15th International Adenovirus Meeting

A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "General Virology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2024 | Viewed by 3830

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Ruđer Bošković Institute, Division of molecular biology, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia
Interests: adenovirus vectors; targeting; endocytosis; host response
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Guest Editor
Division of Cancer and Genetics, School of Medicine, Cardiff CF14 4XN, UK
Interests: .oncolytic adenoviruses; cancer gene therapy; adenovirus targeting

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Guest Editor
Biologic Therapeutics Center Washington University School of Medicine Department of Radiation Oncology, St. Louis, MO, USA
Interests: gene therapy; adenovirus; virotherapy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Adenoviruses can cause mild health problems, such as acute respiratory, gastrointestinal, and ocular infections, but have no oncogenic potential in humans. Nevertheless, they can cause severe, even life-threatening, pathologies in immunosuppressed individuals. No efficient treatment for adenovirus infections has been approved so far. Besides humans, adenoviruses can also infect domestic animals, resulting in economic losses. However, adenoviruses represent exceptional candidates for wide-ranging therapeutic applications, from vectors for gene therapy to oncolytics for cancer treatments. The first ever commercial gene therapy medicine was based on a recombinant adenovirus vector, while most recently, adenoviral vectors have proven critical as vaccine platforms in effectively controlling the global coronavirus pandemic. Besides being used in therapeutic approaches, adenoviruses have also been popular model systems for studying viral entry, transcription and replication of the DNA genome, mRNA splicing, the expression of proteins, virus assembly, cell cycle control, cellular growth, the transformation of cells in vitro, and tumorigenesis.

The exchange of ideas and information among scientists working in all aspects of adenovirus biology and applications is fundamental to advance our ability to fight against adenovirus-induced disease, and to repurpose the virus as an efficient tool in biomedicine. Therefore, for this Special Issue, we welcome the most recent advances in adenovirus research in any paper format, including short and regular original articles and reviews. For participants of the 15th International Adenovirus Meeting in Croatia (https://event.fourwaves.com/iam2023/pages), a 20% discount on Article Processing Charges will be applied.

Dr. Dragomira Majhen
Prof. Dr. Alan Parker
Prof. Dr. David T. Curiel
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • human and non-human adenovirus
  • virus–host response
  • receptors
  • immunology and pathogenesis
  • epidemiology
  • oncolytic vectors
  • vaccines
  • structure and assembly
  • entry and cell trafficking
  • life cycle
  • antiviral targets

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 2504 KiB  
Article
Expanding the Scope of Adenoviral Vectors by Utilizing Novel Tools for Recombination and Vector Rescue
by Julian Fischer, Ariana Fedotova, Clara Bühler, Laura Darriba, Sabrina Schreiner and Zsolt Ruzsics
Viruses 2024, 16(5), 658; https://doi.org/10.3390/v16050658 - 23 Apr 2024
Viewed by 242
Abstract
Recombinant adenoviruses are widely used in clinical and laboratory applications. Despite the wide variety of available sero- and genotypes, only a fraction is utilized in vivo. As adenoviruses are a large group of viruses, displaying many different tropisms, immune epitopes, and replication characteristics, [...] Read more.
Recombinant adenoviruses are widely used in clinical and laboratory applications. Despite the wide variety of available sero- and genotypes, only a fraction is utilized in vivo. As adenoviruses are a large group of viruses, displaying many different tropisms, immune epitopes, and replication characteristics, the merits of translating these natural benefits into vector applications are apparent. This translation, however, proves difficult, since while research has investigated the application of these viruses, there are no universally applicable rules in vector design for non-classical adenovirus types. In this paper, we describe a generalized workflow that allows vectorization, rescue, and cloning of all adenoviral species to enable the rapid development of new vector variants. We show this using human and simian adenoviruses, further modifying a selection of them to investigate their gene transfer potential and build potential vector candidates for future applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 15th International Adenovirus Meeting)
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25 pages, 7809 KiB  
Article
Oncolytic Adenovirus for the Targeting of Paclitaxel-Resistant Breast Cancer Stem Cells
by Sacha Robert, Natasha Ivelisse Roman Ortiz, Christopher J. LaRocca, Julie Hanson Ostrander and Julia Davydova
Viruses 2024, 16(4), 567; https://doi.org/10.3390/v16040567 - 05 Apr 2024
Viewed by 522
Abstract
Adjuvant systemic therapies effectively reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence and metastasis, but therapy resistance can develop in some patients due to breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs). Oncolytic adenovirus (OAd) represents a promising therapeutic approach as it can specifically target cancer cells. [...] Read more.
Adjuvant systemic therapies effectively reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence and metastasis, but therapy resistance can develop in some patients due to breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs). Oncolytic adenovirus (OAd) represents a promising therapeutic approach as it can specifically target cancer cells. However, its potential to target BCSCs remains unclear. Here, we evaluated a Cox-2 promoter-controlled, Ad5/3 fiber-modified OAd designed to encode the human sodium iodide symporter (hNIS) in breast cancer models. To confirm the potential of OAds to target BCSCs, we employed BCSC-enriched estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) paclitaxel-resistant (TaxR) cells and tumorsphere assays. OAd-hNIS demonstrated significantly enhanced binding and superior oncolysis in breast cancer cells, including ER+ cells, while exhibiting no activity in normal mammary epithelial cells. We observed improved NIS expression as the result of adenovirus death protein deletion. OAd-hNIS demonstrated efficacy in targeting TaxR BCSCs, exhibiting superior killing and hNIS expression compared to the parental cells. Our vector was capable of inhibiting tumorsphere formation upon early infection and reversing paclitaxel resistance in TaxR cells. Importantly, OAd-hNIS also destroyed already formed tumorspheres seven days after their initiation. Overall, our findings highlight the promise of OAd-hNIS as a potential tool for studying and targeting ER+ breast cancer recurrence and metastasis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 15th International Adenovirus Meeting)
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20 pages, 3382 KiB  
Article
Identification of Adenovirus E1B-55K Interaction Partners through a Common Binding Motif
by Nafiseh Chalabi Hagkarim, Wing-Hang Ip, Luca D. Bertzbach, Tareq Abualfaraj, Thomas Dobner, David P. Molloy, Grant S. Stewart and Roger J. Grand
Viruses 2023, 15(12), 2356; https://doi.org/10.3390/v15122356 - 30 Nov 2023
Viewed by 1247
Abstract
The adenovirus C5 E1B-55K protein is crucial for viral replication and is expressed early during infection. It can interact with E4orf6 to form a complex that functions as a ubiquitin E3 ligase. This complex targets specific cellular proteins and marks them for ubiquitination [...] Read more.
The adenovirus C5 E1B-55K protein is crucial for viral replication and is expressed early during infection. It can interact with E4orf6 to form a complex that functions as a ubiquitin E3 ligase. This complex targets specific cellular proteins and marks them for ubiquitination and, predominantly, subsequent proteasomal degradation. E1B-55K interacts with various proteins, with p53 being the most extensively studied, although identifying binding sites has been challenging. To explain the diverse range of proteins associated with E1B-55K, we hypothesized that other binding partners might recognize the simple p53 binding motif (xWxxxPx). In silico analyses showed that many known E1B-55K binding proteins possess this amino acid sequence; therefore, we investigated whether other xWxxxPx-containing proteins also bind to E1B-55K. Our findings revealed that many cellular proteins, including ATR, CHK1, USP9, and USP34, co-immunoprecipitate with E1B-55K. During adenovirus infection, several well-characterized E1B-55K binding proteins and newly identified interactors, including CSB, CHK1, and USP9, are degraded in a cullin-dependent manner. Notably, certain binding proteins, such as ATR and USP34, remain undegraded during infection. Structural predictions indicate no conservation of structure around the proposed binding motif, suggesting that the interaction relies on the correct arrangement of tryptophan and proline residues. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 15th International Adenovirus Meeting)
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16 pages, 2680 KiB  
Article
Engineering a Novel Modular Adenoviral mRNA Delivery Platform Based on Tag/Catcher Bioconjugation
by Kexin Geng, Paul J. Rice-Boucher, Elena A. Kashentseva, Igor P. Dmitriev, Zhi Hong Lu, S. Peter Goedegebuure, William E. Gillanders and David T. Curiel
Viruses 2023, 15(11), 2277; https://doi.org/10.3390/v15112277 - 20 Nov 2023
Viewed by 1144
Abstract
mRNA vaccines have attracted widespread research attention with clear advantages in terms of molecular flexibility, rapid development, and potential for personalization. However, current mRNA vaccine platforms have not been optimized for induction of CD4/CD8 T cell responses. In addition, the mucosal administration of [...] Read more.
mRNA vaccines have attracted widespread research attention with clear advantages in terms of molecular flexibility, rapid development, and potential for personalization. However, current mRNA vaccine platforms have not been optimized for induction of CD4/CD8 T cell responses. In addition, the mucosal administration of mRNA based on lipid nanoparticle technology faces challenges in clinical translation. In contrast, adenovirus-based vaccines induce strong T cell responses and have been approved for intranasal delivery. To leverage the inherent strengths of both the mRNA and adenovirus platforms, we developed a novel modular adenoviral mRNA delivery platform based on Tag/Catcher bioconjugation. Specifically, we engineered adenoviral vectors integrating Tag/Catcher proteins at specific locales on the Ad capsid proteins, allowing us to anchor mRNA to the surface of engineered Ad viruses. In proof-of-concept studies, the Ad-mRNA platform successfully mediated mRNA delivery and could be optimized via the highly flexible modular design of both the Ad-mRNA and protein bioconjugation systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 15th International Adenovirus Meeting)
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