Patent ID: 6391574
Filing Date: 2002-05-21
Classification: A61K,A61P,C12N

Abstract:
A method of identifying a compound which inhibits the proteolytic removal of an AAX tripeptide of a CAAX protein in a cell, comprising the stress of:conatacting a test compound with a sample comprising a cell expressing a functional Afc1p or Rce1p polypeptide, but not both, from a corresponding Afc1p or Rce1p-encoding nucleic acid, wherein the polypeptide mediates the proteolytic removal of an AAX tripeptide from a prenylated CAAX protein, and wherein the nucleic acid hybridizes under highly stringent conditions to a polynucleotide consisting of SEQ ID NO:1 or 3, respectively, and wherein the highly stringent conditions comprise hybridization and wash conditions selected to be 5Â° C. lower than the thermal melting point (Tm) for said polynucleotide at a defined ionic strength and pH: and measuring activity or expression of the polypeptide expressed by the cell, wherein compound-dependent inhibition of the activity or expression indicates that the compound inhibits the proteolytic renoval of the AAX tripeptide, wherein the cell is selected from a prokaryotic cell and a yeast cell.