Generation of monoclonal antibody targeting fibroblast growth factor receptor 3.

Fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) is a member of the FGFR family of receptor tyrosine kinases, whose function has been implicated in diverse biological processes, including cell proliferation, differentiation, survival, and tumorigenesis. Deregulation of FGFR3 signaling has been implicated with human pathologies, including cancer. Activating mutations in FGFR3 gene are frequently detected in bladder cancer, multiple myeloma, and noninvasive papillary urothelial cell carcinomas, while the overexpression of the receptor is observed in thyroid lymphoma and bladder cancer. The main aim of this study was to generate hybridoma clones producing antibody that could specifically recognize FGFR3/S249C mutant, but not the wild-type FGFR. To achieve this, we used for immunization bacterially expressed fragment of FGFR3 corresponding to loops II-III of the extracellular domain (GST-His/FGFR3/S249C-LII-III), which possesses oncogenic mutation at Ser249 detected in at least 50% of bladder cancers. Primary ELIS...