| abstract |
The invention prvides assay methods and reagents useful for evaluating the level of enzyme activities within living cells. Enzyme activity levels within living cells, such as Serine proteases, can be key determinates in assessing; 1) the presence of tumor (cancer) cells, 2) the predictive efficacy of a chemotherapeutic treatment a regime using a particular therapeutic agent or process, 4) the probability of graft rejection or acceptance, and 5) the disease state status of a cell. The identification of the up or down regulation relationships of serine proteases within living cell systems, provides a rapid, yet finely tuned mechanism for predicting the current and future physiological state of these cell populations. |