MATERIALS COMPRISING AND METHODS OF PREPARATION AND USE FOR RIBOSOME-INACTIVATING PROTEINS

摘要

The present invention provides purified and isolated polynucleotides encodin g Type I ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIPs) and analogs of the RIPs having a cysteine available for disulfide bonding to targeting molecules. Vectors comprising the polynucleotides and host cells transformed with the vectors are also provide d. The RIPs and RIP analogs are particularly suited for use as components of cytotoxic therapeutic agents of the invention which include gene fusion products and immunoconju- gates. Cytotoxic therapeutic agents or immunotoxins according to the present invention may be used to selectively eliminate any cell type to which the RIP component is targeted by the specific binding capacity of the second component of the agent, and are suited for treatment of diseases where the elimination of a particular cell type is a goal, such as autoimmune disease, cancer and graft-versus-host disease.