Mutant myogenin promoter-controlled oncolytic adenovirus selectively kills PAX3-FOXO1-positive rhabdomyosarcoma cells

Intratumoral delivery of a Tim-3 antibody-encoding oncolytic adenovirus engages an effective antitumor immune response in liver cancer

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The use of oncolytic viruses as a gene therapy vector is an area of active biomedical research, particularly in the context of cancer treatment. However, the actual therapeutic success of this approach to tumor elimination remains limited. As such, the present study was developed with the goal of simultaneously enhancing the antitumor efficacy of oncolytic viruses and the local immune response by combining the Ad-GD55 oncolytic adenovirus and an antibody specific for the TIM-3 immune checkpoint molecule (α-TIM-3).

APPROACH AND KEY RESULTS

The results of Virus and cell-mediated cytotoxicity assay, qPCR, and Western immunoblotting showed that Ad-GD55-α-Tim-3 oncolytic adenovirus is capable of inducing α-TIM-3 expression within hepatoma cells upon infection, and Ad-GD55-α-TIM-3 exhibited inhibitory efficacy superior to that of Ad-GD55 when used to treat these tumor cells together with the induction of enhanced intracellular immunity. In vivo experiments revealed that Ad-GD55-α-TIM-3 administration was sufficient to inhibit tumor growth and engage in a more robust local immune response within the simulated tumor immune microenvironment.

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS

These results highlighted the promising therapeutic effects of Ad-GD55-α-TIM-3 oncolytic adenovirus against HCC in vitro and in vivo. As such, this Ad-GD55-α-TIM-3 oncolytic adenovirus may represent a viable approach to the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) in prostate cancer: A dual function mediator?

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) is a member of a family of secreted cytokines with vital biological functions in cells. The abnormal expression of TGF-β signaling is a common finding in pathological conditions, particularly cancer. Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the leading causes of death among men. Several genetic and epigenetic alterations can result in PCa development, and govern its progression. The present review attempts to shed some light on the role of TGF-β signaling in PCa. TGF-β signaling can either stimulate or inhibit proliferation and viability of PCa cells, depending on the context. The metastasis of PCa cells is increased by TGF-β signaling via induction of EMT and MMPs. Furthermore, TGF-β signaling can induce drug resistance of PCa cells, and can lead to immune evasion via reducing the anti-tumor activity of cytotoxic T cells and stimulating regulatory T cells. Upstream mediators such as microRNAs and lncRNAs, can regulate TGF-β signaling in PCa. Furthermore, some pharmacological compounds such as thymoquinone and valproic acid can suppress TGF-β signaling for PCa therapy. TGF-β over-expression is associated with poor prognosis in PCa patients. Furthermore, TGF-β up-regulation before prostatectomy is associated with recurrence of PCa. Overall, current review discusses role of TGF-β signaling in proliferation, metastasis and therapy response of PCa cells and in order to improve knowledge towards its regulation, upstream mediators of TGF-β such as non-coding RNAs are described. Finally, TGF-β regulation and its clinical application are discussed.