Virology

Biography

Biography: Rafael A Guerrero R

Abstract

Oncolytic viruses are viruses selected to infect and replicate specifically in tumor cells and then decreasing cell viability. Some viruses have been adapted or modified to give them enhanced infectivity and selectivity toward target tumor cells. Oncolytic viruses have become a novel approach for treating some cancers by inducing cell lysis or immune response to tumor cells. In present work, acute lymphocytic leukemia REH cells was infected with adapted Wt1-5 Rotavirus previously reported. Infection produced by active oncolytic Rotavirus induced expression of cell death signals in cancer cells but not in non-tumor cells. Cell death was characterized using DiOC6/7-AAD, DNA fragmentation test, Annexin V, TUNEL and Caspase assay. We propose that the oncolytic properties of this Wt1-5 Rotavirus are derived from the fact that it specifically targets cells expressing heat shock proteins, protein disulfide isomerase and αVβ3 integrin on their cell surface, which is common in many cancer cells. The interaction of Rotavirus and cell surface proteins was evaluated with flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. The results suggest that the Wt1-5 Rotavirus tested in the present work has oncolytic properties that allow us to propose that this adapted Rotavirus could be assayed as an oncolytic virus in other cancer cells, including leukemia and animal models.