Barnase toxin: a new chimeric toxin composed of pseudomonas exotoxin A and barnase

We have constructed a chimeric toxin composed of Pseudomonas exotoxin A (PE) and the extracellular ribonuclease of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, barnase. The chimeric protein, termed PE-Bar, reacted with both anti-PE and anti-barnase antisera and had both ADP ribosylation and ribonuclease activities. The chimeric toxin was cytotoxic to the murine fibroblast cell line L929 and to a murine hybridoma resistant to PE. A mutant form of PE-Bar lacking ADP-ribosylating activity was still cytotoxic to L929 cells. Because treatment of cells prelabeld with [3H]uridine resulted in a decrease in their RNA content, we conclude that this cytotoxic effect was due to the ribonuclease activity of barnase molecules that had been translocated to the cytosol. It is now possible to construct chimeric toxins with two or more enzymatic activities that can be delivered to the cytosol of the target cells.