scholarly journals Coxsackievirus B3—Its Potential as an Oncolytic Virus

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 718
Author(s):  
Anja Geisler ◽  
Ahmet Hazini ◽  
Lisanne Heimann ◽  
Jens Kurreck ◽  
Henry Fechner

Oncolytic virotherapy represents one of the most advanced strategies to treat otherwise untreatable types of cancer. Despite encouraging developments in recent years, the limited fraction of patients responding to therapy has demonstrated the need to search for new suitable viruses. Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) is a promising novel candidate with particularly valuable features. Its entry receptor, the coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor (CAR), and heparan sulfate, which is used for cellular entry by some CVB3 variants, are highly expressed on various cancer types. Consequently, CVB3 has broad anti-tumor activity, as shown in various xenograft and syngeneic mouse tumor models. In addition to direct tumor cell killing the virus induces a strong immune response against the tumor, which contributes to a substantial increase in the efficiency of the treatment. The toxicity of oncolytic CVB3 in healthy tissues is variable and depends on the virus strain. It can be abrogated by genetic engineering the virus with target sites of microRNAs. In this review, we present an overview of the current status of the development of CVB3 as an oncolytic virus and outline which steps still need to be accomplished to develop CVB3 as a therapeutic agent for clinical use in cancer treatment.

2019 ◽  
Vol 93 (22) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tibor Farkas ◽  
Kui Yang ◽  
Jacques Le Pendu ◽  
Joel D. Baines ◽  
Rhonda D. Cardin

ABSTRACT Human norovirus (HuNoV) is a leading cause of acute gastroenteritis in both developed and developing countries. Studies of HuNoV host cell interactions are limited by the lack of a simple, robust cell culture system. Due to their diverse HuNoV-like biological features, including histo-blood group antigen (HBGA) binding, rhesus enteric caliciviruses (ReCVs) are viable surrogate models for HuNoVs. In addition, several ReCV strains can be propagated to high titers in standard nonhuman primate cell lines while causing lytic infection and cell death. To identify the ReCV entry receptor, we performed CRISPR/Cas9 library screening in Vero cells, which identified the coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor (CAR) as a candidate ReCV entry receptor. We showed that short interfering RNA, anti-human CAR (hCAR) monoclonal antibody RmcB treatment, and recombinant hCAR ectodomain blocked ReCV replication in LLC-MK2 cells. CRISPR/Cas9-targeted knockout of CAR in LLC-MK2 and Vero cells made these cell lines resistant to ReCV infection, and susceptibility to infection could be restored by transient expression of CAR. CHO cells do not express CAR or HBGAs and are resistant to ReCV infection. Recombinant CHO cells stably expressing hCAR or the type B HBGA alone did not support ReCV infection. However, CHO cells expressing both hCAR and the type B HBGA were susceptible to ReCV infection. In summary, we have demonstrated that CAR is required for ReCV infection and most likely is a functional ReCV receptor, but HBGAs are also necessary for infection. IMPORTANCE Because of the lack of a simple and robust human norovirus (HuNoV) cell culture system surrogate, caliciviruses still represent valuable research tools for norovirus research. Due to their remarkable biological similarities to HuNoVs, including the utilization of HBGAs as putative attachment receptors, we used rhesus enteric caliciviruses (ReCVs) to study enteric calicivirus host cell interactions. Using CRISPR/Cas9 library screening and functional assays, we identified and validated the coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor (CAR) as a functional proteinaceous receptor for ReCVs. Our work demonstrated that CAR and HBGAs both are necessary to convert a nonsusceptible cell line to being susceptible to ReCV infection. Follow-up studies to evaluate the involvement of CAR in HuNoV infections are ongoing.


2004 ◽  
Vol 189 (8) ◽  
pp. 1431-1439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bobby Yanagawa ◽  
O. Brad Spiller ◽  
David G. Proctor ◽  
Jonathan Choy ◽  
Honglin Luo ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. A747-A747
Author(s):  
Andrew MacKinnon ◽  
Deepthi Bhupathi ◽  
Jason Chen ◽  
Tony Huang ◽  
Weiqun Li ◽  
...  

BackgroundTumors evade destruction by the immune system through multiple mechanisms including altering metabolism in the tumor microenvironment. Metabolic control of immune responses occurs through depletion of essential nutrients or accumulation of toxic metabolites that impair immune cell function and promote tumor growth. The secreted enzyme interleukin 4 (IL-4)-induced gene 1 (IL4I1) is an L-phenylalanine oxidase that catabolizes phenylalanine and produces phenyl-pyruvate and hydrogen peroxide. IL4I1 regulates several aspects of adaptive immunity in mice, including inhibition of cytotoxic T cells through its production of hydrogen peroxide (reviewed in1). In human tumors, IL4I1 expression is significantly elevated relative to normal tissues and is notably high in ovarian tumors and B cell lymphomas. Motivated by the hypothesis that IL4I1 is an immuno-metabolic enzyme that suppresses anti-tumor immunity, we discovered CB-668, the first known small-molecule inhibitor of IL4I1.MethodsIL4I1 enzymatic activity was measured using an HRP-coupled enzyme assay. RNA in-situ hybridization was carried out on the RNAScope platform. Syngeneic mouse tumor models were used to evaluate the anti-tumor activity of CB-668. The level of phenyl-pyruvate in tumor homogenates was measured by LC/MS.ResultsOur clinical candidate, CB-668 is a potent and selective non-competitive inhibitor of IL4I1 (IC50 = 15 nM). CB-668 has favorable in vitro ADME properties and showed low clearance and high oral bioavailability in rodents. Twice-daily oral administration of CB-668 was well-tolerated in mice and resulted in single-agent anti-tumor activity in the syngeneic mouse tumor models B16-F10, A20, and EG7. Oral CB-668 administration reduced the levels of phenyl-pyruvate in the tumor, consistent with inhibition of IL4I1 enzymatic activity. Anti-tumor activity of CB-668 was immune cell-mediated since efficacy was abrogated in CD8-depleted mice, and CB-668 treatment caused increased expression of pro-inflammatory immune genes in the tumor. Moreover, CB-668 had no direct anti-proliferative activity on tumor cells grown in vitro (IC50 > 50 µM). CB-668 also favorably combined with anti-PD-L1 therapy to reduce tumor growth in the B16-F10 tumor model.ConclusionsThese data support an immune-mediated anti-tumor effect of IL4I1 inhibition by CB-668, and suggest inhibition of IL4I1 represents a novel strategy for cancer immuno-therapy.ReferencesMolinier-Frenkel V, Prévost-Blondel A, and Castellano F. The IL4I1 Enzyme: A New Player in the Immunosuppressive Tumor Microenvironment. Cells 2019;8:1–9.


Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 742
Author(s):  
Rima Hajjo ◽  
Dima A. Sabbah ◽  
Sanaa K. Bardaweel ◽  
Alexander Tropsha

The identification of reliable and non-invasive oncology biomarkers remains a main priority in healthcare. There are only a few biomarkers that have been approved as diagnostic for cancer. The most frequently used cancer biomarkers are derived from either biological materials or imaging data. Most cancer biomarkers suffer from a lack of high specificity. However, the latest advancements in machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) have enabled the identification of highly predictive, disease-specific biomarkers. Such biomarkers can be used to diagnose cancer patients, to predict cancer prognosis, or even to predict treatment efficacy. Herein, we provide a summary of the current status of developing and applying Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) biomarkers in cancer care. We focus on all aspects of MRI biomarkers, starting from MRI data collection, preprocessing and machine learning methods, and ending with summarizing the types of existing biomarkers and their clinical applications in different cancer types.


2016 ◽  
Vol 90 (12) ◽  
pp. 5601-5610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Pinkert ◽  
Carsten Röger ◽  
Jens Kurreck ◽  
Jeffrey M. Bergelson ◽  
Henry Fechner

ABSTRACTThe coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor (CAR) is a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily (IgSF) and functions as a receptor for coxsackie B viruses (CVBs). The extracellular portion of CAR comprises two glycosylated immunoglobulin-like domains, D1 and D2. CAR-D1 binds to the virus and is essential for virus infection; however, it is not known whether D2 is also important for infection, and the role of glycosylation has not been explored. To understand the function of these structural components in CAR-mediated CVB3 infection, we generated a panel of human (h) CAR deletion and substitution mutants and analyzed their functionality as CVB receptors, examining both virus binding and replication. Lack of glycosylation of the CAR-D1 or -D2 domains did not adversely affect CVB3 binding or infection, indicating that the glycosylation of CAR is not required for its receptor functions. Deletion of the D2 domain reduced CVB3 binding, with a proportionate reduction in the efficiency of virus infection. Replacement of D2 with the homologous D2 domain from chicken CAR, or with the heterologous type C2 immunoglobulin-like domain from IgSF11, another IgSF member, fully restored receptor function; however, replacement of CAR-D2 with domains from CD155 or CD80 restored function only in part. These data indicate that glycosylation of the extracellular domain of hCAR plays no role in CVB3 receptor function and that CAR-D2 is not specifically required. The D2 domain may function largely as a spacer permitting virus access to D1; however, the data may also suggest that D2 affects virus binding by influencing the conformation of D1.IMPORTANCEAn important step in virus infection is the initial interaction of the virus with its cellular receptor. Although the role in infection of the extracellular CAR-D1, cytoplasmic, and transmembrane domains have been analyzed extensively, nothing is known about the function of CAR-D2 and the extracellular glycosylation of CAR. Our data indicate that glycosylation of the extracellular CAR domain has only minor importance for the function of CAR as CVB3 receptor and that the D2 domain is not essential per se but contributes to receptor function by promoting the exposure of the D1 domain on the cell surface. These results contribute to our understanding of the coxsackievirus-receptor interactions.


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