Engineering vaccinia virus as an immunotherapeutic battleship to overcome tumor heterogeneity.
Adrian PelinStephen BoultonLevi A TammingJohn C BellRagunath SingaraveluPublished in: Expert opinion on biological therapy (2020)
VACV encodes several immunomodulatory genes which aid the virus in overcoming innate and adaptive immune responses. Strategic deletion of these virulence factors will enable an optimal balance between viral persistence and immunogenicity, robust tumor-specific expression of payloads and promotion of a systemic anti-cancer immune response. Rational selection of therapeutic transgenes will maximize the efficacy of OVs and their synergy in combinatorial immunotherapy schemes.