Patent ID: 7193125

Claim:
A screening method for determining whether a compound activates a human CAR receptor, said method comprising the steps of: (a) administering a compound to a transgenic mouse whose genome comprises a transgene comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a human CAR receptor encoded by SEQ ID NO: 2 or a functional variant thereof having at least about 95% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence encoded by SEQ ID NO: 2 operably linked to a promoter, wherein expression of said nucleic acid sequence results in the production of a human CAR receptor in the liver of said mouse, wherein the human CAR receptor induces expression of a CAR target gene, and wherein the genome of said mouse comprises a disruption of the endogenous mouse CAR receptor gene, wherein said mouse lacks production of functional endogenous mouse CAR receptor, and (b) measuring induction of a CAR target gene, whereby said compound is determined to activate said CAR receptor if said compound mediates induction of said CAR target gene.