Patent ID: 7422887

Claim:
A method for identifying or screening a candidate agent for psoriasis, comprising contacting a polypeptide having phospholipase A 2 activity with a test substance, assaying an inhibitory action of the test substance on the phospholipase A 2 activity of the polypeptide, and determining inhibition on the phospholipase A 2 activity, wherein the polypeptide is an isolated and purified polypeptide selected from (a) or (b): (a) a polypeptide having the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:9; or (b) a polypeptide encoded by a nucleic acid capable of hybridizing under high-stringency conditions with the full complement of a nucleic acid having the nucleotide sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:8, wherein hybridization under high-stringency conditions with the full complement is carried out by hybridizing at 65° C. for 16 hours in a hybridization solution (6×SSC, 0.5%SDS, 5× Denhardt's solution, 100 μg/ml salmon sperm DNA), washing at 65° C. for 5 minutes in a washing solution (2×SSC, 0.5%SDS), and thereafter washing twice at 65° C. for 30 minutes in washing solution (0.1×SSC, 0.5%SDS).