TREATMENT OR PREVENTION OF CANCER OR CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE WITH METHENYLTETRAHYDROFOLATE SYNTHETASES

摘要

The present invention relates to a method of screening test substances for chemotherapeutic activity or for efficacy in treating cardiovascular disease by providing one or more cells transformed with a nucleic acid molecule encoding methenyltetrahydrofolate synthetase, contacting the cells with test substance(s), and identifying those test substances which modulate methenyltetrahydrofolate synthetase expression as candidates for such therapeutic use. Another aspect of the present invention relates to a method of measuring folate status in a sample by measuring methenyltetrahydrofolate synthetase expression or activity and/or catecholamine activity in the sample, all of which are correlated to folate status in the sample. The present invention can also be used to treat or prevent cancer or cardiovascular disease in a subject by administering to the subject a substance which modulates methenyltetrahydrofolate synthetase expression or activity and/or catecholamine activity.