Drug repurposing in veterinary oncology: in vitro investigation of oncolytic and immunostimulatory potential of avian vaccine viral strains for the treatment of canine melanoma

• Grant number: 18/18448-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: January 01, 2019
• End date: August 31, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Pathology
• Principal Investigator: Cristina de Oliveira Massoco Salles Gomes
• Grantee: Júlia de Carvalho Nakamura
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Progressively growing, visible tumors have evolved mechanisms to evade immune recognition and/or destruction. One approach to tumor immunotherapy is to modify tumor cells and provide "danger signals" such that they become more foreign to the host, increasing the quality and/or quantity of immune cells against the tumor. The ability of Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) to infect and modify cancer cells, along with its ability to provide "danger signals" to the immune system have been studied for decades in human patients. Despite of successful studies using human reovirus in the context of oncolytic virotherapy, avian Reovirus (REO) has not been investigated as far as we know. In Veterinary Medicine, immunotherapeutic interventions are rare and little is known about NDV's and REO's potential as therapeutic agents. Therefore, the goals of this research project are: 1- to test NDV's and REO's ability to infect and replicate in canine melanoma cells according to the expression of viral antigens on the cellular surface; 2- to investigate the immunostimulatory effect of NDV and REO based on the cytokine production of infected cells; and 3- to determine the phenotypic and functional profile of canine peripheral blood lymphocytes co-cultivated with infected cancer cells. In summary, the purpose of this project is to apply well-established concepts in human oncology to investigate the potential of commercially available NDV and REO viruses as therapeutic agents for canine melanoma. (AU)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

NAKAMURA, Júlia de Carvalho. Drug repurposing in Veterinary Oncology: in vitro investigation of oncolytic potential of Newcastle Disease virus vaccine strains for the treatment of canine melanoma. 2022. Master's Dissertation - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ/SBD) São Paulo.