Method of identifying compounds capable of activating ISL production

摘要

The present invention is directed to an Immunodeficiency-virus Suppressing Lymphokine (ISL) produced by stimulated CD8+ PBMC, cloning and isolation of nucleic acid molecules for eukaryotic ISL, and methods of treating viral infections with ISL. ISL is able to suppress the replication of viruses, especially retroviruses, in vitro and in vivo. More, specifically, a method is described for detecting a compound capable of inducing the expression of ISL by measuring the presence of ISL and the ability of ISL to inhibit HIV transcription.