Japan Science and Technology Agency

Nitto-denko Corporation

Osaka University

Independent Administrative Institution Japan Science and Technology Agency

Osamu Takeuchi

Shizuo Akira

Hidemi Shigekawa

Mitsuhiko Hori

Daisuke Asari

Ken Ishii

Arimichi Okazaki

Masahiro Fukasaka

Mikio Yamashita

Ryuji Morita

Kazufumi Matsushita

Kiyoshi Takeda

An intraorally administrable vaccine composition useful to be a preventive or therapeutic agent for infectious diseases, and effectively induces a systemic immune response or a mucosal immune response is provided. A vaccine composition for administration to the oral cavity of a human or an animal, the vaccine composition containing at least one antigen derived from an infectious disease, and at least one selected from the group consisting of a toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) agonist, a toll-like receptor 2/6 (TLR2/6) agonist, and cyclic dinucleotide, or a derivative or salt thereof.

Vaccine composition

A pump probe measuring device () comprises: an ultrashort optical pulse laser generator () for generating a first ultrashort optical pulse train which is a pump light (), second and third ultrashort optical pulse trains (), () which are probe lights; an optical shutter unit () to which the second and the third ultrashort pulse trains (), () are introduced; and a detecting unit () including an irradiation optical system () for directing the pump light (), the first probe light () and the second probe light () to a sample (), a sensor () for detecting a probe signal from the sample (), and a phase-sensitive detecting means () connected to the sensor (). An optical shutter control unit () periodically modulates the delay time of the first probe light () and that of the second probe light () with respect to the pump light (), and the modulated first and second probe lights (), () illuminate the sample () alternately to detect the probe signals from the sample () by the phase-sensitive detecting means () in synchronization with the periodic modulation signal of the delay time.

Pump probe measuring device

Disclosed is a composition comprising, as an active ingredient, at least one selected from the group consisting of a Zc3h12a gene inhibitor and a Zc3h12a protein inhibitor. This composition can be used as an immunoadjuvant.

Immunoadjuvant composition and use thereof

A pump probe measuring device () includes an ultrashort optical pulse laser generator () for generating a first ultrashort optical pulse train, which becomes a pump light, and a second ultrashort optical pulse train, which becomes a probe light, a delay time adjusting unit () for adjusting a delay time between ultrashort optical pulse trains, a first pulse picker and a second pulse picker () for accepting each of the first and the second ultrashort optical pulse trains and allowing only one pulse to be transmitted at an arbitrary repetition periodicity, thus reducing the effective repetition frequency of the optical pulses, a delay time modulation unit () for periodically changing a position through which pulses are transmitted by the first and the second pulse pickers (), an irradiation optical system () for applying pump light and probe light to a sample (), a measuring unit () for detecting probe signals from a sample (), and a lock-in amplifier ().

Pump probe measuring device and scanning probe microscope apparatus using the device

An object of the present invention is to provide a non-human animal model unresponsive to a mycoplasma-derived lipoprotein/lipopeptide, and a method for screening an inhibitor or a promoter for a response to a mycoplasma-derived lipoprotein with the use of the non-human animal model. A non-human animal model whose function of a gene that encodes a protein such as TLR6 that specifically recognizes a mycoplasma-derived lipoprotein is deficient on its chromosome, for example, a TLR6 knockout mouse, is generated. With the use of the non-human animal model unresponsive to a mycoplasma-derived lipoprotein or an immune cell such as a macrophage derived from the non-human animal model, a subject material and a mycoplasma-derived lipoprotein, a response to a mycoplasma-derived lipoprotein in the non-human animal model or the immune cell is measured/evaluated, and then an inhibitor or a promoter for a response to that is screened.

Nonhuman animal model non-responsive to mycoplasma-origin lipoprotein/lipopeptide

A knockout mouse which is unresponsive to peptidoglycan, a lipoprotein/lipopeptide and the like, and is useful for elucidating the contribution of individual members of the TLR family to a signaling stimulated with bacterial cell components in vivo, in particular, the role of TLR2 and MyD88 in vivo. A bacterial cell component-unresponsive knockout mouse is generated by a process comprising the steps of: a targeting vector is constructed by replacing a whole or a part of a gene fragment of an exon region containing a cytoplasmic region of TLR2 or MyD88 gene and the like with a plasmid having a poly A signal and a marker gene; the targeting vector is introduced into an embryonic stem cell; the targeting embryonic stem cell having a homologously recombined TLR2 or MyD88 gene is microinjected into the blastocyst of a mouse and the blastocyst is put back into the uterus of a recipient mouse.

Bacterial cell component-unresponsive model mouse

Disclosed is a measuring apparatus for a physical phenomenon by photoexcitation, in particular a delay time modulated and time-resolved, scanning probe microscope apparatus providing an ultimate resolution both temporal and spatial. The apparatus comprises an ultrashort laser pulse generator (); a delay time modulating circuit () which splits an ultrashort laser pulse () produced by the ultrashort laser pulse generator () into two and which also modulates a delay time tbetween the two ultrashort laser pulses (and) with a frequency (&#x3c9;); a scanning probe microscope (); and a lock-in detection unit () which performs lock-in detection with the delay time modulation frequency (&#x3c9;) of a probe signal () from the scanning probe microscope (). It can detect the delay time dependency of the probe signal () as its differential coefficient to the delay time, with no substantial influence from fluctuations in the intensity of ultrashort laser pulses () while preventing the probe apex () from thermal expansion and shrinkage by repeated irradiation with ultrashort laser pulses (). A photoexcited physical phenomenon dependent on a delay time between ultrashort laser pulses can thus be measured at a temporal resolution in the order of femtoseconds and at a spatial resolution in the order of angstroms.

Growing community of inventors

Ibaraki, Japan

Osamu Takeuchi