Patent ID: 6962688

Claim:
A method for screening compounds which alter the transport of lipid, cholesterol, lipoprotein or component of the lipoprotein, which is specifically mediated by SR-BI or a homolog of SR-BI comprising administering the compound to a genetically engineered animal or cells derived therefrom, wherein the genetically engineered animal is selected from the group consisting of rodents wherein the expression of the SR-BI gene has been knocked out and animals having the specific expression of the SR-BI gene transiently altered by the administration of a viral vector, measuring at least one parameter selected from the group consisting of cholesterol levels, production of steroid hormones, bile acid levels, and alterations of the chemical composition of lipids, lipoproteins, cholesterol, steroid hormones, bile acids, and vitamin D, comparing the effect of the compound on the at least one parameter with the effect of the compound on the at least one parameter measured in a control wild type animal whose expression of SR-BI has not been altered, and determining if the compound being screened affects the at least one parameter differently in the genetically engineered animal, as compared to the control wild type animal.