Expression of Recombinant Antibody Fusion Proteins in E. coli

Conjugates of antibodies or antibody fragments with foreign proteins have attracted interest because of their therapeutic potential as antitumor agents in vivo. Localization of the complex to the target site is dependent on the specificity of the antibody moiety, and local cytotoxic action is determined by the foreign protein. Examples of this approach include immunotoxins, in which the effector protein is a plant or bacterial toxin (1 ), and antibody-directed enzyme prodrug therapy (ADEPT), in which the foreign protein is a prodrug-activating enzyme that converts a systemically administered nontoxic prodrug into a cytotoxic species at the target site (2 ).