Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 8, 2026

Genome-wide RNAi Screening to Identify Host Factors That Modulate Oncolytic Virus Therapy
08:51

Genome-wide RNAi Screening to Identify Host Factors That Modulate Oncolytic Virus Therapy

Published on: April 3, 2018

Estrogen-mediated NF-κB blockade enables breast cancer sensitivity to oncolytic VSV virotherapy

Mélissa Viens1, Karen Geoffroy1, Elline Meuriot1

  • 1Cancer Axis and Institut du Cancer de Montréal, Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM) Research Center, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada; Immunopathology Axis, CHUM Research Center, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada; Department of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases, and Immunology, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada.

Molecular Therapy : the Journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy
|May 7, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Novel therapies for breast cancer show promise. Combining oncolytic Vesicular stomatitis virus (oVSV) with NF-κB inhibitors enhances treatment efficacy, particularly for triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) resistant to estrogen.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Virology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Breast cancer requires novel therapies, with oncolytic viruses showing promise but yielding heterogeneous responses.
  • Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) are resistant to oncolytic Vesicular stomatitis virus (oVSV), unlike estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) cancers.
  • Estrogen (E2) enhances oVSV infection in ER+ cancers, while E2-antagonizing therapies reduce efficacy.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To enhance oncolytic virotherapy for breast cancer, independent of estrogen.
  • To investigate the role of NF-κB activation in estrogen-mediated oVSV enhancement.
  • To evaluate combination therapies of oVSV with NF-κB inhibitors for TNBC.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized oncolytic Vesicular stomatitis virus (oVSV) in breast cancer models.
  • Investigated the effect of estrogen (E2) and NF-κB inhibitors (IKK16, Sulfasalazine) on oVSV replication.
  • Assessed virus replication in TNBC cell lines and patient samples.

Main Results:

  • Estrogen (E2) stimulation enhanced oVSV infection, while E2-antagonizing therapies reduced it.
  • Mechanistic studies revealed E2 stimulation impairs NF-κB activation.
  • NF-κB inhibitors IKK16 and Sulfasalazine improved oVSV replication in TNBC.
  • Combination therapy showed efficacy in TNBC cell lines and patient samples.

Conclusions:

  • Estrogen significantly impacts oncolytic virotherapy efficacy in breast cancer.
  • NF-κB inhibitors can overcome E2-mediated resistance and enhance oVSV activity.
  • Combination therapy offers a promising strategy for treating all breast cancer subtypes, including TNBC.
Keywords:
NF-κBbreast cancerestradiolestrogenoncolytic virusvesicular stomatitis virus

More Related Videos

Ex Vivo Infection of Live Tissue with Oncolytic Viruses12:08

Ex Vivo Infection of Live Tissue with Oncolytic Viruses

Published on: June 25, 2011

Paramyxoviruses for Tumor-targeted Immunomodulation: Design and Evaluation Ex Vivo12:42

Paramyxoviruses for Tumor-targeted Immunomodulation: Design and Evaluation Ex Vivo

Published on: January 7, 2019

Related Concept Videos

NF-κB-dependent Signaling Pathway02:26

NF-κB-dependent Signaling Pathway

The transcription factor NF-κB was discovered in 1986 in the lab of Nobel laureate Professor David Baltimore, for its interaction with the immunoglobulin light chain enhancer in B-cells. After more than three decades of study, it is now evident that NF-κB regulates the expression of over 100 genes. Most of these genes play an essential role in the innate and adaptive immune responses as well as the inflammatory responses of animals.
NF-κB-dependent Signaling Mechanism
The heterodimer of NF-κB...
NF-kB-dependent Signaling Pathway02:26

NF-kB-dependent Signaling Pathway

The transcription factor NF-κB was discovered in 1986 in the lab of Nobel laureate Professor David Baltimore, for its interaction with the immunoglobulin light chain enhancer in B-cells. After more than three decades of study, it is now evident that NF-κB regulates the expression of over 100 genes. Most of these genes play an essential role in the innate and adaptive immune responses as well as the inflammatory responses of animals.
NF-κB-dependent Signaling Mechanism
The heterodimer of NF-κB...
Cancer Therapies02:49

Cancer Therapies

Cancer therapies are various modes of treatment, such as surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy that are administered to cancer patients.
However, cancer treatments can pose several challenges, as therapies used to kill cancer cells are generally also toxic to normal cells. Moreover, cancer cells mutate rapidly and can develop resistance to chemical agents or radiation therapy. Besides, all types of cancer cells may not respond to the same therapy. Some cancer cells respond to one...
Rous Sarcoma Virus (RSV) and Cancer01:03

Rous Sarcoma Virus (RSV) and Cancer

Rous Sarcoma virus or RSV was discovered by F. Peyton Rous in the year 1911 as a filterable transmissible agent that could cause tumors in chickens. He won a Nobel Prize for this discovery in 1966. His experiments clearly demonstrated that some cancers could be caused by infectious agents and led to the discovery of many more cancer-causing viruses in animals as well as humans.
RSV is a retrovirus that contains two copies of a plus-strand  RNA genome. Its genome consists of four main open...
Rous Sarcoma Virus (RSV) and Cancer01:03

Rous Sarcoma Virus (RSV) and Cancer

Rous Sarcoma virus or RSV was discovered by F. Peyton Rous in the year 1911 as a filterable transmissible agent that could cause tumors in chickens. He won a Nobel Prize for this discovery in 1966. His experiments clearly demonstrated that some cancers could be caused by infectious agents and led to the discovery of many more cancer-causing viruses in animals as well as humans.
RSV is a retrovirus that contains two copies of a plus-strand  RNA genome. Its genome consists of four main open...
Cytotoxic T Cells-mediated Immune Response01:27

Cytotoxic T Cells-mediated Immune Response

Cytotoxic T cells are a vital component of the immune system. They have the remarkable ability to identify and target antigens on infected or abnormal cells. These antigens often originate from intracellular pathogens such as viruses or abnormal proteins cancer cells produce.
Immunological surveillance is the ability of immune cells to monitor and eliminate infected cells with intracellular pathogens, neoplastically transformed cells, and cells with non-self antigens. Cytotoxic T cells and NK...