Inhibition of Angiogenesis by a Novel Neutralizing Antibody Against Human Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor 3 (VEGFR-3).

Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-3 (VEGFR-3) and its ligands, vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) and D (VEGF-D), are the major molecules involved in the development of the embryonic vascular system and pathological lymphangiogenesis. Throughout embryogenesis, VEGFR-3 is expressed in most endothelial cells, whilst being restricted to lymphatic vessels later in development. This receptor plays a significant role in the normal development of blood and lymphatic vessels. In the present studies, we generated a novel panel of 17 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against the human VEGFR-3 and characterized their ability to inhibit the proliferation of human erythroleukemia (HEL) cells and angiogenesis of chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM). Among these mAbs, BDD073 was demonstrated to inhibit the interaction of soluble VEGFR-3 with VEGF-D and the proliferation of HEL cells. In CAM angiogenesis experiments, the angiogenesis induced by recombinant GST-VEGF-D was decreased in the presence of antibody BDD073. These data indicate that this novel neutralizing antibody against human VEGFR-3 not only might be a potential compounds in blocking the VEGF-D-induced angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis, but also be a tool for the investigations of biology of VEGFR-3 and analysis of lymphatic vessels in malignant tumors and their metastases.