Abstract: A method for producing a cardiomyocyte including preparing a stem cell, introducing a Sendai virus into the stem cell by infection, expressing mRNA for synthesizing an inducing factor from the Sendai viruses in the stem cell to induce a cardiomyocyte from the stem cell.

Abstract: The present invention provides a composition having a metabolism-improving action, which comprises a supernatant of brown adipocytes or a purified product thereof. The present invention also provides a method of preparing the supernatant without using a culture solution comprising a high concentration of glucose. The present invention also provides a method of producing brown adipocytes using pluripotent stem cells, which are useful for preparing the supernatant of brown adipocytes. The present invention has succeeded in obtaining a supernatant having a metabolism-improving action from brown adipocytes. It was also possible to obtain the supernatant without using a culture solution comprising a high concentration of glucose. The present invention has also succeeded in producing brown adipocytes from pluripotent stem cells using a feeder-free culture system without adding a cytokine cocktail or the like.

Abstract: Provided is a nerve cell production method including preparing stem cells, and introducing Sendai virus by infection to the stem cells to induce the stem cells into nerve cells by allowing the Sendai virus to express mRNA which synthesizes an inducing factor in the stem cells.

Abstract: The present invention provides polypeptides for selectively inducing target antigen-specific CD8-positive T-cell responses. Since induction of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-specific CD4-positive T-cell responses by vaccine could promote HIV infection, an HIV vaccine antigen that selectively induces HIV-specific CD8-positive T-cell responses would be useful if obtained. Thus, in the present invention, polypeptide antigens were designed in which 8- to 12-residue amino acid sequences divided from the amino acid sequence of a target antigen protein were connected in an order different from that of the original amino acid sequence. DNA and viral vector vaccines expressing these antigens were tested by inoculation into monkeys. As a result, they were shown to be able to efficiently induce antigen-specific CD8-positive T-cell responses in a selective manner. The instant antigens may be useful as vaccine antigens that induce CD8-positive T cells in a highly selective manner.

Abstract: The present invention provides novel donor polynucleotides formed by linking the two ends of a genomic fragment containing a cleavable site by a polynucleotide carrying a positive selection marker gene and a negative selection marker gene. Use of the donor polynucleotide makes it possible to modify only a target gene with avoiding the possibility of introducing mutations to sequences, called “off-target”, which are other than the target sequence, by introducing cleavage in a homologous site of the donor polynucleotide without introducing cleavage in a target gene locus.