cysteine-free mutant. We show that the reduction of the disulfide bond of PrP removes motional restriction of the TMD, which might, in turn, expose the TMD into solvent. The released TMD then penetrates into the membrane. We suggest that the disulfide bond regulates the membrane binding mode of PrP by controlling the motional freedom of the TMD.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• 제33권2호
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• pp.148-162
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• 2017

As a step towards discovering novel pathogenesis-related proteins, we performed a genome scale computational identification and characterization of secreted and transmembrane (TM) proteins, which are mainly responsible for bacteria-host interactions and interactions with other bacteria, in the genomes of six representative Burkholderia species. The species comprised plant pathogens (B. glumae BGR1, B. gladioli BSR3), human pathogens (B. pseudomallei K96243, B. cepacia LO6), and plant-growth promoting endophytes (Burkholderia sp. KJ006, B. phytofirmans PsJN). The proportions of putative classically secreted proteins (CSPs) and TM proteins among the species were relatively high, up to approximately 20%. Lower proportions of putative type 3 non-classically secreted proteins (T3NCSPs) (~10%) and unclassified non-classically secreted proteins (NCSPs) (~5%) were observed. The numbers of TM proteins among the three clusters (plant pathogens, human pathogens, and endophytes) were different, while the distribution of these proteins according to the number of TM domains was conserved in which TM proteins possessing 1, 2, 4, or 12 TM domains were the dominant groups in all species. In addition, we observed conservation in the protein size distribution of the secreted protein groups among the species. There were species-specific differences in the functional characteristics of these proteins in the various groups of CSPs, T3NCSPs, and unclassified NCSPs. Furthermore, we assigned the complete sets of the conserved and unique NCSP candidates of the collected Burkholderia species using sequence similarity searching. This study could provide new insights into the relationship among plant-pathogenic, humanpathogenic, and endophytic bacteria.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제38권10호
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• pp.829-835
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• 2015

It has been suggested that AUXIN BINDING PROTEIN 1 (ABP1) functions as an apoplastic auxin receptor, and is known to be involved in the post-transcriptional process, and largely independent of the already well-known SKP-cullin-F-box-transport inhibitor response (TIR1) /auxin signaling F-box (AFB) ($SCF^{TIR1/AFB}$) pathway. In the past 10 years, several key components downstream of ABP1 have been reported. After perceiving the auxin signal, ABP1 interacts, directly or indirectly, with plasma membrane (PM)-localized transmembrane proteins, transmembrane kinase (TMK) or SPIKE1 (SPK1), or other unidentified proteins, which transfer the signal into the cell to the Rho of plants (ROP). ROPs interact with their effectors, such as the ROP interactive CRIB motif-containing protein (RIC), to regulate the endocytosis/exocytosis of the auxin efflux carrier PIN-FORMED (PIN) proteins to mediate polar auxin transport across the PM. Additionally, ABP1 is a negative regulator of the traditional $SCF^{TIR1/AFB}$ auxin signaling pathway. However, Gao et al. (2015) very recently reported that ABP1 is not a key component in auxin signaling, and the famous abp1-1 and abp1-5 mutant Arabidopsis lines are being called into question because of possible additional mutantion sites, making it necessary to reevaluate ABP1. In this review, we will provide a brief overview of the history of ABP1 research.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제42권11호
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• pp.783-793
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• 2019

When endoplasmic reticulum (ER) functions are perturbed, the ER induces several signaling pathways called unfolded protein response to reestablish ER homeostasis through three ER transmembrane proteins: inositol-requiring enzyme 1 (IRE1), PKR-like ER kinase (PERK), and activating transcription factor 6 (ATF6). Although it is important to measure the activity of ATF6 that can indicate the status of the ER, no specific cell-based reporter assay is currently available. Here, we report a new cell-based method for monitoring ER stress based on the cleavage of $ATF6{\alpha}$ by sequential actions of proteases at the Golgi apparatus during ER stress. A new expressing vector was constructed by using fusion gene of GAL4 DNA binding domain (GAL4DBD) and activation domain derived from herpes simplex virus VP16 protein (VP16AD) followed by a human $ATF6{\alpha}$ N-terminal deletion variant. During ER stress, the GAL4DBD-VP16AD(GV)-$hATF6{\alpha}$ deletion variant was cleaved to liberate active transcription activator encompassing GV-$hATF6{\alpha}$ fragment which could translocate into the nucleus. The translocated GV-$hATF6{\alpha}$ fragment strongly induced the expression of firefly luciferase in HeLa Luciferase Reporter cell line containing a stably integrated 5X GAL4 site-luciferase gene. The established double stable reporter cell line HLR-GV-$hATF6{\alpha}$(333) represents an innovative tool to investigate regulated intramembrane proteolysis of $ATF6{\alpha}$. It can substitute active pATF6(N) binding motif-based reporter cell lines.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• 제19권4호
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• pp.44.1-44.9
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• 2021

Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder, the prevalence of which has increased drastically in India in recent years. Neuroligin is a type I transmembrane protein that plays a crucial role in synaptogenesis. Alterations in synaptic genes are most commonly implicated in autism and other cognitive disorders. The present study investigated the neuroligin 3 gene in the Indian autistic population by sequencing and in silico pathogenicity prediction of molecular changes. In total, 108 clinically described individuals with autism were included from the North Karnataka region of India, along with 150 age-, sex-, and ethnicity-matched healthy controls. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood, and exonic regions were sequenced. The functional and structural effects of variants of the neuroligin 3 protein were predicted. One coding sequence variant (a missense variant) and four non-coding variants (two 5'-untranslated region [UTR] variants and two 3'-UTR variants) were recorded. The novel missense variant was found in 25% of the autistic population. The C/C genotype of c.551T>C was significantly more common in autistic children than in controls (p = 0.001), and a significantly increased risk of autism (24.7-fold) was associated with this genotype (p = 0.001). The missense variant showed pathogenic effects and high evolutionary conservation over the functions of the neuroligin 3 protein. In the present study, we reported a novel missense variant, V184A, which causes abnormal neuroligin 3 and was found with high frequency in the Indian autistic population. Therefore, neuroligin is a candidate gene for future molecular investigations and functional analysis in the Indian autistic population.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제24권4호
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• pp.568-576
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• 2014

TIM-1 (also known as KIM-1 and HAVcr-1) is a type I transmembrane glycoprotein member of the TIM family that may play important roles in innate and adaptive immune responses. The overexpression of proteins associated with membrane proteins is a major obstacle to overcome in studies of membrane protein structures and functions. In this study, we successfully coupled the overexpression of the TIM-1 protein with a C-terminal enhanced green fluorescent protein (GFP) tag in Escherichia coli. To the best of our knowledge, this report is the first to describe the overexpression of human TIM-1 in E. coli. The purified TIM-1-EGFP fusion protein recognized and bound directly to apoptotic cells and did not to bind to viable cells. Furthermore, we confirmed that the interactions of TIM-1-EGFP with apoptotic cells were blocked by TIM-1-Fc fusion proteins. This fusion protein represents a readily obtainable source of biologically active TIM-1 that may prove useful in future studies of human TIM-1.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제25권1호
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• pp.84-92
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• 2015

Interferon inducible transmembrane protein (IFITM) family 유전자는 인터페론(IFNs)의 동형 세포부착 기능 및 세포의 항-증식 활성과 같은 몇 가지 세포증식 과정에 연관되어 있다. 본 연구에서는 IFITM2 및 IFITM5 SNPs이 궤양성대장염의 감수성과 연관되어 있는지 알아 보고자 했다. 본 연구에서 직접 염기서열 분석법을 사용하여 IFITM2 유전자에서 총 13개, IFITM5 유전자에서는 12개의 유전적 변이를 발굴하였다. 이들의 SNPs의 유전자형 분석은 PCR-RFLP 법과 Taq-Man probe 분석법을 사용하였고, 일배체형 빈도 분석은 EM algorithm을 사용하여 분석하였다. 궤양성대장염 환자에서 IFITM2 및 IFITM5 SNPs의 유전자형과 대립유전자 빈도는 건강인 대조군과 비교했을 때 유의성이 없었다. 궤양성대장염 환자와 정상인 대조군에서 IFITM1의 rs77537847, IFITM2의 rs909097, IFITM5의 rs56069858을 지표로 하는 유전자형 조합 빈도를 분석한 결과 주된 유전자형 조합빈도에서는 유의성이 없는 것으로 나타났으나, 궤양성대장염 환자와 건강인 대조군의 GGT 유전자형조합 빈도 분석에서는 유의하게 다른 차이를 보였다(p=0.002). 이러한 결과에 의거하여 IFITMs의 SNPs 유전자형 조합이 궤양성대장염의 감수성과 연관성이 있고, 궤양성대장염의 유용한 유전자 마커로 사용 할 수 있다고 생각된다.