Carrier cell-mediated delivery of a replication-competent adenovirus for cancer gene therapy

Although replication-competent viruses have been developed to treat cancers, their cytotoxic effects are insufficient, as infection is inhibited by the generation of neutralizing antibodies. To address this limitation, we developed a carrier cell system to deliver a replication-competent adenovirus. Carrier cells infected with replication-competent adenovirus were incubated with target cancer cells in a high titer of anti-adenovirus antibody. Carrier cells were injected into syngeneic subcutaneous tumors after immunization with adenovirus. Carrier cell-derived cell fragments containing viral particles were engulfed by proliferative target cancer cells. This engulfment-mediated transfer of adenovirus was not inhibited by the anti-adenovirus antibody and enabled repetitive infection. After the induction of anti-adenoviral cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses by immunization with adenovirus, administration of carrier cells infected with a replication-competent adenovirus induced complete tumor regression. Adenovirus-GM-CSF augmented the anti-tumor effect of carrier cells by increasing anti-adenoviral and anti-tumoral CTL responses and decreased the number of injections of carrier cells required to induce complete tumor regression. This novel carrier cell-mediated viral transfection system might prove useful in a variety of cancer therapies.