Abstract: The present invention provides a method for treating a lipid body-mediated condition, such as inflammation or cancer, in an vertebrate by administering to the vertebrate a sufficient amount of an agent which inhibits the formation of lipid bodies in cells involved in inflammation. The agent can inhibit lipid body formation by inhibiting any biological activity necessary for lipid body formation.Another embodiment of the present invention is a method or assay for assessing the ability of a compound to inhibit lipid body formation in cells in vitro. The method comprises the steps of priming the cells for lipid body formation, contacting the cells with the compound under study, and comparing lipid body numbers in the cells with lipid body numbers in primed cells not contacted with the compound of interest. This method can be automated, yielding an efficient high-throughput assay for the efficient and rapid screening of large numbers of potential anti-inflammatory drugs.

Abstract: A method to preserve and sterilize biological tissues by exposing the tissue to microwave irradiation, thereby limiting tissue exposure to standard organic preservatives and retaining tissue pliability and other qualities that characterize natural, unpreserved tissue.