Patent ID: 8288088

Claim:
A method for identifying compounds that induce tumor apoptosis by inactivating a catalase on a tumor cell surface, said method comprising the following steps: (1) contacting test compounds with tumor cells or transformed cells and selecting those test compounds that induce apoptosis in said tumor or transformed cells; (2) determining whether the apoptosis observed in step (1) arises from the inactivation of tumor cell catalase by: (a) contacting the tumor apoptosis-inducing test compounds identified in the step (1) with tumor cells in a medium comprising histidine and (b) selecting those test compounds that that reduce or inhibit apoptosis-induction in said tumor cells under this condition as compared to the apoptosis-induction observed in step (1); and (3) identifying the test compounds selected in part (b) of step (2) as compounds that induce tumor apoptosis by inactivating tumor cell catalase.