Patent ID: 8105799

Claim:
A method of screening for compounds that inhibit production of IL-6 produced in response to TNF, comprising: (a) providing a sample comprising a TGF-β-activated kinase 1 (TAK1) and a TAK1 binding protein 1 (TAB1); (b) contacting a test compound with the sample; (c) detecting binding between the TAK1 and the TAB1; (d) selecting a compound that inhibits the binding; (e) providing a cell expressing TAK1 and TAB1; (f) contacting the cell with TNF and the selected compound; and (g) determining whether the selected compound inhibits production of IL-6 in response to TNF; wherein the TAK1 of (a) is selected from the group consisting of (i) a protein comprising amino acids 76 to 303 of SEQ ID NO:2; and (ii) a protein that binds to amino acids 437 to 504 of SEQ ID NO:4 and comprises an amino acid sequence encoded by a DNA sequence that hybridizes with the complement of nucleotides 408 to 1091 of SEQ ID NO:1 under washing conditions of 42° C., 5 ×SSC, 0.1% sodium dodecyl sulfate, and 50% formamide; and wherein the TAB1 of (a) is selected from the group consisting of (iii) a protein comprising amino acids 437 to 504 of SEQ ID NO:4; and (iv) a protein that binds to amino acids 76 to 303 of SEQ ID NO:2 and comprises an amino acid sequence encoded by a DNA that hybridizes with the complement of nucleotides 1338 to 1541 of SEQ ID NO:3 under washing conditions of 42° C., 5 ×SSC, 0.1% sodium dodecyl sulfate, and 50% formamide.