Abstract: In an internal combustion engine having a cylinder in which an air-fuel mixture of gaseous fuel and intake air is combusted, an intake passage connected to the cylinder, and a supercharger for supercharging the intake air, in a case where backfire is generated in a set period before supercharging is performed by the supercharger, supercharging is performed at a smaller supercharging pressure than in a case where backfire is not generated in the set period.

Abstract: In an internal combustion engine having a cylinder in which an air-fuel mixture of gaseous fuel and intake air is combusted, an intake passage connected to the cylinder, and a supercharger for supercharging the intake air, in a case where backfire is generated in a set period before supercharging is performed by the supercharger, supercharging is performed at a smaller supercharging pressure than in a case where backfire is not generated in the set period.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a reversibly immortalized cell which can allow a cell into which an immortalizing gene is introduced to proliferate over a long period without damaging the chromosome of the cell, and is capable of removing the immortalizing gene, and to provide a method for obtaining a large amount of a reversibly immortalized cell that can be cloned and has stable quality. The present invention provides a method for producing a reversibly immortalized cell, comprising the steps of: introducing a chromosomally non-integrated RNA virus vector loaded with one or two or more immortalizing gene(s), selected from the group consisting of Bmi-1 gene, TERT gene, and SV40T gene, into a mammalian cell so that the immortalizing gene is expressed in the cell; and culturing the obtained cell for proliferation.

Abstract: The present invention provides novel methods for treating diseases associated with apoptotic degeneration in ocular tissue cells by effective administration of pigment epithelium derived factor (PEDF). The present inventors studied PEDF as a means to prevent ganglion cell death, the final pathology of glaucoma. The present invention is particularly focused on SIV vectors for effective methods for delivering PEDF, and constructed an SIV-PEDF vector. When the SIV-PEDF vector was administered subretinally to an ischemia reperfusion model and NMDA-induced model, a significant suppression effect on ganglion cell death was observed. The present inventors therefore discovered that the SIV-PEDF vector is an effective pharmaceutical agent for treating diseases associated with apoptotic degeneration in ocular tissue cells, such as glaucoma.

Abstract: The present invention provides methods for enhancing protein expression from an RNA viral vector and RNA viral vectors with enhanced protein expression capacity. The present inventors successfully increased the level of protein expression significantly by expressing the proteins fused with an AB5B protein from RNA viral vectors. Effective gene therapy, gene vaccination, monoclonal antibody preparation, or such can be achieved by using a gene transfer RNA viral vector of the present invention.

Abstract: The present invention provides methods for efficiently inducing anti-A? antibody and methods for preventing and treating Alzheimer's disease. The present inventors successfully induced anti-A? antibody in a highly efficient manner by administering an RNA viral vector that expresses a fusion protein between an AB5 toxin B subunit and an A? antigen peptide. Administration of the vector resulted in a significant increase of anti-A? antibody in plasma, and decrease in the A? level in brain tissues and decrease in the anti-A? antibody-positive area. The present invention enables more efficient vaccine gene therapy for preventing and treating Alzheimer's disease.

Abstract: The present inventors devised a protein expression system with coexisting MiniSeV and SeV particles, and assessed the system for the ability to transfer a gene(s) of interest into target cells, and to express the gene(s) in the target cells. It was shown that the expression system of the present invention had a high ability to transfer a gene(s) of interest into target cells, and a high ability to express the gene(s) in the target cells.

Abstract: The present invention provides novel therapeutic methods and agents for treating Alzheimer's disease. Specifically, the present invention relates to anti-inflammatory cytokines, anti-inflammatory cytokine genes, negative-strand RNA viral vectors carrying an anti-inflammatory cytokine gene, which are used for treating Alzheimer's disease or developing therapeutic agents for Alzheimer's disease. The present invention also provides pharmaceutical compositions for treating or preventing Alzheimer's disease, which comprise the cytokines or vectors. The present invention further provides methods for treating Alzheimer's disease, which comprise the step of administering an anti-inflammatory cytokine, or a vector such as a negative-strand RNA viral vector carrying an anti-inflammatory cytokine gene. The present invention enables novel gene therapies for Alzheimer's disease.

Abstract: The present invention provides novel methods for treating diseases associated with apoptotic degeneration in ocular tissue cells by effective administration of pigment epithelium derived factor (PEDF). The present inventors studied PEDF as a means to prevent ganglion cell death, the final pathology of glaucoma. The present invention is particularly focused on SIV vectors for effective methods for delivering PEDF, and constructed an SIV-PEDF vector. When the SIV-PEDF vector was administered subretinally to an ischemia reperfusion model and NMDA-induced model, a significant suppression effect on ganglion cell death was observed. The present inventors therefore discovered that the SIV-PEDF vector is an effective pharmaceutical agent for treating diseases associated with apoptotic degeneration in ocular tissue cells, such as glaucoma.

Abstract: The present invention provides agents for treating blood coagulation abnormalities, which contain as an active ingredient a lentiviral vector carrying a blood coagulation factor gene operably linked to a promoter which induces platelet-specific expression. Agents for treating hemophilia A or hemophilia B are provided by application of the gene encoding Factor VIII or Factor IX. Blood coagulation abnormalities can be treated by gene therapy by infecting hematopoietic stem cells or such with the therapeutic agents of the present invention.

Abstract: The present invention provides a DNA having promoter activity of Tec tyrosine kinase and a vector having incorporated within it the promoter to thereby enable a high level expression of an exogenous gene in hematopoietic stem cells and hepatic cells.

Abstract: The present invention provides a DNA having promoter activity of Tec tyrosine kinase and a vector having incorporated within it the promoter to thereby enable a high level expression of an exogenous gene in hematopoietic stem cells and hepatic cells.