Patent ID: 8685641

Claim:
A method of screening for a compound for treating or preventing bladder cancer, said method comprising the steps of: (a) contacting a test compound with a polypeptide selected from the group consisting of: (1) a polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 2, 4, and 6; (2) a polypeptide that comprises the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 2, 4, and 6 or a sequence having at least about 80% homology to said sequence; and (3) a polypeptide encoded by a polynucleotide that hybridizes under stringent conditions to a polynucleotide consisting of the nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 1, 3, and 5, wherein the polypeptide has a biological activity equivalent to a polypeptide consisting of the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 2, 4, and 6; (b) detecting the biological activity of the polypeptide of step (a); and (c) selecting a compound that suppresses the biological activity of the polypeptide in comparison with the biological activity detected in the absence of the test compound; wherein the biological activity is cell-proliferating activity in a bladder cancer cell.