Effect of recombinant Newcastle disease virus transfection on lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells in vivo

Newcastle disease virus (NDV) has been reported to selectively duplicate in and then destroy tumor cells, whilst sparing normal cells. However, the effect of NDV on lung cancer has yet to be elucidated. In the present study, recombinant NDV (rl-RVG) was applied to lung adenocarcinoma A549 cell tumor-bearing mice to explore its effect on the proliferation of the cells and the immune response of the mice. Following rl-RVG transfection, RVG and NDV gene expression, decreased tumor growth, subcutaneous tumor necrosis, tumor apoptosis and an increased number of cluster of differentiation (CD)3(−)/CD49(+) natural killer cells were more evident in the rl-RVG group. The present study demonstrated that rl-RVG transfection effectively restrained lung adenocarcinoma A549 cell growth in vivo, which may have been accomplish by inducing tumor cell apoptosis and regulating the cell immune response.