The use of a bone morphogenetic protein (bmp) receptor complex for screening

摘要

The present invention relates to the use of a type II receptor that is shared between activins and bone morphogenetic proteins, together with a bone morphogenetic protein type I receptor, for screening cellular differentiation actives. The invention further relates to cells comprising DNA coding for this receptor and to that DNA. The present invention relates to a method for determining whether a compound is capable of binding to a new BMP complex and whether a test compound produces a signal upon binding to this BMP receptor protein complex. The invention further relates to a method for determining the concentration of a BMP receptor ligand in a clinical sample using a new BMP complex. The invention further relates to a host cell co-transfected with an expression vector comprising a DNA sequence that codes for components of this complex, or soluble fragments thereof.