| خلاصه مقاله | Introduction: Cancer immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment, demonstrating remarkable potential for a wide range of cancer types. Activating the tumor-fighting immune response is crucial for restricting tumor cell growth and proliferation. Among the different immunotherapy strategies, engineered oncolytic adenoviruses are used to enhance antitumor immune responses. These modified viruses combat cancer through two main mechanisms: directly destroying cancerous cells and stimulating an immune response to impede tumor progression. Engineered to replicate only in tumor cells, oncolytic adenoviruses specifically target and kill tumor cells and release tumor-specific agents that help create an immune-activating microenvironment. Therefore, they can be engineered to serve as efficient vehicles for delivering immunomodulatory agents—such as cytokines, antigens, and other transgenes—into the tumor microenvironment (TME). Interleukin-2 (IL-2) is one of the most extensively studied cytokines in cancer therapy. This multifunctional protein promotes T cell growth and activation, enhances immune cell proliferation, and ultimately improves the overall immune response against cancer. In this review, we will highlight recent advancements in the engineering of adenoviral vectors to express IL-2 in cancer cells to stimulate immune responses specifically.
Methods: We conducted a comprehensive literature review of previous studies and collected data of recent 25 years (from 2000 to 202) using the PubMed and Google Scholar databases. Our query words were “cancer”, “oncolytic adenovirus”, “Interleukin-2 (IL-2)”, AND “immunotherapy”.
Results: According to the results obtained from studies, the combination of interleukin-2 (IL-2) with adenovirus could increase the frequency of both CD4+ and CD8+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and enhance splenocyte proliferation. This suggests that these cytokines play a crucial role in T cell activation and proliferation. Also, the mentioned strategy works well in terms of anti-tumor immune responses.
Conclusion: The engineering of oncolytic adenoviruses to express IL-2 represents a potential advancement in cancer immunotherapy. By harnessing the dual mechanisms of direct tumor lysis and immune activation, this approach holds significant promise for enhancing patient outcomes in various cancer types. |