Patent ID: 8071300

Claim:
A method of determining the ability of a patient to generate the phosphoric ester of the compound represented by general formula (I), which comprises the following steps (1) and (2): (1) measuring the expression level of a polypeptide in a blood sample collected from a subject, wherein the polypeptide is selected from the group consisting of: (a) a polypeptide having the amino acid sequence of amino acid residues 1-309 of SEQ ID NO: 2 in the sequence listing; and (b) a polypeptide having the amino acid sequence of amino acid residues 1-309 of SEQ ID NO: 4 in the sequence listing; and (2) comparing the expression level of the polypeptide measured in (1) above with the expression level of said polypeptide in a sample that has been confirmed as having the ability to phosphorylate in vivo the compound represented by general formula (I), so as to examine the ability of the subject to phosphorylate the compound represented by general formula (I), wherein the compound represented by general formula (I) has the formula: wherein each of R 1 and R 2 represents a hydrogen atom; R 3 represents a C1-C6 alkyl group or a hydroxymethyl group; R 4 represents a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom or a C1-C6 alkyl group; R 5 represents a phenyl group, a phenyl group which is substituted with 1 to 3 substituents selected from the group consisting of a halogen atom, a cyano group, a C1-C6 alkyl group, a C1-C6 alkoxy group, a C3-C6 cycloalkyl group, a halogeno C1-C6 alkyl group, a phenyl group and a benzyloxy group, a halogen atom or a hydrogen atom; X represents a vinylene group (CHâ•CH group), an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom or a methylamino group; Y represents a single bond, an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom or a carbonyl group; Z represents a single bond or a C1-C8 alkylene group; and n is 2 or 3.