Crotamine-based recombinant immunotoxin targeting HER2 for enhanced cancer cell specificity and cytotoxicity.

Jaepyeong Jang, Minh Quan Nguyen, Sangsu Park, Dayoung Ryu, Hyeseon Park, Gunsup Lee, Chong Jai Kim, Yeon Jin Jang, Han Choe

Toxicon : official journal of the International Society on Toxinology 2023 Jul

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Crotamine, one of the major toxins present in the venom of the South American rattlesnake Crotalus durissus terrificus, exhibits potent cytotoxic properties and has been suggested for cancer therapy applications. However, its selectivity for cancer cells needs to be improved. This study designed and produced a novel recombinant immunotoxin, HER2(scFv)-CRT, composed of crotamine and single-chain Fv (scFv) derived from trastuzumab targeting human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). The recombinant immunotoxin was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified using various chromatographic techniques. The cytotoxicity of HER2(scFv)-CRT was assessed in three breast cancer cell lines, demonstrating enhanced specificity and toxicity in HER2-expressing cells. These findings suggest that the crotamine-based recombinant immunotoxin has the potential to expand the repertoire of recombinant immunotoxin applications in cancer therapy. Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Citation

Jaepyeong Jang, Minh Quan Nguyen, Sangsu Park, Dayoung Ryu, Hyeseon Park, Gunsup Lee, Chong Jai Kim, Yeon Jin Jang, Han Choe. Crotamine-based recombinant immunotoxin targeting HER2 for enhanced cancer cell specificity and cytotoxicity. Toxicon : official journal of the International Society on Toxinology. 2023 Jul;230:107157