Monoclonal antibodies can be seen as valuable tools for many aspects of basic\nas well as applied sciences. In the case of MET/HGFR, they allowed the identification of\ntruncated isoforms of the receptor, as well as the dissection of different epitopes,\nestablishing structureââ?¬â??function relationships. Antibodies directed against MET extracellular\ndomain were found to be full or partial receptor agonists or antagonists. The agonists can\nmimic the effects of the different isoforms of the natural ligand, but with the advantage of\nbeing more stable than the latter. Thus, some agonist antibodies promote all the biological\nresponses triggered by MET activation, including motility, proliferation, morphogenesis,\nand protection from apoptosis, while others can induce only a migratory response. On the\nother hand, antagonists can inhibit MET-driven biological functions either by competing\nwith the ligand or by removing the receptor from the cell surface. Since MET/HGFR is\noften over-expressed and/or aberrantly activated in tumors, monoclonal antibodies can be\nused as probes for MET detection or as ââ?¬Å?bulletsââ?¬Â to target MET-expressing tumor cells,\nthus pointing to their use in diagnosis and therapy.
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