@article{SchaeferWeibelDonatetal.2012,
  author    = {Sch{\"a}fer, Simon and Weibel, Stephanie and Donat, Ulrike and Zhang, Quian and Aguilar, Richard J. and Chen, Nanhai G. and Szalay, Aladar A.},
  title     = {Vaccinia virus-mediated intra-tumoral expression of matrix metalloproteinase 9 enhances oncolysis of PC-3 xenograft tumors},
  series = {BMC Cancer},
  volume    = {12},
  journal   = {BMC Cancer},
  number    = {366},
  doi       = {10.1186/1471-2407-12-366},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-140800},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {Background Oncolytic viruses, including vaccinia virus (VACV), are a promising alternative to classical mono-cancer treatment methods such as surgery, chemo- or radiotherapy. However, combined therapeutic modalities may be more effective than mono-therapies. In this study, we enhanced the effectiveness of oncolytic virotherapy by matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-9)-mediated degradation of proteins of the tumoral extracellular matrix (ECM), leading to increased viral distribution within the tumors. Methods For this study, the oncolytic vaccinia virus GLV-1h255, containing the mmp-9 gene, was constructed and used to treat PC-3 tumor-bearing mice, achieving an intra-tumoral over-expression of MMP-9. The intra-tumoral MMP-9 content was quantified by immunohistochemistry in tumor sections. Therapeutic efficacy of GLV-1h255 was evaluated by monitoring tumor growth kinetics and intra-tumoral virus titers. Microenvironmental changes mediated by the intra-tumoral MMP-9 over-expression were investigated by microscopic quantification of the collagen IV content, the blood vessel density (BVD) and the analysis of lymph node metastasis formation. Results GLV-1h255-treatment of PC-3 tumors led to a significant over-expression of intra-tumoral MMP-9, accompanied by a marked decrease in collagen IV content in infected tumor areas, when compared to GLV-1h68-infected tumor areas. This led to considerably elevated virus titers in GLV-1h255 infected tumors, and to enhanced tumor regression. The analysis of the BVD, as well as the lumbar and renal lymph node volumes, revealed lower BVD and significantly smaller lymph nodes in both GLV-1h68- and GLV-1h255- injected mice compared to those injected with PBS, indicating that MMP-9 over-expression does not alter the metastasis-reducing effect of oncolytic VACV. Conclusions Taken together, these results indicate that a GLV-1h255-mediated intra-tumoral over-expression of MMP-9 leads to a degradation of collagen IV, facilitating intra-tumoral viral dissemination, and resulting in accelerated tumor regression. We propose that approaches which enhance the oncolytic effect by increasing the intra-tumoral viral load, may be an effective way to improve therapeutic outcome.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{SturmHessWeibeletal.2012,
  author    = {Sturm, Julia B. and Hess, Michael and Weibel, Stephanie and Chen, Nanhei G. and Yu, Yong A. and Zhang, Quian and Donat, Ulrike and Reiss, Cora and Gambaryan, Stepan and Krohne, Georg and Stritzker, Jochen and Szalay, Aladar A.},
  title     = {Functional hyper-IL-6 from vaccinia virus-colonized tumors triggers platelet formation and helps to alleviate toxicity of mitomycin C enhanced virus therapy},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-75224},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {Background: Combination of oncolytic vaccinia virus therapy with conventional chemotherapy has shown promise for tumor therapy. However, side effects of chemotherapy including thrombocytopenia, still remain problematic. Methods: Here, we describe a novel approach to optimize combination therapy of oncolytic virus and chemotherapy utilizing virus-encoding hyper-IL-6, GLV-1h90, to reduce chemotherapy-associated side effects. Results: We showed that the hyper-IL-6 cytokine was successfully produced by GLV-1h90 and was functional both in cell culture as well as in tumor-bearing animals, in which the cytokine-producing vaccinia virus strain was well tolerated. When combined with the chemotherapeutic mitomycin C, the anti-tumor effect of the oncolytic virotherapy was significantly enhanced. Moreover, hyper-IL-6 expression greatly reduced the time interval during which the mice suffered from chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia. Conclusion: Therefore, future clinical application would benefit from careful investigation of additional cytokine treatment to reduce chemotherapy-induced side effects.},
  subject      = {Biologie},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{KoberRohnWeibeletal.2015,
  author    = {Kober, Christina and Rohn, Susanne and Weibel, Stephanie and Geissinger, Ulrike and Chen, Nanhai G. and Szalay, Aladar A.},
  title     = {Microglia and astrocytes attenuate the replication of the oncolytic vaccinia virus LIVP 1.1.1 in murine GL261 gliomas by acting as vaccinia virus traps},
  series = {Journal of Translational Medicine},
  volume    = {13},
  journal   = {Journal of Translational Medicine},
  number    = {216},
  doi       = {10.1186/s12967-015-0586-x},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-126517},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {Background Oncolytic virotherapy is a novel approach for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) which is still a fatal disease. Pathologic features of GBM are characterized by the infiltration with microglia/macrophages and a strong interaction between immune- and glioma cells. The aim of this study was to determine the role of microglia and astrocytes for oncolytic vaccinia virus (VACV) therapy of GBM. Methods VACV LIVP 1.1.1 replication in C57BL/6 and \(Foxn1^{nu/nu}\) mice with and without GL261 gliomas was analyzed. Furthermore, immunohistochemical analysis of microglia and astrocytes was investigated in non-, mock-, and LIVP 1.1.1-infected orthotopic GL261 gliomas in C57BL/6 mice. In cell culture studies virus replication and virus-mediated cell death of GL261 glioma cells was examined, as well as in BV-2 microglia and IMA2.1 astrocytes with M1 or M2 phenotypes. Co-culture experiments between BV-2 and GL261 cells and apoptosis/necrosis studies were performed. Organotypic slice cultures with implanted GL261 tumor spheres were used as additional cell culture system. Results We discovered that orthotopic GL261 gliomas upon intracranial virus delivery did not support replication of LIVP 1.1.1, similar to VACV-infected brains without gliomas. In addition, recruitment of \(Iba1^+\) microglia and \(GFAP^+\) astrocytes to orthotopically implanted GL261 glioma sites occurred already without virus injection. GL261 cells in culture showed high virus replication, while replication in BV-2 and IMA2.1 cells was barely detectable. The reduced viral replication in BV-2 cells might be due to rapid VACV-induced apoptotic cell death. In BV-2 and IMA 2.1 cells with M1 phenotype a further reduction of virus progeny and virus-mediated cell death was detected. Application of BV-2 microglial cells with M1 phenotype onto organotypic slice cultures with implanted GL261 gliomas resulted in reduced infection of BV-2 cells, whereas GL261 cells were well infected. Conclusion Our results indicate that microglia and astrocytes, dependent on their activation state, may preferentially clear viral particles by immediate uptake after delivery. By acting as VACV traps they further reduce efficient virus infection of the tumor cells. These findings demonstrate that glia cells need to be taken into account for successful GBM therapy development.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{CouchWangMcGuffogetal.2013,
  author    = {Couch, Fergus J. and Wang, Xianshu and McGuffog, Lesley and Lee, Andrew and Olswold, Curtis and Kuchenbaecker, Karoline B. and Soucy, Penny and Fredericksen, Zachary and Barrowdale, Daniel and Dennis, Joe and Gaudet, Mia M. and Dicks, Ed and Kosel, Matthew and Healey, Sue and Sinilnikova, Olga M. and Lee, Adam and Bacot, Fran{\c{c}}ios and Vincent, Daniel and Hogervorst, Frans B. L. and Peock, Susan and Stoppa-Lyonnet, Dominique and Jakubowska, Anna and Radice, Paolo and Schmutzler, Rita Katharina and Domchek, Susan M. and Piedmonte, Marion and Singer, Christian F. and Friedman, Eitan and Thomassen, Mads and Hansen, Thomas V. O. and Neuhausen, Susan L. and Szabo, Csilla I. and Blanco, Ingnacio and Greene, Mark H. and Karlan, Beth Y. and Garber, Judy and Phelan, Catherine M. and Weitzel, Jeffrey N. and Montagna, Marco and Olah, Edith and Andrulis, Irene L. and Godwin, Andrew K. and Yannoukakos, Drakoulis and Goldgar, David E. and Caldes, Trinidad and Nevanlinna, Heli and Osorio, Ana and Terry, Mary Beth and Daly, Mary B. and van Rensburg, Elisabeth J. and Hamann, Ute and Ramus, Susan J. and Toland, Amanda Ewart and Caligo, Maria A. and Olopade, Olufunmilayo I. and Tung, Nadine and Claes, Kathleen and Beattie, Mary S. and Southey, Melissa C. and Imyanitov, Evgeny N. and Tischkowitz, Marc and Janavicius, Ramunas and John, Esther M. and Kwong, Ava and Diez, Orland and Kwong, Ava and Balma{\~n}a, Judith and Barkardottir, Rosa B. and Arun, Banu K. and Rennert, Gad and Teo, Soo-Hwang and Ganz, Patricia A. and Campbell, Ian and van der Hout, Annemarie H. and van Deurzen, Carolien H. M. and Seynaeve, Caroline and Garcia, Encarna B. G{\´o}mez and van Leeuwen, Flora E. and Meijers-Heijboer, Hanne E. J. and Gille, Johannes J. P. and Ausems, Magreet G. E. M. and Blok, Marinus J. and Ligtenberg, Marjolinjin J. L. and Rookus, Matti A. and Devilee, Peter and Verhoef, Senno and van Os, Theo A. M. and Wijnen, Juul T. and Frost, Debra and Ellis, Steve and Fineberg, Elena and Platte, Radke and Evans, D. Gareth and Izatt, Luise and Eeles, Rosalind A. and Adlard, Julian and Eccles, Diana M. and Cook, Jackie and Brewer, Carole and Douglas, Fiona and Hodgson, Shirley and Morrison, Patrick J. and Side, Lucy E. and Donaldson, Alan and Houghton, Catherine and Rogers, Mark T. and Dorkins, Huw and Eason, Jacqueline and Gregory, Helen and McCann, Emma and Murray, Alex and Calender, Alain and Hardouin, Agn{\`e}s and Berthet, Pascaline and Delnatte, Capucine and Nogues, Catherine and Lasset, Christine and Houdayer, Claude and Leroux,, Dominique and Rouleau, Etienne and Prieur, Fabienne and Damiola, Francesca and Sobol, Hagay and Coupier, Isabelle and Venat-Bouvet, Laurence and Castera, Laurent and Gauthier-Villars, Marion and L{\´e}on{\´e}, M{\´e}lanie and Pujol, Pascal and Mazoyer, Sylvie and Bignon, Yves-Jean and Zlowocka-Perlowska, Elzbieta and Gronwald, Jacek and Lubinski,, Jan and Durda, Katarzyna and Jaworska, Katarzyna and Huzarski, Tomasz and Spurdle, Amanda B. and Viel, Alessandra and Peissel, Bernhard and Bonanni, Bernardo and Melloni, Guilia and Ottini, Laura and Papi, Laura and Varesco, Liliana and Tibiletti, Maria Grazia and Peterlongo, Paolo and Volorio, Sara and Manoukian, Siranoush and Pensotti, Valeria and Arnold, Norbert and Engel, Christoph and Deissler, Helmut and Gadzicki, Dorothea and Gehrig, Andrea and Kast, Karin and Rhiem, Kerstin and Meindl, Alfons and Niederacher, Dieter and Ditsch, Nina and Plendl, Hansjoerg and Preisler-Adams, Sabine and Engert, Stefanie and Sutter, Christian and Varon-Mateeva, Raymenda and Wappenschmidt, Barbara and Weber, Bernhard H. F. and Arver, Brita and Stenmark-Askmalm, Marie and Loman, Niklas and Rosenquist, Richard and Einbeigi, Zakaria and Nathanson, Katherine L. and Rebbeck, Timothy R. and Blank, Stephanie V. and Cohn, David E. and Rodriguez, Gustavo C. and Small, Laurie and Friedlander, Michael and Bae-Jump, Victoria L. and Fink-Retter, Anneliese and Rappaport, Christine and Gschwantler-Kaulich, Daphne and Pfeiler, Georg and Tea, Muy-Kheng and Lindor, Noralane M. and Kaufman, Bella and Paluch, Shani Shimon and Laitman, Yael and Skytte, Anne-Bine and Gerdes, Anne-Marie and Pedersen, Inge Sokilde and Moeller, Sanne Traasdahl and Kruse, Torben A. and Jensen, Uffe Birk and Vijai, Joseph and Sarrel, Kara and Robson, Mark and Kauff, Noah and Mulligan, Anna Marie and Glendon, Gord and Ozcelik, Hilmi and Ejlertsen, Bent and Nielsen, Finn C. and J{\o}nson, Lars and Andersen, Mette K. and Ding, Yuan Chun and Steele, Linda and Foretova, Lenka and Teul{\´e}, Alex and Lazaro, Conxi and Brunet, Joan and Pujana, Miquel Angel and Mai, Phuong L. and Loud, Jennifer T. and Walsh, Christine and Lester, Jenny and Orsulic, Sandra and Narod, Steven A. and Herzog, Josef and Sand, Sharon R. and Tognazzo, Silvia and Agata, Simona and Vaszko, Tibor and Weaver, Joellen and Stravropoulou, Alexandra V. and Buys, Saundra S. and Romero, Atocha and de la Hoya, Miguel and Aittom{\"a}ki, Kristiina and Muranen, Taru A. and Duran, Mercedes and Chung, Wendy K. and Lasa, Adriana and Dorfling, Cecilia M. and Miron, Alexander and Benitez, Javier and Senter, Leigha and Huo, Dezheng and Chan, Salina B. and Sokolenko, Anna P. and Chiquette, Jocelyne and Tihomirova, Laima and Friebel, Tara M. and Agnarsson, Bjarne A. and Lu, Karen H. and Lejbkowicz, Flavio and James, Paul A. and Hall, Per and Dunning, Alison M. and Tessier, Daniel and Cunningham, Julie and Slager, Susan L. and Chen, Wang and Hart, Steven and Stevens, Kristen and Simard, Jacques and Pastinen, Tomi and Pankratz, Vernon S. and Offit, Kenneth and Easton, Douglas F. and Chenevix-Trench, Georgia and Antoniou, Antonis C.},
  title     = {Genome-Wide Association Study in BRCA1 Mutation Carriers Identifies Novel Loci Associated with Breast and Ovarian Cancer Risk},
  series = {PLOS Genetics},
  volume    = {9},
  journal   = {PLOS Genetics},
  number    = {3},
  issn      = {1553-7404},
  doi       = {10.1371/journal.pgen.1003212},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-127947},
  pages     = {e1003212},
  year      = {2013},
  abstract  = {BRCA1-associated breast and ovarian cancer risks can be modified by common genetic variants. To identify further cancer risk-modifying loci, we performed a multi-stage GWAS of 11,705 BRCA1 carriers (of whom 5,920 were diagnosed with breast and 1,839 were diagnosed with ovarian cancer), with a further replication in an additional sample of 2,646 BRCA1 carriers. We identified a novel breast cancer risk modifier locus at 1q32 for BRCA1 carriers (rs2290854, P = 2.7 x 10(-8), HR = 1.14, 95\% CI: 1.09-1.20). In addition, we identified two novel ovarian cancer risk modifier loci: 17q21.31 (rs17631303, P = 1.4 x 10(-8), HR = 1.27, 95\% CI: 1.17-1.38) and 4q32.3 (rs4691139, P = 3.4 x 10(-8), HR = 1.20, 95\% CI: 1.17-1.38). The 4q32.3 locus was not associated with ovarian cancer risk in the general population or BRCA2 carriers, suggesting a BRCA1-specific association. The 17q21.31 locus was also associated with ovarian cancer risk in 8,211 BRCA2 carriers (P = 2 x 10(-4)). These loci may lead to an improved understanding of the etiology of breast and ovarian tumors in BRCA1 carriers. Based on the joint distribution of the known BRCA1 breast cancer risk-modifying loci, we estimated that the breast cancer lifetime risks for the 5\% of BRCA1 carriers at lowest risk are 28\%-50\% compared to 81\%-100\% for the 5\% at highest risk. Similarly, based on the known ovarian cancer risk-modifying loci, the 5\% of BRCA1 carriers at lowest risk have an estimated lifetime risk of developing ovarian cancer of 28\% or lower, whereas the 5\% at highest risk will have a risk of 63\% or higher. Such differences in risk may have important implications for risk prediction and clinical management for BRCA1 carriers.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{AdelfingerGentschevdeGuibertetal.2014,
  author    = {Adelfinger, Marion and Gentschev, Ivaylo and de Guibert, Julio Grimm and Weibel, Stephanie and Langbein-Laugwitz, Johanna and H{\"a}rtl, Barbara and Escobar, Hugo Murua and Nolte, Ingo and Chen, Nanhai G. and Aguilar, Richard J. and Yu, Yong A. and Zhang, Qian and Frentzen, Alexa and Szalay, Aladar A.},
  title     = {Evaluation of a New Recombinant Oncolytic Vaccinia Virus Strain GLV-5b451 for Feline Mammary Carcinoma Therapy},
  series = {PLoS ONE},
  volume    = {9},
  journal   = {PLoS ONE},
  number    = {8},
  doi       = {10.1371/journal.pone.0104337},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-119387},
  pages     = {e104337},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Virotherapy on the basis of oncolytic vaccinia virus (VACV) infection is a promising approach for cancer therapy. In this study we describe the establishment of a new preclinical model of feline mammary carcinoma (FMC) using a recently established cancer cell line, DT09/06. In addition, we evaluated a recombinant vaccinia virus strain, GLV-5b451, expressing the anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) single-chain antibody (scAb) GLAF-2 as an oncolytic agent against FMC. Cell culture data demonstrate that GLV-5b451 virus efficiently infected, replicated in and destroyed DT09/06 cancer cells. In the selected xenografts of FMC, a single systemic administration of GLV-5b451 led to significant inhibition of tumor growth in comparison to untreated tumor-bearing mice. Furthermore, tumor-specific virus infection led to overproduction of functional scAb GLAF-2, which caused drastic reduction of intratumoral VEGF levels and inhibition of angiogenesis. In summary, here we have shown, for the first time, that the vaccinia virus strains and especially GLV-5b451 have great potential for effective treatment of FMC in animal model.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{DonatRotherSchaeferetal.2014,
  author    = {Donat, Ulrike and Rother, Juliane and Sch{\"a}fer, Simon and Hess, Michael and H{\"a}rtl, Barbara and Kober, Christina and Langbein-Laugwitz, Johanna and Stritzker, Jochen and Chen, Nanhai G. and Aguilar, Richard J. and Weibel, Stephanie and Szalay, Alandar A.},
  title     = {Characterization of Metastasis Formation and Virotherapy in the Human C33A Cervical Cancer Model},
  series = {PLoS ONE},
  volume    = {9},
  journal   = {PLoS ONE},
  number    = {6},
  issn      = {1932-6203},
  doi       = {10.1371/journal.pone.0098533},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-119674},
  pages     = {e98533},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {More than 90\% of cancer mortalities are due to cancer that has metastasized. Therefore, it is crucial to intensify research on metastasis formation and therapy. Here, we describe for the first time the metastasizing ability of the human cervical cancer cell line C33A in athymic nude mice after subcutaneous implantation of tumor cells. In this model, we demonstrated a steady progression of lumbar and renal lymph node metastases during tumor development. Besides predominantly occurring lymphatic metastases, we visualized the formation of hematogenous metastases utilizing red fluorescent protein (RFP) expressing C33A-RFP cells. RFP positive cancer cells were found migrating in blood vessels and forming micrometastases in lungs of tumor-bearing mice. Next, we set out to analyze the influence of oncolytic virotherapy in the C33A-RFP model and demonstrated an efficient virus-mediated reduction of tumor size and metastatic burden. These results suggest the C33A-RFP cervical cancer model as a new platform to analyze cancer metastases as well as to test novel treatment options to combat metastases.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{GersztenSahgalSheehanetal.2013,
  author    = {Gerszten, Peter C. and Sahgal, Arjun and Sheehan, Jason P. and Kersh, Ronald and Chen, Stephanie and Flickinger, John C. and Quader, Mubina and Fahim, Daniel and Grills, Inga and Shin, John H. and Winey, Brian and Oh, Kevin and Sweeney, Reinhart A. and Guckenberger, Matthias},
  title     = {A multi-national report on methods for institutional credentialing for spine radiosurgery},
  series = {Radiation Oncology},
  volume    = {8},
  journal   = {Radiation Oncology},
  number    = {158},
  doi       = {10.1186/1748-717X-8-158},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-131485},
  year      = {2013},
  abstract  = {Background: Stereotactic body radiotherapy and radiosurgery are rapidly emerging treatment options for both malignant and benign spine tumors. Proper institutional credentialing by physicians and medical physicists as well as other personnel is important for the safe and effective adoption of spine radiosurgery. This article describes the methods for institutional credentialing for spine radiosurgery at seven highly experienced international institutions. Methods: All institutions (n = 7) are members of the Elekta Spine Radiosurgery Research Consortium and have a dedicated research and clinical focus on image-guided spine radiosurgery. A questionnaire consisting of 24 items covering various aspects of institutional credentialing for spine radiosurgery was completed by all seven institutions. Results: Close agreement was observed in most aspects of spine radiosurgery credentialing at each institution. A formal credentialing process was believed to be important for the implementation of a new spine radiosurgery program, for patient safety and clinical outcomes. One institution has a written policy specific for spine radiosurgery credentialing, but all have an undocumented credentialing system in place. All institutions rely upon an in-house proctoring system for the training of both physicians and medical physicists. Four institutions require physicians and medical physicists to attend corporate sponsored training. Two of these 4 institutions also require attendance at a non-corporate sponsored academic society radiosurgery course. Corporate as well as non-corporate sponsored training were believed to be complimentary and both important for training. In 5 centers, all cases must be reviewed at a multidisciplinary conference prior to radiosurgery treatment. At 3 centers, neurosurgeons are not required to be involved in all cases if there is no evidence for instability or spinal cord compression. Backup physicians and physicists are required at only 1 institution, but all institutions have more than one specialist trained to perform spine radiosurgery. All centers believed that credentialing should also be device specific, and all believed that professional societies should formulate guidelines for institutions on the requirements for spine radiosurgery credentialing. Finally, in 4 institutions radiation therapists were required to attend corporate-sponsored device specific training for credentialing, and in only 1 institution were radiation therapists required to also attend academic society training for credentialing. Conclusions: This study represents the first multi-national report of the current practice of institutional credentialing for spine radiosurgery. Key methodologies for safe implementation and credentialing of spine radiosurgery have been identified. There is strong agreement among experienced centers that credentialing is an important component of the safe and effective implementation of a spine radiosurgery program.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{GentschevMuellerAdelfingeretal.2011,
  author    = {Gentschev, Ivaylo and M{\"u}ller, Meike and Adelfinger, Marion and Weibel, Stephanie and Grummt, Friedrich and Zimmermann, Martina and Bitzer, Michael and Heisig, Martin and Zhang, Qian and Yu, Yong A. and Chen, Nanhai G. and Stritzker, Jochen and Lauer, Ulrich M. and Szalay, Aladar A.},
  title     = {Efficient Colonization and Therapy of Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) Using the Oncolytic Vaccinia Virus Strain GLV-1h68},
  series = {PLOS ONE},
  volume    = {6},
  journal   = {PLOS ONE},
  number    = {7},
  doi       = {10.1371/journal.pone.0022069},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-135319},
  pages     = {e22069},
  year      = {2011},
  abstract  = {Virotherapy using oncolytic vaccinia virus strains is one of the most promising new strategies for cancer therapy. In this study, we analyzed for the first time the therapeutic efficacy of the oncolytic vaccinia virus GLV-1h68 in two human hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines HuH7 and PLC/PRF/5 (PLC) in cell culture and in tumor xenograft models. By viral proliferation assays and cell survival tests, we demonstrated that GLV-1h68 efficiently colonized, replicated in, and did lyse these cancer cells in culture. Experiments with HuH7 and PLC xenografts have revealed that a single intravenous injection (i.v.) of mice with GLV-1h68 resulted in a significant reduction of primary tumor sizes compared to uninjected controls. In addition, replication of GLV-1h68 in tumor cells led to strong inflammatory and oncolytic effects resulting in intense infiltration of MHC class II-positive cells like neutrophils, macrophages, B cells and dendritic cells and in up-regulation of 13 pro-inflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, GLV-1h68 infection of PLC tumors inhibited the formation of hemorrhagic structures which occur naturally in PLC tumors. Interestingly, we found a strongly reduced vascular density in infected PLC tumors only, but not in the non-hemorrhagic HuH7 tumor model. These data demonstrate that the GLV-1h68 vaccinia virus may have an enormous potential for treatment of human hepatocellular carcinoma in man.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{GentschevAdelfingerJosupeitetal.2012,
  author    = {Gentschev, Ivaylo and Adelfinger, Marion and Josupeit, Rafael and Rudolph, Stephan and Ehrig, Klaas and Donat, Ulrike and Weibel, Stephanie and Chen, Nanhai G. and Yu, Yong A. and Zhang, Qian and Heisig, Martin and Thamm, Douglas and Stritzker, Jochen and MacNeill, Amy and Szalay, Aladar A.},
  title     = {Preclinical Evaluation of Oncolytic Vaccinia Virus for Therapy of Canine Soft Tissue Sarcoma},
  series = {PLoS One},
  volume    = {7},
  journal   = {PLoS One},
  number    = {5},
  doi       = {10.1371/journal.pone.0037239},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-129998},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {Virotherapy using oncolytic vaccinia virus (VACV) strains is one promising new strategy for canine cancer therapy. In this study we describe the establishment of an in vivo model of canine soft tissue sarcoma (CSTS) using the new isolated cell line STSA-1 and the analysis of the virus-mediated oncolytic and immunological effects of two different Lister VACV LIVP1.1.1 and GLV-1h68 strains against CSTS. Cell culture data demonstrated that both tested VACV strains efficiently infected and destroyed cells of the canine soft tissue sarcoma line STSA-1. In addition, in our new canine sarcoma tumor xenograft mouse model, systemic administration of LIVP1.1.1 or GLV-1h68 viruses led to significant inhibition of tumor growth compared to control mice. Furthermore, LIVP1.1.1 mediated therapy resulted in almost complete tumor regression and resulted in long-term survival of sarcoma-bearing mice. The replication of the tested VACV strains in tumor tissues led to strong oncolytic effects accompanied by an intense intratumoral infiltration of host immune cells, mainly neutrophils. These findings suggest that the direct viral oncolysis of tumor cells and the virus-dependent activation of tumor-associated host immune cells could be crucial parts of anti-tumor mechanism in STSA-1 xenografts. In summary, the data showed that both tested vaccinia virus strains and especially LIVP1.1.1 have great potential for effective treatment of CSTS.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{SchaeferWeibelDonatetal.2012,
  author    = {Sch{\"a}fer, Simon and Weibel, Stephanie and Donat, Ulrike and Zhang, Qian and Aguilar, Richard J. and Chen, Nanhai G. and Szalay, Aladar A.},
  title     = {Vaccinia virus-mediated intra-tumoral expression of matrix metalloproteinase 9 enhances oncolysis of PC-3 xenograft tumors},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-78220},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {Background: Oncolytic viruses, including vaccinia virus (VACV), are a promising alternative to classical mono-cancer treatment methods such as surgery, chemo- or radiotherapy. However, combined therapeutic modalities may be more effective than mono-therapies. In this study, we enhanced the effectiveness of oncolytic virotherapy by matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-9)-mediated degradation of proteins of the tumoral extracellular matrix (ECM), leading to increased viral distribution within the tumors. Methods: For this study, the oncolytic vaccinia virus GLV-1h255, containing the mmp-9 gene, was constructed and used to treat PC-3 tumor-bearing mice, achieving an intra-tumoral over-expression of MMP-9. The intra-tumoral MMP-9 content was quantified by immunohistochemistry in tumor sections. Therapeutic efficacy of GLV-1h255 was evaluated by monitoring tumor growth kinetics and intra-tumoral virus titers. Microenvironmental changes mediated by the intra-tumoral MMP-9 over-expression were investigated by microscopic quantification of the collagen IV content, the blood vessel density (BVD) and the analysis of lymph node metastasis formation. Results: GLV-1h255-treatment of PC-3 tumors led to a significant over-expression of intra-tumoral MMP-9, accompanied by a marked decrease in collagen IV content in infected tumor areas, when compared to GLV-1h68-infected tumor areas. This led to considerably elevated virus titers in GLV-1h255 infected tumors, and to enhanced tumor regression. The analysis of the BVD, as well as the lumbar and renal lymph node volumes, revealed lower BVD and significantly smaller lymph nodes in both GLV-1h68- and GLV-1h255- injected mice compared to those injected with PBS, indicating that MMP-9 over-expression does not alter the metastasis-reducing effect of oncolytic VACV. Conclusions: Taken together, these results indicate that a GLV-1h255-mediated intra-tumoral over-expression of MMP-9 leads to a degradation of collagen IV, facilitating intra-tumoral viral dissemination, and resulting in accelerated tumor regression. We propose that approaches which enhance the oncolytic effect by increasing the intra-tumoral viral load, may be an effective way to improve therapeutic outcome.},
  subject      = {Biochemie},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{TanBabakVenkatesanetal.2019,
  author    = {Tan, Aaron and Babak, Maria V. and Venkatesan, Gopalakrishnan and Lim, Clarissa and Klotz, Karl-Norbert and Herr, Deron Raymond and Cheong, Siew Lee and Federico, Stephanie and Spalluto, Giampiero and Ong, Wei-Yi and Chen, Yu Zong and Loo, Jason Siau Ee and Pastorin, Giorgia},
  title     = {Design, Synthesis and Evaluation of New Indolylpyrimidylpiperazines for Gastrointestinal Cancer Therapy},
  series = {Molecules},
  volume    = {24},
  journal   = {Molecules},
  number    = {20},
  issn      = {1420-3049},
  doi       = {10.3390/molecules24203661},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-193271},
  pages     = {3661},
  year      = {2019},
  abstract  = {Human A3 adenosine receptor hA3AR has been implicated in gastrointestinal cancer, where its cellular expression has been found increased, thus suggesting its potential as a molecular target for novel anticancer compounds. Observation made in our previous work indicated the importance of the carbonyl group of amide in the indolylpyrimidylpiperazine (IPP) for its human A2A adenosine receptor (hA2AAR) subtype binding selectivity over the other AR subtypes. Taking this observation into account, we structurally modified an indolylpyrimidylpiperazine (IPP) scaffold, 1 (a non-selective adenosine receptors' ligand) into a modified IPP (mIPP) scaffold by switching the position of the carbonyl group, resulting in the formation of both ketone and tertiary amine groups in the new scaffold. Results showed that such modification diminished the A2A activity and instead conferred hA3AR agonistic activity. Among the new mIPP derivatives (3-6), compound 4 showed potential as a hA3AR partial agonist, with an Emax of 30\% and EC50 of 2.89 ± 0.55 μM. In the cytotoxicity assays, compound 4 also exhibited higher cytotoxicity against both colorectal and liver cancer cells as compared to normal cells. Overall, this new series of compounds provide a promising starting point for further development of potent and selective hA3AR partial agonists for the treatment of gastrointestinal cancers.},
  language  = {en}
}