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PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
14
pubmed:dateCreated
2000-8-24
pubmed:abstractText
Direct transfer of prodrug activation systems into tumors was demonstrated to be an attractive method for the selective in vivo elimination of tumor cells. However, most current suicide gene therapy strategies are still handicapped by a poor efficiency of in vivo gene transfer and a limited bystander cell killing effect. In this study, we describe a novel and highly potent suicide gene derived from the Saccharomyces cerevisiae cytosine deaminase (FCY1) and uracil phosphoribosyltransferase genes (FUR1). This suicide gene, designated FCU1, encodes a bifunctional chimeric protein that combines the enzymatic activities of FCY1 and FUR1 and efficiently catalyzes the direct conversion of 5-FC, a nontoxic antifungal agent, into the toxic metabolites 5-fluorouracil and 5-fluorouridine-5'monophosphate, thus bypassing the natural resistance of certain human tumor cells to 5-fluorouracil. Unexpectedly, although the uracil phosphoribosyltransferase activity of FCU1 was equivalent to that encoded by FUR1, its cytosine deaminase activity was 100-fold higher than the one encoded by FCY1. As a consequence, tumor cells transduced with an adenovirus expressing FCU1 (Ad-FCU1) were sensitive to concentrations of 5-FC 1000-fold lower than the ones used for cells transduced with a vector expressing FCY1 (Ad-FCY1). Furthermore, bystander cell killing was also more effective in cells transduced with Ad-FCU1 than in cultures infected with Ad-FCY1 or Ad-FUR1, alone or in combination. Finally, intratumoral injections of Ad-FCU1 into allo- or xenogeneic tumors implanted s.c. into mice, with concomitant systemic administration of 5-FC, led to substantial delays in tumor growth. These unique properties make of the FCU1/5-FC prodrug activation system a novel and powerful candidate for cancer gene therapy strategies.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Jul
pubmed:issn
0008-5472
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
15
pubmed:volume
60
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
3813-22
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed-meshheading:10919655-Adenoviridae, pubmed-meshheading:10919655-Animals, pubmed-meshheading:10919655-Artificial Gene Fusion, pubmed-meshheading:10919655-Cytosine Deaminase, pubmed-meshheading:10919655-Flucytosine, pubmed-meshheading:10919655-Gene Therapy, pubmed-meshheading:10919655-Gene Transfer Techniques, pubmed-meshheading:10919655-Humans, pubmed-meshheading:10919655-Mice, pubmed-meshheading:10919655-Mice, Inbred BALB C, pubmed-meshheading:10919655-Neoplasm Transplantation, pubmed-meshheading:10919655-Neoplasms, pubmed-meshheading:10919655-Nucleoside Deaminases, pubmed-meshheading:10919655-Pentosyltransferases, pubmed-meshheading:10919655-Prodrugs, pubmed-meshheading:10919655-Rats, pubmed-meshheading:10919655-Recombinant Fusion Proteins, pubmed-meshheading:10919655-Saccharomyces cerevisiae, pubmed-meshheading:10919655-Time Factors, pubmed-meshheading:10919655-Transduction, Genetic, pubmed-meshheading:10919655-Tumor Cells, Cultured
pubmed:year
2000
pubmed:articleTitle
In vivo cancer gene therapy by adenovirus-mediated transfer of a bifunctional yeast cytosine deaminase/uracil phosphoribosyltransferase fusion gene.
pubmed:affiliation
Transgene S.A. Strasbourg, France. erbs@transgene.fr
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article