Dna Vec Research Inc.

Tanabe Seiyaku Company, Limited

Kumamoto University

Teruo Akuta

Mamoru Hasegawa

Mahito Nakanishi

Katsuo Takeda

Emi Nagoshi

Norio Nakatsuji

Takashi Tada

Ryuzo Torii

Yoshihiko Hosoi

Akira Iritani

Hajime Okuyama

Haruhiko Yokoi

A method for producing a monkey-derived embryonic stem cell comprising the steps of carrying out fertilization by insemination by in vitro fertilization or intracytoplasmic sperm injection using a monkey ovum and monkey sperms, thereby giving a fertilized ovum, allowing the fertilized ovum to differentiate into a blastocyst by in vitro culture, and establishing an ES cell line using the blastocyst; the monkey ES cell obtained by the method, a method for screening a reagent for specific differentiation into cell or tissue by using the ES cell; and a differentiated cell or differentiated tissue each differentiated from the ES cell. According to the present invention, applications of the embryonic stem cells to embryological studies clinical applications, experimental models, and the like on primates, studies of diseases, are expected.

Monkey-origin embryonic stem cells

A &lgr; phage with a nuclear localization signal has been obtained by constructing a vector capable of expressing a fused protein between a gpD protein constituting the head of a &lgr; phage and a nuclear localization signal sequence, transforming with this vector, and propagating a mutant &lgr; phage which cannot express the gpD protein in in this transformant. It has been confirmed that the resulting &lgr; phage is capable of packaging &lgr; phage DNAs of 80% and 100% genome sizes. After further confirming that the nuclear localization signal exposed on the outside of the head of this phage, this phage has been microinjected into cells to analyze its nuclear localization activity. Thus, it has been clarified that this phage has a nuclear localization activity.

Phage with nuclear localization signal

The present invention provides a novel phage expressing in its head a bi-functional protein that has nuclear translocation and cell adhesion activities. The phage is used to package a foreign substance such as a gene. As a bi-functional protein, TAT protein of HIV can be used. The phage is useful in gene therapy.

Nucleic acid transfer phage

A &lgr; phage with a nuclear localization signal has been obtained by constructing a vector capable of expressing a fused protein between a gpD protein constituting the head of a &lgr; phage and a nuclear localization signal sequence, transforming,with this vector, and propagating a mutant &lgr; phage which cannot express the gpD protein in,in this transformant. It has been confirmed that the resulting &lgr; phage is capable of packaging &lgr; phage DNAs of 80% and 100% genome sizes. After further confirming that the nuclear localization signal exposed on the outside of the head of this phage, this phage has been microinjected into cells to analyze its nuclear localization activity. Thus, it has been clarified that this phage has a nuclear localization activity.

Phage bonded to a nuclear location signal

Growing community of inventors

Kumamoto, Japan

Teruo Akuta