Oncolytic virotherapy using Newcastle disease virus and parapox ORF virus
Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is a member of the Avulavirus genus in the Paramyxoviridae family. NDV selectively replicates in tumor cells due to defects in antiviral and apoptotic signalling. NDV has the longest history of use in clinical trials of all oncolytic viruses and has a proven safety record as a monotherapy due to its strong induction of antiviral responses in normal mammalian cells. In addition to its direct oncolytic effect, NDV also activates both innate and adaptive immune responses and therefore has strong immunotherapeutic potential. Parapoxivirus ovis (ORFV) is a poxvirus and veterinary pathogen causing transmissible pustular dermatitis in sheep. ORFV is able to infect multiple cancer cell types and has demonstrated impressive efficacy in pre-clinical models of cancer, largely due to its remarkable immunogenicity. Research in our lab focuses on the development of recombinant NDV and ORFV viruses with improved immunostimulatory and oncolytic properties for the treatment of ovarian and prostate cancer.
Collaborators
- Dr. Jim Petrik, University of Guelph
- Dr. Byram Bridle, University of Guelph