PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - ANIE PRISCILLA MASILAMANI
AU  - ALEXANDRA FISCHER
AU  - SUSANNE SCHULTZE-SEEMANN
AU  - IRINA KUCKUCK
AU  - ISIS WOLF
AU  - FRANZ FRIEDRICH DRESSLER
AU  - CHRISTIAN GRATZKE
AU  - PHILIPP WOLF
TI  - Epidermal Growth Factor Based Targeted Toxin for the Treatment of Bladder Cancer
AID  - 10.21873/anticanres.15165
DP  - 2021 Aug 01
TA  - Anticancer Research
PG  - 3741--3746
VI  - 41
IP  - 8
4099  - http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/41/8/3741.short
4100  - http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/41/8/3741.full
SO  - Anticancer Res2021 Aug 01; 41
AB  - Background/Aim: Reports on over-expression of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in bladder cancer and its function in tumorigenesis have suggested to target this antigen. Materials and Methods: We generated the targeted toxin EGF-PE40 consisting of the human epidermal growth factor (EGF) as the binding domain and PE40, a truncated version of Pseudomonas Exotoxin A, as the toxin domain. EGF-PE40 was tested on EGFR-expressing bladder cancer cells in view of binding via flow cytometry, and cytotoxicity via WST viability assay. Induction of apoptosis was examined by western blot. Results: The targeted toxin specifically triggered cytotoxicity in the bladder cancer cells with 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) values in the low nanomolar or picomolar range, and was about 1,250- to 1,500-fold more cytotoxic than the EGFR inhibitor erlotinib. Cytotoxicity of EGF-PE40 was based on the induction of apoptosis. Conclusion: EGF-PE40 represents a promising candidate for the future treatment of bladder cancer.