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.