A survivin-responsive, conditionally replicating adenovirus induces potent cytocidal effects in adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma

BACKGROUND: Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) is a peripheral T-cell malignancy caused by long-term human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-1) infection. Survivin-responsive, conditionally replicating adenoviruses regulated by multiple tumor-specific factors (Surv.m-CRAs), in which the expression of the adenoviral early region 1A gene is regulated by the survivin (BIRC5) promoter, can be used to treat several cancers. As survivin is overexpressed in ATL, we examined the effects of Surv.m-CRAs on ATL-selective replication and survival. METHODS: We tested two ATL cell lines and four HTLV-1-infected T-cell lines. The cells were subjected to infection with either E1-deleted, replication-defective adenoviruses or Surv.m-CRAs at various multiplicities of infection. RESULTS: Strong activation of survivin promoter was observed in all six cell lines. Moreover, the expression of the coxsackie and adenovirus receptor (CAR), which is important for adenoviral infection, was high in the cell lines. In contrast, we observed the absence of survivin promoter activity and a low expression of CAR in activated peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) from healthy subjects. Surv.m-CRAs actively replicated and induced cytocidal effects in five out of six cell lines; conversely, we observed minimal viral replication and no marked cytotoxicity in normal activated PBLs. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report demonstrating that Surv.m-CRAs constitute attractive potential anti-ATL agents.