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Effects of innate immunity on herpes simplex virus and its ability to kill tumor cells

Gene Therapy volume 10, pages 983–990 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

Several clinical trials have or are being performed testing the safety and efficacy of different strains of oncolytic viruses (OV) for malignant cancers. OVs represent either naturally occurring or genetically engineered strains of viruses that exhibit relatively selective replication in tumor cells. Several types of OV have been derived from herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV1). Tumor oncolysis depends on the processes of initial OV infection of tumor, followed by subsequent propagation of OV within the tumor itself. The role of the immune responses in these processes has not been extensively studied. On the contrary, effects of the immune response on the processes of wild-type HSV1 infection and propagation in the central nervous system have been studied and described in detail. The first line of defense against a wild-type HSV1 infection in both naive and immunized individuals is provided by innate humoral (complement, cytokines, chemokines) and cellular (macrophages, neutrophils, NK cells, γδ T cells, and interferon-producing cells) responses. These orchestrate the lysis of virions and virus-infected cells as well as provide a link to effective adaptive immunity. The role of innate defenses in curtailing the oncolytic effect of genetically engineered HSV has only recently been studied, but several of the same host responses appear to be operative in limiting anticancer effects by the replicating virus. The importance of this knowledge lies in finding avenues to modulate such initial innate responses, in order to allow for increased oncolysis of tumors while minimizing host toxicity.

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Acknowledgements

This review is dedicated to the memory of Dr Keiro Ikeda (MGH, Keio University, Japan). Funding support by the NCI to EAC, PRJ, and DK is acknowledged. Support to EAC from the Berkowitz-Knott Fund for Brain tumor Research, from the Cleveland Clinic ‘Finding a Cure for Glioblastoma’, from Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure, Inc., from the American Brain Tumor Association, and from the National Brain Tumor Foundation is also acknowledged. The authors thank Dr Tomoki Todo (MGH) for providing useful criticisms to the review.

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  1. Molecular Neuro-Oncology Laboratories, Neurosurgery Service, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA

    H Wakimoto & E A Chiocca

  2. Division of Immunology, New England Regional Primate Research Center, Harvard Medical School, Southbrough, MA, USA

    P R Johnson

  3. Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    D M Knipe

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Wakimoto, H., Johnson, P., Knipe, D. et al. Effects of innate immunity on herpes simplex virus and its ability to kill tumor cells. Gene Ther 10, 983–990 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.gt.3302038

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