Semliki Forest virus-mediated gene therapy of the RG2 rat glioma
Abstract
Glioblastoma multiforme is the most common and most malignant adult brain tumour. Despite numerous advances in cancer therapy there has been little change in the prognosis of glioblastoma multiforme, which remains invariably fatal. We examined the Semliki Forest virus virus-like particle (SFV VLP) expression system encoding interleukin-12 (IL-12) as a therapeutic intervention against the syngeneic RG2 rat glioma model. Glioma-bearing rats were treated with IL-12-encoding SFV VLPs via an implanted cannula. Animals were treated with 5 × 10⁷ (low-dose) or 5 × 10⁸ (high-dose) VLPs per treatment and the effect on glioma growth and survival was assessed. Low-dose treatment produced a 70% reduction in tumour volume, associated with a significant extension (20.45%) in survival that was dependent upon IL-12 expression. High-dose treatment resulted in an 87% reduction in tumour volume, related to the oncolytic capacity of the SFV VLP system. VLP delivery to the central nervous system (CNS) demonstrated the potential of the vector system to induce lethal pathology that was unrelated to replication-competent virus or high-level IL-12 expression. Treatment-related death was pronounced in high dose-treated animals and appeared to be the resu...Continue Reading
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