Glioblastoma, the most malignant primary brain tumor, has remained largely refractory to all forms of therapy, and is almost uniformly lethal with a median survival of approximately 15 months. Recently isolated glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs) are thought to be important in the tumor's ability to evade therapy. In addition, we found that the brain tumors they generate retain many of the features of the patient tumors, so they provide a representative tumor model for testing new therapies, something that established cell lines do not. We, and others have developed oncolytic herpes simplex virus (oHSV) vectors that selectively replicate in and kill cancer cells, without harming the surrounding normal tissue or causing disease. The safety of oHSV therapy has been demonstrated in clinical trials for glioblastoma;however efficacy remains anecdotal and needs improvement. The oHSV vectors in clinical trial for glioblastoma contain deletions of the ?34.5 gene, which renders them non-permissive in GSCs. Therefore, we developed a new oHSV, MG18L, deleted for Us3 that is the focus of these studies. The Us3 gene is a serine-threonine kinase that inhibits apoptosis and phosphorylates TSC2 inducing translation. We hypothesize that MG18L selectively replicates in cancer cells because it is unable to promote translation or inhibit virus-induced apoptosis in normal cells, but dysregulated pathways in GSCs makes them permisive. To reduce virus pathogenicity in the brain, MG18L also is mutated in the viral ribonucleotide reductase gene, which targets virus replication to dividing cancer cells. Another feature of Us3-deleted HSV is activation of the PI3K/Akt pathway, genetically altered in the majority of glioblastomas. Therefore, we hypothesize that MG18L will synergize with small molecule inhibitors of the PI3K/Akt pathway, many of which are currently in clinical trial, and kill GSCs and tumors. We recently found that oHSV infection of GSCs targets the ATM pathway and inhibits homologous recombination (HR) DNA repair. Cancer cells deficient in HR are synthetic lethal with poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors. Thus, we hypothesize that treating GSCs with MG18L will sensitize them to PARP inhibitors inducing a synthetic lethal-like effect. Both of these combination strategies should greatly improve the treatment of glioblastoma and overcome drug resistance. We anticipate that therapies demonstrated in the proposed studies will be translatable to the clinic. Our long-term goal is to develop oHSV vectors that are safe and effective for clinical use and to elucidate combination strategies that will enhance efficacy.

Public Health Relevance

Glioblastoma, the most frequent malignant primary brain tumor, is invariably lethal within a short period of time irrespective of therapeutic modality. We have developed a new oncolytic herpes simplex virus vector to treat glioblastoma and we will take advantage of the virus's properties to target two tumorigenic pathways, using a combination with small molecule inhibitors currently in clinical trial. These studies should enhance our understanding of cancer signaling pathways in glioblastoma and provide the rationale for translating this strategy to the clinic.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
1R01CA160762-01A1
Application #
8296881
Study Section
Developmental Therapeutics Study Section (DT)
Program Officer
Yovandich, Jason L
Project Start
2012-05-03
Project End
2017-03-31
Budget Start
2012-05-03
Budget End
2013-03-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2012
Total Cost
$356,356
Indirect Cost
$148,856
Name
Massachusetts General Hospital
Department
Type
DUNS #
073130411
City
Boston
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02199
Saha, Dipongkor; Wakimoto, Hiroaki; Peters, Cole W et al. (2018) Combinatorial Effects of VEGFR Kinase Inhibitor Axitinib and Oncolytic Virotherapy in Mouse and Human Glioblastoma Stem-Like Cell Models. Clin Cancer Res 24:3409-3422
Saha, Dipongkor; Martuza, Robert L; Rabkin, Samuel D (2018) Oncolytic herpes simplex virus immunovirotherapy in combination with immune checkpoint blockade to treat glioblastoma. Immunotherapy 10:779-786
Saha, Dipongkor; Martuza, Robert L; Rabkin, Samuel D (2017) Macrophage Polarization Contributes to Glioblastoma Eradication by Combination Immunovirotherapy and Immune Checkpoint Blockade. Cancer Cell 32:253-267.e5
Esaki, Shinichi; Nigim, Fares; Moon, Esther et al. (2017) Blockade of transforming growth factor-? signaling enhances oncolytic herpes simplex virus efficacy in patient-derived recurrent glioblastoma models. Int J Cancer 141:2348-2358
Ning, Jianfang; Wakimoto, Hiroaki; Peters, Cole et al. (2017) Rad51 Degradation: Role in Oncolytic Virus-Poly(ADP-Ribose) Polymerase Inhibitor Combination Therapy in Glioblastoma. J Natl Cancer Inst 109:1-13
Nigim, Fares; Esaki, Shin-Ichi; Hood, Michael et al. (2016) A new patient-derived orthotopic malignant meningioma model treated with oncolytic herpes simplex virus. Neuro Oncol 18:1278-87
Antoszczyk, Slawomir; Rabkin, Samuel D (2016) Prospect and progress of oncolytic viruses for treating peripheral nerve sheath tumors. Expert Opin Orphan Drugs 4:129-138
Esaki, Shinichi; Rabkin, Samuel D; Martuza, Robert L et al. (2016) Transient fasting enhances replication of oncolytic herpes simplex virus in glioblastoma. Am J Cancer Res 6:300-11
Saha, Dipongkor; Wakimoto, Hiroaki; Rabkin, Samuel D (2016) Oncolytic herpes simplex virus interactions with the host immune system. Curr Opin Virol 21:26-34
Nigim, Fares; Cavanaugh, Jill; Patel, Anoop P et al. (2015) Targeting Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1? in a New Orthotopic Model of Glioblastoma Recapitulating the Hypoxic Tumor Microenvironment. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 74:710-22

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