Volume 272, Number 39,
Issue of September 26, 1997
pp. 24165-24169
©1997 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.
Construction, Expression, and Characterization of BD1-G28-5 sFv,
a Single-chain Anti-CD40 Immunotoxin Containing the
Ribosome-inactivating Protein Bryodin 1
(Received for publication, April 30, 1997)
Joseph A.
Francisco
,
Susan L.
Gawlak
and
Clay B.
Siegall
From the Molecular Immunology Department, Bristol-Myers Squibb
Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98121
The major limitation to the use of immunotoxins
in the clinic is the toxicity associated with the toxin moiety.
BD1-G28-5 single-chain Fv (sFv) is a single-chain immunotoxin targeted
to human CD40 and consists of bryodin 1 (BD1), a plant
ribosome-inactivating protein that is 20-30-fold less toxic in animals
than commonly used toxins, fused to the sFv region of the anti-CD40
monoclonal antibody G28-5. This immunotoxin was expressed in
Escherichia coli and purified from refolded inclusion
bodies. BD1-G28-5 sFv retained the full protein synthesis inhibition
activity of recombinant BD1 and specifically bound to CD40 with a
binding affinity, kd, of 1.5 nM, within
10-fold of the bivalent parental monoclonal antibody. BD1-G28-5 sFv was
potently cytotoxic against CD40-expressing B lineage non-Hodgkin's
lymphoma and multiple myeloma cell lines, with EC50 values
in the ng/ml range, but not against a CD40-negative T cell line.
Interestingly, BD1-G28-5 sFv was not cytotoxic against CD40-expressing
carcinoma cell lines that were sensitive to a BD1-based immunotoxin
conjugate targeted to the Ley carbohydrate antigen. These
data represent the first report indicating that BD1 can be used in the
construction of potent single-chain immunotoxins. Additionally,
although BD1-G28-5 sFv effectively killed CD40-expressing hematologic
malignancies, its lack of activity against CD40-expressing carcinomas
suggests that CD40-mediated trafficking of BD1 differs in the two
cancer types.