Connecting reovirus oncolysis and Ras signaling

Abstract

Reovirus is a benign virus with innate oncolytic activity and is a potential novel therapeutic for a number of cancers. Reovirus can replicate in, and induce death of cancerous cells having an activated Ras pathway. Ras activation leads to the inactivation of cellular antiviral mechanisms, specifically removing the translation block on reovirus transcripts. This review outlines recent progress towards elucidating the molecular connection between the Ras-signaling pathway and reovirus replication.