Enhanced Sensitivity of Patient-Derived Pediatric High-Grade Brain Tumor Xenografts to Oncolytic HSV-1 Virotherapy Correlates with Nectin-1 Expression

Sci Rep. 2018 Sep 17;8(1):13930. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-32353-x.

Abstract

Pediatric high-grade brain tumors and adult glioblastoma are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Oncolytic herpes simplex virus-1 (oHSV) is a promising approach to target brain tumors; oHSV G207 and M032 (encodes human interleukin-12) are currently in phase I clinical trials in children with malignant supratentorial brain tumors and adults with glioblastoma, respectively. We sought to compare the sensitivity of patient-derived pediatric malignant brain tumor and adult glioblastoma xenografts to these clinically-relevant oHSV. In so doing we found that pediatric brain tumors were more sensitive to the viruses and expressed significantly more nectin-1 (CD111) than adult glioblastoma. Pediatric embryonal and glial tumors were 74-fold and 14-fold more sensitive to M002 and 16-fold and 6-fold more sensitive to G207 than adult glioblastoma, respectively. Of note, pediatric embryonal tumors were more sensitive than glial tumors. Differences in sensitivity may be due in part to nectin-1 expression, which predicted responses to the viruses. Treatment with oHSV resulted in prolonged survival in both pediatric and adult intracranial patient-dervied tumor xenograft models. Our results suggest that pediatric brain tumors are ideal targets for oHSV and that brain tumor expression of nectin-1 may be a useful biomarker to predict patient response to oHSV.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Animals
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / genetics
  • Brain Neoplasms / genetics*
  • Brain Neoplasms / virology*
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Child
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Female
  • Glioblastoma / genetics
  • Glioblastoma / virology
  • Herpesvirus 1, Human / genetics*
  • Heterografts / virology
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mice, Nude
  • Nectins / genetics*
  • Oncolytic Virotherapy / methods
  • Oncolytic Viruses / genetics*
  • Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays / methods

Substances

  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • NECTIN1 protein, human
  • Nectins