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 ELISA screening allowed us to isolate several hybridoma clones that showed specificity towards FGFR3/S249C, but not FGFR3wt protein. Unfortunately, these clones were not stable during single-cell cloning and expansion and lost the ability to recognize specifically FGFR3/S249C. However, this study allowed us to generate several monoclonal antibodies specific towards both FGFR3wt and FGFR3/S249C recombinant proteins. Produced hybridomas secreted MAbs that were specific in Western blotting towards bacterially expressed FGFR3wt and FGFR3/S249C, as well as the full-length receptors ectopically expressed in Sf21 and HEK293 cells. Moreover, transiently expressed wild-type and oncogenic forms of FGFR were efficiently immunoprecipitated with selected antibodies from the lysates of infected Sf21 and transiently transfected HEK293. In summary, generated antibodies should be useful as tools for examining the expression pattern and biological functions of FGFR3 in normal and pathological cells and tissues.