Patent Document ID: 20020110837
Application ID: 09982095
Patent Flag: 0

Claim One:
1. A method for screening and identifying molecules that transactivate a neurotrophin receptor and mediate neuronal cell survival in the absence of neurotrophins, comprising one or a combination of assays A, B or C, wherein: assay A comprises: treating neuronal cells with a candidate small molecule activator; reacting a neurotrophic receptor, obtained from a cell lysate of the treated neuronal cells, with an anti-phosphotyrosine antibody specific for a phosphorylated form of the neurotrophin receptor; and detecting specific binding of the anti-phosphotyrosine antibody to a phosphorylated form of the neurotrophin receptor to identify a small molecule activator of the neurotrophin receptor; assay B comprises: treating neuronal cells with a candidate small molecule activator; reacting either phosphotidylinositol 3′-kinase (PI3-K), obtained from a cell lysate of the treated neuronal cells, with an anti-phospho-PI3-K antibody specific for the phosphorylated form of PI3-K or Akt, obtained from a cell lysate of the treated neuronal cells, with an anti-phospho-Akt antibody specific for the phosphorylated form of Akt; and detecting specific binding of the anti-phospho-PI3-K antibody to the phosphorylated form of PI3-K or of the anti-phospho-Akt antibody to the phosphorylated form of Akt to identify a small molecule activator of a neutrophin receptor and its downstream Akt target; and assay C comprises: culturing neuronal cells in the presence of neurotrophins; treating and culturing the neuronal cells with a candidate small molecule activator in the absence of neurotrophins; and determining the level of cell survival to identify a small molecule activator of the neurotrophin receptor.