Researchers at
Hokkaido University have engineered a version of the adenovirus capable of
selectively killing cancer cells.
The virus, dl355, is
a member of the Adenoviridae family and has a gene involved in viral
replication, E4orf6, removed. E4orf6 is
responsible for stabilizing a type of mRNA called ARE-mRNAs in infected cells
which allow for viral replication. This form of mRNA is common in stressed and
cancerous cells, but quickly degrade in normal cells.
In cancerous cells,
dl355 relies on the ARE-mRNA for viral replication and thus replicates faster
in cancer cells than normal cells. Some viruses can be used to treat cancer
because this extensive replication causes the cell to burst and die. Scientists injected a low dose of the virus
lacking E4orf6 into several types of cultured cancer cells and within seven
days, most cancer cells died in contrast to normal cells which survived even
beyond seven days of drug administration.
Several cancer
lineages managed to survive the lose dose of dl355, but eventually died with an
increase in dosage. Tumor growth suppression was also observed after dl355 was
administered to mice tumors. In comparison to another adenovirus currently
being used in cancer treatments, dl1520, dl355 recorded higher levels of
replication in all cancer cell lines and was better at killing all but one type
of cancerous cell.
-Riasoya Jodah
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