Ajinomoto Co., Ltd.

Yukiko Umezawa

Keiichi Yokoyama

Masayo Date

Yoshimi Kikuchi

Hiroshi Matsui

Norimasa Onishi

Eiko Oshimura

Haruo Heima

A method for perming or coloring hair, in which hair is treated with a cosmetic composition including a protein-glutaminase and not including an alkaline substance. A method of enhancing hair-permeation of an active ingredient included in a cosmetic composition, in which a protein glutaminase is included in the cosmetic composition. The cosmetic composition does not include an alkaline substance, and the active ingredient is at least one of a hair perm agent and a hair coloring agent.

Cosmetic composition

The present invention provides a neutral metalloprotease from actinomycetes which selectively cleaves a pro-structure part of a microbial protransglutaminase and a gene encoding said neutral metalloprotease. An active microbial transglutaminase having the pro-structure part cleaved can be obtained by culturing a microorganism into which a gene encoding the neutral metalloprotease from actinomycetes according to the present invention has been introduced, where by producing the neutral metalloprotease from actinomycetes, and reacting it on a microbial protransglutaminase.

Method of producing microbial transglutaminase

The present invention relates to a process for secretory production of a foreign protein, in particular, transglutaminase by a coryneform bacterium. According to the present invention, a process is provided for the secretory production of a foreign protein, in particular, transglutaminase, by making a coryneform bacterium to produce an industrially useful foreign protein, in particular, transglutaminase and efficiently release the product extracellularly (i.e., secretory production). An intended foreign protein, in particular, transglutaminase, is produced by using an expression construct wherein the gene sequence of the intended foreign protein containing the pro-structure part, in particular, pro-transglutaminase gene sequence, is ligated to the downstream of a sequence encoding the signal peptide region from a coryneform bacterium, introducing this expressional genetic construct into a coryneform bacterium, culturing the thus transformed coryneform bacterium, and treating the extracellularly released protein with a protease, etc. to cleave and eliminate the pro-part.

Process for producing transglutaminase

The object of the present invention is to provide a method of producing a heterologous protein by making a coryneform bacterium to produce and efficiently extracellularly secrete (secreto-production) an industrially useful heterologous protein. According to the present invention, a genetic construct is used where a gene sequence encoding an intended protein which is ligated to the downstream of a sequence encoding the signal peptide derived from a coryneform bacterium, the gene construct is introduced into a mutant coryneform bacterium which has a capacity of secreting the heterologous protein at least 2-fold higher than the wild typeATCC 13869, the mutant coryneform bacterium is cultured and the extracellularly released heterologous protein is recovered.

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Kawasaki, Japan

Yukiko Umezawa