Patent ID: 7045306

Claim:
A method for identifying compounds in vitro that modulate dysregulation of transcription mediated by a mutant huntingtin protein with an expanded polyglutamine tract through Sp1 and TAFII130 comprising the steps of: providing a transcriptional assay system, comprising Sp1, TAFII130, the mutant huntingtin protein and a double-stranded DNA sequence comprising the Sp1 promoter operably linked to a detectable sequence all within a neuronal cell, contacting the assay system with a candidate pharmacological agent, and measuring the amount of mRNA transcript of the detectable sequence, wherein a change in the amount of the transcript compared to a control is indicative of the modulation by the candidate pharmacological agent of the dysregulation of transcription mediated by mutant huntingtin protein through Sp1 and TAFII130.