Patent ID: 7556931

Claim:
A method for identifying an agonist of HM74 comprising, contacting a potential agonist with a cell expressing HM74 and determining whether in the presence of said potential agonist the signaling activity of HM74 is increased relative to the activity of HM74 in the absence of said potential agonist, wherein said potential agonist has the structure: wherein R or W are hydrogen, or C 1 -C 18 alkyl, which may be branched, may contain a heteroatom or may be substituted, or combinations thereof; C 1 -C 18 alkenyl, which may be branched, may contain a heteroatom or may be substituted, or combinations thereof; a C 1 -C 18 alkynl, which may be branched, may contain a heteroatom or may be substituted, or combinations thereof; a C 3 -C 18 aryl, which may contain a side group, may contain a bridge, may contain a heteroatom or may be substituted, or combinations thereof; or a C 5 -C 18 cycloalkyl, which may contain a side group, may contain a bridge, may contain a heteroatom or may be substituted, or combinations thereof; Q and X each is O, S or NR; Y is C 1 -C 18 alkyl, which may be branched, may contain a heteroatom or may be substituted, or combinations thereof; C 1 -C 18 alkenyl, which may be branched, may contain a heteroatom or may be substituted, or combinations thereof; a C 1 -C 18 alkynl, which may be branched, may contain a heteroatom or may be substituted, or combinations thereof; a C 3 -C 18 aryl which may contain a side group, may contain a bridge, may contain a heteroatom or may be substituted, or combinations thereof; or a C 5 -C 18 cycloalkyl, which may contain a side group, may contain a bridge, may contain a heteroatom or may be substituted, or combinations thereof; wherein X and Y can be fused into one or more rings when X is N, wherein, said ring is a C 3 -C 18 heterocycle, which may be branched and which may contain a side group, a C 3 -C 18 heteroaryl, which may be branched and which may contain a side group, a substituted C 3 -C 18 cycloalkyl, which may be branched and which may contain a side group or C 3 -C 18 aryl, which may be branched and which may contain a side group; each Z is R and further when R is hydrogen and Q is oxygen or sulfur, then W is not hydrogen.