• BMB Reports
• /
• v.50 no.5
• /
• pp.275-280
• /
• 2017

Herpes simplex virus type 1 ICP27 is a multifunctional protein responsible for viral replication, late gene expression, and reactivation from latency. ICP27 interacts with various cellular proteins, including Daxx. However, the role of interaction between ICP27 and Daxx is largely unknown. Since Daxx is known to repress $NF-{\kappa}B$ activity, there is a possibility that ICP27 may influence the inhibitory effect of Daxx on $NF-{\kappa}B$ activity. In this study, we tested whether ICP27 affects the $NF-{\kappa}B$ activity through its interaction with Daxx. Interestingly, ICP27 enhanced the Daxx-mediated repression of $NF-{\kappa}B$ activity. In addition, we found that sumoylation of Daxx regulates its interaction with p65. ICP27 binds to Daxx, inhibits Daxx sumoylation, and enhances p65 deacetylation induced by Daxx. Consequently, ICP27 represses the $NF-{\kappa}B$ activity, by elevating the inhibitory effect of Daxx on $NF-{\kappa}B$ activity through desumoylation of Daxx.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.235-241
• /
• 2002

Sophorolipid, a biosurfactant produced from Candida bombicola ATCC 22214, showed antimicrobial activity against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus xylosus, Streptococcus mutans, and Propionibacterium acne at 4, 1, 1, 0.5 ppm, respectively. Also, 100 ppm of sophorolipid inhibited $50\%$ of cell growth of plant pathogenic fungus, Botrytis cineria. However, sophorolipid showed no effect on Escherichia coli, indicating that its selective antimicrobial activity depended on the cell wall structure. Treatment of B. subtilis with sophorolipid increased leakage of intracellular enzyme, malate dehydrogenase, indicating a possible interaction of sophorolipid with a cellular membrane. Comparing lactone-type and acid-type sophorolipids, the former showed a higher antimicrobial activity. Supplementing other surfactants showed no significant effects on the antimicrobial activity. Animal study showed that 5 g of sophorolipid per kg body weight by oral administration caused no toxicity, and sophorolipid induced no irritation on the skin. These results show potential use of sophorolipid as an active ingredient in healthcare products.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
• /
• v.18 no.6
• /
• pp.1358-1364
• /
• 2009

Electric polarity of working electrode and counter electrode was periodically switched at the intervals of 30 sec. Electric current generated by anodic and cathodic reaction of working electrode was reached to +30 and -12 mA in low intensity pulsed electric field (LIPEF). The yeast growth, ethanol production, and malate consumption in the initial cultivation time were more activated in the LIPEF than the conventional condition (CC). Polyphenol, total phenolic contents (TPC), and total flavonols (TF) were gradually decreased in all cultivation conditions during incubation for 2 weeks but antioxidation activity was not. TF was significantly lower in 3 and 4 V of LIPEF than CC and 2 V of LIPEF; however, the polyphenol, TPC, and antioxidation activity were a little influenced by the LIPEF. After ripening of the winemaking culture for 15 days, polyphenol, TPC, and TF were a little increased but the antioxidation activity was not.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.56 no.11
• /
• pp.606-611
• /
• 2023

The main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2 cleaves 11 sites of viral polypeptide chains and generates essential non-structural proteins for viral replication. Mpro is an important drug target against COVID-19. In this study, we developed a real-time fluorometric turn-on assay system to evaluate Mpro proteolytic activity for a substrate peptide between NSP4 and NSP5. It produced reproducible and reliable results suitable for HTS inhibitor assays. Thus far, most inhibitors against Mpro target the active site for substrate binding. Mpro exists as a dimer, which is essential for its activity. We investigated the potential of the Mpro dimer interface to act as a drug target. The dimer interface is formed of domain II and domain III of each protomer, in which N-terminal ten amino acids of the domain I are bound in the middle as a sandwich. The N-terminal part provides approximately 39% of the dimer interface between two protomers. In the real-time fluorometric turn-on assay system, peptides of the N-terminal ten amino acids, N10, can inhibit the Mpro activity. The dimer interface could be a prospective drug target against Mpro. The N-terminal sequence can help develop a potential inhibitor.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.49 no.4
• /
• pp.140-142
• /
• 2006

The aim of this study is to investigate in vitro biological properties of Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. bark. Ethyl acetate(EtOAc) fraction from aqueous extract of Eucommia bark showed strong antioxidant activity of $IC_{50}$ 19.2 ${\mu}g/ml$ by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl(DPPH) free radical-scavenging assay. The Eucommia bark extract showed $\alpha$-glucosidase inhibitory activity and inhibited growth of human liver cancer cell, suggesting its potential biological value of anticancer.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
• /
• v.18 no.6
• /
• pp.371-375
• /
• 1995

Erythropoietin (EPO), a glycoprotein hormone, regulates the proliferation and differentiation of ereythroid progenitor cells. Many attempts have been made to identify the functionally important amino acids of the hormone. One of those early studies has found that heavy redioiodination of EPO caused the loss of its biological activity, suggesting some important role of one of the four tyrosine residues (Goldwasser, 1981). Thus, in this study, we have generated and tested four $Tyr{\dashrightarrow}Phe$ substitution mutants to clarify the possible role of the tyrosine residue(s) in the hormone's Tyrosine residue(s) in the hormone's biological activity. When the mutant and wild type EPO cDBAs were transfected into COS-7 cells and the biological activities of the muteins were assayed using the primary murine erythroid spleen cells, no mutation tested was found to affect the biological activity of the hormone. Thus we conclude that, contrary to the previous observation, none of the four tyrosine in eryghropoietin is critically involved in the binding of the hormone to its receptor.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.16 no.6
• /
• pp.329-333
• /
• 1972

Chloramphenicol molecule has an asymmetric carbon, so it has conformational isomer, namely, threo and erythro form. These two forms have great difference in biological activity, that is, only threo (-) form has biological activity. Semiempirical quantum mechanical treatments are applied to these molecules to explain the difference, using the extended Huckel theory. The theoretical predictions for the preferred conformation are in good agreement with the experimental results.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
• /
• v.16 no.3
• /
• pp.121-128
• /
• 1972

Alcohol extracts of 70 Korean medicinal plants have been tested for their biological activity. Most of the extracts had slight activity only. Some extracts had more pronounced activity. The results are tabulated.

• Korean Journal of Exercise Nutrition
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.25-31
• /
• 2020

[Purpose] Epidemiological evidence has shown that leisure-time physical activity and structured exercise before and after breast cancer diagnosis contribute to reducing the risk of breast cancer recurrence and mortality. Thus, in this review, we aimed to summarize the physical activity-dependent regulation of systemic factors to understand the biological and molecular mechanisms involved in the initiation, progression, and survival of breast cancer. [Methods] We systematically reviewed the studies on 1) the relationship between physical activity and the risk of breast cancer, and 2) various systemic factors induced by physical activity and exercise that are potentially linked to breast cancer outcomes. To perform this literature review, PubMed database was searched using the terms "Physical activity OR exercise" and "breast cancer", until August 5th, 2020; then, we reviewed those articles related to biological mechanisms after examining the resulting search list. [Results] There is strong evidence that physical activity reduces the risk of breast cancer, and the protective effect of physical activity on breast cancer has been achieved by long-term regulation of various circulatory factors, such as sex hormones, metabolic hormones, inflammatory factors, adipokines, and myokines. In addition, physical activity substantially alters wholebody homeostasis by affecting numerous other factors, including plasma metabolites, reactive oxygen species, and microRNAs as well as exosomes and gut microbiota profile, and thereby every cell and organ in the whole body might be ultimately affected by the biological perturbation induced by physical activity and exercise. [Conclusion] The understanding of integrative mechanisms will enhance how physical activity can ultimately influence the risk and prognosis of various cancers, including breast cancer. Furthermore, physical activity could be considered an efficacious non-pharmacological therapy, and the promotion of physical activity is probably an effective strategy in primary cancer prevention.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.49 no.1
• /
• pp.24-31
• /
• 2021

This study aimed to investigate the melanogenesis inhibitory activity of epicatechin-3-O-gallate (ECG) isolated from Polygonum amphibium L. ECG was isolated from the ethanol extract of P. amphibium L, and its chemical structure was determined using spectroscopic methods such as LC-ESI-MS, 1D-NMR, and UV spectroscopy. ECG inhibited the melanogenesis of B16F10 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Particularly, it decreased the melanin content by 27.4% at 200 µM concentration, compared with the control, in B16F10 cells, without causing cytotoxicity. It is noteworthy that the expression of three key proteins, including tyrosinase, tyrosinase-related protein-1 (TRP-1), TRP-2, and microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), involved in melanogenesis, is significantly inhibited by ECG. The ECG isolated in this study caused the inhibition of body pigmentation and tyrosinase activity in vivo in the zebrafish model. These results suggest that the ECG isolated from P. amphibium L. is an effective anti-melanogenesis agent.