Patent ID: 7306905

Claim:
A method for screening a plurality of test substances to identify a substance useful as a substance that promotes resistance to cell stress, which comprises the steps of i) testing each of the test substances for its ability to activate the expression of a higher eukaryote target gene of the Integrated Stress Response by contacting each of the test substances with a higher eukaryote cell capable of expressing the CHOP gene, ii) identifying the test substance which activates the expression of the higher-eukaryote target gene of the Integrated Stress Response by assessing the level of expression of said higher eukaryote target gene of the Integrated Stress Response wherein the level of expression is assessed by determining the level of transcription or translation of said CHOP gene thereby to identify a substance useful as a substance that promotes resistance to cell stress; and iii) verifying that said test substance does not cause stress to higher eukaryote cells, thereby identifying a substance useful as a substance that promotes resistance to cell stress.