Patent ID: 7977059

Claim:
A method for identifying a compound which binds to a polypeptide, comprising: (a) contacting: (i) a polypeptide; or (ii) a cell expressing the polypeptide with a test compound; and (b) determining whether the polypeptide binds to the test compound, wherein the polypeptide is selected from the group consisting of: (1) a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence which is at least 95% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1; (2) a polypeptide which is encoded by a nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleotide sequence which is at least 90% identical to a nucleic acid comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:2, SEQ ID NO:3, or the nucleotide sequence of the DNA insert of the plasmid deposited with ATCC as Accession Number PTA-1642; and (3) a polypeptide comprising at least 100 contiguous amino acids of the sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:1.