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Biomedical subjects

I Pastan

Publications and source records attributed to I Pastan.

At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Rapid humanization of the Fv of monoclonal antibody B3 by using framework exchange of the recombinant immunotoxin B3(Fv)-PE38.

B3(Fv)-PE38 is a recombinant single-chain immunotoxin in which the Fv region of carcinoma-specific antibody B3 is fused to a truncated form of Pseudomonas exotoxin (PE). The efficacy of monoclonal antibody B3 and B3 immunotoxins in cancer therapy and diagnosis may be limited by the human anti-mouse response. Here we describe the humanization of the Fv of B3(Fv)-PE38 by "framework exchange." The variable domains of the heavy (VH) and light (VL) chains were aligned with their best human homologs to identify framework residues that differ. Initially, 11 framework residues in VH and six in VL were changed by site-specific mutagenesis to human residues and introduced simultaneously into a preassembled single-chain Fv expression cassette. Six VH and five VL residues that differ were not changed because they were buried, in the interdomain interface, or previously found to result in decreased affinity when mutated. This basic design resulted in some 20-fold loss of activity. Changing VL residues at the interdomain interfacial position 100 and at the buried position 104 to the human sequence increased the activity 8-fold. Changing VH residue at position 82b from the human sequence back to that of the mouse restored the activity 2- to 3-fold to the full binding and cytotoxic activity of the mouse sequence. Humanized B3(Fv)-PE38 lost immunogenic epitopes recognized by sera from monkeys that had been immunized with B3(Fv)-PE38.

ADP Ribose Transferases↗
PubMed1994

Small chimeric toxins containing only transforming growth factor alpha and domain III of Pseudomonas exotoxin with good antitumor activity in mice.

Chimeric toxins composed of transforming growth factor alpha (TGF alpha) fused to mutant forms of Pseudomonas exotoxin (PE) bind to the epidermal growth factor receptor and kill cells bearing epidermal growth factor receptors. Initially, the binding domain (Ia; amino acids 1-252) of PE was deleted and replaced with TGF alpha to make TGF alpha-PE40 in which TGF alpha is fused to domains II, Ib, and III of PE (amino acids 253-613). That drug is currently undergoing clinical study for the intravesical therapy of bladder cancer. To generate smaller molecules that would have increased tumor penetration, several deletion mutants were constructed. In one of these, TGF alpha was inserted near the carboxyl terminus of PE, and residues in domains II and Ib of PE (amino acids 253-279 and 365-380) were deleted so that the chimeric toxin did not need to be cleaved by an intracellular protease to be activated (Theuer et al., J. Biol. Chem., 267: 16872-16877, 1992). We have now constructed chimeric toxins which contain only domain III, yet still exhibit high cytotoxic activity on epidermal growth factor receptor-containing cells and produce substantial tumor regressions in mice bearing a human xenograft. The high cytotoxic activity of these severely truncated toxins provides new insights on the proposed functions of domains II and III of PE.

Adenosine Diphosphate Ribose↗
PubMed1994

Site-specific conjugation to interleukin 4 containing mutated cysteine residues produces interleukin 4-toxin conjugates with improved binding and activity.

Fusion of a ligand to another protein frequently impairs the binding of the ligand. Recombinant toxins composed of mutants of Pseudomonas exotoxin (PE) fused to the C-terminus of human interleukin 4 (IL4) are cytotoxic to IL4 receptor- (IL4R-) bearing tumor cells but bind to the IL4R with only 1% the affinity of IL4. We have developed a method to connect a toxin to a ligand which allows the junction to be moved to a location on the ligand which would minimize the binding impairment. We designed mutants of IL4 in which residue 28, 38, 68, 70, 97, or 105 was substituted with cysteine. All purified mutants bound to the IL4R with 60-100% the affinity of IL4, indicating that the IL4 structure was essentially unchanged. The IL4 mutants were then each conjugated through a disulfide bond to PE35, a truncated form of PE which contains a single cysteine. IL4 conjugated to PE35 at residue 28, 38, or 105 of IL4 bound with 10-fold improved affinity and was 10-fold more cytotoxic than the recombinant IL4-toxin in which PE is fused to position 129 at the C-terminus of IL4. IL4 containing PE35 conjugated at position 68, 70, or 97 had lower binding affinity and cytotoxic activity. These results indicate that the location of the ligand-protein junction can be selectively moved to enhance conjugate effectiveness, and implications could be made regarding which regions of IL4 are important for binding.

ADP Ribose Transferases↗
PubMed1994

A novel mutant topoisomerase II alpha present in VP-16-resistant human melanoma cell lines has a deletion of alanine 429.

The human melanoma cell line FEM-X was selected in multiple steps with VP-16 (etoposide) and an inhibitor of P-glycoprotein (Campain et al., 1993). The resulting clones, FVP1b and FVP3, are highly resistant to the nonintercalative epipodophyllotoxins and exhibit moderate levels of resistance to doxorubicin. The topoisomerase II activity present in crude nuclear extracts from mutant and wild-type cells is similar in amount and equally sensitive to VP-16. However, in live cells, the topoisomerase II from FVP1b and FVP3 is much less susceptible to drug-induced cleavable complex formation than is that from FEM-X. Using reverse transcription followed by the polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), we have cloned and sequenced the entire cDNA for topoisomerase II alpha from FEM-X and FVP3. The only sequence change unique to the cDNA from drug-resistant cells is a 3 bp deletion of nucleotide 1320-1322, resulting in a deletion of Ala429. Three FEM-X sublines of increasing resistance were tested, and the prevalence of the mutant RNA over wild-type increases in these cells in parallel with their resistance to VP-16. In FVP3, the most highly resistant line, expression of the wild-type allele is barely detectable. Analysis of genomic DNA shows that FEM-X is homozygous for the wild-type topoisomerase II alpha sequence and that each of the drug-resistant clones possesses both wild-type and mutant alleles. Although not definitive, these genetic results suggest that the deletion of Ala429 from topoisomerase II alpha makes the enzyme less susceptible to drug-induced cleavable complex formation and confers a growth advantage upon cells in the presence of VP-16.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Mem↗
PubMed1994

Interleukin-4 receptors expressed on tumor cells may serve as a target for anticancer therapy using chimeric Pseudomonas exotoxin.

Interleukin-4 receptors (IL4R) are present on a wide variety of human cancer cells derived from both hematopoietic and epithelial malignancies. We have targeted IL4R on a human solid tumor xenograft with chimeric proteins composed of human IL4 (hIL4) and 2 different mutant forms of a powerful bacterial toxin, Pseudomonas exotoxin A (PE). The 2 chimeric toxins, termed hIL4-PE4E and hIL4-PE38QQR, showed specific, hIL4R-dependent and dose-dependent antitumor activities. Neither of the chimeric toxins showed antitumor potency when the ADP-ribosylation activity of the toxin was inactivated by mutagenesis. One of the chimeras, hIL4-PE38QQR, caused a complete although transient regression of established solid tumors. These observations indicate that hIL4-PE chimeric proteins should be further evaluated for the treatment of human malignancies.

ADP Ribose Transferases↗
PubMed1994

Human neurological cancer cells express interleukin-4 (IL-4) receptors which are targets for the toxic effects of IL4-Pseudomonas exotoxin chimeric protein.

Glioblastoma, glioma or neuroblastoma cells were examined for the expression of IL-4 receptors (IL-4R) by flow cytometric analysis and 125I-IL-4 binding. These cancer cell lines expressed IL-4R which were of high affinity (KD = 700 x 10(-12) M) on glioblastoma cells. To investigate the function of these receptors and to target potent cytotoxic antitumor agents to human neurological cancers, we utilized IL4-PE4E, which is composed of IL-4 and mutant Pseudomonas exotoxin (IL4-PE4E). This chimeric molecule was cytotoxic toward human glioblastoma, neuroblastoma and glioma tumor cells in a dose-dependent manner. The cytotoxicity of IL4-PE4E was specific, since it was neutralized by excess IL-4, and by an anti-IL-4 monoclonal antibody in all types of brain tumor tested. IL2-PE4E and IL6-PE4E were not cytotoxic, nor was an IL4-PE4E mutant lacking ADP-ribosylating activity, indicating the IL4-PE4E-mediated cytotoxicity of the brain tumor cells required both IL-4R binding and enzymatic toxin activity. These data indicate that human neurological cancer cells express IL-4R which are targets for the cytotoxic effects of IL4-toxin. In addition, our data also suggest that IL4-PE4E should be studied further as a potential treatment for human neurological cancers.

ADP Ribose Transferases↗
PubMed1994

GTP-stimulated phosphorylation of P-glycoprotein in transporting vesicles from KB-V1 multidrug resistant cells.

We have previously shown that GTP can replace ATP as an energy source to support vinblastine transport by the multidrug transporter P-glycoprotein (Pgp) in plasma membrane vesicles isolated from the multidrug resistant cell line KB-V1 [Lelong et al. (1992) FEBS Lett. 304, 256-260]. Like [gamma-32P]ATP, [gamma-32P]GTP was also able to phosphorylate Pgp in vitro. Unlabeled GTP enhanced the phosphorylation of the transporter by [gamma-32P]ATP, whereas unlabeled ATP inhibited incorporation of label. While phosphorylation by [gamma-32P]ATP was Mg(2+)-dependent, the enhanced phosphorylation of Pgp by GTP was supported by Mg2+ or Mn2+ and to a lesser extent, Ca2+. Specific inhibitors of cAMP-dependent protein kinase, protein kinase C and cGMP-dependent protein kinase, did not affect phosphorylation. The phosphoprotein phosphatase inhibitor okadaic acid slightly enhanced phosphorylation, and vanadate more dramatically increased phosphorylation of the transporter. Tryptic maps of Pgp phosphorylated peptides indicate that addition of GTP altered the relative labeling of phosphopeptides. These results suggest that the overall phosphorylation of Pgp in vitro is determined by several different protein kinases and phosphatases, at least one of which may be GTP-regulated.

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Mem↗
PubMed1994

A circularly permuted recombinant interleukin 4 toxin with increased activity.

Fusion of ligands such as growth factors to other proteins often dramatically reduces the affinity of the ligand for its receptor. With recombinant DNA techniques, the attachment point between the two proteins has until now been restricted to either the amino or the carboxyl terminus of the ligand. However, binding may be greatly compromised if both ends are close to the site at which the ligand binds to its receptor. To construct a single-chain growth factor fusion protein with the connection at a new site on the growth factor, we constructed a DNA fragment encoding circularly permuted interleukin 4 (IL4), termed IL4(38-37). This was accomplished by placing a start codon before position 38, connecting codons 1 and 129 with a sequence encoding a peptide linker, and placing a stop codon after codon 37 of IL4. IL4(38-37) was fused via its new carboxyl terminus, Lys37, to a truncated form of Pseudomonas exotoxin. The purified circularly permuted IL4-toxin bound to the IL4 receptor with 10-fold higher affinity than an IL4-toxin in which the toxin was fused to the carboxyl terminus of IL4. Circular permuteins of growth factors can improve the effectiveness of recombinant fusion proteins, because the junction can be moved to a site on the growth factor which allows it to bind with higher affinity.

ADP Ribose Transferases↗
PubMed1994

Improved binding and antitumor activity of a recombinant anti-erbB2 immunotoxin by disulfide stabilization of the Fv fragment.

e23(dsFv)-PE38KDEL is a recombinant immunotoxin composed of the Fv region of anti-erbB2 monoclonal antibody e23 connected to a truncated form of Pseudomonas exotoxin (PE38KDEL), in which the inherently unstable Fv heterodimer (composed of VH and VL) is stabilized by a disulfide bond engineered between structurally conserved framework positions of VH and VL. We have now found that e23(dsFv)-PE38KDEL is considerably more cytotoxic to antigen-positive cell lines than the corresponding single-chain immunotoxin. The basis for the enhanced cytotoxic activity is that the e23 dsFv-immunotoxin binds to erbB2 with greater affinity than the single-chain counterpart. The dsFv-immunotoxin had 4-fold increased binding compared to the scFv and almost identical to the binding affinity of e23 Fab. e23(dsFv)-PE38KDEL was also considerably more stable at 37 degrees C than the single-chain immunotoxin. The therapeutic potential of the disulfide-stabilized immunotoxin was compared with its single-chain counterpart using two animal models of immunodeficient mice bearing subcutaneous tumor xenografts of human gastric tumor N87 cells or human A431 epidermoid carcinoma cells. The antitumor effect of e23(dsFv)-PE38KDEL was significantly better than that of the single-chain immunotoxin. e23(dsFv)-PE38KDEL caused complete regression of tumors at doses which caused no toxic effects in mice, whereas the single-chain immunotoxin did not cause complete regressions at the same doses.

ADP Ribose Transferases↗
PubMed1994

Cytotoxic and antitumor activity of a recombinant immunotoxin composed of disulfide-stabilized anti-Tac Fv fragment and truncated Pseudomonas exotoxin.

Disulfide-stabilized Fv (dsFv)-immunotoxins are recombinant immunotoxins in which the inherently unstable Fv moiety, composed of the VH-VL heterodimer, is stabilized by a disulfide bond engineered between structurally conserved framework positions of VH and VL. Anti-Tac(dsFv)-PE38KDEL is composed of such a dsFv, directed to the alpha subunit of the IL2 receptor (IL2R), and containing a truncated form of Pseudomonas exotoxin (PE38KDEL). We have found this new type of immunotoxin to be indistinguishable in its in vitro activity and specificity from its single-chain immunotoxin counterpart, anti-Tac(Fv)-PE38KDEL. We have now examined the therapeutically relevant factors, including stability, pharmacokinetics, and antitumor activity of this new disulfide-stabilized Fv-immunotoxin. We found that anti-Tac(dsFv)-PE38KDEL was specifically cytotoxic to human activated T-lymphocytes in addition to IL2R bearing cell lines. Anti-Tac(dsFv)-PE38KDEL was considerably more stable at 37 degrees C in human serum and in buffered saline than the single-chain immunotoxin, anti-Tac(Fv)-PE38KDEL. The half-life in blood was similar for both immunotoxins (approx. 20 min). The therapeutic potential of the disulfide-stabilized immunotoxin was evaluated using an animal model of immunodeficient mice bearing subcutaneous tumor xenografts of human IL2R-bearing cells. Anti-Tac(dsFv)-PE38KDEL caused complete regression of tumors with no toxic effects in mice. Because dsFv-immunotoxins are more stable and can be produced with significantly improved yields compared to scFv-immunotoxins, dsFv-immunotoxin may be more useful for therapeutic applications.

ADP Ribose Transferases↗
PubMed1994

B3(Fab)-PE38M: a recombinant immunotoxin in which a mutant form of Pseudomonas exotoxin is fused to the Fab fragment of monoclonal antibody B3.

Recombinant immunotoxins were made by fusing the Fab domain of monoclonal antibody (MAb) B3 to PE38M, a truncated mutant form of Pseudomonas exotoxin (PE). The recombinant toxins were made in Escherichia coli by fusing genes encoding the antibody domains to a gene encoding the mutant form of PE. MAb B3 binds to a carbohydrate antigen found on many kinds of carcinomas. Immunotoxins in which MAb B3 has been chemically coupled to recombinant forms of PE have been shown to be very active cytotoxic agents. PE has also been targeted to tumor cells by replacing the cell-binding domain of PE (domain I) with a single-chain antibody to make a single-chain immunotoxin. In the current study, PE38M, a mutant form of PE, with a deletion of the cell-binding domain (amino acids 1-252) as well as mutations in domain III and some nonessential sequences in domain Ib (amino acids 365-380), was fused to the light chain of MAb B3. This protein was renatured in the presence of the Fd fragment of MAb B3 to produce a Fab-toxin fusion protein. Alternatively, the Fd fragment of MAb B3 was fused to PE38M and combined with the light chain. Both types of B3(Fab)-PE38M were just as active on target cells as previously described single-chain immunotoxins. Furthermore, the B3(Fab)-PE38M produced complete remissions of human tumor xenografts growing in nude mice. B3(Fab)-PE38M has two advantages over single-chain immunotoxins. One is that the yield of recombinant Fab-toxin is very high, with 10-22% of the starting protein recovered as cytotoxically active immunotoxin after chromatographic purification. The second is that the B3(Fab)-PE38M has a much longer survival in the circulation of mice with a t1/2 beta of approximately 5 h.

ADP Ribose Transferases↗
PubMed1994

Anti-Tac(Fab)-PE40, a recombinant double-chain immunotoxin which kills interleukin-2-receptor-bearing cells and induces complete remission in an in vivo tumor model.

We have produced a single plasmid encoding both the heavy chain Fd domain (VH + CH1) of the anti-interleukin-2 receptor (IL2R) monoclonal antibody anti-Tac, and the anti-Tac light chain fused to PE40, a truncated derivative of Pseudomonas exotoxin. The active immunotoxin anti-Tac(Fab)-PE40 could be recovered from E. coli from either periplasm or renatured inclusion bodies. The double-chain immunotoxin was very cytotoxic toward IL2R-bearing cell lines, human activated T cells and fresh adult-T-cell-leukemia cells. The cytotoxicity was similar to that of anti-Tac(Fv)-PE40, the single-chain recombinant toxin containing only the variable domains of anti-Tac. IL2R-binding affinity was also equivalent to that of anti-Tac(Fv)-PE40, which is one-third that of anti-Tac. The serum half-life in mice was significantly prolonged as compared with anti-Tac(Fv)-PE40, with a beta phase of 430 vs. 57 minutes, but the LD50s were equivalent when the immunotoxins were administered in 3 daily doses. Anti-Tac(Fab)-PE40 was very cytotoxic in vitro toward transfected ATAC-4 carcinoma cells which express IL2Rs. In mice bearing ATAC-4 tumors, anti-Tac(Fab)-PE40 showed significant anti-tumor activity, inducing complete remissions in 80 and 100% of treated animals at approximately 7 and 14% respectively of the LD50. Anti-Tac(Fab)-PE40 was much more effective in vitro and in vivo than chemical conjugates between anti-Tac and truncated PE molecules. The recombinant Fab toxin should be studied further as potential treatment for IL2R-related malignancies, particularly if smaller recombinant immunotoxins have insufficient half-life in humans.

ADP Ribose Transferases↗
PubMed1994

Gene transfer of drug resistance genes. Implications for cancer therapy.

Two general approaches to the gene therapy of cancer have been proposed: (1) strategies that use exogenous genes to modify cancer cells so that they are less malignant or more susceptible to host defenses or to killing by exogenous agents; and (2) approaches that modify host cells so that they are more effective in eliminating cancer cells or more resistant to agents that are used to treat cancer. In both cases, the development of vectors that encode in vivo selectable phenotypes, such as drug resistance, would be extremely valuable because of the inherent inefficiency of gene transfer and the potential of such vectors to protect normal tissues against toxic agents. To allow the selection of cells in vivo that have been transduced with vectors for gene therapy, we have utilized the human multidrug resistance (MDR1) gene. The product of this gene is a 170,000-dalton glycoprotein known as P-glycoprotein, which acts as an energy-dependent efflux pump for a great many cytotoxic anticancer drugs, including doxorubicin, daunorubicin, etoposide, teniposide, actinomycin D, and taxol. Vectors encoding an MDR1 cDNA are able to transduce many cell types, including bone marrow cells, with high efficiency to allow selection of drug resistance in vitro and in vivo in mouse models. Thus, it should be possible to protect the bone marrow of patients undergoing intensive chemotherapy by transduction of their bone marrow with MDR1 vectors. Furthermore, the ability to select for the presence of the MDR1 cDNA in vivo means that it can be used to introduce otherwise nonselectable genes into the bone marrow for therapy of cancer and other diseases.

3T3 Cells↗
PubMed1994

Domain II of Pseudomonas exotoxin A arrests the transfer of translocating nascent chains into mammalian microsomes.

The translocation of PE from the extracytosolic compartment to the cytosol during the intoxication of mammalian cells is mediated by domain II of the toxin. We have shown previously that within domain II amino acids 280-313 of PE promote their own export from mammalian microsomes following signal sequence-directed membrane insertion. In this study, we attempted to target full-length PE into mammalian microsomes using the preprocecropin signal sequence, but found that translocation was arrested to generate a transmembrane protein. "Stop transfer" required the presence of amino acids 280-313 of PE, and the first 313 amino acids of PE were sufficient to generate a transmembrane protein (N-terminus-in/C-terminus-out). The mechanism of stop transfer appears to be different from that described previously because amino acids 280-313 of PE are not highly hydrophobic and do contain many charged residues. In addition, the transmembrane segment appeared to be influenced by the cytoplasmic domain of the transmembrane proteins.

ADP Ribose Transferases↗
PubMed1994

Antitumor activity and pharmacokinetics in mice of a recombinant immunotoxin containing a disulfide-stabilized Fv fragment.

Disulfide-stabilized Fvs (dsFv) are recombinant Fv fragments of antibodies in which the inherently unstable VH-VL heterodimer is stabilized by a disulfide bond engineered between structurally conserved framework positions of VH and VL. We have recently described a recombinant immunotoxin, B3(dsFv)-PE38KDEL, that is composed of such a dsFv connected to a truncated form of Pseudomonas exotoxin (PE38KDEL). This disulfide-stabilized immunotoxin is indistinguishable in activity and specificity from its single-chain immunotoxin counterpart (Brinkmann et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 90: 7538-7542, 1993). We have now constructed and evaluated the stability, pharmacokinetics, and antitumor effect of a very similar disulfide-stabilized immunotoxin B3(dsFv)-PE38. This immunotoxin is specifically cytotoxic to human cancer cell lines such as A431 that express the B3 antigen on their surface. In addition, the dsFv-immunotoxin is more stable at 37 degrees C in human serum than the corresponding single-chain immunotoxin B3(Fv)-PE38. The survival of the disulfide-stabilized immunotoxin in the circulation of mice was determined by a bioassay on cultured A431 cells after administering the immunotoxin i.v. The half-life in blood was 23 min. To determine the therapeutic effects of the disulfide-stabilized immunotoxin, it was given i.v. to immunodeficient mice bearing s.c. human epidermoid carcinomas. The dsFv-immunotoxin caused complete regression of tumors with no toxic effect on mice. The antitumor effect was similar to that reported for the single-chain Fv-immunotoxin. Our data show that dsFv-immunotoxins retain full in vitro as well as in vivo activity when compared to scFv-immunotoxins. Because dsFv-immunotoxins have full activity, are more stable, and can be produced with significantly improved yields compared to scFv-immunotoxins, the dsFv-immunotoxins may be more useful for therapeutic applications than scFv-immunotoxins.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Stabilization of the Fv fragments in recombinant immunotoxins by disulfide bonds engineered into conserved framework regions.

Disulfide-stabilized Fv's (dsFv's) are recombinant Fv fragments of antibodies in which the unstable variable heavy (VH) and variable light (VL) heterodimers are stabilized by disulfide bonds engineered at specific sites that lie between structurally conserved framework positions of VH and VL. We have recently described one example of a recombinant immunotoxin, B3(dsFv)-PE38KDEL, that is composed of such a dsFv connected to a truncated form of Pseudomonas exotoxin [Brinkmann, U., Reiter, Y., Jung, S.-H., Lee, B., & Pastan, I. (1993) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 90, 7538-7542]. This disulfide-stabilized immunotoxin has the same cytotoxic activity and specificity as its single-chain immunotoxin counterpart. To determine whether the stabilization of Fv's by disulfides at these positions is generally applicable, we made and analyzed two other dsFv-containing immunotoxins. One is made from the e23 antibody, which binds to the carcinoma-associated antigen erbB2; the other is made from the anti-Tac antibody, which binds to the p55 subunit of the IL-2 receptor. Comparison of the specificity and activity of these immunotoxins with those of their scFv counterparts revealed that e23(dsFv)-PE38KDEL was considerably more active than e23(Fv)-PE38KDEL, whereas anti-Tac(dsFv)-PE38KDEL was only somewhat more active than its single-chain counterpart. These results suggest that dsFv's have at least the same binding properties as scFv's, and in some cases they may have better binding. Thus, it should be feasible to use the positions we have identified in the conserved framework region to disulfide-stabilize many different Fv's.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

ADP Ribose Transferases↗
PubMed1994

Pseudomonas exotoxin A mutants. Replacement of surface-exposed residues in domain III with cysteine residues that can be modified with polyethylene glycol in a site-specific manner.

Pseudomonas exotoxin A (PE) is composed of three structural and functional domains. Domain Ia is responsible for cell recognition, domain II for translocation of PE across the cell membrane, and domain III for ADP-ribosylation of elongation factor 2. To investigate the role of the amino acids exposed on the surface of domain III, we replaced 15 of these, generating 29 different mutants at positions 412, 416, 418, 490, 513, 516, 522, 551, 576, 590, 599, 604, 606, 607 and 608. All but one mutant retained substantial ADP-ribosylation and cytotoxic activities. Modification of proteins with monomethoxy-polyethylene glycol (mPEG) prolongs their circulation in the blood stream and reduces their immunogenicity. Unlike PEGylated enzymes acting on small molecule substrates, PEGylated toxins may lose those functions that are based on macromolecular interactions. Therefore, we selectively PEGylated mutant PEs at positions 490, 513, 516, 522, 604, and 606. Most PEs modified by a 5-kDa mPEG via a disulfide or a thioether bond retained high cytotoxic activity. However, when a 20-kDa mPEG was used there was a decrease in cytotoxic activity with the disulfide-bonded molecules being more active. Positions 522 and 604 are good sites for PEGylation, but 490 is not. We also found that PEGylation of PE 522C prolonged its in vivo circulation time in mice.

ADP Ribose Transferases↗