Reducing myelin-mediated inhibition of axon regeneration

1. A method for characterizing an agent as inhibiting binding of NgR (Nogo receptor) to OMgp (oligodendrocyte-myelin glycoprotein), the method comprising the steps of:

incubating a mixture comprising NgR, OMgp and an agent under conditions whereby but for the presence of the agent, the NgR and OMgp exhibit a control binding; and

specifically detecting a reduced binding of the NgR to the OMgp, indicating that the agent inhibits binding of the NgR to the OMgp.

2. A method according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the NgR and OMgp is soluble.

3. A method according to claim 1 , wherein one of the NgR and OMgp is soluble and the other is membrane-bound.

4. A method according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the NgR and OMgp is recombinantly expressed on a surface of a cell.

5. A method according to claim 1 wherein the agent is preincubated with the OMgp to inhibit subsequent OMgp-NgR binding.

6. A method according to claim 1 wherein the method comprises a format selected from the group consisting of COS-expression, solid phase ELISA-type assay, and fluorescent polarization assay.

7. A method according to claim 1 wherein the agent is selected from natural and synthetic peptide libraries biased to natural NgR LRR sequences, OMgp-specific monoclonal antibody (Mab) and Mab fragment libraries, a commercial fungal extract library, and a synthetic combinatorial organo-pharmacophore-biased library.

8. A method according to claim 1 wherein the method comprises a corticospinal tract (CST) regeneration assay format.

9. A method according to claim 1 wherein the method comprises a peripheral nerve regeneration assay format.