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Baculovirus-mediated interferon alleviates dimethylnitrosamine-induced liver cirrhosis symptoms in a murine model

Gene Therapy volume 15, pages 990–997 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

The wild-type baculovirus Autographa californica multiple nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcMNPV) infects a range of mammalian cell types in vitro but does not replicate in these cells. The current study investigated the in vivo effect of AcMNPV in the mouse model of liver cirrhosis induced by the mutagen dimethylnitrosamine. Intraperitoneal injection of AcMNPV induced an immune response. The baculovirus was taken up by the liver and spleen where it suppressed liver injury and fibrosis through the induction of interferons. This study presents the first evidence of the feasibility of using baculovirus to treat liver cirrhosis.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported, in part, by a grant from the Research and Development Program for New Bio-industry Initiatives and by a Grant-in-Aid for High Technology Research, no. 09309011, from the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports, and Culture, Japan.

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Author notes

  1. Y Nishibe and H Suzuki: These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Life and Environmental Science, Chiba Institute of Technology, Chiba, Japan

    Y Nishibe, H Kaneko, H Suzuki & H Takaku

  2. Research Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan

    T Abe & Y Matsuura

  3. High Technology Research Center, Chiba Institute of Technology, Chiba, Japan

    H Takaku

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  1. Y Nishibe
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  2. H Kaneko
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  6. H Takaku
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Correspondence to H Takaku.

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Nishibe, Y., Kaneko, H., Suzuki, H. et al. Baculovirus-mediated interferon alleviates dimethylnitrosamine-induced liver cirrhosis symptoms in a murine model. Gene Ther 15, 990–997 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/gt.2008.29

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/gt.2008.29

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