Targeted HER2-positive cancer therapy using ADAPT6 fused to horseradish peroxidase

Targeted cancer therapy is a promising alternative to the currently established cancer treatments, aiming to selectively kill cancer cells while sparing healthy tissues. Hereby, molecular targeting agents, such as monoclonal antibodies, are used to bind to cancer cell surface markers specifically. Although these agents have shown great clinical success, limitations still remain such as low tumor penetration and off-target effects. To overcome this limitation, novel fusion proteins comprised of the two proteins ADAPT6 and Horseradish Peroxidase (HRP) were engineered. Cancer cell targeting is hereby enabled by the small scaffold protein ADAPT6, engineered to specifically bind to human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), a cell surface marker overexpressed in various cancer types, while the enzyme HRP oxidizes the nontoxic prodrug indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) which leads to the formation of free radicals and thereby to cytotoxic effects on cancer cells. The high affinity to HER2, as well as the enzymatic activity of HRP, were still present for the ADAPT6-HRP fusion proteins. Further, in vitro cytotoxicity assay using HER2-positive SKOV-3 cells revealed a clear advantage of the fusion proteins over free HRP by association of the fusion proteins directly to the cancer cells and therefore sustained cell killing. This novel strategy of combining ADAPT6 and HRP represents a promising approach and a viable alternative to antibody conjugation for targeted cancer therapy.