Patent ID: 7790365

Claim:
An assay to determine whether a test agent is a modulator of parkin activity, said assay comprising (a) incubating parkin protein and S5a protein together under conditions in which the S5a protein can be ubiquitinated, wherein said incubating is in the absence of the test agent, and determining the rate or extent of S5a ubiquitination; (b) incubating parkin protein and S5a protein together in the presence of the test agent under the conditions of (a), and determining the rate or extent of S5a ubiquitination; (c) comparing the rate or extent of S5a ubiquitination in the presence and absence of the test agent, where a relative increase in S5a ubiquitination in the presence of the test agent indicates that the test agent is a positive modulator of parkin activity and a relative decrease in S5a ubiquitination in the presence of the test agent indicates that the test agent is a negative modulator (inhibitor) of parkin activity.