The present invention provides isolated polypeptides having an amino acidsequence having at least 70 % identity to SEQ ID N0:20, wherein thepolypeptide has ER-.alpha.36 activity. The invention further provides methodsfor identifying agents that bind to such polypeptides, methods for detectingsuch polypeptides, and methods for altering the activity of such polypeptides.Also provided are antibodies that specifically bind to an amino acid sequencedepicted at SEQ ID NO:1, or an immunogenic fragment thereof, and methods formaking and using such antibodies.
