Juridical Foundation the Chemo-Sero-Therapeutic Research Institute

The Chemo-Sero-Therapeutic Research Institute

Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Company, Inc.

Kagoshima University

501 Juridical Foundation, the Chemo-Sero-Therapeutic Research Institute

Km Biologics Co., Ltd.

Takayuki Imamura

Kenji Soejima

Chikateru Nozaki

Hiroshi Nakatake

Hiroshi Yonemura

Kazuyoshi Kaminaka

Junichi Matsuda

Hiroaki Maeda

Fukusaburo Hamada

Kevin P Anderson

Ronnie C Hanecak

Nobuya Ohtomo

Masaki Hirashima

Tomohiro Nakagaki

Takayoshi Hamamoto

Tatsuo Eto

Noriko Mimura

Tsukasa Nishihara

Kazuya Hoshiko

Shinichi Furukawa

Thomas W Bruice

Walter F Lima

Ken-ichi Yamamura

Atsushi Miyanohara

Masatake Araki

Kenichi Matsubara

Junichi Miyazaki

Takeshi Naruse

Masanori Baba

Seiji Tokumoto

Mitsuru Akashi

Shoji Furusako

Takeshi Goto

Takaaki Terahara

Tetsuji Kuwahara

Takanori Uchida

Kiyoto Nishiyama

Katsuhiko Akiyama

Hiroshi Kaetsu

Noriko Shinya

Yoichiro Kino

Keiichi Makizumi

Takumi Sasaki

Sumiyo Takemoto

Keishin Sugahara

Wataru Morikawa

F Andrew Dorr

Seiji Miyamoto

Akio Toh-e

Makoto Moriyama

Wataru Hattori

Tajayuki Imamura

T Jesse Kwoh

Tomofumi Uto

Takami Akagi

Shoji Furasako

Fumio Miake

Tomohiro; c/o Kikuchi Research Center Nakagaki

A novel adjuvant composition is provided that is excellent in safety and convenience as compared to the conventional adjuvant such as Alum. An adjuvant composition comprising citrullines, which are water soluble substance present in the living body, and/or a salt thereof; a vaccine composition comprising said adjuvant composition and an antigen; a process for preparing said adjuvant composition and said vaccine composition; and a method for administering said adjuvant composition and said vaccine composition are provided.

Adjuvant composition containing citrulline

A method for using inactivated Japanese encephalitis virus particles as an adjuvant of a vaccine is provided. A method for using inactivated Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) particles as an adjuvant of various vaccines or a mixed vaccine, said JEV particles being obtained by inoculating JEV Beijing-1 strain to Vero cells, culturing said JEV-infected cells to give cultured cells or culture supernatant, purifying JEV particles from said cultured cells or culture supernatant and inactivating said JEV particles with formalin, a method for preparing a (mixed) vaccine which comprises a step of letting inactivated Japanese encephalitis virus be contained, and a mixed vaccine prepared by said method.

Method for using inactivated Japanese encephalitis virus particles as adjuvant

The present invention provides a method for enhancing the immunogenicity using a microneedle device capable of enhancing the immunogenicity of an influenza vaccine. According to the method for enhancing the immunogenicity using the present microneedle device, a microneedle device having microneedles made of polylactic acid, coated with an influenza vaccine composed of an antigen having type A strain (H1N1), type A strain (H3N2), and type B strain as active ingredients is brought into direct contact with the skin so as to transcutaneously administer the aforementioned influenza vaccine. After the transcutaneous administration, lauryl alcohol is applied to the site of the skin where the microneedle device has been brought into direct contact.

Microneedle device, and method for enhancing the efficacy of influenza vaccine by using microneedle device

An object of the present invention is to provide a safe and effective method for enhancing an immune response and a medicament for preventing or treating Alzheimer disease comprising amyloid &#x3b2; peptide that induces an enhanced immune response. An amyloid &#x3b2; peptide or a portion thereof with addition or insertion of cysteine and a method for enhancing an immune response using the peptide or a method for enhancing an immune response using the peptide together with an adjuvant. A medicament for preventing or treating Alzheimer disease comprising an amyloid &#x3b2; peptide or a portion thereof that induces an enhanced immune response. A DNA vaccine, that may have the same effect, comprising the gene encoding an amyloid &#x3b2; peptide or a portion thereof that induces an enhanced immune response with addition or insertion of cysteine.

Method for enhancing immune response with peptide

A modified peptide derived from matrix protein 2 (hereinafter also referred to as 'M2'), one of surface layer proteins of influenza virus, and a method for utilization of the modified peptide are provided. A peptide (hereinafter also referred to as 'M2eC peptide') that is made up by inserting cysteine residue(s) into a peptide (hereinafter also referred to as &#x201c;M2e&#x201d;) consisting of 23 amino acid residues of from positions No. 2 to No. 24 of M2 in influenza virus type A, a fusion protein consisting of said modified peptide and a polypeptide, an influenza vaccine comprising said modified peptide or said fusion protein as an active ingredient, a device which can be delivered into the body comprising said influenza vaccine, a nucleic acid fragment consisting of a nucleotide sequence encoding the amino acid sequence of said modified peptide or said fusion protein, an expression vector in which said nucleic acid fragment is incorporated, a host in which said expression vector is introduced, and an antibody that has a protective effect against influenza virus.

Modified peptide vaccine derived from influenza M2

A polyion complex (PIC) or a PIC nanoparticle that may be easily prepared, and that is finally disappeared in vivo due to its suitable biodegradability while exhibiting high stability in vivo, an immunotherapy agent comprising the PIC nanoparticle to which various antigen proteins or peptides may be easily conjugated or incorporated and/or which may be easily mixed with the antigen proteins or peptides, as well as a process for preparing thereof are provided. Specifically, a polyion complex (PIC) comprising a hydrophobized poly(acidic amino acid) and a basic polypeptide, a nanoparticle thereof having a particle shape, an immunotherapy agent comprising the PIC nanoparticle, as well as a process for preparing the PIC, comprising steps of introducing a hydrophobic amino acid to a poly(acidic amino acid) to prepare a hydrophobized poly(acidic amino acid), and dissolving the hydrophobized poly(acidic amino acid) prepared to a buffer, and it is mixed with a basic polypeptide dissolved in a buffer.

Polyion complex comprising hydrophobized polyamino acid and use of the same

An object of the invention is to provide a peptide based on a sequence of an amyloid &#x3b2; peptide that may allow for induction of enhanced immune response and is safe and efficacious for prophylaxis and treatment of Alzheimer disease. An amyloid &#x3b2; peptide or a portion thereof with addition or insertion of cysteine or a cysteine analogue, and a method for enhancing immune response to amyloid &#x3b2; using said peptide, a medicament for prophylaxis and treatment of Alzheimer disease using said amyloid &#x3b2; peptide that induces an enhanced immune response, and a DNA vaccine comprising a gene coding for an amyloid &#x3b2; peptide or a sequence derived from an amyloid &#x3b2; peptide with addition or insertion of cysteine or a cysteine analogue, as expected to be similarly efficacious.

Modified amyloid &#x3b2; peptide

This invention is intended to isolate and identify a vWF-specific cleaving protease. The vWF-specific cleaving protease cleaves a bond between residues Tyr 842 and Met 843 of vWF and comprises a polypeptide chain having Leu-Leu-Val-Ala-Val (SEQ ID NO: 1) as a partial sequence, and more preferably comprises a polypeptide chain having the partial N-terminal amino acid sequence of a mature protein, Ala-Ala-Gly-Gly-Ile-Leu-His-Leu-Glu-Leu-Leu-Val-Ala-Val (SEQ ID NO: 2), and having a molecular weight of 105 to 160 kDa in SDS-PAGE under reducing or non-reducing conditions. Isolation and identification of this vWF-specific cleaving protease have led to the possibility of replacement therapy for patients having diseases resulting from a deficiency of the protease, such as thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura.

Von Willebrand factor (vWF)-cleaving protease

A safe and effective hemostatic is provided. The invention relates to a bioabsorbable synthetic nonwoven fabric holding thrombin as an effective ingredient and a hemostatic comprising said bioabsorbable synthetic nonwoven fabric. The bioabsorbable synthetic nonwoven fabric holding thrombin in accordance with the present invention may be prepared by a process which comprises the steps of immersing a bioabsorbable synthetic nonwoven fabric into a solution containing thrombin and of lyophilizing the obtained nonwoven fabric. The bioabsorbable synthetic nonwoven fabric holding thrombin in accordance with the present invention allows for quicker and more effective hemostasis.

Bioabsorbable synthetic nonwoven fabric holding thrombin

A peptide fragment or a series of peptide fragments containing one or more selenocysteine that has a lowered toxicity than selenocystine and that exhibits a cytotoxicity-inhibitory activity. The peptide fragment or a series of peptide fragments according to the present invention has preferably the amino acid sequence from 260th to 362nd amino acid residues from the C-terminal of selenoprotein P, or said amino acid sequence with one or several amino acid residues therein being deleted, substituted or added, or a partial sequence of either of the above amino acid sequences, or an amino acid sequence comprising as a part any of the above amino acid sequences. A screening method for a peptide fragment having the cytotoxicity-inhibitory activity is also provided.

Peptide having cytotoxicity inhibitory activity and method of screening these peptide having cytotoxicity inhibitory activity

A novel medicament for treating neurodegenerative diseases, especially for ameliorating dyskinesia, comprising as an active ingredient selenoprotein P and/or a peptide fragment or a series of peptide fragments derived from said protein is provided. The novel medicament for treating neurodegenerative diseases, especially for ameliorating dyskinesia, according to the present invention is suitably applicable to diseases with decrease in motor function.

Method for ameliorating dyskinesia

A genetic recombinant human thrombin is provided. Human thrombin is efficiently prepared by the genetic engineering technique comprising the steps: (1) culturing a transfectant animal cell transfected with an expression vector in which a gene encoding human prethrombin is incorporated to the downstream of a promoter so as to produce and accumulate prethrombin in culture supernatant and recovering the produced human prethrombin; (2) treating a solution containing human prethrombin recovered in step (1) with ecarin so as to convert human prethrombin into human thrombin; and (3) purifying the solution obtained after the above activation process to obtain purified human thrombin. The present invention allows for provision of human thrombin in a large scale in a safe and economical manner due to exclusion of blood-derived components.

Process for producing human thrombin by gene modification technique

Growing community of inventors

Kumamoto, Japan

Chikateru Nozaki