Patent ID: 7132259

Claim:
A nucleic acid molecule comprising an open reading frame encoding a cleavable single-chain polypeptide, said open reading frame comprising: a) a first nucleotide sequence encoding at least a portion of a clostridial neurotoxin heavy chain binding element able to preferentially interact with a target cell surface marker under physiological conditions; b) a second nucleotide sequence encoding at least a portion of a clostridial neurotoxin heavy chain translocation element able to facilitate the transfer of said single-chain polypeptide across a vesicular membrane; c) a third nucleotide sequence encoding at least a portion of a therapeutic element peptide having biological activity when released into the cytoplasm of the target cell, and d) a fourth nucleotide sequence encoding a peptide comprising a non-native Clostridial neurotoxin protease cleavage site; wherein said fourth nucleotide sequence intervenes between said second sequence and said third nucleotide sequence.