Taiho Pharmaceutical Company Limited

Plant Research International B.v.

Vito Turk

Hendrik Jan Bosch

Willem Johannes Stiekema

Maarten Anthonie Jongsma

Nobuhiko Katsunuma

Borut Strukelj

Brigita Lenarcic

Kristina Gruden

A method of protecting a plant or part of a plant from insect or nematode infestation is disclosed herein. The method includes the steps of: inserting into the genome of cells or tissue from a plant a sequence coding for equistatin operably linked to a promoter sequence active in the plant to cause expression of the protein at levels which provide an insect or nematode controlling amount of the protein; and regenerating resistant whole plants from the cells or tissue. Also disclosed is a transgenic plant or its sexual progeny which is resistant to attack by one or more insects or nematodes having digestive cysteine proteases. Also disclosed is an expression vehicle that includes a promotor effective to promote expression of a downstream coding sequence in plant cells, the expression vehicle being effective to express in plant cells insect controlling amounts of equistatin.

Method for plant protection against insects or nematodes by transformation with a nucleic acid encoding equistatin

The present invention provides a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence represented by Sequence No. 1 and a cathepsin L-specific inhibitor and therapeutic agent for osteoporosis comprising the polypeptide as its effective component. Since the polypeptide possesses potent inhibitory action specific to cathepsin L as well as strong bone resorption inhibitory action, the polypeptide is useful in the treatment of osteoporosis, particularly, senile osteoporosis.

Polypeptide specifically inhibiting cathepsin L

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Ljubljana, Slovenia

Vito Turk