Patent ID: 6835544
Filing Date: 2004-12-28
Classification: A61K,C07K

Abstract:
A method for screening a collection of compounds to determine those compounds which bind to at least one member of the activin/TGF-&bgr; receptor superfamily, said method comprising employing a vertebrate activin receptor member of the activin/TGF-&bgr; receptor superfamily in a competitive binding assay,wherein said vertebrate activin receptor has binding affinity for activin and has at least 80% amino acid identity with amino acid residues 20-513 of SEQ ID NO:16; and is; wherein the receptor is further characterized by having the following domains, reading from the N-terminal end of said protein: an extracellular, ligand-binding domain, a hydrophobic, trans-membrane domain, and an intracellular serine/threonine kinase domain.