Method of screening for inhibitors of human Fatty Acid-CoA Ligase 4
OwnerStephen Prescott, Yang Caoinventors
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Abstract
The present invention provides a method of screening for potential cancer chemotherapeutic and chemopreventive agents which act by modulating the activity of the Fatty Acid-CoA Ligase 4 (FACL4) gene product in humans. This invention also provides methods of administering such agents to treat cancer by inhibiting the activity of the FACL4 gene product, thus raising the cellular level of free arachidonic acid and triggering arachidonic acid-mediated apoptosis. The present invention further provides a method for diagnosing cancers, including colon cancer.
Claims21
A method for evaluating the presence or absence of colon cancer cells in a sample of a suspect tissue comprising the steps of:
- a. isolating the sample of the suspect tissue;
- b. evaluating the level of FACL4 expression in the cells of the tissue;
- and
- c. comparing the level of FACL4 expression in the cells of the tissue with those of a control cell.
A method for diagnosing colon cancer comprising the steps of:
- a. isolating a sample from a region of suspected cancerous tissue;
- b. isolating a sample from a region of similar tissue thought to be non-cancerous;
- c. evaluating levels of FACL4 in each of the samples;
- and
- d. comparing the levels of FACL4 in the suspected tissue with those in the non-suspect tissue.
A method of screening for potential cancer chemotherapeutic agents comprising the steps of:
- a. administering a test compound to an animal;
- and
- b. measuring inhibition of the function of the FACL4 gene product in the animal, wherein a test compound which inhibits the function of the FACL4 gene product is a potential cancer chemotherapeutic agent.
A method for inhibiting FACL4 activity in a human, comprising administering a compound which inhibits FACL4 to a human in need of such treatment.
A method for inhibiting FACL4 activity in a human, comprising administering a compound which inhibits FACL4 to a human in need of such treatment, wherein the activity of the compound does not result in significant toxic side effects to the human.
A method for inhibiting FACL4 activity in a human, comprising administering a compound that inhibits FACL4 to a human in need of such treatment, wherein the ability of the compound to inhibit FACL4 is determined by:
- a. contacting a cell with a test compound, wherein the cell expresses or overexpresses a FACL4 gene product;
- and
- b. measuring inhibition of the function of the FACL4 gene product in the cell.
A method for treating colon cancer in a human suffering therefrom, comprising administering a compound that inhibits FACL4 activity to a human in need of such treatment.
A method for treating colon cancer in a human suffering therefrom, comprising:
- a. administering a compound which inhibits COX-2;
- and
- b. administering a compound which inhibits FACL4.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.