SITE-SPECIFIC, ANTIBODY-MEDIATED ACTIVATION OF PROAPOPTOTIC CYTOKINE: AMAICE (ANTIBODY-MEDIATED APOPTOSIS INDUCING CYTOKINE)

摘要

The invention relates to antibody-cytokine fusion proteins having proapoptotic and immunomodulating properties, however, a priori having a specific bioactivity in the cytokine portion that is very low or limited to certain receptor subtypes. These reagents first deploy the full biological action over the corresponding cytokine receptor(s) after an antibody-mediated binding of the fusion protein to a specific, cell membrane-expressed target molecule. By appropriately selecting the antibody specificity, the cytokine activity is directed at the tissue to be treated, e.g. tumor tissue, and a therapeutic agent can be produced, which is specifically matched to/optimized for the respective indication/tumor entity.