Clickable Shiga Toxin B Subunit for Drug Delivery in Cancer Therapy

[Image: see text] In recent years, receptor-mediated drug delivery has gained major attention in the treatment of cancer. The pathogen-derived Shiga Toxin B subunit (STxB) can be used as a carrier that detects the tumor-associated glycosphingolipid globotriaosylceramide (Gb3) receptors. While drug conjugation via lysine or cysteine offers random drug attachment to carriers, click chemistry has the potential to improve the engineering of delivery systems as the site specificity can eliminate interference with the active binding site of tumor ligands. We present the production of recombinant STxB in its wild-type (STxB(wt)) version or incorporating the noncanonical amino acid azido lysine (STxB(AzK)). The STxB(wt) and STxB(AzK) were manufactured using a growth-decoupled Escherichia coli (E. coli)-based expression strain and analyzed via flow cytometry for Gb3 receptor recognition and specificity on two human colorectal adenocarcinoma cell lines—HT-29 and LS-174—characterized by high and low Gb3 abundance, respectively. Furthermore, STxB(AzK) was clicked to the antineoplastic agent monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE) and evaluated in cell-killing assays for its ability to deliver the drug to Gb3-expressing tumor cells. The STxB(AzK)–MMAE conjugate induced uptake and release of the MMAE drug in Gb3-positive tumor cells, reaching 94% of HT-29 cell elimination at 72 h post-treatment and low nanomolar doses while sparing LS-174 cells. STxB(AzK) is therefore presented as a well-functioning drug carrier, with a possible application in cancer therapy. This research demonstrates the feasibility of lectin carriers used in delivering drugs to tumor cells, with prospects for improved cancer therapy in terms of straightforward drug attachment and effective cancer cell elimination.