Activity of a recombinant fusion protein between transforming growth factor type alpha and Pseudomonas toxin.

The transforming growth factor type alpha gene has been fused to a modified Pseudomonas toxin gene from which the cell-recognition domain has been deleted. The chimeric gene has been expressed in Escherichia coli, and the chimeric protein, PE40-TGF-alpha, has been highly purified. PE40-TGF-alpha kills cells expressing epidermal growth factor receptors and has little activity against cells with few receptors. This chimeric protein might be useful in treating cancers that contain high numbers of epidermal growth factor receptors.