Ajinomoto Co., Ltd.

Koji Mitsugi

Konosuke Sano

Kenzo Yokozeki

Naohiko Yasuda

Keizo Matsuda

Fumihide Tamura

Shigeru Nakamori

Chikahiko Eguchi

Hidetsugu Nakazawa

Kazuhiko Yamada

Ryuichi Miyajima

Ichiro Noda

Kazushi Togo

Akihiro Yamazaki

Junji Hamuro

Fumihiro Yoshinaga

Ryota Yoshimoto

Kenji Soda

Hisao Iwagami

Takeshi Miyoshi

Takashi Utagawa

Nobukazu Kashima

Hidehiko Tanaka

Toshiro Shida

Hirokazu Morisawa

Hirofumi Hiraga

Sadanobu Tobe

Yasunori Yokokawa

Nobuo Kobayashi

Teruhiko Kagawa

Takehiko Ichikawa

An immunopropylactic and immunotherapeutic agent comprising human interleukin 2 of human cellular origin is disclosed along with a method of producing the agent.

Immunoprophylactic and immunotherapeutic agents

Purine-arabinosides and a method for making purine-arabinosides are disclosed. The method comprises contacting an arabinose donor and a purine source in the presence of an effective amount of enzyme produced by a bacterium and capable of transarabinosylation from the arabinose donor to the purine source, whereby a 9-(.beta.-D-arabinofuranosyl)-purine is produced.

Method for producing purine arabinosides

A method is provided for producing a peptidase capable of substantially completely hydrolyzing protein into its constituent amino acids which comprises culturing a strain of filamentous fungus, belonging to one of the species Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus soyae and characterized in that said strain is capable of producing said peptidase, in a nutrient culture medium containing at least one substrate selected from the group consisting of a fatty acid having 14, 16, 18 or 20 carbon atoms and a derivative of said fatty acid, and recovering said peptidase from said culture medium. It is particularly effective to use a combination of a sugar ester of a fatty acid and a vegetable oil as substrates in a liquid culture medium.

Method for producing a peptidase

D-.alpha.-amino acids are produced by contacting a 5-substituted hydantoin with an effective amount of an enzyme capable of converting the 5-substituted hydantoin to the D-.alpha.-amino acid produced by a microorganism in an aqueous medium at a pH in the range of 4 to 9, the microorganism being capable of utilizing the D-isomer of the 5-substituted hydantoin as the sole nitrogen source, but substantially incapable of utilizing the L-isomer of the 5-substituted hydantoin as the nitrogen source and the substituent of the 5-position being such that upon reaction with the enzyme, an optically active D-.alpha.-amino acid isomer is produced; and recovering the D-.alpha.-amino acid which accumulates in the aqueous medium.

Method for producing D-.alpha.-amino acid

A method for producing 4-formyl-2-amino-butyric acid(FABA), which comprises: culturing a mutant capable of producing FABA and belonging to the genus Brevibacterium or Corynebacterium in a culture medium until a substantial amount of FABA has accumulated in the culture medium, and recovering the accumulated FABA from the culture medium.

Method for producing 4-formyl-2-amino-butyric acid (glutamic

2-Amino-(2)-thiazoline-4-carboxylic acid is prepared by dehydrochlorinating S-(.beta.-carboxy-.beta.-chloroethyl) isothiourea by adding it to an aqueous medium maintained at a pH ranging from 5.5 to 7.5 with an alkali.

Process for producing 2-amino-(2)-thiazoline-4-carboxylic acid

Method for the production of substituted sulfur containing L-amino acids by contacting .beta.- or .gamma.-substituted amino acids in an aqueous medium containing methioninase together with the precursor of the substituent.

Method of producing sulfur containing L-amino acids

Alpha-amylases which have optimum activity between pH 6.5 to 8 and between pH 9.0 to 11.5 at 40.degree. C are produced by culturing strains of Bacillus subtilis on a nutrient medium under aerobic conditions. Some of the alpha amylases are effective in hot and alkaline detergent solutions containing chelating agents.

Alpha-amylases from Bacillus subtilis

L-amino acids are produced by fermenting a hydantoin compound with Flavobacterium aminogenes or its enzymes.

Method for producing L-amino acid

A method for producing L-cysteine and/or L-cystine which comprises: A. holding 2-amino-thiazoline-4-carboxylic acid in an aqueous solution at a pH of 5 to 11 in the presence of an effective amount of enzyme produced by a microorganism; said enzyme being capable of converting the 2-amino-thiazoline-4-carboxylic acid to L-cysteine and/or L-cystine, and said microorganism being capable of growing in a medium containing 2-amino-thiazoline-4-carboxylic acid as a nitrogen source; and B. recovering the L-cysteine and/or L-cystine formed from said aqueous solution.

Method of producing L-cysteine and L-cystine

Some strains of Cladosporium produce highly active peptidase. The peptidase can liberate most amino acids from proteins in high yields.

Method of producing peptidase

A decarboxylase in cells of Micrococcus strains converts tryptophan, phenylalanine, and substitution products thereof to the corresponding phenyl- and indolylethylamines. The enzyme can be recovered in pure state from the microorganisms, but cells and cell material are effective enzyme sources in the decarboxylation reaction.

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Yokohama, Japan

Koji Mitsugi