Patent ID: 7220539

Claim:
A method for screening test compounds to determine if any disrupt the interaction between an inhibitor of protein kinase B (PKB)/Akt protein and a PKB/Akt protein, said method comprising: assaying for complex formation between said inhibitor and said PKB/Akt protein in the presence and absence of a test compound, wherein said inhibitor of PKB/Akt protein is a Tribbles (TRB) family protein selected from the group consisting of human TRB-3 having the sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:1, mouse TRB-3 having the sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:2, rat TRB-3 having the sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:3, C5FW having the sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:4, C8FW having the sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:5, Drosophila Tribbles protein having the sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:6, TRB-1 having the sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:7, and TRB-2 having the sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:8; and wherein a decrease in the level of complex formation in the presence of said test compound, relative to complex formation in the absence of said test compound, is indicative of a compound that disrupts said interaction.