Patent ID: 7622256

Claim:
A method of selecting a compound that modulates MIF-induced expression of ICAM-1 and/or VCAM-1, said method comprising: (a) exposing a peripheral blood mononuclear (PBMC) cell culture to a putative compound that modulates MIF-induced expression of ICAM-1 or VCAM-1; (b) providing macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) to said exposed cells in an amount and under conditions that normally provide for expression of intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and/or vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1); (c) comparing expression of ICAM-1 and/or VCAM-1 by the cells in (b), to expression of ICAM-1 and/or VCAM-1 in a PBMC cell culture treated with MIF as in (b) in the absence of the putative compound; and (d) selecting a compound from (c) that inhibits expression of ICAM-1 and/or VCAM-1 relative to expression of ICAM-1 and/or VCAM-1 in the absence of the compound.