Abstract
B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is the most common hematopoietic malignancy in the United States, with a notably higher incidence and aggressiveness observed in individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), leading to AIDS-associated NHL (AIDS-NHL). The transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1/CD71), a type II transmembrane homodimeric protein, is overexpressed on several cancers, including NHL, providing a meaningful therapeutic target. Our group developed an anti-TfR1 IgG3-avidin fusion protein, ch128.1Av, designed to deliver biotinylated therapeutic agents into cancer cells through receptor-mediated endocytosis. When coupled with biotinylated saporin 6 (b-SO6), a plant-derived protein synthesis inhibitor, the resulting ch128.1Av/b-SO6 immunotoxin is highly effective at killing malignant cells. However, toxicity to normal cells limits its systemic administration. To overcome this problem, we developed a proimmunotoxin nanodrug, named “n(ch128.1Av/b-SO6)-CXCL13”. This strategy involves encapsulating individual immunotoxins within a thin zwitterionic polymer shell, which is stabilized by peptide crosslinkers that only respond to metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), a tumor microenvironment-specific enzyme. The nanodrug is further conjugated with a B-cell targeting chemokine CXCL13. This design allows the proimmunotoxin to circulate safely, specifically accumulate and release encapsulated ch128.1Av/b-SO6 intratumorally in response to MMP-2. This approach not only minimizes off-target toxicity but also enhances tissue penetration by enabling choline analogues on proimmunotoxin nanodrugs to bind choline transporters expressed on tumor cells or the blood-brain barrier. Importantly, n(ch128.1Av/b-SO6)-CXCL13 demonstrated antitumor efficacy in an AIDS-associated NHL xenograft mouse model. Taken together, our results suggest that n(ch128.1Av/b-SO6)-CXCL13, or similar proimmunotoxin strategies, represents a promising therapeutic avenue for AIDS-NHL and potentially other malignancies.