Methods, nucleotide sequences and host cells for assaying exogenous and endogenous protease activity

摘要

The invention relates to methods for assaying exogenous protease activity in a host cell transformed with nucleotide sequences encoding that protease and a specialized substrate. It also relates to methods for assaying endogenous protease activity in a host cell transformed with nucleotide sequences a specialized substrate. When these nucleotide sequences are expressed, the exogenous or endogenous protease cleaves the substrate and releases a polypeptide that is secreted out of the cell, where it can be easily quantitated using standard assays. The methods and transformed host cells of this invention are particularly useful for identifying inhibitors of the exogenous and endogenous proteases. If the protease is a protease from an infectious agent, inhibitors identified by these methods are potential pharmaceutical agents for the treatment or prevention of infection by that agent.