Regulation of human g protein coupled receptor

An isolated and purified protein comprising a first polypeptide segment comprising the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:6.

An isolated and purified protein comprising an amino acid sequence which differs from the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:6 by between one and ten conservative amino acid substitutions and which has a G protein-coupled receptor activity.

A purified preparation of antibodies which specifically bind to a human protein comprising the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:6.

An isolated and purified polynucleotide which encodes the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:6.

An isolated and purified single-stranded polynucleotide comprising at least 8 contiguous nucleotides of a coding sequence or a complement of the coding sequence for the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:6.

An expression construct, comprising;

• a coding sequence for the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:6;
• and
• a promoter which is located upstream from the coding sequence and which controls expression of the coding sequence.

A host cell comprising an expression construct, wherein the expression construct comprises:

• a coding sequence for a protein comprising the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:6;
• and
• a promoter which is located upstream from the coding sequence and which controls expression of the coding sequence.

A method of producing a protein, comprising the steps of:

• culturing a host cell in a culture medium, wherein the host cell comprises an expression construct comprising (a) a coding sequence for a protein comprising the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:6 and (b) a promoter which is located upstream from the coding sequence and which controls expression of the coding sequence, wherein the step of culturing is carried out under conditions whereby the protein is expressed;
• and
• recovering the protein.

A method of treating, comprising the step of:

• administering to a patient having a disorder associated with increased expression of a gene encoding a protein comprising the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:6 an effective amount of a reagent that either (a) decreases expression of the gene or (b) decreases effective levels of the protein encoded by the gene, whereby symptoms of the disorder are reduced.

A method of screening for candidate therapeutic agents, comprising the steps of:

• assaying for expression of a polynucleotide encoding a protein comprising the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:6 in the presence and absence of a test compound;
• and
• identifying a test compound that regulates the expression as a candidate therapeutic agent that may be useful for treating a disorder associated with aberrant expression of the polynucleotide.

A pharmaceutical composition comprising:

• a reagent which binds to an expression product of a human gene which encodes a protein comprising the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:6;
• and
• a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.

A pharmaceutical composition comprising:

• a protein comprising the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:6;
• and
• a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.

A pharmaceutical composition comprising:

• a polynucleotide encoding a protein comprising the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:6;
• and
• a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.