Other

Somar Corporation

University of Utah Research Foundation

Mitsui Toatsu Chemicals, Incorporated

Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited

Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Company, Inc.

Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical Company Ltd.

Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology

Rohto Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

Ijunkai

Amcite Research, Ltd.

Toshihiro Akaike

Atsushi Maruyama

Masato Nagaoka

Keiichi Fukuda

Bong Hyun Chung

Sung Wan Kim

Hosei Shinoda

Hirofumi Yamamoto

Hiroyuki Nakanishi

Masaki Mori

Yuichiro Doki

Xin Wu

Shigetoshi Okumura

Uichi Koshimizu

Mitsuaki Goto

Hirohiko Ise

Jun Yang

Masahito Mikawa

Naoto Miwa

Shoichiro Asayama

Amranul Haque

Masayuki Nogawa

Sunao Kawano

Yoshiyuki Takei

Sun-Jung Kim

Ichirou Kitada

Megumi Kunou

Kazukiyo Kobayashi

Kazushi Morimoto

Jin-Seok Kim

[Problem] To provide a cell culture substrate, and a cell culturing method using the substrate and a method for inducing differentiation of pluripotent stem cells using the substrate, which allow culturing of pluripotent stem cells and allow differentiation of pluripotent stem cells into a specified cell species, particularly neural and neural progenitor cells, at a high purity. [Means for Solution] A cell culture substrate, characterized in that, onto the surface, one or more selected from the group consisting of N-cadherin, a fusion protein comprising an entire or partial region of N-cadherin, and a fusion protein comprising an entire or partial region of a protein homologous to N-cadherin are immobilized or coated.

Cell culture substrate, and cell culturing method using the substrate and method for inducing differentiation of pluripotent stem cells using the substrate

A sugar chain-containing polymer that enables targeting to the lesion area of liver fibrosis and is useful for imaging, diagnosis and therapy of liver fibrosis; and a sugar chain-containing polymer complex comprising the polymer as a carrier for an anionic substance useful fix therapy and the like; are provided. The polymer is a sugar chain-containing polymer which is a cationic polymer comprising an amine, which polymer comprises N-acetylglucosamine bound thereto. The polymer preferably has a disulfide bond. The polymer preferably has a structure in which polyethyleneimine is linked via a disulfide bond.

Sugar chain-containing polymer, and sugar chain-containing polymer complex

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a pharmaceutical composition that can produce a high antitumor effect by efficiently delivering a drug with antitumor activity to tumor tissues with the aid of carbonate apatite nanoparticles. The present invention provides a pharmaceutical composition including carbonate apatite nanoparticles with an average particle size of at most 50 nm containing a drug with antitumor activity and a pharmacologically acceptable solvent in which the carbonate apatite nanoparticles containing the drug are dispersed.

Pharmaceutical composition for treating cancer using carbonate apatite nanoparticles

A novel growing method is provided for pluripotent stem cells such as ES cells. The method of the invention is a pluripotent stem cell growing method and gene transfer method in which pluripotent stem cells are cultured under conditions that maintain their undifferentiated state and pluripotency, the method being characterized by using a liquid medium and a culturing vessel having immobilized or coated on a substrate solid phase surface a molecule which is adhesive to the pluripotent stem cells in a fixed concentration, to grow the pluripotent stem cells in a dispersed state while maintaining their undifferentiated state and pluripotency, without using feeder cells, or to transfer and express a gene therein.

Pluripotent stem cell growing method

A cell culture material comprising a sugar containing polymer in which at least one kind of sugar chain is bonded as a side chain via a spacer molecule is made into a three-dimensional shape whereupon a three-dimensional cell material is prepared. With regard to the sugar containing polymer, a sugar containing polymer having a carboxyl group such as alginic acid, hyaluronic acid, pectic acid or a derivative thereof is preferably used. Sugar chain having a specific recognition to a cell is bonded as a side chain and, therefore, when the cell is incubated using the cell culture material, it is possible to maintain and improve the proliferation, morphology and function of the cells and to retain the cell form in a form of near that in vivo due to a specific interaction between the cell and the sugar chain.

Three-dimensional cell culture material having sugar polymer containing cell recognition sugar chain

This relates to a contrast medium containing a complex of a gadolinium (Gd) type contrast agent and a polymer. More particularly, the contrast medium wherein the polymer capable of phase transit in response to environmental changes, particularly, pH, light or temperature, to develop a different water solubility, and a method for imaging by the use of this contrast medium. By binding a polymer responsive to microenvironmental changes with a Gd type MRI contrast agent, on-off switching of MRI imaging capability is enabled, wherein imaging occurs only on the target sites. Consequently, a highly specific MRI contrast medium can be obtained, whereby a highly specific MRI diagnosis is made possible, wherein only the target sites such as a tumor and a particular site are imaged and otherwise at the site where imaging is not necessary.

MRI contrast media recognizing minor environmental changes

A carrier for delivering a foreign substance to a target organ which comprises a graft copolymer in which hyaluronic acid is grafted on a polymer composing main chain, wherein the main chain has a part capable of binding to the foreign substance electrostatically, and contains one or more monomer unit having side chain with amino or imino group capable of coupling to hyarulonic acid, which is useful for delivering a foreign substance to a target organ, especially liver.

Carriers targettable to organ

A composition for delivery of a selected nucleic acid into a targeted host cell comprises a complex of a hydrophobized, positively charged, biocompatible polymer; a lipoprotein; and a selected nucleic acid. Hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions between the components provide for the formation of the condensed DNA-containing complex. Preferred embodiments of the complex have a slightly positive surface charge and an average diameter of about 200 nm. Plasmids and oligonucleotides can be efficiently delivered with such compositions. A method of delivering a selected nucleic acid to a host cell is also disclosed.

Cationic polymer and lipoprotein-containing system for gene delivery

A styrene derivative carrying N-acethylchito-oligosaccharide chains, a polystyrene derivative carrying N-acetylchito-oligosaccharide chains on the side chains as well as a method for preparing these compounds are herein disclosed. The method for preparing the styrene derivative comprises reacting N-acetylchito-oligosaccharide lactone with vinylbenzylamine or a derivative thereof while the method for preparing the polystyrene derivative comprises polymerizing the styrene derivative. These derivatives can be employed as biomedical materials, in particular as materials for cell culture.

Styrene derivatives having N-acetylchito-oligosaccharide chains and

A galactosamine substituted poly-.omega.-alkyl (or benzyl)-L-glutamic acid (or aspartic acid) is provided and comprises a polypeptide having the recurring unit represented by the formula: ##STR1## wherein X has a value of 60 to 250; n is 1 or 2; and R represents a lower alkyl group or benzyl group, in which a part or all of the peptide in said polypeptide is substituted by an .omega.-galactosamyl-L-glutamic acid (or aspartic acid) residue represented by the general formula: ##STR2## wherein n is as indicated.

Galactosamine substitute of poly-.omega.-substituted-L-glutamic acid (or

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Toshihiro Akaike