• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Toxicology Conference
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.9-9
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• 2001

Several micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) are required as co-factors in DNA synthesis, DNA repair, DNA methylation and apoptosis. Some notable examples include (a) folic acid and vitamin B12 required for maintenance methylation of DNA and the synthesis of dTTP from dUTP, thus prevent the misincorporation of uracil into DNA, a highly mutagenic and chromosome-breaking event, (b) niacin, is essential in the form of the coenzymes NAD and NADP which act as a substrate for polyADPribose polymerase (PARP), an enzyme thought to facilitate efficient DNA repair and telomere length regulation and (c) zinc, apart from its antioxidant role as a co-factor in Cu/Zn SOD, it is required in its stabilizing role of the DNA-binding domain of p53 (residues 102-292) and thus is essential for apoptotic response to DNA damage. (omitted)

• KSBB Journal
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.475-481
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• 1995

The effect of metallothionein expression on the metal resistance and removal by recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae containing the plasmid pJW9 was investigated. The recombinant strain S. cerevisiae BZ-pJ was constructed by transforming the host strain S. cerevisiae BZ3l-1-7Ba with the gene coding for a metal-binding protein, metallothionein. Introduction of the MT gene yielded an increase in the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of copper more than three times compared with the host strain. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of $Cr^{2+}, Znr^{2+} and Pb^{2+}, $ were not different for the two strains. The recombinant yeast grown in a medium containing 8mM CuSO4 was able to remove copper with a capacity of 18.9mg $Cu^{2+}$/g dry cell. In a mixture of copper and zinc, the presence of copper relieved the toxic effects caused by zinc, resulting in an enhancement of the final cell density and the specific growth rate of the recombinant yeast. The capability to remove copper by the recombinant yeast was linearly proportional to the copper concentrations in the medium. The efficiency of copper removal was rather constant regardless of the initial copper concentrations. The specific removal of zinc was dependent on the zinc concentrations in media, though, and such dependence was not so pronounced as the concentration of copper.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.246-251
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• 2006

A lot of mutants which cannot initiate sexual development were screened and several loci including nsdA, nsdB, nsdC, and nsdD were identified in homothallic ascomycetes Aspergillus nidulans. The NSD206, which has nsdC6 allele, showed typical phenotype of NSD (Never in sexual development) mutants. The nsdC gene was cloned by transforming NSDP697 ($nsdC^-$, $pryG^-$) with AMA1-NotI genomic library. The transforming library DNA recovered from several transformants showing wild phenotype carried about 10 kb genomic DNA insert. The DNA sequence of nsdC was analysed using GPS (Genome priming system). The nsdC gene has an open reading frame (ORF) of 1,929 bp encoding a putative polypeptide of 643 amino acids. The NsdC carries $C_2H_2C_2H_2C_2HC$ type zinc finger DNA binding domains in the middle of the polypeptide. A coiled-coil domain at its C terminus were also found. In nsdC6 allele, a single T insertion was occurred between 407-408 bp leading to the frameshift mutation and early termination of translation producing the truncated protein which has only 139 amino acids.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.2032-2038
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• 2011

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), a family of zinc-containing endopeptidases, participate in many normal processes such as embryonic development and wound repair, and in many pathological situations such as cancer, atherosclerosis, and arthritis. Peptidomimetic MMP inhibitors were designed and synthesized with N-formylhydroxylamine (retrohydroxamate) as a zinc-binding group and various side chains on the ${\alpha}$, P1', and P2' positions. Using in vitro MMP assays with purified MMPs (MMP-1, MMP-2, MMP-3, MMP-9, and MMP-14) and fluorogenic peptide substrates, it was found that compounds 2d and 2g selectively inhibit gelatinases (MMP-2 and MMP-9) and interstitial collagenase (MMP-1). They also inhibited the chemo-invasion of fibrosarcoma HT-1080 cells and tube formation of human umbilical vascular endothelial cells in a dose-dependent manner. Our results suggest that retrohydroxamate-based MMP inhibitors, especially compounds 2d and 2g, have the potential to be used as therapeutic drugs for cancer and other MMP-related diseases.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.43-54
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• 2011

Gene structure of copper/zinc-superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn-SOD; sod1) was characterized in Hemibarbus mylodon (Teleostei; Cypriniformes), an endangered freshwater fish species in Korean peninsula. Full-length cDNA of H. mylodon SOD1 consisted of a 796-bp open reading frame sequence encoding 154 amino acids, and the deduced polypeptide sequence shared high sequence homology with other orthologs, particularly with regard to metal-coordinating ligands. Genomic structure of the H. mylodon sod1 gene (hmsod1; 1,911 bp from the ATG start codon to the stop codon) was typical quinquepartite (i.e., five exons interrupted by four introns); the lengths of the exons were similar among species belonging to various taxonomic positions. The molecular phylogeny inferred from sod1 genes in the teleost lineage was in accordance with the conventional taxonomic assumptions. 5'-flanking upstream region of hmsod1, obtained using the genome walking method, contained typical TATA and CAAT boxes. It also showed various transcription factor binding motifs that may be potentially involved in stress/immune response (e.g., sites for activating proteins or nuclear factor kappa B) or metabolism of xenobiotic compounds (e.g., xenobiotic response element; XRE). The hmsod1 transcripts were ubiquitously detected among tissues, with the liver and spleen showing the highest and lowest expression, respectively. An experimental challenge with Edwardsiella tarda revealed significant upregulation of the hmsod1 in kidney (4.3-fold) and spleen (3.1-fold), based on a real-time RT-PCR assay. Information on the molecular characteristics of this key antioxidant enzyme gene could be a useful basis for a biomarker-based assay to understand cellular stresses in this endangered fish species.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetic Resonance Society
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.99-105
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• 2015

Hsp33 is a prokaryotic molecular chaperon that exerts a holdase activity upon response to an oxidative stress at raised temperature. In particular, intramolecular disulfide bond formation between the four conserved cysteines that bind a zinc ion in reduced state is known to be critically associated with the redox sensing. Here we report the backbone NMR assignment results of the half-oxidized Hsp33, where only two of the four cysteines form an intramolecular disulfide bond. Almost all of the resolved peaks could be unambiguously assigned, although the total assignments extent reached just about 50%. Majority of the missing assignments could be attributed to a significant spectral collapse, largely due to the oxidation-induced unfolding of the C-terminal redox-switch domain. These results support two previous suggestions: conformational change in the first oxidation step is localized mainly in the C-terminal zinc-binding domain, and the half-oxidized form would be still inactive. However, some additional regions appeared to be potentially changed from the reduced state, which suggest that the half-oxidized conformation would be an intermediate state that is more labile to heat and/or further oxidation.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.25 no.10
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• pp.1477-1483
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• 2004

We present the tandem mass spectrometry applications carried out to elucidate the coordination structure of Zn(II) bound lysine ternary complexes, $(Zn+Lys+Lys-H)^+$, which is a good model system to represent a simple (metallo)enzyme-substrate complex (ES). In particular, experimental efforts were focused on revealing the involvement of a lysine side chain ${\varepsilon}$-amino group in the coordination of $Zn^{2+}$ divalent ions. MS/MS fragmentation pattern showed that all the oxygen species within a complex fell off in the form of $H_2O$ in contrast to those of other ternary complexes containing amino acids with simple side chains (4-coordinate geometries, Figure 1a), suggesting that the lysine complexes have different coordination structures from the others. The participation of a lysine basic side chain in the coordination of Zn(II) was experimentally evidenced in MS/MS for $N{\varepsilon}$-Acetyl-L-Lys Zn(II) complexes with acetyl protection groups as well as in MS/MS for the ternary complexes with one $NH_3$ loss, $(Zn+Lys+Lys-NH_3-H)^+$. Detailed structures were predicted using ab initio calculations on $(Zn+Lys+Lys-H)^+$ isomers with 4-, 5-, and 6-coordinate structures. A zwitterionic 4-coordinate complex (Figure 7d) and a 5-coordinate structure with distorted bipyramidal geometry (Figure 7b) are found to be most plausible in terms of energy stability and compatibility with the experimental observations, respectively.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.640-648
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• 2023

The purpose of this study was to determine the inhibitory effect of heavy metals [Cd(II), Ni(II), and Zn(II)] on the growth of Rhodobacter species (Rhodobacter blasticus, Rhodobacter sphaeroides, and Rhodobacter capsulatus) and their potential use for Cd(II), Ni(II), and Zn(II) bioremoval from liquid media. The presence of toxic heavy metals prolonged the lag phase in growth and reduced biomass growth for all three Rhodobacter species at concentrations of Cd, Ni, and Zn above 10 mg/L. However, all three Rhodobacter species also had a relatively high specific growth rate against each toxic heavy metal stress test for concentrations below 20 mg/L and possessed a potential bioaccumulation ability. The removal efficiency by all strains was highest for Cd(II), followed by Ni(II), and lowest for Zn(II), with the removal efficiency of Cd(II) by Rhodobacter species being 66% or more. Among the three strains, R. blasticus showed a higher removal efficiency of Cd(II) and Ni(II) than R. capsulatus and R. sphaeroides. Results also suggest that the bio-removal processes of toxic heavy metal ions by Rhodobacter species involve both bioaccumulation (intracellular uptake) and biosorption (surface binding).

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.246-253
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• 1998

Heavy metal-tolerant microorganisms, such as Pseudomonas putida, P. aeruginosa, P. chlororaphis and P. stutzeri which possessed the ability to accumulate cadmium, lead, zinc and copper, respectively, were isolated from industrial wastewaters and mine wastewaters polluted with various heavy metals. The binding sites of heavy metal in the cells were investigated by chemical modification of functional groups the cell walls. To determine the binding sites of heavy metal in the cells, electrochemical charge of amine and carboxyl groups in the cell walls of heavy metal-tolerant microorganisms were chemically modified. Chemical modifications of amine groups did not affect the heavy metal uptake as compared to native cell walls. In contrast, modifications of carboxyl groups drastically decreased heavy metal uptake as compared to native cell walls, and electron microscopy confirmed that the form and structure of the heavy metal uptake were different from those of native cell walls. The results suggested that the carboxyl groups were the major sites of heavy metal uptake in the heavy metal-tolerant microorganism cell.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.8
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• pp.1242-1248
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• 2007

Genomic analysis of a hyperthermophilic archaeon, Thermococcus onnurineus NA1 [1], revealed the presence of an open reading frame consisting of 1,377 bp similar to ${\alpha}$-amylases from Thermococcales, encoding a 458-residue polypeptide containing a putative 25-residue signal peptide. The mature form of the ${\alpha}$-amylase was cloned and the recombinant enzyme was characterized. The optimum activity of the enzyme occurred at $80^{\circ}C$ and pH 5.5. The enzyme showed a liquefying activity, hydrolyzing maltooligosaccharides, amylopectin, and starch to produce mainly maltose (G2) to maltoheptaose (G7), but not pullulan and cyclodextrin. Surprisingly, the enzyme was not highly thermostable, with half-life ($t_{1/2}$) values of 10 min at $90^{\circ}C$, despite the high similarity to ${\alpha}$-amylases from Pyrococcus. Factors affecting the thermostability were considered to enhance the thermo stability. The presence of $Ca^{2+}$ seemed to be critical, significantly changing $t_{1/2}$ at $90^{\circ}C$ to 153 min by the addition of 0.5 mM $Ca^{2+}$. On the other hand, the thermostability was not enhanced by the addition of $Zn^{2+}$ or other divalent metals, irrespective of the concentration. The mutagenetic study showed that the recovery of zinc-binding residues (His175 and Cys189) enhanced the thermo stability, indicating that the residues involved in metal binding is very critical for the thermostability.