Targeting of a novel fusion protein containing methioninase to the urokinase receptor to inhibit breast cancer cell migration and proliferation.

It has been shown that methionine depletion inhibits tumor cell growth and reduces tumor cell survival. A novel fusion protein targeted specifically to tumor cells was developed. The fusion protein contained two components: the amino terminal fragment of human urokinase (amino acids 1-49) that binds to the urokinase receptor protein expressed on the surface of invasive cancer cells, and the enzyme L-methioninase (containing 398 amino acids) which depletes methionine and arrests the growth of methionine-dependent tumors.