A bifunctional protein comprising: 1) a single-chain antibody directed against
a suitable antigen on a tumour cell, 2) a hinge region comprising from about 40
to about 200 amino acids joined to the VL domain of the single chain
antibody, and 3) a functional zeta () chain from the T-cell antigen receptor
(TCR) joined to the hinge region, wherein the hinge region is an immunoglobin-like
hinge region which is joined to the C-terminus of the VL domain of the
single-chain antibody. The functional zeta () chain comprises the transmembrane
and the cytoplasmic domain. The bifunctional protein can be expressed using a cytotoxic
lymphocyte (CTL) expressing DNA encoding it.