Oncolytic activity of a coxsackievirus B3 strain in human endometrial cancer cell lines

BACKGROUND: Endometrial cancer (EC) is one of the most common gynecological malignancies globally. Although progress has been made in surgical and other adjuvant therapies, there is still a great need to develop new approaches to further reduce the incidence and mortality of EC. Oncolytic virotherapy offers a novel promising option of cancer treatment and has demonstrated good efficacy in preclinical models and clinical trials. However, only few oncolytic viruses have been tested for EC treatment. In this study, the potential of an oncolytic coxsackievirus B3 (CV-B3) strain 2035A (CV-B3/2035A) was investigated as a novel biotherapeutic agent against EC. METHODS: Human EC cell lines (Ishikawa, HEC-1-A and HEC-1-B) were infected with CV-B3/2035A, and viral replication and cytotoxic effects were evaluated in vitro. CV-B3/2035A-induced oncolysis was also investigated in nude mice bearing EC xenografts in vivo and in patient-derived EC samples ex vivo. RESULTS: Human EC cell lines expressing different levels of CAR and DAF were all susceptible to infection by CV-B3/2035A and supported efficient viral replication in vitro. In the EC xenograft/nude mouse model, both intratumoral and intravenous administrations of CV-B3-2035A exerted significant therapeutic effects against pre-established EC tumors without causing significant treatment-related toxicity and mortality in nude mice. Moreover, CV-B3/2035A treatment resulted in decreased viability of patient-derived EC samples ex vivo. CONCLUSIONS: CV-B3/2035A showed oncolytic activity in human EC cell lines both in vitro and in vivo as well as in patient-derived EC samples ex vivo and thus could be used as an alternative virotherapy agent for the treatment of EC. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12985-018-0975-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.