Patent ID: 7794961

Claim:
A method of identifying an agent that modulates the activation of a caspase by an inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) protein, comprising the steps of: a) contacting in vitro a caspase selected from the group consisting of caspase-3, caspase 7 and caspase-9 and the IAP, wherein the IAP is selected from XIAP, cIAP-1 and c-IAP-2 and wherein the IAP inhibits activation of the caspase, under conditions that allow activation of the caspase in the absence of the IAP, and an agent suspected of being able to modulate caspase inhibitory activity of the IAP; and b) detecting caspase activity, wherein caspase activity identifies an agent that modulates the regulation of activation of the caspase by the IAP.