Myxoma virus expressing human interleukin-12 does not induce myxomatosis in European rabbits

Marianne M. Stanford, John W. Barrett, Philippe Alexandre Gilbert, Richard Bankert, Grant McFadden

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Myxoma virus (MV) is a candidate for oncolytic virotherapy due to its ability to selectively infect and kill tumor cells, yet MV is a species-specific pathogen that causes disease only in European rabbits. To assess the ability of MV to deliver cytokines to tumors, we created an MV (vMyxIL-12) that expresses human interleukin-12 (IL-12). vMyxTL-12 replicates similarly to wild-type MV, and virus-infected cells secrete bioactive IL-12. Yet, vMyxIL-12 does not cause myxomatosis, despite expressing the complete repertoire of MV proteins. Thus, vMyxIL-12 exhibits promise as an oncolytic candidate and is safe in all known vertebrate hosts, including lagomorphs.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)12704-12708
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of virology
Volume81
Issue number22
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2007
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Microbiology
  • Immunology
  • Insect Science
  • Virology

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