Patent ID: 7399583

Claim:
A method for identifying an inhibitor of complex-formation of an AU-rich element (ARE)-containing mRNA and an Hu-Antigen R (HuR) protein comprising: a providing a soluble form of a HuR protein selected from the group of proteins consisting of the amino acid sequences set forth in SEQ ID NO:3 or SEQ ID NO:4, (b) providing an ARE-containing mRNA, (c) providing a candidate inhibitor, wherein at least one of (a), (b) and (c) is labeled, (d) mixing the HuR protein of step (a) and the ARE-containing mRNA of step (b) (i) in the presence of the candidate inhibitor of step (c) and (ii) in the absence of the candidate inhibitor of step (c) for a sufficient period of time so that the HuR protein of step (a) and the ARE-containing mRNA of step (b) can form a complex, (e) detecting the amount of complexes formed in step (d) or detecting non-complexed mRNA/protein species, (f) comparing the amount of complexes formed in step (d)(ii) with the non-complexed mRNA/protein species formed in step (d)(i), and (g) identifying a candidate inhibitor that inhibits complex formation between the ARE-containing mRNA and the HuR protein.