Long-term tumor-free survival from treatment with the GFP-TRAIL fusion gene expressed from the hTERT promoter in breast cancer cells

We evaluated anti-tumor activity and toxic effect of an adenoviral vector expressing the GFP/TRAIL fusion gene from the hTERT promoter (designated Ad/gTRAIL) on human breast cancer cell lines and on normal human breast cells. Treatment with Ad/gTRAIL elicited high levels of transgene expression and apoptosis in a variety of breast cancer cell lines. Furthermore, treatment with Ad/gTRAIL was effective in killing breast cancer lines resistant to doxorubicin or soluble TRAIL protein. In contrast, only minimal transgene expression and toxicity was detected in normal human primary mammary epithelial cells after treatment with this vector. An in vivo study further showed that the intralesional administration of Ad/gTRAIL effectively suppressed the growth of human tumor xenografts derived from both doxorubicin-sensitive and doxorubicin-resistant breast cancer lines. Specifically, about 50% of animals bearing doxorubicin-sensitive and doxorubicin-resistant breast cancer xenografts showed complete tumor regression and remained tumor-free for over 5 months. These results suggest that the adenovirus encoding the GFP/TRAIL gene driven by the hTERT promoter has potential application in cancer therapy.     

Gene-viro-therapy targeting liver cancer by a dual-regulated oncolytic adenoviral vector harboring IL-24 and TRAIL

Cancer-targeting gene-viro-therapy is a promising cancer therapeutic strategy that strengthens the antitumor effect of oncolytic viruses by expressing an inserted foreign antitumor gene. To achieve liver cancer targeting and to improve the safety of the ZD55 vector (a widely-used E1B55KD gene-deleted oncolytic adenoviral vector (OV), we previously constructed), we designed a novel OV named Ad·AFP·D55 that selectively replicates in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells by replacing the E1A promoter with the liver-cancer specific α-Fetoprotein (AFP) promoter based on the ZD55 vector. We found that the oncolytic adenoviruses Ad·AFP·D55-IL-24 and Ad·AFP·D55-TRAIL express tumor-suppressor gene interleukin-24 (IL-24) and tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), respectively, significantly suppressed the HCC cell growth in vitro by inducing apoptosis by the caspase-8 and mitochondria-dependent caspase-9 signaling pathways. Furthermore, the combined treatment of Ad·AFP·D55-IL-24 and Ad·AFP·D55-TRAIL showed strong antitumor effects in vivo by significantly inhibiting the tumor growth in HCC HuH-7 cell xenograft mice, and markedly increasing animal survival rate. Therefore, this novel HCC cell-targeting OV carrying tumor-suppressor genes may provide a promising approach for liver cancer gene therapy.     

Combination with low-dose gemcitabine and hTERT-promoter-dependent conditionally replicative adenovirus enhances cytotoxicity through their crosstalk mechanisms in pancreatic cancer

To overcome the limited clinical efficacy of conditionally replicative adenoviruses (CRAds), we investigated the effects of combination therapy with gemcitabine (GEM) and the hTERT-promoter-dependent CRAd (hTERT-CRAd), Ad5/3hTERTE1. This combination therapy exhibited enhanced cytotoxic effects on pancreatic cancer both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, we revealed that this enhancement effect was due to the multiple bidirectional interactions between hTERT-CRAd and GEM. The GEM-sensitizing effect of E1 expression derived from hTERT-CRAd, and the enhancement effect by GEM on hTERT promoter activity which led to the increase of adenovirus E1 and viral infectivity. This combination therapy may be a promising therapeutic approach for pancreatic cancer.     

Over-expression of miR-145 enhances the effectiveness of HSVtk gene therapy for malignant glioma

This study attempts to combine two findings toward developing a rational strategy for improved therapy for glioma. One of the findings, made in this pre-clinical study, is that an hTERT-targeting ribozyme-controlled HSVtk gene (hTERT.Rz.HSVtk) exerts anti-tumor effects. The second observation is that the over-expression of a small noncoding RNA, miR-145, causes down-regulation of metastasis-related genes, such as PLAUR, SPOCK3, ADAM22, SLC7A5 and FASCN1. While blocking in vivo tumor growth only slightly, over-expression of miR-145 significantly inhibits both the migration and invasion of U87MG/U373MG glioma cells. We hypothesized that a simultaneous adenoviral-mediated over-expression of miR-145 might enhance the anti-tumor effects of hTERT.Rz.HSVtk and that a combination therapy with miR-145 and the HSVtk gene would be an effective approach for treating glioma. We tested this by developing adenoviral vectors that over-express miR-145 under the CMV promoter and employing them in combination with hTERT.Rz.HSVtk expression, both in vitro and in vivo in animal studies. We found that the adenovirus Ad5CMV.Rz.HSVtk.miR145 harboring an HSVtk expression cassette plus miR-145 produced prolonged survival benefits compared to administration of Ad5CMV.Rz.HSVtk or Ad5CMV.miR-145 alone. This study demonstrates that combination therapy using the hTERT.Rz.HSVtk gene together with miR-145 over-expression produces enhanced anti-tumor effects compared to that resulting from hTERT.Rz.HSVtk gene therapy alone.     

Combination effect of oncolytic adenovirotherapy and TRAIL gene therapy in syngeneic murine breast cancer models

Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) gene therapy and oncolytic adenovirotherapy have been investigated extensively in xenografic human tumor models established in immunocompromised nude mice. However, the effects of these therapies on syngeneic murine tumors in immunocompetent settings were not well documented. We hypothesized that TRAIL gene therapy used with an oncolytic adenovirus would overcome the weaknesses of the two therapies used individually. In this study, we evaluated the antitumor effects of an oncolytic adenovirus, Delta24, in both human and murine breast cancer cell lines. We also analyzed the effects of TRAIL gene therapy combined with oncolytic virotherapy in these cancer cells. Our results showed that Delta24 can replicate and help the E1-deleted adenovector replicate in murine cancer cells. We also found that these two therapies combined had greater antitumor activity than either one alone in both human and murine breast cancer cells lines and in the syngeneic breast cancer models established in immunocompetent mice. Moreover, Delta24 virotherapy alone and combined with TRAIL gene therapy dramatically reduced the spontaneous liver metastasis that originated in the subcutaneous 4T1 tumor established in Balb/c mice. These findings provide important considerations in the development and preclinical assessments of oncolytic virotherapy.     

Cell to cell contact required for bystander effect of the TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) gene

We have previously reported that direct transfer of the TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) gene resulted in an apoptotic bystander effect, and that this bystander effect was not transferable with cell culture media. To further characterize its mechanism we tested the bystander effect of TRAIL in the human ovarian cancer cell line DOV13, human lung cancer cell line A549, human hepatoma cell line Hepa G2, human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB231 and human colon cancer cell lines Lovo and DLD1. The bystander target cells were transduced with an adenovector expressing the lacZ gene (Ad/CMV-LacZ), while the effector cells were transduced with an adenovector expressing the green fluorescent protein (GFP)/TRAIL fusion gene. Effector and target cells were then cocultured in the same well with or without effector and target cell contact. In all the cell lines tested, target cells were killed if effector and target cell contact was permitted. However, no bystander effect occurred if effector and target cell contact was prevented. Furthermore, the bystander effect and apoptosis induction of TRAIL was dramatically reduced if cells were seeded at a very low density. Moreover, in all the cell lines tested, no detectable soluble TRAIL was found in media from the TRAIL-expressing cell cultures. Together, our results demonstrated that release of soluble TRAIL from transfer of the wild-type TRAIL gene is minimal, and that the bystander effect of the TRAIL gene is mainly mediated by membrane-bound TRAIL on the surface of transduced cells.     

肿瘤坏死因子相关凋亡诱导配体基因对人大肠癌细胞株HT29作用的研究

目的 探讨肿瘤坏死因子（TNF）相关的凋亡诱导配体基因（TRAIL）用于人大肠癌细胞株HT29基因治疗的实验研究。方法 将重组腺病毒载体（Ad)介导的TRAIL基因作用于人大肠癌细胞株HT29,通过相差显微镜、MTT比色法和流式细胞仪,研究分析其对HT29细胞作用的效果。结果 Ad/GT-TRAIL能引起HT29细胞出现明显的形态学改变,对HT29细胞的生长抑制率和凋亡诱导率分别为54．3％和11．1％;联合Ad/PGK-GV16后,生长抑制率和凋亡诱导率均显著提高（P＜0．05）,分别为82．7％和24．6％。结论 Ad/GT-TRAIL能有效诱导HT29的凋亡从而抑制HT29的生长,联合Ad/PGK-GV16后将显著提高其疗效。