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Ovarian cancer gene therapy using HPV-16 pseudovirion carrying the HSV-tk gene

Chien-Fu Hung1, An Jen Chiang, Hsiao-Hsuan Tsai

  • 1Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America. chung2@jhmi.edu

Plos One
|July 21, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Human papillomavirus (HPV) pseudovirions show promise for ovarian cancer gene therapy. This approach uses HPV to deliver a gene that targets ovarian tumor cells, leading to significant anti-tumor effects in mice.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Gene Therapy
  • Virology

Background:

  • Ovarian cancer remains a leading cause of gynecological cancer death.
  • Conventional treatments often fail in advanced stages, necessitating novel therapeutic strategies.
  • Gene therapy offers a potential alternative by targeting cancer cells specifically.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the potential of human papillomavirus (HPV) pseudovirions as a delivery vector for ovarian cancer gene therapy.
  • To evaluate the efficacy of delivering the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-tk) gene to ovarian tumor cells using HPV pseudovirions.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized HPV-16 pseudovirions to deliver the HSV-tk gene.
  • Administered pseudovirions intraperitoneally to mice with ovarian tumors.
  • Treated mice with ganciclovir following pseudovirion injection.

Main Results:

  • HPV-16 pseudovirions demonstrated preferential infection of murine and human ovarian tumor cells in vivo.
  • Intraperitoneal delivery of HPV-16 pseudovirions carrying the HSV-tk gene, combined with ganciclovir, resulted in significant anti-tumor effects.
  • The gene therapy approach showed therapeutic efficacy in a murine ovarian cancer model.

Conclusions:

  • HPV pseudovirions are effective delivery vehicles for targeting ovarian tumor cells.
  • This gene therapy strategy holds potential for treating advanced ovarian cancer.
  • Further research into HPV pseudovirion-based gene therapy for ovarian cancer is warranted.

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