How reovirus kills cancer cells
February 21st, 2011 - 5:07 pm ICT by ANIWashington, Feb 21 (ANI): A new study has found a virus that can help treat cancer.
Reoviruses are successfully being used in clinical trials to treat patients with cancer.
Not only does the virus cause cancer cells to die, it also forces them to release pro-inflammatory chemokines and cytokines, which in turn causes the patient’s immune system to attack the disease.
The study shows that reovirus infected cancer cells secrete proteins which, even when isolated, result in the death of cancer cells.
Normal human cells are protected from reovirus infection by a protein called PKR. However a cellular signalling protein (Ras), which can block PKR activity, is abnormally activated in many types of cancer and provides a window of opportunity for reovirus infection.
A multi-centre study, involving labs in the UK and America, collected growth media from reovirus infected melanoma cells.
The researchers showed that this media contained a range of small pro-inflammatory proteins, including an interleukin (IL-8) and Type 1 Interferon (INF-B), which recruited and activated white blood cells, specifically Natural Killer (NK) cells, dendritic cells (DC) and anti melanoma cytotoxic T cells (CTL).
Whilst the exact details behind this mode of action of cell signalling in response to viral infection are unclear, the release of cytokines was dependent on both ‘inactive’ PKR and a specific nuclear factor (NF-B).
“Bystander immune-mediated therapy may well be an important component in the treatment of cancer by reoviruses, and may have potential in treating cancer even in the absence of live virus,” said Prof Alan Melcher, from Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine.
The research was published by BioMed Central’s open access journal Molecular Cancer. (ANI)
- New signaling pathway linked to inflammatory disease discovered - Dec 15, 2010
- Mice study finds link between depression and inflammatory response - Dec 21, 2010
- Protein that may fight against inflammatory disease identified - Oct 21, 2010
- Binge drinking weakens body's ability to fight infections - Sep 18, 2009
- Loneliness 'ups risk of inflammatory diseases' - Feb 09, 2011
- Immune system can abort stem cell regeneration - Nov 21, 2011
- Friendly bacteria help fend off flu: Study - Mar 15, 2011
- How fish oils work against diabetes - Sep 03, 2010
- 'Fountain of youth' pill may restore aging immune system - Dec 14, 2010
- Heparin plays key role in allergic, inflammatory reactions - Feb 26, 2011
- Melanoma spreads to lungs using body's immune system - Oct 08, 2010
- New fusion molecule 'empowers immune system to fight cancer' - Apr 13, 2011
- Discovery could lead to 'next-gen' vaccines - Apr 08, 2012
- Boosting body's immune system may hold key to HIV cure - Feb 04, 2011
- Skin cancer-treating prescription drug could boost effects of HIV vaccines - May 06, 2010
Tags: biomed central, cause cancer cells, chemokines, cytokines, dendritic cells, exact details, human cells, inflammatory proteins, melanoma cells, melcher, molecular cancer, molecular medicine, nuclear factor, prof alan, reoviruses, t cells, treatment of cancer, types of cancer, viral infection, white blood cells