Patent ID: 7416856

Claim:
A method for screening a candidate agent to determine if it is a modulator of the activity of a target protein that can produce adenosine diphosphate (ADP), the method comprising: (a) preparing a sample that comprises the target protein, the candidate agent and an enzyme that utilizes ADP under conditions in which, in the absence of the candidate agent, the target protein can produce ADP; and (b) determining the activity of the enzyme in the sample to determine the activity of the target protein, wherein the activity of the enzyme is determined by detecting the formation of a detectable compound that is formed in a coupled enzyme system that includes (i) a reaction in which the utilization of ADP by the enzyme results in the formation of pyruvate, (ii) a reaction in which the oxidation of pyruvate results in the formation of hydrogen peroxide, and (iii) a reaction in which the oxidation of hydrogen peroxide results in the conversion of a compound to the detectable compound; and a change in the activity of the enzyme in the presence of the candidate agent relative to the activity of the enzyme in the absence of the candidate agent is an indication that the candidate agent is a modulator of the target protein.