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Biomedical subjects

Y Kim

Publications and source records attributed to Y Kim.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Transcriptional regulation of cyclooxygenase-2 in mouse skin carcinoma cells. Regulatory role of CCAAT/enhancer-binding proteins in the differential expression of cyclooxygenase-2 in normal and neoplastic tissues.

Many studies have suggested that overexpression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) contributes to the development of tumors in several tissues. COX-2 expression tends to be up-regulated in various types of tumors and transformed cell lines, and the overexpression of COX-2 is caused by enhanced transcription of the gene. In an attempt to characterize the signaling pathway leading to the overexpression of COX-2 in the mouse skin carcinoma cell line JWF2, we investigated cis- and trans-acting factors required for COX-2 expression and demonstrated a molecular mechanism by which COX-2 is expressed differentially in normal and neoplastic tissues. Two regions of the COX-2 promoter containing an E-box and nuclear factor IL6 site were identified as the positive regulatory elements through transient transfections with luciferase reporter vectors containing the various 5'-flanking regions of the promoter. Moreover, electrophoretic mobility shift assays and cotransfection experiments showed that upstream stimulatory factors and CCAAT/enhancer-binding proteins (C/EBPs) bind to the E-box and nuclear factor IL6 site, respectively, and functionally transactivate the COX-2 promoter. We also found that C/EBP isoforms are expressed differentially during mouse skin carcinogenesis, suggesting that overexpression of COX-2 in tumors may be caused by a change in C/EBP expression levels.

Activating Transcription Factors

Homeodomain-interacting protein kinases, a novel family of co-repressors for homeodomain transcription factors.

A novel family of cofactors that differentially interact with homeoproteins have been identified via a yeast two-hybrid screen. The proteins contain a conserved protein kinase domain that is separated from a domain that interacts with homeoproteins and hence are termed homeodomain-interacting protein kinases (HIPKs): HIPK1, HIPK2, and HIPK3. We show that HIPKs are nuclear kinases using GFP-HIPK fusion constructs. The DNA binding activity of the NK-3 homeoprotein is greatly enhanced by HIPK2, but this effect is independent of its phosphorylation by HIPK2. In cultured cells, HIPKs localize to nuclear speckles and potentiate the repressor activities of NK homeoproteins. The co-repressor activity of HIPKs depends on both its homeodomain interaction domain and a co-repressor domain that maps to the N terminus. Thus, HIPKs represent a heretofore undescribed family of co-repressors for homeodomain transcription factors.

Amino Acid Sequence

Bacterial Poly(3-hydroxyalkanoates) Bearing Carbon-Carbon Triple Bonds.

Production of poly(3-hydroxyalkanoates), PHAs, by Pseudomonas oleovorans (P. oleovorans) and Pseudomonas putida (P. putida) grown with mixtures of nonanoic acid, NA, and 10-undecynoic acid, 10-UND( identical with), were investigated. Both microorganisms produced PHAs containing carbon-carbon triple bonds in fractions from 0 to 100%, depending on the composition of the carbon substrate mixture. The amounts of unsaturated repeating units in PHAs produced by P. oleovorans were higher than those in PHAs produced by P. putida grown with the same carbon substrates. The repeating units containing carbon-carbon triple bonds were 3-hydroxy-8-nonynoate, 3HN(&tbd1;), and 3-hydroxy-10-undecynoate, 3HUD(&tbd1;). 3HN(&tbd1;) was the major repeating unit formed from 10-UND(&tbd1;). The relative amounts of 3HN(&tbd1;) and 3HUD(&tbd1;) in PHAs produced by P. putida were slightly different from those in PHAs produced by P. oleovorans. The number average molecular weights of PHAs produced in this study were approximately 50 000, and polydispersity indices were approximately 2.5 as determined by gel permeation chromatography. The molecular weight distribution and the relative amounts of 3HN(&tbd1;) and 3HUD(&tbd1;) were not affected by either growth time or the composition of the carbon substrate. PHAs bearing triple bonds were soft and differential scanning calorimetry thermograms of these polymers showed very small melting endotherms at approximately 60 degreesC. The glass transition temperatures were in the range of -33 to -21 degreesC.

Journal Article

The influence of delayed postischemic hyperthermia following transient focal ischemia: alterations of gene expression.

We have recently shown that moderate hyperthermia, even if delayed, markedly enlarges the volume of an acute ischemic infarct. In the current study, we used in situ hybridization autoradiography to assess the effects of delayed hyperthermia on the regional expression of messenger RNA (mRNA) for the immediate early genes c-fos and c-jun, the inducible heat-shock protein 70 (hsp70) and glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP) following 1 h of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) produced in rats by the insertion of an intraluminal suture. Sham-occluded rats were also studied. One day after MCAo, rats were placed into a heating chamber, where cranial temperature was either maintained at 37-38 degrees C (normothermic group) or was elevated to 40 degrees C (hyperthermic group) for 3 h. At either 2 or 24 h thereafter, brains were studied by in situ hybridization. Low-level constitutive c-fos and c-jun expression in sham-occluded rats was unaffected by delayed temperature manipulation. Prior MCAo decreased c-fos and c-jun mRNA in the affected striatum and overlying cortex. In rats studied 2 h after delayed hyperthermia, however, c-fos mRNA was markedly increased in ipsilateral cingulate cortex. By contrast, the pattern of c-jun mRNA was similar in rats with prior MCAo irrespective of delayed normothermia or hyperthermia: increased expression involved ipsilateral cingulate and paramedian cortical areas. Bilateral increases in hsp70 expression were produced by hyperthermia alone, and hsp70 mRNA was densely increased throughout the ischemic cortex and striatum following MCAo, while delayed hyperthermia altered this pattern by extending the zone of increased hsp70 message to cingulate and paramedian cortical areas at 2 h. GFAP mRNA was decreased within the previously ischemic field but increased in surrounding regions. The induction of c-fos and hsp70 message in tissue regions abutting zones of enhanced injury in brains with delayed postischemic hyperthermia indicates that these zones have been additionally stressed: these gene responses may possibly contribute to the protection of these threatened regions.

Animals

Size characterization of liposomes by flow field-flow fractionation and photon correlation spectroscopy. Effect of ionic strength and pH of carrier solutions.

The effect of ionic strength and pH of carrier solutions on the separation of liposomes by flow field-flow fractionation (flow FFF) has been studied for the determination of accurate vesicle size distribution of liposomes. Retention behaviors of liposomes (PC/PG/cholesterol) are observed in typical buffer solutions (PBS and Tris-HCl) of various ionic strengths as carrier liquids in flow FFF. The average diameters of collected fractions at each flow FFF run are measured by photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS) for the comparison with FFF calculations at corresponding time interval of collected fractions. A reasonable separation of liposomes is observed at I = 0.016 M for both buffer solutions. Retention of liposomes is found to be elongated at ionic strengths higher than an optimum condition found experimentally, but it is shortened at a lower ionic strength due to the electrostatic interaction between the channel wall and the liposomes. Finally, size distributions of liposomes are provided comparing the liposome preparations by flow FFF.

Drug Carriers

Activation of phospholipase D1 by direct interaction with ADP-ribosylation factor 1 and RalA.

Phospholipase D1 (PLD1) is known to be activated by ADP-ribosylation factor 1 (ARF1). We report here that ARF1 co-immunoprecipitates with PLD1 and that the ARF1-dependent PLD activation is induced by the direct interaction between ARF1 and PLD1. We found that RalA, another member of the small GTP-binding proteins, synergistically enhances the ARF1-dependent PLD activity with an EC50 of about 30 nM. Using in vitro binding assay, we show that ARF1 and RalA directly interact with different sites of PLD1. The results suggest that the independent interactions of RalA and ARF1 with PLD1 are responsible for the synergistic activation.

ADP-Ribosylation Factor 1

Isolation and analysis of metA, a methionine biosynthetic gene encoding homoserine acetyltransferase in corynebacterium glutamicum.

The metA gene encoding homoserine acetyltransferase, the first enzyme of the methionine biosynthetic pathway, was isolated from a pMT1-based corynebacterium glutamicum gene library via complementation of an Escherichia coli metA mutant. A DNA-sequence analysis of the cloned DNA is identified an open-reading frame of 1,137 bp which encodes a protein with the molecular weight of 41,380 comprising 379 amino acids. The putative protein product showed good amino acid-sequence homology to its counterpart in other organisms. The internal fragment of the cloned DNA was successfully used to disrupt chromosomal metA, demonstrating the identity of the cloned gene. The C. glutamicum metA mutant lost the ability to grow on glucose minimal medium supplemented with homoserine. However, the mutant could grow on a minimal medium supplemented with cystathionine, demonstrating that C. glutamicum uses the cystathionine route to synthesize methionine. Introduction of a plasmid carrying cloned metA into C. glutamicum resulted in a 10-fold increase in enzyme activities and expression of a protein product of M(r) 41,000, which agrees with the sequence data and is similar in size to those of other homoserine acetyltransferases. Unlike E. coli whose metA product uses succinyl coenzyme A as a substrate, the cloned metA gene produced homoserine acetyltransferase which uses only acetyl coenzyme A as the acyl donor.

Acetyltransferases

A survey of human serum samples for antibody against Clostridium perfringens type A enterotoxin in humans in Korea.

Serum samples from humans in Chongju City, Korea, were tested for the presence of Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin antibody by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). About half of the 1054 samples tested had high ELISA readings, which could be the result of exposure to enterotoxin produced by C. perfringens. The high prevalence of the antibody among the Korean population suggests that foodborne illnesses caused by C. perfringens may be common in Korea even though the occurrence has not been monitored.

Adolescent

Interactions of type IV collagen and its domains with human mesangial cells.

Type IV collagen (COL-IV) interacts with a variety of cell types. We present evidence that human mesangial cells (HMC) bind directly to COL-IV, its major triple helical domain, and the main non-collagenous, NC1 domain. A synthetic peptide, HEP-III, and its triple helical counterpart (THP-III), previously reported to be a heparin-binding domain, also promoted approximately 15% adhesion of HMC. HMC bound to solid-phase-immobilized, intact COL-IV (approximately 75%), isolated NC1 domain (approximately 15%), and a pepsin-derived triple helical fragment,which lacks Hep-III (approximately 65%). We further examined inhibition of HMC adhesion to COL-IV and its domains by using anti-integrin antibodies. Blocking monoclonal antibodies against the alpha2 integrin resulted in 70% inhibition of adhesion to COL-IV and 80% inhibition to HEP-III. Moderate inhibition was observed on the NC1 and triple helical fragments. Anti-alpha1 antibodies inhibited the binding of HMC to COL-IV, the NC1, and triple helical domains, but not to peptide HEP-III. Anti-beta1 antibodies inhibited almost completely (>95%) the adhesion to COL-IV, the NC1, and triple helical fragments; inhibition on HEP-III was approximately 30%. Affinity chromatography studies with solid-phase HEP-III and mesangial cell lysate also demonstrated the presence of integrin alpha2 beta1 along with alpha3 beta1. We conclude that alpha2 beta1 and alpha1 beta1 integrins mediate HMC adhesion to COL-IV. Peptide HEP-III is a major, specific site for alpha2 integrin-mediated binding of mesangial cells to COL-IV. Both the alpha1 beta1 and alpha2 beta1 integrins interact with the NC1 and triple helical fragments of COL-IV. Therefore, we demonstrate that several sites for integrin-mediated interactions exist on several collagenous and non-collagenous domains of COL-IV.

Antibodies, Monoclonal

Activation of NF-kappaB via a Src-dependent Ras-MAPK-pp90rsk pathway is required for Pseudomonas aeruginosa-induced mucin overproduction in epithelial cells.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive disorder, the most common lethal genetic disease in Caucasians. Respiratory disease is the major cause of morbidity and mortality. Indeed, 95% of CF patients die of respiratory failure. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an opportunistic pathogen, chronically infects the lungs of over 85% of CF patients. It is ineradicable by antibiotics and responsible for airway mucus overproduction that contributes to airway obstruction and death. The molecular mechanisms underlying this pathology are unknown. Here we show that P. aeruginosa activates a c-Src-Ras-MEK1/2-MAPK-pp90rsk signaling pathway that leads to activation of nuclear factor NF-kappaB (p65/p50). Activated NF-kappaB binds to a kappaB site in the 5'-flanking region of the MUC2 gene and activates MUC2 mucin transcription. These studies bring new insight into bacterial-epithelial interactions and more specifically into the molecular pathogenesis of cystic fibrosis. Understanding these signaling and gene regulatory mechanisms opens up new therapeutic targets for cystic fibrosis.

Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases

Genetic structure of the bphG gene encoding 2-hydroxymuconic semialdehyde dehydrogenase of Achromobacter xylosoxidans KF701.

2-Hydroxymuconic semialdehyde dehydrogenase catalyzes the conversion of 2-hydroxymuconic semialdehyde (HMS) to an enol form of 4-oxalocrotonate which is a step in the catechol meta-cleavage pathway. A bphG gene encoding HMS dehydrogenase of A. xylosoxidans KF701, a soil bacterium degrading biphenyl, was identified at between catechol 2,3-dioxygenase gene and HMS hydrolase gene, and its sequence was analyzed. An open reading frame (ORF) corresponding to bphG gene was consisted of 1461 nucleotides with ATG initiation codon and TGA termination codon. The ORF exhibited 66% of G + C content, and a putative ribosome-binding sequence, AGAGA, was identified at about 10 nucleotides upstream initiation codon of the bphG gene. The bphG gene can encode a polypeptide of molecular weight 52 kDa containing 486 amino acid residues. A deduced amino acid sequence of HMS dehydrogenase encoded in bphG gene from A. xylosoxidans KF701 exhibited the highest 94% homology with that of corresponding enzyme encoded in xylG from P. putida mt-2, 63% to 90% homology with those of other reported HMS dehydrogenases, and 29% to 42% homology with those of betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase, 5-carboxy-HMS dehydrogenase, aldehyde dehydrogenase, indole-3-acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase, methylmalonate semialdehyde dehydrogenase, and succinylglutamate 5-semialdehyde dehydrogenase. From an alignment of amino acid sequence of HMS dehydrogenase from A xylosoxidans KF701 with other reported dehydrogenases, putative cofactor NAD(+)-binding regions and catalytic residues were identified.

Alcaligenes

Structure of catechol 2,3-dioxygenase gene from Alcaligenes eutrophus 335.

Catechol 2,3-dioxygenase (C23O), one of extradiol-type dioxygenases cleaving aromatic C-C bond at meta position of dihydroxylated aromatic substrates, catalyzes the conversion of catechol to 2-hydroxymuconic semialdehyde. As our ongoing study to characterize biochemical and genetic properties of the extradiol-type dioxygenases at molecular level, a C23O gene encoded in chromosomal DNA of Alcaligenes eutrophus 335, a strain degrading phenol and p-cresol, was cloned. The C23O gene was localized in an 1.4-kb PstI fragment from A. eutrophus 335, and was expressed in E. coli HB101. The C23O exhibited the highest aromatic ring-fission activity to catechol as a substrate, and its relative activity to other dihydroxylated aromatic substrates was in order of catechol >> 4-methylcatechol > 3-methylcatechol, protocatechuate, 4-chlorocatechol > 3,4-dihydroxy-phenylacetate > 2,3-dihydroxybiphenyl. Nucleotide sequence of the 1.4-kb fragment has revealed that an open reading frame (ORF) corresponding to the C23O gene was composed of 930 base pairs. A putative ribosome-binding sequence of AGGAG was found at about 10 nucleotides upstream the ORF which can encode a polypeptide of molecular weight 34 kDa consisting of 309 amino acid residues. The deduced amino acid sequence of C23O from A. eutrophus 335 exhibited the highest 59% identity with those of corresponding enzymes from Pseudomonas sp. CF600 (p VI150), P. putida HS1 (pDK1), and P. putida PpG7 (NAH7). An alignment of amino acid sequences of extradiol-type dioxygenases including C23O from A. eutrophus 335 has revealed that catalytically and structurally important amino acid residues of the enzymes were conserved during evolution.

Alcaligenes

Oxyresveratrol as the potent inhibitor on dopa oxidase activity of mushroom tyrosinase.

Oxyresveratrol (2,3',4,5'-tetrahydroxystilbene), a naturally occurring compound particularly found in Morus alba L., exhibited a potent inhibitory effect on dopa oxidase activity of tyrosinase which catalyzes rate-limiting steps of melanin biosynthesis. Oxyresveratrol with 0.3 to 5 microM exhibited potent and dose-dependent inhibitions (25 to 84%) on the enzyme activity, where 50% of inhibition was shown at the concentration of about 1 microM. Oxyresveratrol seemed to inhibit the dopa oxidase activity of tyrosinase via a noncompetitive manner (Ki = 9.1 x 10(-7) M) when L-dopa was used as a substrate. Oxyresveratrol exhibited about a 150-fold more potent inhibitory effect than resveratrol (3,4',5-trihydroxystilbene). The more hydroxy groups of the hydroxystilbenes are methylated to be methoxy groups, while the less inhibitory effects on the enzyme activity were exhibited. The results indicate that both the number and positions of hydroxy groups in oxyresveratrol seem to play a critical role in exerting the inhibitory effect on dopa oxidase activity of mushroom tyrosinase.

Basidiomycota

The effect of organic solvents on the determination of cyclic boronates of some beta-blockers by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.

Formation cyclic boronates for beta-blockers, by use of triethylamine (TEA) and pyridine as catalysts, gives more effective product yield. Eleven beta-blockers, formed by cyclic boronation with n-butylboronic acid and TEA, produced higher yields than by on-column thermal reaction and seven beta-blockers were shown to give the highest yields in the phenyl cyclic boronation with pyridine or TEA by on-column thermal and general reaction. The phenyl cyclic boronate of nadolol produced one peak in the chromatogram and the n-butyl cyclic boronate showed two peaks. On-column derivatization and n-butylboronic acid and pyridine was effective in saving analysis time and for convenience, even though some n-butyl cyclic boronates by cyclic boronation with TEA gave a better yield. In n-butyl cyclic boronation with pyridine by on-column thermal reaction the detection limits were 0.1 to 4 ng/microL in urine with a signal-to-noise ratio of 10:1.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists

Cyanide binding and active site structure in heme-copper oxidases: normal coordinate analysis of iron-cyanide vibrations of a3(2+)CN- complexes of cytochromes ba3 and aa3.

The cyanide isotope-sensitive low-frequency vibrations of ferrous cyano complexes of cytochrome a3 are studied for cytochrome ba3 from Thermus thermophilus and cytochrome aa3 from bovine heart. Cyanide complexes of ba3 display three isotope sensitive frequencies at 512, 485, and 473 cm-1. The first is primarily an Fe-C stretching motion, whereas the lower wavenumber modes are bending motions. These iron-cyanide vibrations are independent of the redox levels of the other metal centers in the protein. On the other hand, the fully reduced bovine derivative complexed with cyanide gives rise to a bending vibration at 503 cm-1 and a stretching vibration at 469 cm-1. That is, the ordering of the stretching and bending frequencies is reversed from that of the bacterial protein. These results are analyzed by normal coordinate calculations to obtain comparative models for the binuclear O2 reducing site of the two proteins. We find that the observed frequencies are consistent with a linear Fe-C-N group and larger Fe-C stretching force constant (2.558 mdyn/A) for ba3 and a slightly bent Fe-C-N group (angle approximately 170 degrees) and a smaller Fe-C stretching force constant (2.335 mdyn/A) for aa3. Thus, there are significant differences in the interaction of cyanide with ferrous a3 in the two proteins that are most likely caused by a weaker proximal histidine interaction and stronger peripheral heme electron withdrawing effects in ba3. Possible sources of these protein-induced effects are discussed. Using the analysis developed here, comparison of the FeCN stretching and bending frequencies of the ferrous bovine a3-CN complex to those obtained from the ferric a3-CN complex suggests that upon conversion of the resting to the fully reduced protein, a conformational change occurs that constrains the ligand binding site.

Animals

Solid-state NMR studies of the membrane-bound closed state of the colicin E1 channel domain in lipid bilayers.

The colicin E1 channel polypeptide was shown to be organized anisotropically in membranes by solid-state NMR analysis of samples of uniformly 15N-labeled protein in oriented planar phospholipid bilayers. The 190 residue C-terminal colicin E1 channel domain is the largest polypeptide to have been characterized by 15N solid-state NMR spectroscopy in oriented membrane bilayers. The 15N-NMR spectra of the colicin E1 show that: (1) the structure and dynamics are independent of anionic lipid content in both oriented and unoriented samples; (2) assuming the secondary structure of the polypeptide is helical, there are both trans-membrane and in-plane helical segments; (3) trans-membrane helices account for approximately 20-25% of the channel polypeptide, which is equivalent to 38-48 residues of the 190-residue polypeptide. The results of the two-dimensional PISEMA spectrum are interpreted in terms of a single trans-membrane helical hairpin inserted into the bilayer from each channel molecule. These data are also consistent with this helical hairpin being derived from the 38-residue hydrophobic segment near the C-terminus of the colicin E1 channel polypeptide.

Amino Acid Sequence

Combinatorial control of Drosophila mef2 gene expression in cardiac and somatic muscle cell lineages.

The Drosophila mef2 gene encodes a MADS domain transcription factor required for the differentiation of cardiac, somatic, and visceral muscles during embryogenesis and the patterning of adult indirect flight muscles assembled during metamorphosis. A prerequisite for D-MEF2 function in myogenesis is its precise expression in multiple cell types during development. Novel enhancers for D-mef2 transcription in cardiac and adult muscle precursor cells have been identified and their regulation by the Tinman and Twist myogenic factors have been demonstrated. However, these results suggested the existence of additional regulators and provided limited information on the specification of progenitor cells for different muscle lineages. We have further characterized the heart enhancer and show it is part of a complex regulatory region controlling the activation and repression of D-mef2 transcription in several cell types. The mutation of a GATA sequence in the enhancer changes its specificity from cardial to pericardial cells. Also, the addition of flanking sequences to the heart enhancer results in expression in a new cell type, that being the founder cells of a subset of body wall muscles. As tinman function is required for D-mef2 expression in both the cardial and founder cells, these results define a shared regulatory DNA that functions in distinct lineages due to the combinatorial activity of Tinman and other factors that work through adjacent sequences. The analysis of D-mef2-lacZ fusion genes in mutant embryos revealed that the specification of the muscle precursor cells involved the wingless gene and the activation of a receptor tyrosine kinase signaling pathway.

Animals