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In the previous work, acetyl xylan esterase (AXE) of Aspergillus ficcum was successfully produced in Pichia pastoris as host. In this study, the recombinant AXE was immobilized on graphite oxide and used for the production of peracetic acid. Immobilization efficiency was enhanced by modifying graphite oxide via surface functionalization. The conditions for enzyme immobilization were also investigated and the optimal conditions were determined as 4℃ of temperature, 24 h of reaction time and pH 7. The activity of immobilized AXE was found to be 62.53 U/g-support. With the immobilized AXE, about 134 mM of peracetic acid was produced under 37℃ of temperature and 30 min of reaction time. Enzyme activity remained at > 50% of the original after 10 production cycles.

Plant-based vaccines have been produced in transgenic plants including tobacco, potatoes, corn, and rice. However, these plants are not suitable for administration without cooking. To overcome this obstacle, a fusion gene encoding the synthetic enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin B subunit genetically fused with a synthetic neutralizing epitope of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (sLTB-sCOE) was introduced into lettuce cells (Lactuca sativa) by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation methods. The integration and expression of the sLTB-sCOE fusion gene was confirmed in transgenic lettuce by genomic DNA PCR amplification and Northern blot analysis, respectively. Synthesis and assembly of the LTB-COE fusion protein into oligomeric structures with pentamer size were observed in transgenic plant extracts by Western blot analysis with anti-LTB or anti-COE antibodies. The binding of plantproduced LTB-COE to intestinal epithelial cell membrane glycolipid receptors was confirmed by GM1-ganglioside enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (GM1-ELISA). Based on the ELISA results, LTB-COE fusion protein made up about 0.026∼0.048% of the total soluble protein in the transgenic lettuce leaf tissues. The synthesis and assembly of LTB-COE monomers into biologically active oligomers in transgenic lettuce leaf tissues demonstrates the feasibility of using uncooked edible plant-based vaccines for mucosal immunization.

The cultural characteristics of the fungusCladosporium phlei were assessed in order to develop an improved method for the production of the fungal pigment, phleichrome, which is an intermediate in the production of a photodynamic therapeutic agent. The growth ofC. phlei, as measured by the hyphal growth rate and increase in biomass, varies significantly depending on the culture media utilized (V8 juice-based medium proved optimal for both growth rate and biomass increase). How-ever, even on a V8 juice plate, the growth ofC. phlei occurred slowly and in a limited fashion, in that the colony covered only 75% of the agar surface after more than 4 weeks of cultivation at 20°C. Supplementations of glucose, fructose, galactose, and sucrose increased both hyphal expansion and mass production, whereas supplementations of other carbon sources, including glycerol and sorbitol, exerted no detectable effects. The effect of inorganic nitrogen supplementation was negligible, whereas organic nitrogen evidenced significant effects, with enhanced growth with malt extract and growth inhibition with yeast extract and tryptone. Sporulation was enhanced under conditions of continuous light, and a minimum of 103 spores per mL of liquid media was found to be necessary for the optimal mass increase. A simple extraction procedure was established in order to isolate the deep red pigment which was subsequently identified as phleichrome via NMR analysis. WhenC. phlei was cultured on V8 medium containing 5% glucose and 2% malt extract, the quantity of mycelial mass was estimated as 20.6 g (dry weight) per liter of culture. The expected phleichrome yields from the mycelia and culture filtrates were estimated to be 43 and 2 mg/L, repectively.

Vascular endothelial cells release proteinases that degrade the extracellular matrix (ECM), thus enabling cell migration during angiogenesis and vasculogenesis. Sildenafil citrate stimulates the nitric oxide-cyclic guanosine monophosphate pathway through inhibition of phosphodiesterase type V (PDE5). In this report, we examined the mechanisms underlying sildenafil citrate-induced cell migration using cultured mouse aortic endothelial cells (MAECs). Sildenafil citrate induced migration and proteinase secretion by murine endothelial cells. Sildenafil citrate induced the secretion of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and MMP-9, which is inhibited by NF-κB inhibitors. Sildenafil citrate also induced the secretion of plasmin, which is inhibited by Pl 3′-kinase inhibitors. It is suggested that sildenafil citrate-induced migrating activity in endothelial cells may be accomplished by increased secretion of proteinases.

Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae is an important pig pathogen, which is responsible for swine pleuropneumonia, a highly contagious respiratory infection. To develop subunit vaccines forA. pleuropneumoniae infection, the Apx toxin genes,apxI andapxII, which are thought to be important for protective immunity, were expressed inSaccharomyces cerevisiae, and the induction of immune responses in mice was examined. TheapxI andapxII genes were placed under the control of a yeast hybridADH2-GPD promoter (AG), consisting of alcohol dehydrogenase II (ADH2) and theGPD promoter. Western blot analysis confirmed that both toxins were successfully expressed in the yeast. The ApxIA and ApxIIA-specific IgG antibody response assays showed dose dependent increases in the antigen-specific IgG antibody titers. The challenge test revealed that ninety percent of the mice immunized with ApxIIA or a mixture of ApxIA and ApxIIA, and sixty percent of mice immunized with ApxIA survived, while none of those in the control groups survived longer than 36 h. These results suggest that vaccination of the yeast expressing the ApxI and ApxII antigens is effective for the induction of protective immune responses againstA. pleuropneumoniae infections in mice.

A simple purification procedure of bioactive human granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (hGM-CSF) secreted in rice cell suspension culture has previously been described. In this study the protein was purified to apparent homogeneity with an overall yield of 80.1% by ammonium sulfate precipitation and a single chromatographic step involving FPLC-anion exchange chromatography. The purified hGM-CSF revealed at least five glycosylated forms ranging from 21.5∼29 kDa, and its biological activity was independent of the glycosylation pattern. This is the first purification report of recombinant hGM-CSF to apparent homogeneity from rice cell suspension cultures.

The recombinant soluble human tumor necrosis factor-alpha (hTNF-α) was expressed in a yeastSaccharomyces cerevisiae and its cytotoxicity was evaluated. A cDNA encoding hTNF-α was placed under the control of two different promoters: a glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPD) promoter and a yeast hybridADH2-GPD promoter, consisting of alcohol dehydrogenase II (ADH2) and theGPD promoter. A Northern blot analysis revealed that, although variation in the expression level of hTNF-α existed among transformants, the higher expression was obtained with theGPD promoter. Expressed hTNF-α protein (rhTNF-α) was successfully secreted into the culture medium, producing 2.5 mg per liter of culture filtrate, with no changes in cell growth. The bioassay for observing the cytotoxicity to the murine L929 fibroblast cell line, with serial dilution of rhTNF-α, indicated that the secreted rhTNF-α was bioactive and its doseresponse was improved eight to ten times over that of theE. coli-derived rhTNF-α.

AsAgrobacterium tumefaciens, which has long been used to transform plants, is known to transfer T-DNA to budding yeast,Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a variety of fungi were subjected to theA. tumefaciens-mediated transformation to improve their transformation frequency and feasibility. TheA. tumefaciens-mediated transformation of chestnut blight fungus,Cryphonectria parasitica, is performed in this study as the first example of transformation of a hardwood fungal pathogen. The transfer of the binary vector pBIN9-Hg, containing the bacterial hygromycin B phosphotransferase gene under the control of theAspergillus nidulans trpC promoter and terminator, as a selectable marker, led to the selection of more than 1,000 stable, hygromycin B-resistant transformants per 1×106 conidia ofC. parasitica. The putative transformants appeared to be mitotically stable. The transformation efficiency appears to depend on the bacterial strain, age of the bacteria cell culture and ratio of fungal spores to bacterial cells. PCR and Southern blot analysis indicated that the marker gene was inserted at different chromosomal sites. Moreover, three transformants out of ten showed more than two hybridizing bands, suggesting more than two copies of the inserted marker gene are not uncommon.

Phytase improves the bioavailability of phytate phosphorus in plant foods to humans and animals, and reduces the phosphorus pollution of animal waste. We have engineered the cell surface of the yeast,Saccharomyces cerevisiae by anchoring active fungal phytase on its cell wall, in order to apply it as a dietary supplement containing bioconversional functions in animal foods and a whole cell bio-catalyst for the treatment of waste. The phytase gene (phyA) ofAspergillus niger with a signal peptide of rice amylase 1A (Ramy1A) was fused with the gene encoding the C-terminal half (320 amino acid residues from the C-terminus) of yeast α-agglutinin, a protein which is involved in mating and is covalently anchored to the cell wall. The resulting fusion construct was introduced intoS. cerevisiae and expressed under the control of the constitutive glyceraldehydes-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPD) promoter. Phytase plate assay revealed that the surface-engineered cell exhibited a catalytically active opaque zone which was restricted to the margin of the colony. Additionally, the phytase activity was detected in the cell fraction, but was not detected in the culture medium when it was grown in liquid. These results indicate that the phytase was successfully anchored to the cell surface of yeast and was displayed as its active form. The amount of recombinant phytase on the surface of yeast cells was estimated to be 16,000 molecules per cell.