A novel fusion protein of IP10-scFv retains antibody specificity and chemokine function

We combined the specificity of tumor-specific antibody with the chemokine function of interferon-gamma inducible protein 10 (IP-10) to recruit immune effector cells in the vicinity of tumor cells. A novel fusion protein of IP10-scFv was constructed by fusing mouse IP-10 to V(H) region of single-chain Fv fragment (scFv) against acidic isoferritin (AIF), and expressed in NS0 murine myeloma cells. The IP10-scFv fusion protein was shown to maintain the specificity of the antiAIF scFv with similar affinity constant, and bind to the human hepatocarcinoma SMMC 7721 cells secreting AIF as well as the activated mouse T lymphocytes expressing CXCR3 receptor. Furthermore, the IP10-scFv protein either in solution or bound on the surface of SMMC 7721 cells induced significant chemotaxis of mouse T cells in vitro. The results indicate that the IP10-scFv fusion protein possesses both bioactivities of the tumor-specific antibody and IP-10 chemokine, suggesting its possibility to induce an enhanced immune response against the residual tumor cells in vivo.