Takeda Chemical Industries, Inc.

Chisako Seko

Tsutomu Kurokawa

Tatsuya Kondo

Ken-ichi Naruo

Sumie Yoshitomi

Ken-ichi Kuroshima

Ken-ichi Nauro

Disclosed are (1) a novel glia activating factor which has glial cell growth promoting activity; (2) a glia activating factor containing a polypeptide; (3) a DNA coding for a glia activating factor; (4) a host transformed with a vector containing the DNA and (5) a method for producing the above glia activating factor which comprises cultivating the transformant described in a medium, accumulating the glia activating factor in a culture broth, and collecting the resulting glia activating factor.

Glia activation factor and its production

The present invention relates to a glia activating factor (GAF) in which 33 to 49 N-terminal amino acids are deleted from the N-terminus of the GAF polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 3, as well as an anti-GAF antibody which is highly sensitive to assay the GAF and is capable of neutralizing GAF's activity, is produced. Using the antibody, GAF and its biological activity can be assayed easily with high sensitivity. Further, the neutralizing antibody can be expected to have preventive and curative effects on diseases caused by GAF's excessive action. Furthermore, the GAF polypeptide disclosed herein is more stable to acids and heat than the conventional GAFs, therefore, it can be used as a platelet-increasing agent, etc., more advantageously than the previously known GAFs.

Modified GAF polypeptides

Disclosed are (1) a novel glia activating factor which has glial cell growth promoting activity; (2) a glia activating factor containing a polypeptide represented by SEQ ID NO: 1 or a mutein thereof having activity of the factor; (3) a DNA containing a polynucleotide coding for a glia activating factor represented by SEQ ID NO: 10; (4) a host transformed with a vector containing the DNA described in (3); and (5) a method for producing the above glia activating factor which comprises cultivating the transformant described in (4) in a medium accumulating the glia activating factor in a culture broth, and collecting the resulting glia activating factor.

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Osaka, Japan

Chisako Seko