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Review
. 2023 Mar 15:14:1118246.
doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1118246. eCollection 2023.

Oncolytic immunovirotherapy for high-grade gliomas: A novel and an evolving therapeutic option

Sweety Asija  1 , Abhishek Chatterjee  2 , Jayant S Goda  2 , Sandhya Yadav  2 , Godhanjali Chekuri  2 , Rahul Purwar  1
Affiliations
Review

Oncolytic immunovirotherapy for high-grade gliomas: A novel and an evolving therapeutic option

Sweety Asija et al. Front Immunol. .

Abstract

Glioblastoma is one of the most difficult tumor types to manage, having high morbidity and mortality with available therapies (surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy). Immunotherapeutic agents like Oncolytic Viruses (OVs), Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors (ICIs), Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T cells and Natural Killer (NK) cell therapies are now being extensively used as experimental therapies in the management of glioblastoma. Oncolytic virotherapy is an emerging form of anti-cancer therapy, employing nature's own agents to target and destroy glioma cells. Several oncolytic viruses have demonstrated the ability to infect and lyse glioma cells by inducing apoptosis or triggering an anti-tumor immune response. In this mini-review, we discuss the role of OV therapy (OVT) in malignant gliomas with a special focus on ongoing and completed clinical trials and the ensuing challenges and perspectives thereof in subsequent sections.

Keywords: anti-tumor immunity; gliomas; high-grade; immunovirotherapy; oncolytic virus.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) Normal cells contain an anti-viral response system blocking the replication of the oncolytic virus, leaving them unharmed. Oncolysis occurs in two ways, (B) when the viral load in the tumor cell increases there is direct cell lysis. (C) In an indirect way, due to high infection in the tumor cells, DAMPs (damage-associated molecular pattern) and PAMPs (pathogen-associated molecular pattern) are released due to which the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and Antigen Presenting Cell (APC) recruit the host immune cells to attack the cancer cell leading to cell death/apoptosis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Anti-tumor mechanism of action of oncolytic viruses in high-grade gliomas (HGG). Oncolytic Viral therapies include genetic modifications in the viruses. When administered intratumorally, the virus can infect normal and tumor cells but only replicates and lyse the tumor cells. Upon oncolysis, viral progenies are released that infect other tumor cells and release pro-immunogenic factors such as PAMPs, DAMPs, and tumor-associated antigens (TAA). Innate immune response triggers activation of antigen-presenting cells (APCs) and T-cells which leads to the induction of immunogenic cell death of tumor cells.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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