Publications by authors named "Wooic Son"

Interaction between tumour cells and macrophages enables cancer cells to evade immune detection and clearance by interfering with macrophage phagocytosis. The anti-phagocytic signals regulated by anti-phagocytic proteins are termed "don't eat me" signals; these signals include sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin-type lectin-10 (Siglec-10) and the recently revealed CD24 immune checkpoint (ICP). In this study, we demonstrate that targeting a specific glycan on CD24 exhibits the potential to inhibit ICP.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The serine protease inhibitor Rv3364c of (MTB) is highly expressed in cells during MTB exposure. In this study, we showed that the WLVSKF motif of Rv3364c interacts with the BAR domain of SNX9 and inhibits endosome trafficking to interact with p47phox, thereby suppressing TLR4 inflammatory signaling in macrophages. Derived from the structure of this Rv3364c peptide motif, 2,4-diamino-6-(4--butylphenyl)-1,3,5-trazine, as a WLVSKF peptide-mimetic small molecule has been identified.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Antibodies are recognition molecules that can bind to diverse targets ranging from pathogens to small analytes with high binding affinity and specificity, making them widely employed for sensing and therapy. However, antibodies have limitations of low stability, long production time, short shelf life, and high cost. Here, we report a facile approach for the design of luminescent artificial antibodies with nonbiological polymeric recognition phases for the sensitive detection, rapid identification, and effective inactivation of pathogenic bacteria.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory response syndrome caused by bacterial infection. The sepsis therapy has involved prescription of adequate antibiotics, requiring several days to determine the proper type without reducing the inflammatory response. Thus, it is necessary to rapidly decrease fundamental inflammation, which can induce serious organ damage.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • MTB, the bacteria that causes tuberculosis, uses specific proteins (MPT63 and MPT64) to evade the host's immune system and promote its survival.
  • Researchers discovered that these proteins interact with key immune proteins (TBK1, p47phox, and HK2) and created a multifunctional recombinant protein (rMPT) that enhances immune responses and fights MTB.
  • The study demonstrated that rMPT not only increases inflammation and reactive oxygen species but also shows potential as a vaccine or treatment against tuberculosis based on tests in mouse models.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Antibodies are widely used as recognition elements in sensing and therapy, but they suffer from poor stability, long discovery time, and high cost. Herein, a facile approach to create antibody mimics with flexible recognition phases and luminescent rigid scaffolds for the selective recognition, detection, and inactivation of pathogenic bacteria is reported. Tripeptides with a nitriloacetate-Cu group are spontaneously assembled on transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) nanosheets via coordination bonding, providing a diversity of TMD-tripeptide assembly (TPA) antibody mimics.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The Rv2626c protein of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a promising vaccine candidate owing to its strong serum antibody response in patients with tuberculosis. However, there is limited information regarding the intracellular response induced by Rv2626c in macrophages. In this study, we demonstrated that Rv2626c interacts with the RING domain of TRAF6 and inhibits lysine (K) 63-linked polyubiquitination of TRAF6 (E3 ubiquitin ligase activity); this results in the suppression of TLR4 inflammatory signaling in macrophages.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Dense granule proteins (GRAs), particularly GRA9, play a crucial role in the host's immune response and may serve as diagnostic markers for toxoplasmosis.
  • The study revealed that GRA9 interacts with NLRP3 to influence inflammation, with the C-terminal region of GRA9 (GRA9C) being vital for this interaction and preventing inflammasome formation.
  • Recombinant GRA9C (rGRA9C) demonstrated anti-inflammatory effects and enhanced the ability of macrophages to eliminate bacteria, suggesting it could be a promising therapeutic option for treating sepsis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Sepsis is an aberrant systemic inflammatory response mediated by excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS). Developing an efficient antioxidant therapy for sepsis scavenging ROS and RNS remains a big challenge owing to the insufficient activity and sustainability of conventional antioxidants. Herein, biocompatible transition-metal dichalcogenide antioxidants with excellent scavenging activity and sustainability for HO, O, OH, and nitric oxide are developed for effective sepsis treatment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Targeted tumor and efficient, specific biological drug delivery has been one of the main challenges in protein-based cancer-targeted therapies. Mitochondria are potential therapeutic targets for various anti-cancer drugs. We have previously reported that protein kinase Cα-mediated phosphorylation of GRA8 is required for mitochondrial trafficking and regulating the interaction of the C-terminal of GRA8 with ATP5A1/SIRT3 in mitochondria.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF