A novel recombinant immunotoxin with the smallest ribosome-inactivating protein Luffin P1: T-cell cytotoxicity and prolongation of allograft survival.

In the creation of stable tolerance to MHC-incompatible allografts, reducing the large mass of donor-reactive cells via apoptosis is often required. Apoptosis induction by immunotoxins targeting surface molecules specifically presented on donor-reactive cytopathic T effector (T(eff)) cells is a promising strategy. Traditionally, the toxin moieties are bacterial exotoxins or plant-derived ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIPs) with large molecular size and strong immunogenicity, hence causing the problems of tissue penetration, host immune reaction and quick clearance.