Surprisingly, the present inventors have discovered that expression of
TAT-001 protein in human patients is associated with cancer, and that the
overexpressed protein is present in plasma membrane fractions. Thus, the
present inventors have discovered that TAT-001 is associated with
abnormal development and growth, and may be useful as a target for the
identification of anti-cancer compounds, including antibodies for use in
immunotherapy. Accordingly, the present invention provides methods for
the identification of compounds that inhibit TAT-001 expression or
activity, comprising: contacting a candidate compound with a TAT-001 and
detecting the presence or absence of binding between said compound and
said TAT-001, or detecting a change in TAT-001 expression or activity.
Methods are also included for the identification of anti-cancer compounds
and compounds that modulate TAT-001 expression or activity, comprising:
administering a compound to a cell or cell population, and detecting a
change in TAT-001 expression or activity.