image: Human Gene Therapy, the Official Journal of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy, French Society of Cell and Gene Therapy, German Society of Gene Therapy, and five other gene therapy societies, is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly in print and online. Led by Editor-in-Chief Terence R. Flotte, MD, Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor of Medical Education and Dean, Provost, and Executive Deputy Chancellor, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Human Gene Therapy presents reports on the transfer and expression of genes in mammals, including humans. Related topics include improvements in vector development, delivery systems, and animal models, particularly in the areas of cancer, heart disease, viral disease, genetic disease, and neurological disease, as well as ethical, legal, and regulatory issues related to the gene transfer in humans. Its companion journals, Human Gene Therapy Methods, published bimonthly, focuses on the application of gene therapy to product testing and development, and Human Gene Therapy Clinical Development, published quarterly, features data relevant to the regulatory review and commercial development of cell and gene therapy products. Tables of contents for all three publications and a free sample issue may be viewed on the Human Gene Therapy website.
Credit: ©Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers
New Rochelle, NY, May 7, 2016--A new study shows that the anti-tumor effect of oncolytic virus therapy is significantly greater in mice when the virus is genetically modified to express a junction opening (JO) protein, which helps the cancer-killing agent better penetrate solid tumors. The potential for JO to improve cancer therapy with various types of oncolytic viruses is described in Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free for download on the Human Gene Therapy website until June 7, 2016.
Roma Yumul, Maximilian Richter, and coauthors, University of Washington, Compliment Corp., and PAI Life Sciences Inc. (Seattle, WA), Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Beijing, PR China), and BRIM Biotechnology Inc. (Taipei, Taiwan), explain how the tight junctions between malignant epithelial cells allow solid tumors to resist the effects of anticancer drugs including oncolytic viruses.
In the article "Epithelial Junction Opener Improves Oncolytic Adenovirus Therapy in Mouse Tumor Models," the researchers demonstrate that administering the JO protein together with an oncolytic adenovirus into the tumors of mice, or engineering the virus to produce and secrete the JO protein inside tumor cells, greatly enhances the antitumor effect compared to treatment with unmodified virus.
This article is part of a Festschrift in honor of George Stamatoyannopoulous, MD, DrSci, Professor of Medicine and Genome Sciences, and Director, Markey Molecular Medicine Center, University of Washington, Seattle.
"Oncolytic adenoviruses are rapidly making a big impact in therapy for many different cancers," says Editor-in-Chief Terence R. Flotte, MD, Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor of Medical Education and Dean, Provost, and Executive Deputy Chancellor, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA. "The concept of enhancing the penetration of such viruses into tumors using an epithelial junction opener promises to improve the success rate of such therapies in bulkier solid tumors, which are often very hard to treat."
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Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institutes of Health under Award Numbers R01 CA080192 and R01 HLA078836. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
About the Journal
Human Gene Therapy, the Official Journal of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy, French Society of Cell and Gene Therapy, German Society of Gene Therapy, and five other gene therapy societies, is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly in print and online. Led by Editor-in-Chief Terence R. Flotte, MD, Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor of Medical Education and Dean, Provost, and Executive Deputy Chancellor, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Human Gene Therapy presents reports on the transfer and expression of genes in mammals, including humans. Related topics include improvements in vector development, delivery systems, and animal models, particularly in the areas of cancer, heart disease, viral disease, genetic disease, and neurological disease, as well as ethical, legal, and regulatory issues related to the gene transfer in humans. Its companion journals, Human Gene Therapy Methods, published bimonthly, focuses on the application of gene therapy to product testing and development, and Human Gene Therapy Clinical Development, published quarterly, features data relevant to the regulatory review and commercial development of cell and gene therapy products. Tables of contents for all three publications and a free sample issue may be viewed on the Human Gene Therapy website.
About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Nucleic Acid Therapeutics, Tissue Engineering, Stem Cells and Development, and Cellular Reprogramming. Its biotechnology trade magazine, GEN (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.
Journal
Human Gene Therapy