Asahi Kasei Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Sadayuki Horiguchi

Akio Hasegawa

Mitsuru Shibukawa

Hajimu Sakamoto

In the production of plasminogen activator from animal cells in a nutrient solution, the addition of a large amount of fumaric acid, malic acid, succinic acid, and/or glycolic acid to the nutrient solution brings about a 30 to 180% increase in the amount of plasminogen activator produced.

Process for producing plasminogen activator

A plasminogen activator having a molecular weight of 45,000 to 68,000 is formed as a single fraction in the cells of human kidney or lung, and is separated and recovered with good efficiency without reducing its molecular weight. The pH of a solution to be contacted with said cells and the concentration of dissolved oxygen should be maintained within suitable ranges in order to form the plasminogen activator having a molecular weight of 45,000 to 68,000 as a single fraction. Furthermore, by properly adjusting the residence time of the solution with the cells, the activator can be formed over a long period of more than 40 days. To separate the activator, the pH of the solution in the separating step is maintained preferably at 4 to 12. By causing a metal chelating agent to be present in the solution in the separating step, the plasminogen activator can be obtained without reducing its molecular weight.

Growing community of inventors

Fuji, Japan

Sadayuki Horiguchi