Oncolytic Effects of S89K Matrix Protein of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus in Cervical Cancer

Oncolytic viruses are currently the subject of cancer treatment research. Unlike other viruses, they can target tumor cells while avoiding healthy ones. The vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) has the ability to kill tumor cells through one of two different apoptotic pathways, depending on which cell line is being studied. Even when no other viral components are present, the VSV matrix protein can induce cell death in HeLa cells through apoptosis. The purpose of this research was to examine the similarities and differences in the induction of cell death by native and mutant VSV matrix proteins.

To create the mutant VSV matrix protein, the amino acid Ser was substituted with Lys at residue 89 (S89K). After the matrix gene was cloned into the expression vector, both the normal and mutant versions were transfected into HeLa cells. The expression was verified by fluorescence microscopy, and flow cytometry was used to evaluate the apoptosis rate.

After 48 hours of transfection, the VSV matrix protein was found to promote cell death at the highest level. The results showed that once basic amino acids were substituted with alcoholic ones in the S89K mutant, the apoptotic activity of the VSV matrix protein was enhanced.

This study discovered that increasing apoptosis induction by introducing a specific mutation at a specific location in the VSV matrix protein improved its apoptotic capabilities. The ability to engineer recombinant viruses with specific mutations is crucial for the development of cancer vaccines that target specific cell lines.