Repurposing infectious disease vaccines for intratumoral immunotherapy

Intratumoral delivery of viruses and virus-associated molecular patterns can achieve antitumor effects that are largely mediated by the elicitation or potentiation of immune responses against the malignancy. Attenuated vaccines are approved and marketed as good manufactiring practice (GMP)-manufactured agents whose administration might be able to induce such effects. Recent reports in mouse transplantable tumor models indicate that the rotavirus, influenza and yellow fever vaccines can be especially suitable to elicit powerful antitumor immunity against cancer following intratumoral administration. These results highlight that intratumoral anti-infectious vaccines can turn cold tumors into hot, and underscore the key role played by virus-induced type I interferon pathways to overcome resistance to immune checkpoint-targeted antibodies.

The Possible Chemosensitizing Effect of Different Doses of Indol-3-Carbinol on Transplantable Tumor Model Treated with Doxorubicin

Background: Ehrlich carcinoma is a transplantable tumor model used frequently in cancer studies. Doxorubicin (DOX) is one of the anthracyclines that is frequently used in treatment of various types of malignancies including breast, prostate and lung cancer. Indole-3-carbinol (I3C) is a phytochemical that was suggested to have potent anti-tumor and chemosensitizing effects. Objective: To detect the possible chemosensitizing effects of different doses of I3C on solid Ehrlich carcinoma (SEC) treated with DOX in mice. Materials and methods: One hundred and forty mice were divided into seven equal groups as follows: Control untreated group, solid Ehrlich carcinoma (SEC), SEC + DOX, SEC + I3C 1000 ppm, SEC + I3C 2000 ppm, SEC + DOX + I3C 1000 ppm and SEC + DOX + I3C 2000 ppm. Tumor volume, survival rate, tissue glutathione reductase (GR), tissue glutathione peroxidase (GPx), tissue tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and tissue interleukin-6 (IL-6) were determined. Parts of the tumor were subjected to histopathological and immunohistochemical examination. Results: DOX and/or I3C produced significant increase in the survival rate, tissue GPx and tissue GR with significant decrease in tumor volume, tissue TNF-α and tissue IL-6 compared to SEC group. Moreover, they improved the histopathological changes with significant increase in tissue caspase-3 activity and p53 compared to SEC group. These effects were significant in DOX/I3C combination groups compared to the use of each of these drugs alone. Conclusion: I3C-in a dose dependent manner - had a chemosensitizing effect against transplantable tumor model treated with DOX in mice and this might represent an adjuvant to the traditional drugs used in cancer chemotherapy.

Antitumor potential of anethole singly and in combination with cyclophosphamide in murine Sarcoma-180 transplantable tumor model

Coupling anethole with cyclophosphamide reduces side effect of the latter and enhances apoptosis–necrosis ratio in murine s-180 tumor model.

Comparison of the Roles of Tea Polysaccharides and Polyphenols in Growth Inhibition of Hepatoma H22 Cells in Mice

The effects of tea polysaccharides (TPS) and polyphenols (TPP) on the growth inhibition of hepatoma H22 cells in mice including the roles of them in immune stimulation were investigated. The results showed that TPS and TPP both significantly inhibited the growth of H22 transplantable tumor in mice without statistical difference, both remarkably decreased the spleen index and increased the thymus index compared with that of model group (p<0.05). In addition, TPS and TPP significantly improved the splenocyte proliferation induced by ConA or LPS, and notably enhanced the macrophage phagocytosis towards neutral red. The comparison showed the effect of TPS on immune stimulation was superior to that of TPP to some extent.