Abstract: An antibody provided by the present invention has a low reactivity with amyloid precursor proteins, and has a higher reactivity with amylospheroids than with amyloid ? fibrils or monomeric amyloid ?-proteins. According to the present invention, an antibody is provided that has a higher reactivity with amylospheroids than with amyloid precursor proteins, and has any one or more of the following properties: (i) a higher activity with amylospheroids than with amyloid ? fibrils; (ii) a higher reactivity with amylospheroids than with monomeric amyloid ?-proteins; and (iii) an activity of inhibiting neuronal cell death induced by amylospheroids.

Abstract: An antibody provided by the present invention has a low reactivity with amyloid precursor proteins, and has a higher reactivity with amylospheroids than with amyloid ? fibrils or monomeric amyloid ?-proteins. According to the present invention, an antibody is provided that has a higher reactivity with amylospheroids than with amyloid precursor proteins, and has any one or more of the following properties: (i) a higher activity with amylospheroids than with amyloid ? fibrils; (ii) a higher reactivity with amylospheroids than with monomeric amyloid ?-proteins; and (iii) an activity of inhibiting neuronal cell death induced by amylospheroids.

Abstract: A DNA sequence of the yeast glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAP-DH) promoter and a process for preparing a heterologous protein utilizing said DNA sequence as a promoter are disclosed, said GAP-DH promoter comprising a region upstream of an initiator codon of the GAP-DH protein up to -164 bp as a minimum unit. Since the GAP-DH promoter is small in size, a physiologically active substance can be expressed in yeasts effectively and recombination of DNA can be simplified.

Abstract: A method of producing a heterologous protein in yeast is disclosed, which comprises transforming a yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae with recombinant DNA comprising a promoter selected from the group consisting of a yeast promoter or a hybrid promoter derived from a yeast promoter, particularly a hybrid promoter containing the enhancer region of SV40 virus, and a gene coding for a heterologous protein such as HBsAg and Pre S-HBsAg, particularly full length Pre S-HBsAg culturing, the resulting transformed cells to express the gene coding the heterologous protein, and isolating the heterologous protein from the cultured medium. GAP-DH and PH05 promoters and miniaturized ones can be used as the yeast promoter. The expression of the full length Pre S-HBsAg is carried out in the same expression system as that for 2nd or 3rd Pre S-ABsAg.