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| June 23, 2004 |
| Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd. |
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Partnership with InfoGenes to Develop DNA Chips
for Endocrine Disruptor Assessments |
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Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd.
and InfoGenes Co., Ltd. have reached a basic agreement to form
a partnership to develop a DNA chip for the assessment of endocrine
disruptors. The chip will be used as a tool to test the endocrine
disrupting effect of chemical substances. The partnership will
cover both R&D and commercial development.
Mitsubishi Rayon has completed development
of a prototype product that fixes genes that are abnormally
expressed by endocrine disruptors on a high-performance and
universal fiber-type DNA chip developed by the company. Mitsubishi
Rayon plans to launch the product in the fall of this year.
The genes were identified jointly by InfoGenes Co., Ltd. and
the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
(AIST) in Japan.
In the immediate future, Mitsubishi Rayon
expects the product to find application in research related
to endocrine disruptors. Furthermore in the years to come, it
also aims to promote use of the chip in evaluations of the endocrine
disrupting effect of chemical substances.
Mitsubishi Rayon believes that the DNA chip
will help protect the environment and preserve ecological systems,
as it will enable the evaluation of the endocrine disrupting
effect of chemical substances at the gene level, more easily
and on a larger scale than ever before.
[Background]
An endocrine disruptor is an artificial chemical
substance that mimics the effects of a hormone inside the bodies
of humans or animals, and disrupts the functioning of the endocrine
system. This can lead to reproductive dysfunction (in which
a male becomes a female and vice versa) or malignancy.
Environmental pollution caused by these substances is considered
a serious issue both in Japan and abroad, given the potential
repercussions for living creatures over generations.
The most important measure in combating pollution
caused by endocrine disruptors is to regulate their emission
into the environment as industrial waste, and also control their
distribution into the commercial market as a petrochemical product.
The European Union has already begun to review regulations covering
chemical substances and plans to strengthen rules for safety
in 2006.
For this purpose, it is essential to have
access to a simple method of evaluating the endocrine disrupting
effect of chemical substances. Many institutions, including
the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Economy,
Trade and Industry in Japan as well as the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) in the United States and the Organization for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD) have been discussing the
creation of a global standard for the method of measuring endocrine
disruptors. The current test method for examining endocrine
disruptors involves considerable time and effort, prompting
calls for the development of an easier and more reliable method.
The DNA chip system is widely considered one potentially useful
way to evaluate the endocrine disrupting effect of substances
on a gene level.
[Features]
Fixed in the DNA chip, which is currently
being jointly developed, will be approximately 200 human genes
identified by Dr. Ryoichi Kiyama, chief researcher at the National
Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST,
formerly known as the Agency of Industrial Science and Technology,
the Ministry of International Trade and Industry) as part of
a joint research project with SciMedia Ltd. A set of genes whose
functions (expression level) change as a response to estrogen,
a female hormone, in a cultured cell are selected for the DNA
chip. These genes are then suitable for an evaluation of the
endocrine disrupting effect.
Dr. Ryoichi Kiyama, chief researcher at AIST,
is also an executive vice president of InfoGenes Co., Ltd.,
and the company has an exclusive right to use the set of genes.
Mitsubishi Rayon’s fiber-type DNA chip,
Genopal™ was developed by integrating the company’s
cutting-edge expertise in fibers, resins and biotechnologies,
and is manufactured using a unique hollow fiber block slicing
method. It is a commercially available DNA chip with high data
reliability and widespread application, such as in evaluations.
The company began manufacturing this chip under contract and
then selling it in the summer of 2002. The chip is now being
used in significant numbers of research laboratories at universities,
public research institutions and private companies.
A combination of the gene set of InfoGenes,
which is ideally suited for evaluating the endocrine disrupting
effect, and the platform of the commercially available high-performance
DNA chip developed by Mitsubishi Rayon, will result in a highly
versatile DNA chip that can be used to evaluate the endocrine
disrupting effect of different substances.
Mitsubishi Rayon believes that this DNA chip
will make a substantial contribution to protecting the environment
and preserving ecological systems, as it can evaluate not only
the endocrine disrupting effect of certain chemical substances
but also the combined effect of multiple substances. It also
has application in water quality assessments in industrial drainage
and rivers. |
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| [Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd.] |
| 1. Name: |
Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd. |
| 2. Establishment: |
August 31, 1933 |
| 3. President: |
Yoshiyuki Sumeragi |
| 4. Head Office: |
6-41, Konan 1-chome, Minato-Ku, Tokyo 108-8506, Japan |
| 5. Employees: |
8,872 (Group) |
| 6. Paid-in capital: |
¥53,229 million |
| 7. Lines of business: |
Manufacture and sale of chemical
products, synthetic resins and synthetic fibers |
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| [InfoGenes Co., Ltd.] |
| 1. Name: |
InfoGenes Co., Ltd. |
| 2. Establishment: |
February 9, 2001 |
| 3. President: |
Masao Tanji |
| 4. Head Office: |
AIST Central 6, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8566, Japan |
| 5. Employees: |
6 |
| 6. Paid-in capital: |
¥115 million |
| 7. Lines of business: |
The first venture company from AIST
established for the purpose of making feasible the “Endocrine
Disruptor Microarray” technology, which is the product
of a joint research project involving AIST (formerly the Agency
of Industrial Science and Technology of the Ministry of International
Trade and Industry) and SciMedia Ltd. |
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| For further details of our news release, please contact: |
| [Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd.] |
| Public & Investor Relations Office: |
| e-mail: koho@mrc.co.jp |
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| For product details, please contact: |
| [Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd.] |
| Business Planning & Development Division |
| Genomic Device Group: |
| e-mail: genome@mrc.co.jp |
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| [InfoGenes Co., Ltd.] |
| e-mail: array@infogenes.co.jp |
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