Meiji Milk Products Company, Limited

Medical Therapies Limited

Takashi Muramatsu

Meiji Dairies Corporation

Muramatsu, Takashi

Shinya Ikematsu

Sadatoshi Sakuma

Munehiro Oda

Kenji Kadomatsu

Mitsuru Horiba

Hideshi Kumai

Makoto Kikuchi

Akio Yamashita

Masayuki Uchida

Naoki Kato

Kohji Okamoto

Minehiko Yokoyama

Yoshihiro Yoshida

A pharmaceutical composition for treating or preventing cytopathy caused by ischemia, comprising a midkine family protein as an active ingredient, and a pharmaceutical composition for treating or preventing ischemic disorders, comprising a midkine family protein as an active ingredient, are provided. Midkine is efficacious in treating or preventing ischemic disorders and cytopathy caused by ischemia and can remarkably prevent, for example, the development of cerebral infarction, a representative of ischemic brain disorders. The pharmaceutical composition of the present invention is also efficacious against, for example, cerebral ischemic disorders such as cerebrovascular-spasm following a subarachnoid hemorrhage, Alzheimer's disease, senile dementia of Alzheimer's type, and cerebrovascular senile dementia, as well as cerebral ischemia, transient cerebral ischemic disease, and head trauma, and other cerebrovascular diseases such as Parkinson's disease, Huntington's chorea, and amyotrophic regressive disorders.

Pharmaceutical composition for preventing or treating ischemic diseases

The present invention provides a pharmaceutical composition for the prevention or treatment of angiostenosis, comprising a compound inhibiting the function of midkine (MK) in blood vessel tissues as an effective ingredient. The present invention is useful for the prevention or treatment of angiostenosis attributed to arteriosclerosis or restenosis after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). As compounds inhibiting the function of MK, antisense oligonucleotides that bind to a segment of a single-stranded mRNA transcribed from the MK gene to inhibit the synthesis of MK protein in cells, antibodies against the MK protein, and such can be used.

Midkine inhibitory compositions for the treatment of angiostenosis

Pharmaceutical compositions for the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis and restenosis after PTCA

MK (midkine) was found to rise in the blood or urine of patients with various types of cancers at early stage. Based on this finding, a method for detecting early cancer, comprising the step of measuring MK in blood or urine was completed.

Methods for detecting early cancer

The present invention provides novel use of the MK family that is used alone as an agent for proliferating hematopoietic stem cells and hematopoietic precursor cells. The invention also provides an agent for remarkably enhancing the above-described effect for promoting the proliferation of hematopoietic stem cells and hematopoietic precursor cells, comprising the MK family in combination with known hematopoietic factors such as IL-3, IL-6, G-CSF, GM-CSF, M-CSF, SCF, and EPO.

Expansion of hematopoietic cells using midkine or pleiotrophin

The present invention provides a novel drug for relieving drug-induced nephropathy and acute hepatopahy containing a midkine (MK) family protein such as pleiotrophin (PTN). The MK family proteins can inhibit nephropathy induced by an antitumor agent or acute hepatopathy caused by carbon tetrachloride and thus effectively relieve drug-induced nephropathy or hepatopathy.

Method for suppressing or treating drug-induced nephropathy

Composition comprising midkine or pleiotrophin protein and method of increasing hematopoietic cells

An anti-ulcer composition is provided, which comprises as an active ingredient at least one of MK protein, its derivative having biological activity of MK protein, and their fragment having biological activity of MK protein, and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. The composition exhibits an effect for treating ulcer by promoting autotherapy without recurrence of ulcer.

Treatment of peptic ulcers using midkine (MK) proteins

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Kanagawa, Japan

Shinya Ikematsu