Yorkshire Cancer Research Unit, Dept. of Biology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom.
Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in ageing men in the western world. While the primary cancers can be treated with androgen ablation, radiotherapy and surgery, recurrent castration resistant cancers have an extremely poor prognosis, hence promoting research that could lead to a better treatment. Targeted therapeutic gene therapy may provide an attractive option for these patients. By exploiting the natural ability of viruses to target and transfer their genes into cancer cells, either naturally or after genetic manipulation, new generations of biological control can be developed. In this review we present the advantages and practicalities of using baculovirus as a vector for prostate cancer gene therapy and provide evidence for the potential of the baculovirus Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) as a safer alternative vehicle for targeting cancer cells. Strategies to target baculovirus binding specifically to prostate cell surfaces are also presented. The large insertion capacity of baculoviruses also permits restricted, prostate-specific gene expression of therapeutic genes by cloning extended human transcriptional control sequences into the baculovirus genome.
Written by:
Rivera-Gonzalez GC, Swift SL, Dussupt V, Georgopoulos LJ, Maitland NJ. Are you the author?
Reference: J Invertebr Pathol. 2011 Jul;107 Suppl:S59-70.
doi: 10.1016/j.jip.2011.05.006
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 21784232
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