| abstract |
The invention provides a method of reducing cancer progression comprising administering a Mx polypeptide or Mx-encoding nucleic acid to a host, such that the growth rate of the cancer cells is reduced, the metastatic potential of the cancer cells is reduced, or both. The invention also provides a method of assessing the metastatic potential of a cancer comprising (a) obtaining a sample of the cancer, (b) determining the level of Mx, Mx- nucleic acid, or both in the sample, and (c) comparing the level of Mx, Mx-encoding nucleic acid, or both with a control. In another aspect, the invention provides a method of assessing the ability of an agent to modulate the level of expression of an Mx comprising obtaining a cell expressing a known level of an Mx; contacting the cell with an agent to be tested; and assaying the cell for expression of the Mx to assess the ability of the agent to modulate Mx expression; alternatively, the method includes contacting a cell comprising a stable nucleic acid comprising the MxA promoter or other MxA regulatory sequence operably linked to one or more reporter genes to identify molecules that operably target such MxA nucleic acid sequences. |