Analysis of ICAM-1 Expression on Bladder Carcinoma Cell Lines and Infectivity and Oncolysis by Coxsackie Virus A21.

Oncolytic viruses are biological agents which can easily be delivered at high doses directly to the bladder through a catheter (intravesical), with low risk of systemic uptake and toxicity. To date, a number of viruses have been delivered intravesically in patients and in murine models with bladder cancer and antitumour effects demonstrated. Here, we describe in vitro methods to evaluate Coxsackie virus, CVA21, as an oncolytic virus for the treatment of human bladder cancer by determining the susceptibility of bladder cancer cell lines expressing differing levels of ICAM-1 surface receptor to CVA21.

HOX and PBX gene dysregulation as a therapeutic target in glioblastoma multiforme.

Background: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common high-grade malignant brain tumour in adults and arises from the glial cells in the brain. The prognosis of treated GBM remains very poor with 5-year survival rates of 5%, a figure which has not improved over the last few decades. Currently, there is a modest 14-month overall median survival in patients undergoing maximum safe resection plus adjuvant chemoradiotherapy.

Oncolytic Reovirus-Mediated Recruitment of Early Innate Immune Responses Reverses Immunotherapy Resistance in Prostate Tumors.

Prostate cancers are considered "cold" tumors characterized by minimal T cell infiltrates, absence of a type I interferon (IFN) signature, and the presence of immunosuppressive cells. This non-inflamed phenotype is likely responsible for the lack of sensitivity of prostate cancer patients to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy. Oncolytic virus therapy can potentially overcome this resistance to immunotherapy in prostate cancers by transforming cold tumors into "hot," immune cell-infiltrated tumors.

Modifying the Non-muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer Immune Microenvironment for Optimal Therapeutic Response.

It is now well-recognized that the tumor microenvironment (TME) is not only a key regulator of cancer progression but also plays a crucial role in cancer treatment responses. Recently, several high-profile publications have demonstrated the importance of particular immune parameters and cell types that dictate responsiveness to immunotherapies. With this increased understanding of TME-mediated therapy, approaches that increase therapeutic efficacy by remodeling the TME are actively being pursued.

A Specific Blood Signature Reveals Higher Levels of S100A12: A Potential Bladder Cancer Diagnostic Biomarker Along With Urinary Engrailed-2 Protein Detection.

Urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder (UCB) or bladder cancer remains a major health problem with high morbidity and mortality rates, especially in the western world. UCB is also associated with the highest cost per patient. In recent years numerous markers have been evaluated for suitability in UCB detection and surveillance.

Phase I Trial of an ICAM-1-Targeted Immunotherapeutic-Coxsackievirus A21 (CVA21) as an Oncolytic Agent Against Non Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer.

Purpose: The CANON [VATAK in -muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC)] study evaluated a novel ICAM-1-targeted immunotherapeutic-coxsackievirus A21 as a novel oncolytic agent against bladder cancer.

Patients And Methods: Fifteen patients enrolled in this "window of opportunity" phase I study, exposing primary bladder cancers to CAVATAK prior to surgery. The first 9 patients received intravesical administration of monotherapy CAVATAK; in the second stage, 6 patients received CAVATAK with a subtherapeutic dose of mitomycin C, known to enhance expression of ICAM-1 on bladder cancer cells.

Membrane insertion and secretion of the Engrailed-2 (EN2) transcription factor by prostate cancer cells may induce antiviral activity in the stroma.

Engrailed-2 (EN2) is a homeodomain-containing transcription factor that has roles in boundary formation and neural guidance in early development, but which is also expressed in a range of cancers. In addition to transcriptional regulation, it is secreted by cells and taken up by others through a mechanism that is yet to be fully elucidated. In this study, the distribution of EN2 protein in cells was evaluated using immunofluorescence with a set of antibodies raised against overlapping epitopes across the protein, and through the use of an EN2-GFP construct.

Oncolytic Immunotherapy for Bladder Cancer Using Coxsackie A21 Virus.

As a clinical setting in which local live biological therapy is already well established, non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) presents intriguing opportunities for oncolytic virotherapy. Coxsackievirus A21 (CVA21) is a novel intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1)-targeted immunotherapeutic virus. This study investigated CVA21-induced cytotoxicity in a panel of human bladder cancer cell lines, revealing a range of sensitivities largely correlating with expression of the viral receptor ICAM-1.

Synergistic antitumour effects of rapamycin and oncolytic reovirus.

There are currently numerous oncolytic viruses undergoing clinical trial evaluation in cancer patients and one agent, Talimogene laherparepvec, has been approved for the treatment of malignant melanoma. This progress highlights the huge clinical potential of this treatment modality, and the focus is now combining these agents with conventional anticancer treatments or agents that enhance viral replication, and thereby oncolysis, in the tumour microenvironment. We evaluated the combination of reovirus with rapamycin in B16F10 cell, a murine model of malignant melanoma, based on potential mechanisms by which mTOR inhibitors might enhance viral oncolysis.

Inhibition of HOX/PBX dimer formation leads to necroptosis in acute myeloid leukemia cells.

The HOX genes encode a family of transcription factors that have key roles in both development and malignancy. Disrupting the interaction between HOX proteins and their binding partner, PBX, has been shown to cause apoptotic cell death in a range of solid tumors. However, despite HOX proteins playing a particularly significant role in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the relationship between HOX gene expression and patient survival has not been evaluated (with the exception of ), and the mechanism by which HOX/PBX inhibition induces cell death in this malignancy is not well understood.

Cancer immunotherapy via combining oncolytic virotherapy with chemotherapy: recent advances.

Oncolytic viruses are multifunctional anticancer agents with huge clinical potential, and have recently passed the randomized Phase III clinical trial hurdle. Both wild-type and engineered viruses have been selected for targeting of specific cancers, to elicit cytotoxicity, and also to generate antitumor immunity. Single-agent oncolytic virotherapy treatments have resulted in modest effects in the clinic.

Targeting HOX transcription factors in prostate cancer.

Background: The HOX genes are a family of transcription factors that help to determine cell and tissue identity during early development, and which are also over-expressed in a number of malignancies where they have been shown to promote cell proliferation and survival. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the expression of HOX genes in prostate cancer and to establish whether prostate cancer cells are sensitive to killing by HXR9, an inhibitor of HOX function.

Methods: HOX function was inhibited using the HXR9 peptide.

Targeting the HOX/PBX dimer in breast cancer.

The HOX genes are a family of closely related transcription factors that help to define the identity of cells and tissues during embryonic development and which are also frequently deregulated in a number of malignancies, including breast cancer. While relatively little is known about the roles that individual HOX genes play in cancer, it is however clear that these roles can be both contradictory, with some members acting as oncogenes and some as tumor suppressors, and also redundant, with several genes essentially having the same function. Here, we have attempted to address this complexity using the HXR9 peptide to target the interaction between HOX proteins and PBX, a second transcription factor that serves as a common co-factor for many HOX proteins.

Synergistic effects of oncolytic reovirus and docetaxel chemotherapy in prostate cancer.

Background: Reovirus type 3 Dearing (T3D) has demonstrated oncolytic activity in vitro, in in vivo murine models and in early clinical trials. However the true potential of oncolytic viruses may only be realized fully in combination with other modalities such as chemotherapy, targeted therapy and radiotherapy. In this study, we examine the oncolytic activity of reovirus T3D and chemotherapeutic agents against human prostate cancer cell lines, with particular focus on the highly metastatic cell line PC3 and the chemotherapeutic agent docetaxel.

The effect of cell cycle synchronization on tumor sensitivity to reovirus oncolysis.

The potential for increased sensitivity of tumor cells to oncolytic reovirus by altering the normal cell cycle using clinically available pharmacological agents was investigated. B16.F10 mouse melanoma cells were partially synchronized with hydroxyurea, thymidine, or by mitotic shake-off.

Expression of RNA interference triggers from an oncolytic herpes simplex virus results in specific silencing in tumour cells in vitro and tumours in vivo.

Background: Delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) to tumours remains a major obstacle for the development of RNA interference (RNAi)-based therapeutics. Following the promising pre-clinical and clinical results with the oncolytic herpes simplex virus (HSV) OncoVEX GM-CSF, we aimed to express RNAi triggers from oncolytic HSV, which although has the potential to improve treatment by silencing tumour-related genes, was not considered possible due to the highly oncolytic properties of HSV.

Methods: To evaluate RNAi-mediated silencing from an oncolytic HSV backbone, we developed novel replicating HSV vectors expressing short-hairpin RNA (shRNA) or artificial microRNA (miRNA) against the reporter genes green fluorescent protein (eGFP) and β-galactosidase (lacZ).

Synergistic effects of oncolytic reovirus and cisplatin chemotherapy in murine malignant melanoma.

Purpose: To test combination treatment schedules of reovirus and cisplatin chemotherapy in human and murine melanoma cell lines and murine models of melanoma and to investigate the possible mechanisms of synergistic antitumor effects.

Experimental Design: The effects of reovirus +/- chemotherapy on in vitro cytotoxicity and viral replication were assessed using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium assay and plaque assay. Interactions between agents were assessed by combination index analysis.

Construction and characterization of an oncolytic HSV vector containing a fusogenic glycoprotein and prodrug activation for enhanced local tumor control.

A large number of oncolytic viral vectors are currently under clinical development for cancer therapy. Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) has demonstrated particular promise in this field, showing genetically engineered selective tumor replication and cytotoxicity in a wide variety of tumor types, without damaging healthy tissues. Enhanced activity has been observed when a range of therapeutic genes has been inserted into various oncolytic HSV genomes.

Combination of a fusogenic glycoprotein, prodrug activation, and oncolytic herpes simplex virus for enhanced local tumor control.

We have previously developed an oncolytic herpes simplex virus-1 based on a clinical virus isolate, which was deleted for ICP34.5 to provide tumor selected replication and ICP47 to increase antigen presentation as well as tumor selective virus replication. A phase I/II clinical trial using a version of this virus expressing granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor has shown promising results.

Latent nuclear antigen of Kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus/human herpesvirus-8 induces and relocates RING3 to nuclear heterochromatin regions.

LANA, the major latency-associated nuclear antigen of Kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus/human herpesvirus-8 (KSHV/HHV-8), binds RING3 protein, one of five human homologues of the fsh (female sterile homeotic) gene product of Drosophila. In KSHV/HHV-8-infected cells LANA and the viral episomes accumulate in heterochromatin-associated nuclear bodies. Here we show that in several KSHV/HHV-8-negative cell lines derived from carcinomas, sarcomas and lymphomas, RING3 was expressed at low levels, primarily localized to the euchromatin, and dissociated from the chromosomes during mitosis.