METHODS FOR IDENTIFYING ALLOSTERIC AND OTHER NOVEL ACYL-COENZYME A:CHOLESTEROL ACYLTRANSFERASE INHIBITORS

摘要

The present invention is a method for identifying compounds that are allosteric and/or other novel ACAT inhibitors that is based on the novel finding that pregnenolone is a substrate for ACAT; esterification of pregnenolone by ACAT is dramatically activated when cholesterol is present in the assay. The method comprises measuring the esterification of pregnenolone by ACAT under two different conditions: with cholesterol, or without cholesterol. This method can be used to test and categorize various candidate ACAT inhibitors as allosteric or other novel ACAT inhibitors, or it can be used in high-throughput screening for identifying such ACAT inhibitors.