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Virus-Like Particle-Mediated Intracellular Delivery for Nanomedicine
Published in Tuan Vo-Dinh, Nanotechnology in Biology and Medicine, 2017
Jadwiga Chroboczek, Inga Szurgot
Protein-based VLPs could elicit an immune response to the vector, which may significantly restrict the use of such vectors for drug delivery. Dd is composed of only one protein (Ad3 penton base, Pb), one of 11 structural proteins of the adenovirus, so that any eventual immune response after administration of this dodecahedric vector is less likely than the reaction observed after administration of the recombinant adenoviruses used in gene therapy. In addition, Pb seems to be a weakly immunizing protein as the presence of neutralizing Ab directed toward the Pb protein was observed in only approximately half of the 17 cancer patients who had been repeatedly administered the oncolytic adenovirus (Hong et al., 2003). Finally, Dd is derived from Ad serotype 3, which rarely appears in humans. Last but not least, several proteins are used successfully in human therapies (e.g., the anticancer drug Elspar that contains asparaginase).
Modelling combined virotherapy and immunotherapy: strengthening the antitumour immune response mediated by IL-12 and GM-CSF expression
Published in Letters in Biomathematics, 2018
Adrianne L. Jenner, Chae-Ok Yun, Arum Yoon, Adelle C. F. Coster, Peter S. Kim
While the cytotoxic effects of viruses are most commonly viewed in terms of pathogenicity, it is possible to harness their activity for therapeutic purposes. Oncolytic viruses are genetically engineered viruses that selectively infect, self-replicate and lyse cancer cells (Parato, Senger, Forsyth, & Bell, 2005). They may be fortuitously tumour selective in wild-type; however, in most cases, attenuated forms are engineered to provide tumour selectivity. In this article, we will examine the usefulness of a gene-attenuated oncolytic adenovirus genetically engineered by Choi, Zhang, Choi, Kim, and Yun (2012a) to selectively infect and replicate within tumour cells and release the immunostimulatory cytokines interleukin 12 (IL-12) and granulocyte monocyte stimulating factor (GM-CSF). In this way, Choi et al. manufactured a virus that not only eradicates tumour cells, but also activates immune cells to do the same.