A novel
beta-lactamase scaffold library in which the target-binding moiety is built into the
enzyme was generated using phage display technology. The binding
element is composed of a fully randomized 8
amino acid loop inserted at position between Y34 and K37 on the outer surface of Enterobacter cloacae P99
cephalosporinase (
beta-lactamase, E.C. 3.5.2.6) with all library members retaining catalytic activity. The frequency and diversity of
amino acids distributions in
peptide inserts from library clones were analyzed. The complexity of the randomized loop appears consistent with standards of other types of phage display library systems. The library was panned against SKBR3 human
breast cancer cells in 1 round using rolling circle amplification of phage
DNA to recover bound phage. Individual
beta-lactamase clones, independent of phage, were rapidly assessed for their binding to SKBR3 cells using a simple high throughput screen based on cell-bound
beta-lactamase activity. SKBR3 cell-binding
beta-lactamase enzymes were also shown to bind specifically using an immunochemical method. Selected
beta-lactamase clones were further studied for their
protein expression,
enzyme activity and binding to nontumor cell-lines. Overall, the approach outlined here offers the opportunity of rapidly selecting targeted
beta-lactamase ligands that may have a potential for their use in
enzyme prodrug therapy with
cephalosporin-based
prodrugs. It is expected that a similar approach will be useful in developing
tumor-targeting molecules of several other
enzyme candidates of
cancer prodrug therapy.