The phosphatase PTPRG controls FGFR1 activity and influences sensitivity to FGFR kinase inhibitors

FGFR1 represents an important target for precision medicine and a detailed molecular understanding of the target is important in order to increase the efficacy of FGFR inhibitors. We have here applied proximity labelling of FGFR1 in an osteosarcoma cell line to identify determinants of FGFR1 activity. Many known FGFR interactors were identified (e.g. FRS2, PLC{gamma}, RSK2, SHC4, SRC), but the data also suggested novel determinants. A strong hit in our screen was the tyrosine phosphatase PTPRG. We show that PTPRG and FGFR1 interact and colocalize at the plasma membrane where PTPRG directly dephosphorylates activated FGFR1. We further show that osteosarcoma cell lines depleted for PTPRG display increased FGFR activity and are hypersensitive to stimulation by FGF1. In addition, PTPRG depletion elevated cell growth and negatively affected the efficacy of FGFR kinase inhibitors. Thus, PTPRG may have future clinical relevance by being a predictor of outcome after FGFR inhibitor treatment.