| abstract |
The present invention relates to antibody-polypeptide-cytotoxin conjugates and methods of making, packaging, and using the conjugates. The polypeptide can be a Kunitz-type protease inhibitor or a derivative thereof that facilitates transport of the conjugate across the blood-brain barrier and/or into cancer cells outside the CNS, and the antibody moiety selectively binds a target within the CNS or in peripheral tumors to direct the cytotoxic agent to that target (e.g., a tumor or cancer cell). The conjugates can be further defined by the inclusion of a linker between the antibody moiety and the polypeptide; by the number of polypeptides and cytotoxic agents conjugated thereto; by the positions at which the entities within the conjugates are bound to one another; and by the larger configuration of the conjugate. Modified polypeptides (e.g., polypeptides conjugated to cytotoxic agents but not to an antibody moiety), pharmaceutical compositions, kits (e.g., including a modified polypeptide and an as-yet unconjugated antibody), and methods of making and using the conjugates are also features of the invention. |