ANTIFUNGAL DRUG SCREENING USING SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE MANNOSYLTRANSFERASE ENCODING GENES

• Main Authors: LUSSIER, MARC, BUSSEY, HOWARD, SDICU, ANNE-MARIE
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French
• Published: 19.09.1999
• Edition: 6
• Subjects: BEER; BIOCHEMISTRY; CHEMISTRY; COMPOSITIONS OR TEST PAPERS THEREFOR; CONDITION-RESPONSIVE CONTROL IN MICROBIOLOGICAL ORENZYMOLOGICAL PROCESSES; ENZYMOLOGY; INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIRCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; MEASURING; MEASURING OR TESTING PROCESSES INVOLVING ENZYMES, NUCLEICACIDS OR MICROORGANISMS; METALLURGY; MICROBIOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; PHYSICS; PROCESSES OF PREPARING SUCH COMPOSITIONS; SPIRITS; TESTING; VINEGAR; WINE

The present invention relates to an antifungal in vitro and in vivo screening assays for identifying a compound which inhibit mannosyltransferase involved in protein O- and N-glycosylation. The antifungal screening assay for identifying a compound which inhibit mannosyltransferases involved in protein O- and N-glycosylation, comprises the steps of: a) subjecting proteins to specific mannosyltransferase protein encoded by a Saccharomyces cerevisiae mannosyltransferase encoding gene, wherein said gene is selected from the group consisting of KRE2/MNT1, YUR1, KTR1, KTR2, KTR3, KTR4, KTR5, KTR6 and KTR7; b) subjecting step a) to a screened compound and determining absence or presence of protein O- and N-glycosylation, wherein absence of protein O- and N-glycosylation is indicative of an antifungal compound. There is also disclosed an in vitro method for the diagnosis of diseases caused by fungal infection in a patient.