Oncolytic viruses and cancer therapy

Modulation of Reoviral Cytolysis (II): Cellular Stemness

Oncolytic viruses (OVs) are an emerging cancer therapeutic that are intended to act by selectively targeting and lysing cancerous cells and by stimulating anti-tumour immune responses, while leaving normal cells mainly unaffected. Reovirus is a well-studied OV that is undergoing advanced clinical trials and has received FDA approval in selected circumstances. However, the mechanisms governing reoviral selectivity are not well characterised despite many years of effort, including those in our accompanying paper where we characterize pathways that do not consistently modulate reoviral cytolysis. We have earlier shown that reovirus is capable of infecting and lysing both certain types of cancer cells and also cancer stem cells, and here we demonstrate its ability to also infect and kill healthy pluripotent stem cells (PSCs). This led us to hypothesize that pathways responsible for stemness may constitute a novel route for the modulation of reoviral tropism. We find that reovirus is capable of killing both murine and human embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells. Differentiation of PSCs alters the cells' reoviral-permissive state to a resistant one. In a breast cancer cell line that was resistant to reoviral oncolysis, induction of pluripotency programming rendered the cells permissive to cytolysis. Bioinformatic analysis indicates that expression of the Yamanaka pluripotency factors may be associated with regulating reoviral selectivity. Mechanistic insights from these studies will be useful for the advancement of reoviral oncolytic therapy.

Using oncolytic viruses to ignite the tumour immune microenvironment in bladder cancer

The advent of immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI) has transformed the treatment paradigm for bladder cancer. However, despite the success of ICI in other tumour types, the majority of ICI-treated patients with bladder cancer failed to respond. The lack of efficacy in some patients could be attributed to a paucity of pre-existing immune reactive cells within the tumour immune microenvironment, which limits the beneficial effects of ICI. In this setting, strategies to attract lymphocytes before implementation of ICI could be helpful. Oncolytic virotherapy is thought to induce the release of damage-associated molecular patterns, eliciting a pro-inflammatory cytokine cascade and stimulating the activation of the innate immune system. Concurrently, oncolytic virotherapy-induced oncolysis leads to further release of neoantigens and subsequent epitope spreading, culminating in a robust, tumour-specific adaptive immune response. Combination therapy using oncolytic virotherapy with ICI has proven successful in a number of preclinical studies and is beginning to enter clinical trials for the treatment of both non-muscle-invasive and muscle-invasive bladder cancer. In this context, understanding of the mechanisms underpinning oncolytic virotherapy and its potential synergism with ICI will enable clinicians to effectively deploy oncolytic virotherapy, either as monotherapy or as combination therapy in the different clinical stages of bladder cancer.

A Novel Oncolytic Herpes Capable of Cell-Specific Transcriptional Targeting of CD133± Cancer Cells Induces Significant Tumor Regression

The topic of cancer stem cells (CSCs) is of significant importance due to its implications in our understanding of the tumor biology as well as the development of novel cancer therapeutics. However, the question of whether targeting CSCs can hamper the growth of tumors remains mainly unanswered due to the lack of specific agents for this purpose. To address this issue, we have developed the first mutated version of herpes simplex virus-1 that is transcriptionally targeted against CD133+ cells. CD133 has been portrayed as one of the most important markers in CSCs involved in the biology of a number of human cancers, including liver, brain, colon, skin, and pancreas. The virus developed in this work, Signal-Smart 2, showed specificity against CD133+ cells in three different models (hepatocellular carcinoma, colorectal cancer, and melanoma) resulting in a loss of viability and invasiveness of cancer cells. Additionally, the virus showed robust inhibitory activity against in vivo tumor growth in both preventive and therapeutic mouse models as well as orthotopic model highly relevant to potential clinical application of this virus. Therefore, we conclude that targeting CD133+ CSCs has the potential to be pursued as a novel strategy against cancer. Stem Cells 2018;36:1154-1169.

Apoptosis-inducing effect of myxoma virus on human neuroglioma cell lines

The purpose of this study was to further evaluate the role of myxoma virus (MYXV) as an oncolytic agent against experimental human gliomas in vitro, and analyze the effect of MYXV on malignant glioma cells at different incubation periods and infected at different multiplicities of infection. Neuroglioma cell lines U251 and A172 were cultured with various infective doses of myxoma virus at different time points (0-3 days) and cellular survival rates were evaluated using an MTT assay. Cell viability and cell death rates were assessed using Annexin V/propidium iodide and applying flow cytometry. Furthermore, the expression levels of phosphorylated AKT (p-AKT) in malignant gliomas were detected by western blot analysis to investigate the possible cell signaling targets in the pathway. MYXV exhibited a dose and time-dependent cytotoxic effect on neuroglioma cells, and there was increased expression of p-AKT in malignant gliomas. The present study confirms that MYXV induces oncolysis of malignant gliomas through regulating the activation of AKT. As such, MYXV is a potential therapeutic agent against human malignant gliomas.

Oncolytic virotherapy for urological cancers

Oncolytic virotherapy is a cancer treatment in which replication-competent viruses are used that specifically infect, replicate in and lyse malignant tumour cells, while minimizing harm to normal cells. Anecdotal evidence of the effectiveness of this strategy has existed since the late nineteenth century, but advances and innovations in biotechnological methods in the 1980s and 1990s led to a renewed interest in this type of therapy. Multiple clinical trials investigating the use of agents constructed from a wide range of viruses have since been performed, and several of these enrolled patients with urological malignancies. Data from these clinical trials and from preclinical studies revealed a number of challenges to the effectiveness of oncolytic virotherapy that have prompted the development of further sophisticated strategies. Urological cancers have a range of distinctive features, such as specific genetic mutations and cell surface markers, which enable improving both effectiveness and safety of oncolytic virus treatments. The strategies employed in creating advanced oncolytic agents include alteration of the virus tropism, regulating transcription and translation of viral genes, combination with chemotherapy, radiotherapy or gene therapy, arming viruses with factors that stimulate the immune response against tumour cells and delivery technologies to ensure that the viral agent reaches its target tissue.

Oncolytic viruses in head and neck cancer: a new ray of hope in the management protocol

This paper intends to highlight the different types of oncolytic viruses (OVs), mechanism of tumor specificity, its safety, and various obstacles in the design of treatment and combination therapy utilizing oncotherapy. Search was conducted using the internet-based search engines and scholarly bibliographic databases with key words such as OVs, head and neck cancer, viruses, oral squamous cell carcinoma, and gene therapy. Revolutionary technologies in the field of cancer treatment have gone through a series changes leading to the development of innovative therapeutic strategies. Oncolytic virotherapy is one such therapeutic approach that has awaited phase III clinical trial validation. OVs are self-replicating, tumor selective and lyse cancer cells following viral infection. By modifying the viral genome, it is possible to direct their toxicity toward cancer cells. Viruses that are used for treatment of head and neck cancer are either naturally occurring or genetically modified. OVs are tumor selective and potential anticancer agents. Virotherapy may become the standard of care and part of combination therapy in the management of head and neck cancer in the future.

hTERT extends the life of human fibroblasts without compromising type I interferon signaling

Primary cells are often used to study viral replication and host-virus interactions as their antiviral pathways have not been altered or inactivated; however, their use is restricted by their short lifespan. Conventional methods to extend the life of primary cultures typically utilize viral oncogenes. Many of these oncogenes, however, perturb or inactivate cellular antiviral pathways, including the interferon (IFN) response. It has been previously shown that expression of the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene extends the life of certain cell types. The effect that TERT expression has on the innate antiviral response to RNA- and DNA-containing viruses has not been examined. In the current study, we introduced the human TERT (hTERT) gene into a primary human embryonic lung (HEL-299) cell strain, which is known to respond to the type I IFN, IFN-β. We show that the resulting HEL-TERT cell line is capable of replicating beyond 100 population doublings without exhibiting signs of senescence. Treatment with IFN-β resulted in the upregulation of four model IFN stimulated genes (ISGs) in HEL-299 and HEL-TERT cells. Both cell lines supported the replication of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) and impaired the replication of both viruses upon IFN-β pretreatment. Introduction of the viral oncoprotein, simian virus 40 (SV40) large T-antigen, which is frequently used to immortalize cells, largely negated this effect. Taken together, our data indicate that expression of hTERT does not alter type 1 IFN signaling and/or the growth of two viruses, making this cell line a useful reagent for studying viral replication and virus-cell interactions.

Anti-leukemic activity of Newcastle disease virus strains AF2240 and V4-UPM in murine myelomonocytic leukemia in vivo

Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is a member of the Paramyxoviridae that has caused severe economic losses in poultry industry worldwide. Several strains of NDV were reported to induce cytolysis to cancerous cell lines. It has prompted much interest as anticancer agent because it can replicate up to 10,000 times better in human cancer cells than in most normal cells. In this study, two NDV strains, viserotropic-velogenic strain AF2240 and lentogenic strain V4-UPM, showed cytolytic activity and apoptosis induction against Mouse myelomoncytic leukemia (WEHI 3B). The cytolytic effects of NDV strains were determined using microtetrazolium (MTT) assay. The cytolytic dose - fifty percent (CD(50)) were 2 and 8HAU for AF2240 and V4-UPM strains, respectively. Cells treated with NDV strains showed apoptotic features compared to the untreated cells under fluorescence microscope. NDV induced activation of caspase-3 and DNA laddering in agarose gel electrophoresis which confirmed the apoptosis. The anti-leukemic activity of both strains was evaluated on myelomoncytic leukemia BALB/c mice. The results indicated that both NDV strains significantly decreased liver and spleen weights. It also decreased blasts cell percentage in blood, bone marrow and spleen smears of treated mice (p<0.05). Histopathological studies for spleen and liver confirmed the hematological results of blood and bone marrow. From the results obtained, the exposure to both NDV stains AF2240 and V4-UPM showed similar results for Ara-c. In conclusion NDV strains AF2240 and V4-UPM can affect WEHI 3B leukemia cells in vitro and in vivo.

Ras signaling influences permissiveness of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor cells to oncolytic herpes

Lack of expression of neurofibromin in neurofibromatosis 1 and its lethal derivative, malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs), is thought to result in the overactivation of the Ras signaling pathway. Our previous studies have shown that cells with overactivation in the Ras pathway are more permissive to infection with herpes simplex virus 1 and its mutant version R3616. In this study, we show that among five different mouse MPNST cell lines, only the ones with elevated levels of Ras signaling are highly permissive to infection with oncolytic herpes G207. Specific inhibitors of the Ras, ERK, and JNK pathways all reduced the synthesis of viral proteins in MPNST cells. The cell lines that contained lower levels of Ras and decreased activation of downstream signaling components underwent an enhancement in apoptosis upon exposure to G207. Additionally, mouse SW10 Schwann cells were able to become infected by parental herpes but were found to be resistant to G207. The immortalization of these cell lines with the expression of SV40 large T antigen increased the levels of Ras activation and permissiveness to oncolytic herpes. A Ras/Raf kinase inhibitor reduced the synthesis of both herpes simplex virus-1 and G207 proteins in SW10 cells. The results of this study, therefore, introduce Ras signaling as a divergent turning point for the response of MPNST cells to an assault by oncolytic herpes.

The eIF2alpha kinases PERK and PKR activate glycogen synthase kinase 3 to promote the proteasomal degradation of p53

Phosphorylation of eukaryotic initiation factor 2alpha (eIF2alpha) is mediated by a family of kinases that respond to various forms of environmental stress. The eIF2alpha kinases are critical for mRNA translation, cell proliferation, and apoptosis. Activation of the tumor suppressor p53 results in cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in response to various types of stress. We previously showed that, unlike the majority of stress responses that stabilize and activate p53, induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress leads to p53 degradation through an Mdm2-dependent mechanism. Here, we demonstrate that the endoplasmic reticulum-resident eIF2alpha kinase PERK mediates the proteasomal degradation of p53 independently of translational control. This role is not specific for PERK, because the eIF2alpha kinase PKR also promotes p53 degradation in response to double-stranded RNA. We further establish that the eIF2alpha kinases induce glycogen synthase kinase 3 to promote the nuclear export and proteasomal degradation of p53. Our findings reveal a novel cross-talk between the eIF2alpha kinases and p53 with implications in cell proliferation and tumorigenesis.

Oncolytic virotherapy synergism with signaling inhibitors: Rapamycin increases myxoma virus tropism for human tumor cells

Myxoma virus is a rabbit-specific poxvirus pathogen that also exhibits a unique tropism for human tumor cells and is dramatically oncolytic for human cancer xenografts. Most tumor cell lines tested are permissive for myxoma infection in a fashion intimately tied to the activation state of Akt kinase. A host range factor of myxoma virus, M-T5, directly interacts with Akt and mediates myxoma virus tumor cell tropism. mTOR is a regulator of cell growth and metabolism downstream of Akt and is specifically inhibited by rapamycin. We report that treatment of nonpermissive human tumor cell lines, which normally restrict myxoma virus replication, with rapamycin dramatically increased virus tropism and spread in vitro. This increased myxoma replication is concomitant with global effects on mTOR signaling, specifically, an increase in Akt kinase. In contrast to the effects on human cancer cells, rapamycin does not increase myxoma virus replication in rabbit cell lines or permissive human tumor cell lines with constitutively active Akt. This indicates that rapamycin increases the oncolytic capacity of myxoma virus for human cancer cells by reconfiguring the internal cell signaling environment to one that is optimal for productive virus replication and suggests the possibility of a potentially therapeutic synergism between kinase signaling inhibitors and oncolytic poxviruses for cancer treatment.

Oncolytic activity of vesicular stomatitis virus in primary adult T-cell leukemia

Treatments for hematological malignancies have improved considerably over the past decade, but the growing therapeutic arsenal has not benefited adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) patients. Oncolytic viruses such as vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) have recently emerged as a potential treatment of solid tumors and leukemias in vitro and in vivo. In the current study, we investigated the ability of VSV to lyse primary human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1)-infected T-lymphocytes from patients with ATL. Ex vivo primary ATL cells were permissive for VSV and underwent rapid oncolysis in a time-dependent manner. Importantly, VSV infection showed neither viral replication nor oncolysis in HTLV-1-infected, nonleukemic cells from patients with HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP), and in naive CD4(+) T-lymphocytes from normal individuals or in ex vivo cell samples from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Interestingly, activation of primary CD4(+) T-lymphocytes with anti-CD3/CD28 monoclonal antibody, and specifically with anti-CD3, was sufficient to induce limited viral replication and oncolysis. However, at a similar level of T-cell activation, VSV replication was increased fourfold in ATL cells compared to activated CD4(+) T-lymphocytes, emphasizing the concept that VSV targets genetic defects unique to tumor cells to facilitate its replication. In conclusion, our findings provide the first essential information for the development of a VSV-based treatment for ATL.

Myxoma virus is a novel oncolytic virus with significant antitumor activity against experimental human gliomas

Myxoma virus, a poxvirus previously considered rabbit specific, can replicate productively in a variety of human tumor cells in culture. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was efficacy or toxicities of this oncolytic virus against experimental models of human malignant gliomas in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo in malignant glioma specimens. In vitro, the majority of glioma cell lines tested (7 of 8, 87.5%) were fully permissive for myxoma virus replication and killed by infection. In vivo, intracerebral (i.c.) myxoma virus inoculation was well tolerated and produced only minimal focal inflammatory changes at the site of viral inoculation. U87 and U251 orthotopic xenograft models were used to assess myxoma virus efficacy in vivo. A single intratumoral injection of myxoma virus dramatically prolonged median survival compared with treatment with UV-inactivated myxoma virus. Median survival was not reached in myxoma virus-treated groups versus 47.3 days (U87; P = 0.0002) and 50.7 days (U251; P = 0.0027) in UV-inactivated myxoma virus-treated groups. Most myxoma virus-treated animals (12 of 13, 92%) were alive and apparently "cured" when the experiment was finished (>130 days). Interestingly, we found a selective and long-lived myxoma virus infection in gliomas in vivo. This is the first demonstration of the oncolytic activity of myxoma virus in vivo. The nonpathogenic nature of myxoma virus outside of the rabbit host, its capacity to be genetically modified, its ability to produce a long-lived infection in human tumor cells, and the lack of preexisting antibodies in the human population suggest that myxoma virus may be an attractive oncolytic agent against human malignant glioma.

The role of ICP0-Null HSV-1 and interferon signaling defects in the effective treatment of breast adenocarcinoma

Oncolytic viruses that selectively replicate in cancer cells have been described for over 50 years. Despite the observation by several groups that multimutated herpes simplex type 1 vectors are oncolytic in a variety of murine tumor models, the oncolytic potential of ICP0 null mutants has not been described. This study characterizes a novel second-generation oncolytic herpes simplex type 1 vector null for the ICP0 gene. We tested three mutant viruses and found that all were selectively cytotoxic in a variety of human and murine tumor cells in vitro. Furthermore, we provide evidence of a mechanistic link between ICP0's function in interferon signaling pathways and the observed oncolytic capacity of ICP0 mutants. Using an immunocompetent murine model of breast adenocarcinoma we demonstrate that the ICP0 mutant KM100 completely eradicates tumors in approximately 80% of treated animals and significantly increases survival. Our data suggest that active viral replication is necessary for effective tumor regression. In addition, we characterized the potential of KM100 as an anti-tumor vaccine since cured mice were found to elicit a robust anti-tumor immune response and were refractory to subsequent tumor growth upon rechallenge.

Efficacy and safety evaluation of human reovirus type 3 in immunocompetent animals: racine and nonhuman primates

PURPOSE

Human reovirus type 3 has been proposed to kill cancer cells with an activated Ras signaling pathway. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of reovirus in immunocompetent glioma animal models and safety/toxicity in immunocompetent animals, including nonhuman primates.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

Racine glioma cells 9L and RG2 were implanted s.c. or intracranially in Fisher 344 rats with or without reovirus antibodies, followed by treatment of reovirus. To study whether reovirus kills contralateral tumors in the brain and to determine viral distribution, we established an in situ dual tumor model followed by reovirus intratumoral inoculation only into the ipsilateral tumor. To evaluate neurotoxicity/safety of reovirus, Cynomolgus monkeys and immunocompetent rats were given intracranially with reovirus, and pathological examination and/or behavioral studies were done. Viral shedding and clinical biochemistry were systematically studied in monkeys.

RESULTS

Intratumorally given reovirus significantly suppressed the growth of both s.c. and intracranially tumors and significantly prolonged survival. The presence of reovirus-neutralizing antibodies did not abort the reovirus' antitumor effect. Reovirus inhibited glioma growth intracranially in the ipsilateral but not the contralateral tumors; viral load in ipsilateral tumors was 15 to 330-fold higher than the contralateral tumors. No encephalitis or behavioral abnormalities were found in monkeys and rats given reovirus intracranially. No treatment-related clinical biochemistry changes or diffuse histopathological abnormality were found in monkeys inoculated intracranially with Good Manufacturing Practice prepared reovirus. Microscopic changes were confined to the region of viral inoculation and were dose related, suggesting reovirus intracranially was well tolerated in nonhuman primates.

CONCLUSIONS

These data show the efficacy and safety of reovirus when it is used in the treatment of gliomas in immunocompetent hosts. Inoculation of reovirus into the brain of nonhuman primates did not produce significant toxicities.

Development of a novel recombinant adenovirus containing gfp–zeocin fusion expression cassette for conditional replication in p53-deficient human tumor cells

Two obstacles limiting the efficacy of nearly all cancer gene therapy trails are low gene transduction efficiency and the lack of tumor specificity. Fortunately, a replication-competent, E1B-deficient adenovirus (dl1520) was developed that could overcome these limitations, because it was capable of efficiently and selectively destroying tumor cells lacking functional p53. In an attempt to appraise the efficiency and safety of this approach, a novel recombinant adenovirus, r3/Ad, containing a gfp-zeocin expression cassette was constructed in this work. The study in vitro demonstrated that r3/Ad has the ability to replicate in and lyse only the p53-deficient human tumor cells such as the human glioblastoma cells (U251) and human bladder cells (EJ) but not in the human fibroblast cells (MRC-5) with functional p53. Importantly, this gfp-zeocin fusion gene driven by the bipromoter (CMV and EM-7) could be used as an effective selective marker and reporter in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells; and also zeocin as a selective marker could minimize contamination of the recombinant virus by the wt-Ad5. Additionally, it was found that the r3/Ad could be useful for studying the selective replication of E1B-deficient adenovirus in vivo, it could be used as a "guide" to study the ability of the recombinant adenovirus to spread and to infect distant tumor cells in any tumor bearing animal model by GFP as a reporter. This may help determine the safety of using any E1B-deficient adenovirus in cancer gene therapy.

VSV strains with defects in their ability to shutdown innate immunity are potent systemic anti-cancer agents

Ideally, an oncolytic virus will replicate preferentially in malignant cells, have the ability to treat disseminated metastases, and ultimately be cleared by the patient. Here we present evidence that the attenuated vesicular stomatitis strains, AV1 and AV2, embody all of these traits. We uncover the mechanism by which these mutants are selectively attenuated in interferon-responsive cells while remaining highly lytic in 80% of human tumor cell lines tested. AV1 and AV2 were tested in a xenograft model of human ovarian cancer and in an immune competent mouse model of metastatic colon cancer. While highly attenuated for growth in normal mice, both AV1 and AV2 effected complete and durable cures in the majority of treated animals when delivered systemically.

Neural stem cell biology may be well suited for improving brain tumor therapies

Neural stem cells (NSCs) are capable of tremendous migratory potential to areas of pathology in the central nervous system. When implanted into a diseased or injured nervous system, NSCs can travel through great distances to and engraft within areas of discrete as well as diffuse abnormalities. Engraftment is often followed by integration into the local neural milieu, accompanied by stable gene expression from the NSCs. In addition, the pluripotency of NSCs endows them with the capability to replace diseased tissues in an appropriate manner. Recent evidence has also suggested that engrafted exogenous NSCs may have effects on the surrounding microenvironment, such as promoting protection and/or regeneration of host neural pathways. These characteristics of NSCs would seem to make them ideal agents for the treatment of various central nervous system pathologies, especially brain tumors. Brain tumors are generally difficult to treat because of the unique location of the lesions. In primary gliomas, the extensive infiltrative nature of the tumor cells presents a challenge for their effective and total eradication, hence the high rate of treatment failure and disease recurrence. In addition, normal brain structures are distorted and are often destroyed by the growing neoplasm. Even with effective therapy to surgically resect and destroy the neoplastic tissues, the brain is still injured, which often leaves the patient in a debilitated state. The unique ability of NSCs to "home in" on tumor cells followed by the delivery of a desired gene product makes the NSC a very promising agent in brain tumor therapy. Cytolytic viruses and genes coding for anti-tumor cytokines, pro-drug converting enzymes, and various neurotrophic factors have all been engineered into engraftable NSCs for delivery to tumors. When they are specially tagged, such injected NSCs can be visualized with the use of novel imaging techniques and tracked in vivo within living animals over real time. If the NSCs were also capable of participating in the subsequent repair and regeneration of the tumor-afflicted brain-at present a potential but as-yet-unproven aspect of this intervention-then its role in abetting anti-tumor therapy would be complete. It is important to emphasize, however, that the use of NSCs is adjunctive and is not a replacement for other therapies that should be used in parallel.

Encephalomyocarditis and Mengo viruses productively infect murine T-lymphocyte cell lines but not fresh ex vivo derived T lymphocytes

Encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) and Mengo virus are highly virulent murine cardioviruses that are found in abundant quantities in the spleen and lymph nodes after infection. T lymphocytes are pivotal mediators of humoral and cellular immunity against cardioviral challenge, and are highly suspect candidates of EMCV and Mengo virus infection. We found T lymphocyte-like cell lines CTLL-2, EL-4, LY1+2/9, and LBRM33 were susceptible to productive viral infection and exhibited cytopathology after infection with virulent EMCV-R or attenuated Mengo virus strains vMC0 and vMC24. Flow cytometric analysis demonstrated progressive intracellular accumulation of viral proteins, such as the replication-dependent 3D viral polymerase, in EL-4 cells during infection. Conversely, freshly isolated and mitogen-stimulated CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were resistant to productive infection with these viruses, exhibiting no viral-induced cytopathic effects or intracellular presence of viral proteins. These data indicate that although T-lymphocyte-like tumor cell lines are highly susceptible to viral infection and cytopathic effects, primary/freshly isolated T cells are resistant to infection by EMCV-R or Mengo virus.

The interferon antiviral response: from viral invasion to evasion

One of the initial responses of an organism to infection by pathogenic viruses is the synthesis of antiviral cytokines such as the type I interferons (interferon-alpha/beta), interleukins, and other proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Interferons provide a first line of defence against virus infections by generating an intracellular environment that restricts virus replication and signals the presence of a viral pathogen to the adaptive arm of the immune response. Interferons stimulate cells in the local environment to activate a network of interferon-stimulated genes, which encode proteins that have antiviral, antiproliferative and immunomodulatory activities. The present review focuses on recent reports that describe the activation of multiple signalling pathways following virus infection, new candidate genes that are implicated in the establishment of the antiviral state, and the strategies used by viruses and their specific viral products to antagonize and evade the host antiviral response.