A Method for Producing An Active Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF)

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for producing active hepatocyte growth factor activator (HGFA) and active hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) without using animal serum. The present invention relates to a method for producing active HGFA without using animal serum. The method is characterized in that it comprises a step of obtaining a culture supernatant comprising pro-HGFA by culturing mammalian cells expressing inactive hepatocyte growth factor activator (pro-HGFA) in a medium without serum, and a step of adjusting the culture supernatant comprising pro-HGFA obtained in the above step to weakly acidic to convert pro-HGFA into active HGFA. The present invention also relates to a method for producing active HGF with HGFA produced by said method.

1 - 13 . (canceled) 
     
     
         14 . A polypeptide selected from the group consisting of:
 (i) the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:1;   (ii) the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:1 which has substitution, deletion, insertion, and/or addition of 1 to 10 amino acid residues, and has HGF activity similar to or more than the polypeptide having the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:1 or which is activated to have the activity; and   (iii) the amino acid sequence showing an identity of 95% or higher to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 and having HGF activity similar to or more than the polypeptide having the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:1 or which is activated to have the activity.   
     
     
         15 . A polypeptide selected from the group consisting of:
 (i) the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:2,   (ii) the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:2 which has substitution, deletion, insertion, and/or addition of 1 to 10 amino acid residues, and having HGFA activity similar to or more than the polypeptide having the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:2 or which is activated to have the activity, and   (iii) the amino acid sequence showing an identity of 95% or higher to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:2 and having HGFA activity similar to or more than the polypeptide having the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:2 or which is activated to have the activity.