Patent ID: 6960429

Claim:
A method of screening candidate molecules for the ability to disrupt viral looping/linking factors comprising: (a) adding a candidate molecule to a mammalian cell culture; (b) providing a control mammalian cell culture without the candidate molecule, wherein the cell cultures of both (a) and (b) comprise viral looping/linking factors, wherein the factors comprise DNA-binding proteins that can self-associate, and nucleic acid molecules comprising at least two binding sites for the factors, wherein the sites are linked by a looping/linking factor; (c) allowing said candidate molecule to interact with the viral looping/linking factor present in the mammalian cell culture of step (a); and (d) directly analyzing the factor for inhibition by the candidate molecule and comparing the result to the results using the control culture, wherein the candidate molecule inhibits protein:protein self-associate between factors as demonstrated by the factor being unable to mediate linking in the presence of the candidate molecule.