A new polyclonal antibody that recognizes a human receptor for hyaluronan mediated motility.

The receptor for hyaluronan mediated motility (RHAMM), a hyaluronan (HA) binding protein, has been shown to play an important role in the motility and invasiveness of malignant cells. We have developed a polyclonal antibody against human RHAMM. A new polyclonal antibody was raised against a mixture of C-terminal RHAMM, which is capable of binding to HA, and the central domain. The antibody showed immunoreactivity to these two peptides, and detected a 95 kDa protein. Immunohistochemically, RHAMM detected by the antibody was present in the cytoplasm and nucleus of malignant B cells. Binding of HA to RHAMM was almost completely blocked by this antibody. These findings suggest that our antibody recognizes RHAMM protein and is useful for blocking HA binding to RHAMM. Copyright 2004 Elsevier Ireland Ltd.