Abstract: The present invention relates to 1,4-disubstituted naphthalene scaffold compounds and other closely related scaffold compounds. The present invention also relates to combinatorial libraries of such compounds. In addition, the present invention relates to a method of identifying a protein-protein interaction antagonist. The method first involves providing a compound as described herein. Next, the compound is contacted with interacting proteins of a protein-protein interaction target complex, whereby the compound is allowed to compete with the interacting proteins. Then, the activity of the compound for inhibiting formation of the protein-protein interaction target complex is measured. Finally, the compound that inhibits formation of the protein-protein interaction target complex is identified as a protein-protein interaction antagonist. Also disclosed is a method for modulating a protein-protein interaction.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for identifying a plurality of pairs of interacting proteins and plasmids for use in the method. The pair of plasmids is adapted for use in a modified two hybrid system wherein wherein each plasmid comprises a recombinase recognition site. The method comprises the steps of providing cDNAs encoding test polypeptides, inserting the cDNAs into the first and second plasmids, recombining the first and second plasmids to obtain recombined plasmids, isolating and digesting the recombined plasmids, ligating the restriction fragments to a universal adapter to provide a pool of digested fragments flanked by a universal adapter, selecting and amplifying desired sequences, forming concatamers from the amplified sequences, and sequencing the concatamers to determine the nucleotide sequences encoding a plurality of pairs of interacting proteins.

Abstract: This invention provides a method for identification and characterization of genes expressed during differentiation of cells. Cell lineage specific genes are identified in embryonic stem cells lines by unique vectors constructed to permit rapid characterization of expressed genes.

Abstract: The present invention relates to 1,4-disubstituted naphthalene scaffold compounds and other closely related scaffold compounds. The present invention also relates to combinatorial libraries of such compounds. In addition, the present invention relates to a method of identifying a protein-protein interaction antagonist. The method first involves providing a compound as described herein. Next, the compound is contacted with interacting proteins of a protein-protein interaction target complex, whereby the compound is allowed to compete with the interacting proteins. Then, the activity of the compound for inhibiting formation of the protein-protein interaction target complex is measured. Finally, the compound that inhibits formation of the protein-protein interaction target complex is identified as a protein-protein interaction antagonist. Also disclosed is a method for modulating a protein-protein interaction.

Abstract: The present invention provides methods and compositions for identifying stem cells and/or cancer cells in non-human animals. The compositions include vectors comprising elements suitable for integration into a licensing factor gene such that a cell harboring the chromosome into which the vector elements have integrated expresses a reporter transgene. The methods comprise the detection of stem and/or cancer cells by detecting the expression of the reporter transgene.