Patent ID: 8309574

Claim:
A method of screening for a substance which is a candidate for treating arteriosclerosis which occurs due to the function of Rac protein, comprising: adding a test substance to a first HUVEC culture which expresses a Rac fusion protein comprising a HUVEC-expressing fluorescent protein, culturing a second HUVEC culture which expresses the Rac fusion protein comprising the HUVEC-expressing fluorescent protein, continuously culturing said first HUVEC culture and said second HUVEC culture for a sufficient time for the Rac fusion protein to transfer into the nucleus, said first HUVEC culture being continuously cultured in the presence of the test substance and said second HUVEC culture being continuously cultured in the presence of pitavastatin, measuring distribution of the amount of fluorescence in said first HUVEC culture and said second HUVEC culture, and determining that the test substance is a substance which is a candidate for treating arteriosclerosis which occurs due to the function of Rac protein if the distribution of fluorescence in the nucleus of said first HUVEC culture is about the same as the distribution of fluorescence in the nucleus of said second HUVEC culture.