Synthesis and cytotoxic profile of a diphtheria toxin-neurotrophin-4 chimera.

A diphtheria toxin-neurotrophin-4/5 (NT-4/5) chimera (DAB389-NT4), in which the native receptor binding domain of diphtheria toxin was replaced with a synthetic gene encoding rat NT-4/5, was expressed, refolded, and purified. This fusion toxin has a deduced molecular mass of 60,163 and is formed by joining the first 389 amino acids of diptheria toxin to amino acids 1-130 of mature rat NT-4/5, using an NH2-terminal bridge of 33 additional amino acids including six consecutive histidines. Neural cell types expressing only p75LNGFR or p75LNGFR and full-length or truncated TrkB were used to evaluate the cytotoxic efficacy of DAB389-NT4. The fusion toxin produced a concentration-dependent killing of all cell populations, with LC50 values that largely reflected the known NT-4/5 binding affinities for these receptor proteins. Mean LC50 values ranged from 2,960 pM in p75LNGFR-expressing neuro-2a neuroblastoma cells to 1,075 and 70 pM, respectively, in hippocampal astrocytes (p75LNGFR+/truncated TrkB+) and cerebellar granule cells (p75LNGFR+/TrkB+). The LC50 for DAB389-NT4 in receptor-negative 3T3 fibroblasts was 20 nM. NT-4/5 and brain-derived neurotrophic factor but not ciliary neurotrophic factor added in excess neutralized DAB389-NT4 cytotoxicity. NT-4/5, however, did not reduce the cytotoxicity of intact diphtheria toxin.