Antitumor effects of an engineered and energized fusion protein consisting of an anti-CD20 scFv fragment and lidamycin

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 IC₅₀ 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.