Yeast screens for treatment of human disease
AssigneeThe University of Chicago
InventorsSusan Lindquist, Sylvia Krobitsch, Tiago Outeiro
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Abstract
Screening methods for identifying substances that provide therapeutic value for various diseases associated with protein misfolding are provided. Genetic and chemical screening methods are provided using a yeast system. The methods of the invention provide a rapid and cost-effective method to screen for compounds that prevent protein misfolding and/or protein fibril formation and/or protein aggregation which includes numerous neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease as well as non-neuronal diseases such as type 2 diabetes.
Claims24
1-68. (canceled)
A method of screening for a compound that decreases huntingtin associated toxicity, the method comprising:
- providing a yeast cell engineered to express a protein comprising a huntingtin polypeptide;
- contacting the yeast cell with a candidate compound;
- and
- evaluating the yeast cell for viability, wherein an increase in viability of the yeast cell as compared to viability of the yeast cell in the absence of the candidate compound indicates that the candidate compound decreases huntingtin associated toxicity.
A method of screening for a compound that decreases huntingtin associated toxicity, the method comprising:
- contacting a yeast cell with a candidate compound, wherein the yeast cell expresses a polypeptide comprising a huntingtin polypeptide;
- contacting the yeast cell with a toxicity inducing agent;
- and
- evaluating the yeast cell for viability, wherein an increase in viability of the yeast cell as compared to viability of the yeast cell in the absence of the candidate compound indicates that the candidate compound decreases huntingtin associated toxicity.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.