Patent ID: 7166428

Claim:
A method for identifying a candidate compound which binds to a polypeptide selected from the group consisting of: a) a polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:2; b) a polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence encoded by the cDNA insert of the plasmid deposited with ATCC as Patent Deposit Number PTA-3439; and c) a polypeptide encoded by the nucleotide sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:1 or SEQ ID NQ:3; wherein the compound is capable of modulating cellular growth or proliferation of cancer cells in vitro, the method comprising: i) contacting a sample comprising the polypeptide with a test compound under conditions suitable for binding; ii) detecting binding of the test compound to the polypeptide to identify a test compound that binds to the polypeptide; iii) incubating the test compound which binds to the polypeptide with cancer cells; and iv) determining whether the test compound modulates cellular growth or proliferation of the cancer cells; thereby identifying a candidate compound capable of modulating cellular growth or proliferation of cancer cells in vitro.