Procaspase-3 enhances the in vitro effect of cytosine deaminase-thymidine kinase disuicide gene therapy on human ovarian cancer

Suicide gene strategies applied in ovarian cancer studies

Ovarian cancer represents the most lethal gynecological malignancy among women in developed countries. Despite the recent innovations, the improvements in the 5-year survival rate have been insufficient and the management of this disease still remains a challenge. The fact that the majority of patients experience recurrent or resistant disease have substantiated the necessity of an innovative treatment. Among various strategies investigated, the recent strides made in gene delivery techniques have made gene therapy, including suicide gene strategies, a potential alternative for treating ovarian cancer. Various suicide gene candidates, which are capable of promoting cancer cell apoptosis directly after its entry or indirectly by prodrug administration, can be separated into three systems using enzyme-coding, toxin or pro-apoptotic genes. With this review, we aim to provide an overview of different suicide genes depending on therapeutic strategies, the vectors used to deliver these transgenes specifically to malignant cells, and the combined treatments of these genes with various therapeutic regimens.

Reprogramming cellular behavior with RNA controllers responsive to endogenous proteins

Synthetic genetic devices that interface with native cellular pathways can be used to change natural networks to implement new forms of control and behavior. The engineering of gene networks has been limited by an inability to interface with native components. We describe a class of RNA control devices that overcome these limitations by coupling increased abundance of particular proteins to targeted gene expression events through the regulation of alternative RNA splicing. We engineered RNA devices that detect signaling through the nuclear factor κB and Wnt signaling pathways in human cells and rewire these pathways to produce new behaviors, thereby linking disease markers to noninvasive sensing and reprogrammed cellular fates. Our work provides a genetic platform that can build programmable sensing-actuation devices enabling autonomous control over cellular behavior.

Gene therapy for ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer remains the leading cause of death due to gynecologic cancer in women in the United States. Gene and viral-based therapies represent novel therapeutic approaches for cancer. The manipulation of genetic content of tumor cells toward a therapeutic end has been divided into several general strategies, including molecular chemotherapy, mutation compensation, immunopotentiation, and virotherapy. Improvements in delivery vehicles and in evaluation of gene transfer and viral replication remain important areas of investigation. We highlight the most recent advances in these novel therapeutic approaches for ovarian cancer and include a summary of recent clinical trials.