Antibody-based fusion proteins are the next generation of antibody therapies for cancer and other diseases.CD20 antigen,which is overexpressed on cell membranes in nearly 95% of cases of B-cell Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma,is an attractive target for the therapy of B-lymphoid malignancies.Lidamycin (LDM) is a potent enediyne-containing antitumor antibiotic that now has entered phase II clinical trials.In this study,we prepared an engineered fusion protein,scFv-LDP,consisting of an anti-CD20 scFv fragment and the apoprotein LDP of LDM using DNA recombination.After purification and refolding,scFv-LDP was found to bind specifically to CD20-positive lymphoma cells using ELISA and indirect immunofluorescent cytochemical staining assays.The energized fusion protein scFv-LDP-AE was obtained using molecular reconstitution of the active chromophore AE of LDM and scFv-LDP.MTT assay revealed potent cytotoxicity of scFv-LDP-AE to CD20-positive Raji and Daudi cells,with IC 50 values of 1.21×10-11 and 6.24×10-11 mol L-1,respectively.An in vivo subcutaneous xenograft model of CD20-positive B cell lymphoma in BALB/c (nu/nu) mice was also utilized.Drugs were given intravenously on day 14 and 21 after tumor transplantation.In terms of maximal tolerated doses,scFv-LDP-AE at 0.3 mg kg-1 suppressed tumor growth by 79.3%,and LDM at 0.05 mg kg-1 by 68.6% (P<0.05).Results suggested scFv-LDP-AE could be a potential candidate for tumor-targeting therapy.
