	US 7,541,332 B2
	Fungal cell wall synthesis gene
Kappei Tsukahara, Tsukuba (Japan); Katsura Hata, Tsukuba (Japan); Koji Sagane, Tsukuba (Japan); Kazutaka Nakamoto, Tsukuba (Japan); Mamiko Tsuchiya, Ushiku (Japan); Naoaki Watanabe, Tsukuba (Japan); Fuminori Ohba, Iruma-gun (Japan); Itaru Tsukada, Ushiku (Japan); Norihiro Ueda, Tsukuba (Japan); Keigo Tanaka, Tsukuba (Japan); and Junko Kai, Niihari-gun (Japan)
Assigned to Eisai R&D Management Co., Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)
Filed on Apr. 21, 2006, as Appl. No. 11/409,453.
Application 11/409453 is a division of application No. 10/332340, abandoned, previously published as PCT/JP01/05899, filed on Jul. 06, 2001.
Claims priority of application No. 2000-206968 (JP), filed on Jul. 07, 2000; and application No. 2000-316027 (JP), filed on Oct. 17, 2000.
Prior Publication US 2006/0234283 A1, Oct. 19, 2006
Int. Cl. A61K 36/00 (2006.01); A61K 38/00 (2006.01)

U.S. Cl. 514—2 [424/1.13; 424/278.1; 530/350]

3 Claims

1. A method of screening for a compound having an antifungal action, wherein the antifungal action is estimated by the binding activity between the compound and a protein, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

(a) contacting a test compound with a protein having an activity to decrease the amount of a glycosyiphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored protein in the cell wall of a fungus due to a defect in the function of the protein selected from the group consisting of:

(i) a protein comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, and

(ii) a protein encoded by a DNA comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3;

(b) detecting the binding activity between the protein and the test compound; and

(c) selecting the test compound as the compound having antifungal action if the test compound has an activity of binding to the protein.