Compositions for diagnosis and therapy of diseases associated with aberrant expression of futrins (r-spondins) and/or wnt
AssigneeDeutsches Krebsforschungszentrum
InventorsChristof NIEHRS, Wei WU, Andrey GLINKA, Olga KAZANSKAYA
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention relates to a composition useful for the diagnosis of diseases associated with aberrant expression of the genes encoding the secreted proteins Futrin 1, 2, 3 and/or 4(=R-Spondin 2, 3, 1 and 4, respectively), e.g. in connection with tumors or diseases of the muscle, kidneys or bones. The present invention also relates to a pharmaceutical composition containing a compound which is capable of modifying (a) the expression of the gene encoding Futrin 1, 2, 3 and/or 4 or (b) the activity of the Futrin 1, 2, 3 and/or 4 protein.
Claims13
1-20 (canceled)
A method for determining whether an anti-Futrin 2 antibody inhibits Wnt signaling comprising the steps of
- (a) providing a mammalian cell in culture comprising a Futrin 2 polypeptide and a Wnt inducible reporter, wherein the Futrin 2 polypeptide comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:27, the amino acid sequence of amino acids 21-272 of SEQ ID NO:27, the amino acid sequence of amino acids 1-149 of SEQ ID NO:27, or the amino acid sequence of amino acids 21-149 of SEQ ID NO:27,
- (b) contacting the cell with a monoclonal antibody that binds Futrin 2 polypeptide, and
- (c) detecting the level of reporter expression in the cell in the presence and absence of the antibody, wherein a decrease in the level of reporter expression in the presence of the antibody indicates that the antibody is an antagonist of Wnt signaling.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.