Preclinical and clinical trials of oncolytic vaccinia virus in cancer immunotherapy:a comprehensive review

Oncolytic virotherapy has emerged as a promising treatment for human cancers owing to an ability to elicit curative effects via systemic administration.Tumor cells often create an unfavorable immunosuppressive microenvironment that degrade viral structures and impede viral replication;however,recent studies have established that viruses altered via genetic modifications can serve as effective oncolytic agents to combat hostile tumor environments.Specifically,oncolytic vaccinia virus(OVV)has gained popularity owing to its safety,potential for systemic delivery,and large gene insertion capacity.This review highlights current research on the use of engineered mutated viruses and gene-armed OVVs to reverse the tumor microenvironment and enhance antitumor activity in vitro and in vivo,and provides an overview of ongoing clinical trials and combination therapies.In addition,we discuss the potential benefits and drawbacks of OVV as a cancer therapy,and explore different perspectives in this field.

Intrauterine hyperglycemia impairs endometrial receptivity via up-regulating SGK1 in diabetes

Diabetes is a complex metabolic disorder which can adversely affect reproductive function. SGK1 is found to be up-regulated in multiple tissues of diabetic patients. However, the effects of diabetes on endometrial SGK1 expression and endometrial receptivity remain unknown. In this study, we established a streptozotocin-induced diabetic mouse model and observed reduced implantation sites, retarded development of pinopodes, increased SGK1, and aberrant expression of LIF and MUC1 in the endometrial epithelium. We injected the uterine lumen of normal mice with high-glucose solution and cultured endometrial cells in high-glucose medium to mimic intrauterine hyperglycemia. Both studies provided compelling evidence that hyperglycemia could lead to diminished embryo implantation and dysregulated SGK1, LIF and MUC1. Additionally, through over-expression of SGK1 in vivo and in vitro, we found that enhanced SGK1 also decreased LIF expression, increased MUC1 expression, and attenuated embryo implantation rate. We further identified that hyperglycemia-activated SMAD2/3 might be responsible for the enhancement of SGK1 and verified directly the interaction between SMAD3 and corresponding SMAD binding elements within SGK1 promoter. Taken together, our study confirmed the association between diabetes-related hyperglycemia and endometrial receptivity defects. Hyperglycemia-induced SGK1 has a tremendous role in this pathological process, rendering it as an attractive therapeutic target for diabetes-related reproductive disorders.

Basonuclin 1 deficiency causes testicular premature aging: BNC1 cooperates with TAF7L to regulate spermatogenesis

Basonuclin(BNC1)is expressed primarily in proliferative keratinocytes and gametogenic cells.However,its roles in spermatogenesis and testicular aging were not dear.Previously we discovered a heterozygous BNC1 truncation mutation in a premature ovarian insufficiency pedigree.In this study,we found that male mice carrying the truncation mutation exhibited progressively fertility loss and testicular premature aging.Genome-wide expression profiling and direct binding studies(by chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing)with BNC1 in mouse testis identified several spermatogenesis-specific gene promoters targeted by BNC1 including kelch-like family member 10(Klhl1O),testis expressed 14(Tex14)9 and spermatogenesis and centriole associated 1(Spatcl).Moreover,biochemical analysis showed that BNC1 was associated with TATA-box binding protein-associated factor 7 like(TAF7L),a germ cell-specific paralogue of the transcription factor IID subunit TAF7,both in vitro and in testis,suggesting that BNC1 might directly cooperate with TAF7L to regulate spermatogenesis.The truncation mutation disabled nuclear translocation of the BNC1/TAF7L complex,thus,disturbing expression of related genes and leading to testicular premature aging.Similarly,expressions of Y-box-binding protein 2(YBX2),outer dense fiber of sperm tails 1(ODfl),and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase,spermatogenic(GAPDHS)were significantly decreased in the testis of men with non-obstructive azoospermia.The present study adds to the understanding of the physiology of male reproductive aging and the mechanism of spermatogenic failure in infertile men.