Claudin-18.2

Claudins (CLDNs) are a family of proteins that form tight junctions and maintain the polarity of epithelial and endothelial cells. CLDN18 is specifically expressed in the stomach and lung. Of the two CLDN18 isoform transcripts produced by alternative splicing, CLDN18.2 is a highly selective gastric lineage marker that determines the gastric phenotype in a neoplastic condition, whereas CLDN18.1 is lung specific. CLDN18.2 is a highly selective gastric lineage antigen expressed exclusively on short-lived differentiated gastric epithelial cells where it has only limited accessibility to antibody drugs.14,15 CLDN18.2 is maintained during the course of malignant transformation and thus frequently displayed on the surface of human gastric cancer cells.