Review Article

Virus against virus: strategies for using adenovirus vectors in the treatment of HPV-induced cervical cancer

Momeneh Ghanaat1, Nasser Hashemi Goradel2, Arash Arashkia3, Nasim Ebrahimi4, Sajjad Ghorghanlu2, Ziba Veisi Malekshahi2, Esmail Fattahi5, Babak Negahdari2, Hami Kaboosi1
1 Department of Microbiology, Ayatollah Amoli Branch, Islamic Azad University, Amol, Iran
2 Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
3 Department of Molecular Virology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
4 Division of Genetics, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology & Microbiology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran
5 Department of Biology, Ayatollah Amoli Branch, Islamic Azad University, Amol, Iran
Correspondence to: Babak Negahdari: b-negahdari@sina.tums.ac.ir, Hami Kaboosi: h.kaboosi@iauamol.ac.ir,
DOI: 10.1038/s41401-021-00616-5
Received: 26 May 2020
Accepted: 17 January 2021
Advance online: 25 February 2021

Abstract

Although most human papillomavirus (HPV) infections are harmless, persistent infection with high-risk types of HPV is known to be the leading cause of cervical cancer. Following the infection of the epithelium and integration into the host genome, the oncogenic proteins E6 and E7 disrupt cell cycle control by inducing p53 and retinoblastoma (Rb) degradation. Despite the FDA approval of prophylactic vaccines, there are still issues with cervical cancer treatment; thus, many therapeutic approaches have been developed to date. Due to strong immunogenicity, a high capacity for packaging foreign DNA, safety, and the ability to infect a myriad of cells, adenoviruses have drawn attention of researchers. Adenovirus vectors have been used for different purposes, including as oncolytic agents to kill cancer cells, carrier for RNA interference to block oncoproteins expression, vaccines for eliciting immune responses, especially in cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), and gene therapy vehicles for restoring p53 and Rb function.
Keywords: adenovirus; cervical Cancer; HPV Infection; HPV Oncoproteins; human Papillomavirus; vaccine

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