Diagnostics and therapeutics for diseases associated with aminopeptidase-like 1 (npepl1)

A method of screening for therapeutic agents useful in the treatment of a disease selected from the group consisting of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, dermatological diseases, gastroenterological diseases, metabolic diseases, inflammation, hematological diseases, respiratory diseases, neurological diseases and urological diseases in a mammal, comprising the steps of

• i) determining activity of a NPEPL1 polypeptide at a certain concentration of a test compound or in the absence of said test compound, and
• ii) determining the activity of said polypeptide at a different concentration of said test compound.

A method of screening for therapeutic agents useful in the treatment of a disease selected from the group consisting of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, dermatological diseases, gastroenterological diseases, metabolic diseases, inflammation, hematological diseases, respiratory diseases, neurological diseases and urological diseases in a mammal, comprising the steps of

• i) determining the activity of a NPEPL1 polypeptide at a certain concentration of a test compound, and
• ii) determining the activity of a NPEPL1 polypeptide at the presence of a compound known to be a regulator of a NPEPL1 polypeptide.

A method of screening for therapeutic agents useful in the treatment of a disease selected from the group consisting of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, dermatological diseases, gastroenterological diseases, metabolic diseases, inflammation, hematological diseases, respiratory diseases, neurological diseases and urological diseases in a mammal, comprising the steps of

• i) contacting a test compound with a NPEPL1 polynucleotide, and
• ii) detecting binding of said test compound to said NPEPL1 polynucleotide.

A method of diagnosing a disease selected from the group consisting of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, dermatological diseases, gastroenterological diseases, metabolic diseases, inflammation, hematological diseases, respiratory diseases, neurological diseases and urological diseases in a mammal, comprising the steps of

• i) determining the amount of a NPEPL1 polynucleotide in a sample taken from said mammal, and
• ii) determining the amount of NPEPL1 polynucleotide in healthy and/or diseased mammals.

19-20. (canceled)

A pharmaceutical composition for the treatment of a disease selected from the group consisting of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, dermatological diseases, gastroenterological diseases, metabolic diseases, inflammation, hematological diseases, respiratory diseases, neurological diseases and urological diseases in a mammal, comprising a NPEPL1 polynucleotide.

A pharmaceutical composition for the treatment of a disease selected from the group consisting of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, dermatological diseases, gastroenterological diseases, metabolic diseases, inflammation, hematological diseases, respiratory diseases, neurological diseases and urological diseases in a mammal, comprising a NPEPL1 polypeptide.

24-26. (canceled)