Patents by Inventor Nami Nakamura

Nami Nakamura has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 8597907
    Abstract: The present invention provides a method for efficiently producing an industrially useful protein in coryneform bacteria, and more particularly, a method for efficiently producing a protein for which secretion was difficult using conventional protein secretion pathways. In particular, the present invention provides a method for efficiently producing heterologous proteins comprising culturing coryneform bacteria containing an genetic construction containing a promoter sequence which functions in coryneform bacteria, a nucleic acid sequence encoding a Tat system-dependent signal peptide region, and a nucleic acid sequence encoding a heterologous protein, in the direction from 5?-end to 3?-end, and secretory producing the heterologous protein by coryneform bacteria.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2013
    Assignee: Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Masayo Date, Yoshimi Kikuchi, Hiroshi Itaya, Nami Nakamura
  • Patent number: 7947315
    Abstract: The present invention provides a dairy product with smooth oral sensation and suppressed acidic taste and bitter taste and a method for manufacturing the same, wherein a protein deamidating enzyme is added to raw milk to act on the milk protein in the raw milk.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2011
    Assignees: Amano Enzyme Inc., Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Tomohiro Kodera, Hiroyuki Nakagoshi, Noriko Miwa, Nami Nakamura, Hidehiko Wakabayashi
  • Publication number: 20070254066
    Abstract: The present invention provides a protein deamidating enzyme that is added to a food material containing muscle protein and acts on the same to produce high-quality foods.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 13, 2007
    Publication date: November 1, 2007
    Applicants: Amano Enzyme Inc., Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Noriko MIWA, Hiroyuki Nakagoshi, Fumiyuki Hirose, Nami Nakamura, Tomohiro Kodera, Hidehiko Wakabayashi
  • Publication number: 20070254065
    Abstract: The present invention provides a dairy product with smooth oral sensation and suppressed acidic taste and bitter taste and a method for manufacturing the same, wherein a protein deamidating enzyme is added to raw milk to act on the milk protein in the raw milk.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 13, 2007
    Publication date: November 1, 2007
    Applicants: Amano Enzyme Inc., Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Tomohiro KODERA, Hiroyuki Nakagoshi, Noriko Miwa, Nami Nakamura, Hidehiko Wakabayashi
  • Patent number: 7255888
    Abstract: The present invention discloses a method for producing foods and/or beverage having improved taste and/or flavour, comprising reacting a microbial aminopeptidase on a protein material optionally under the co-existence of a protease, wherein said aminopeptidase has the properties of: (a) having an activity of catalyzing the reaction of specifically releasing a glutamic acid and an aspartic acid from the N-terminal of a peptide and/or a protein; (b) having 50% or more activity at pH6.0-9.0 as compared with the activity at the optimum pH; (c) having 40% or more activity after heating at 25-60° C., pH7.5 for 30 minutes as compared with the activity of the non-heated enzyme; (d) having a molecular weight of about 40-60 kD as measured by SDS-PAGE and about 300-480 kD as measured by native-PAGE; (e) having a hydrolyzing activity of the aminopeptidase toward Glu-Glu dipeptide is 5 U/mg or more, preferably 10 U/mg or more.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2007
    Assignee: Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Tomohiro Sakamoto, Nami Nakamura, Tomohiro Kodera, Noriki Nio, Noriaki Yamada, Hidehiko Wakabayashi
  • Publication number: 20070184525
    Abstract: The present invention provides a method for efficiently producing an industrially useful protein in coryneform bacteria, and more particularly, a method for efficiently producing a protein for which secretion was difficult using conventional protein secretion pathways. In particular, the present invention provides a method for efficiently producing heterologous proteins comprising culturing coryneform bacteria containing an genetic construction containing a promoter sequence which functions in coryneform bacteria, a nucleic acid sequence encoding a Tat system-dependent signal peptide region, and a nucleic acid sequence encoding a heterologous protein, in the direction from 5?-end to 3?-end, and secretory producing the heterologous protein by coryneform bacteria.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 19, 2006
    Publication date: August 9, 2007
    Inventors: Masayo Date, Yoshimi Kikuchi, Hiroshi Itaya, Nami Nakamura
  • Publication number: 20060068056
    Abstract: The present invention discloses a method for producing foods and/or beverage having improved taste and/or flavour, comprising reacting a microbial aminopeptidase on a protein material optionally under the co-existence of a protease, wherein said aminopeptidase has the properties of: (a) having an activity of catalyzing the reaction of specifically releasing a glutamic acid and an aspartic acid from the N-terminal of a peptide and/or a protein; (b) having 50% or more activity at pH6.0-9.0 as compared with the activity at the optimum pH; (c) having 40% or more activity after heating at 25-60° C., pH7.5 for 30 minutes as compared with the activity of the non-heated enzyme; (d) having a molecular weight of about 40-60 kD as measured by SDS-PAGE and about 300-480 kD as measured by native-PAGE; (e) having a hydrolyzing activity of the aminopeptidase toward Glu-Glu dipeptide is 5 U/mg or more, preferably 10 U/mg or more.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 28, 2005
    Publication date: March 30, 2006
    Applicant: AJINOMOTO CO. INC
    Inventors: Tomohiro Sakamoto, Nami Nakamura, Tomohiro Kodera, Noriki Nio, Noriaki Yamada, Hidehiko Wakabayashi
  • Patent number: 6821763
    Abstract: Disclosed are a protein having a transglutaminase activity, which comprises a sequence ranging from serine residue at the second position to proline residue at the 331st position in an amino acid sequence represented by SEQ ID No. 1 wherein the N-terminal amino acid of the protein corresponds to serine residue at the second position of SEQ ID No. 1, a DNA encoding the protein, a transformant having the DNA, and a process for producing a protein having a transglutaminase activity, which comprises the steps of culturing the transformant in a medium. The protein can be produced in a large amount with the transformant using a host such as E. coli.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2004
    Assignee: Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Keiichi Yokoyama, Nami Nakamura, Tetsuya Miwa, Katsuya Seguro
  • Patent number: 6538122
    Abstract: Disclosed are a protein having a transglutaminase activity, which comprises a sequence ranging from serine residue at the second position to proline residue at the 331st position in an amino acid sequence represented by SEQ ID No. 1 wherein the N-terminal amino acid of the protein corresponds to serine residue at the second position of SEQ ID No. 1, a DNA encoding the protein, a transformant having the DNA, and a process for producing a protein having a transglutaminase activity, which comprises the steps of culturing the transformant in a medium. The protein can be produced in a large amount with the transformant using a host such as E. coli.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2003
    Assignee: Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Keiichi Yokoyama, Nami Nakamura, Tetsuya Miwa, Katsuya Seguro
  • Publication number: 20020173021
    Abstract: Disclosed are a protein having a transglutaminase activity, which comprises a sequence ranging from serine residue at the second position to proline residue at the 331st position in an amino acid sequence represented by SEQ ID No. 1 wherein the N-terminal amino acid of the protein corresponds to serine residue at the second position of SEQ ID No. 1, a DNA encoding the protein, a transformant having the DNA, and a process for producing a protein having a transglutaminase activity, which comprises the steps of culturing the transformant in a medium. The protein can be produced in a large amount with the transformant using a host such as E. coli.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 21, 2001
    Publication date: November 21, 2002
    Applicant: AJINOMOTO CO., INC.
    Inventors: Keiichi Yokoyama, Nami Nakamura, Tetsuya Miwa, Katsuya Seguro
  • Publication number: 20020151703
    Abstract: Disclosed are a protein having a transglutaminase activity, which comprises a sequence ranging from serine residue at the second position to proline residue at the 331st position in an amino acid sequence represented by SEQ ID No. 1 wherein the N-terminal amino acid of the protein corresponds to serine residue at the second position of SEQ ID No. 1, a DNA encoding the protein, a transformant having the DNA, and a process for producing a protein having a transglutaminase activity, which comprises the steps of culturing the transformant in a medium. The protein can be produced in a large amount with the transformant using a host such as E. coli.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2001
    Publication date: October 17, 2002
    Applicant: AJINOMOTO CO., INC.
    Inventors: Keiichi Yokoyama, Nami Nakamura, Tetsuya Miwa, Katsuya Seguro
  • Patent number: 6303359
    Abstract: Disclosed are cDNA encoding a new aminopeptidase derived from germinated soybeans, a recombinant expression vector containing the DNA, a transformant obtained by the transformation with the expression vector, and a method of producing an aminopeptidase by culturing the transformed product. According to the present invention, a cDNA can be obtained encoding the amino acid sequence of aminopeptidase GX suitable for producing a highly hydrolized product from a starting material containing a protein and peptide having a high acidic amino acid content. Using the cDNA, a recombinant aminopeptidase can be mass-produced with E. coli or the like. By using the cDNA, it is also possible to produce aminopeptidase GX by using a host other than E. coli. In addition, hydrohized products having high glutamic acid content and aspartic acid content and also excellent seasoning properties can be obtained from soybean protein by combining GX thus produced with protease D3 and leucine aminopeptidase DLAP.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2001
    Assignee: Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Daiki Ninomiya, Tetsuya Miwa, Minao Asano, Nami Nakamura, Noriki Nio
  • Patent number: 6013498
    Abstract: Disclosed are a protein having a transglutaminase activity, which comprises a sequence ranging from serine residue at the second position to proline residue at the 331st position in an amino acid sequence represented by SEQ ID No. 1 wherein the N-terminal amino acid of the protein corresponds to serine residue at the second position of SEQ ID No. 1, a DNA encoding the protein, a transformant having the DNA, and a process for producing a protein having a transglutaminase activity, which comprises the steps of culturing the transformant in a medium. The protein can be produced in a large amount with the transformant using a host such as E. coli.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 1998
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2000
    Assignee: Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Keiichi Yokoyama, Nami Nakamura, Tetsuya Miwa, Katsuya Seguro