This invention relates to growth regulatory proteins expressed in various disease
states, especially receptor tyrosine kinases and similar growth factor receptors.
Prior to the Applicants invention, it was not clear that specific antibodies could
be generated that recognized peptide epitopes comprising phosphotyrosine in the
context of its surrounding amino acid sequence. Applicants generated antibodies
to such phosphotyrosine specific peptides, distinct from antibodies that recognize
only phosphotyrosine itself. The invention includes methods for producing phosphopeptide
specific antibodies by removing contaminating antibody specificities by negative
and/or positive selections. Phosphospecific antibodies and their uses in immunodetection,
diagnostic or therapeutic applications are also disclosed.
