Clinical and experimental pharmacology & physiology
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Clin. Exp. Pharmacol. Physiol. · Aug 2012
ReviewNewcastle disease virus: a promising agent for tumour immunotherapy.
Malignant tumours are a major cause of mortality in humans. Currently used therapeutic regimens have not improved survival rates of patients suffering from malignant tumours much because of their limited efficacy and side-effects. A therapeutic approach that uses Newcastle disease virus (NDV) represents an attractive new tool for tumour immunotherapy. ⋯ Apoptosis following NDV infection may contribute to the observed oncolytic effects; however, NDV could also stimulate both innate and adaptive antitumour immune responses. For many years, different approaches have been investigated (or are in the process of being developed) regarding the use of NDV for the treatment of malignancies. Recent advances using reverse genetics have provided a means of generating recombinant NDV strains with improved oncolytic and immune regulatory properties.