Virus Kills An Aggressive Type of Breast Cancer Cell

The adeno-associated virus type 2 (AAV2) was capable of killing the typically aggressive triple-negative breast cancer cells and tumors, according to researchers from Penn State College of Medicine. Previous studies have tested AAV2, not known to cause diseases in humans, on a variety of breast cancers as well as on cervical cancer cells. The virus initiated apoptosis, or natural cell death, in cancer cells without affecting healthy cells. Understanding how the virus kills cancer may lead to new treatments.

The AAV2 killed 100 percent of the cancer cells in the laboratory by activating caspases, causing a cell's natural death. AAV2 killed multiple breast cancer cell lines representing both low and high grades of cancer. AAV2 was then injected into human breast cancer cell line-derived tumors in mice without functioning immune systems. Mice that received AAV2 outlived the untreated mice and did not show signs of being sick, unlike the untreated mice. Tumor sizes decreased in the treated mice and all AAV2 treated mice survived through the study, unlike the untreated mice.

Future studies should look at the use of AAV2 body-wide in mice, which would better model what happens in humans, according to Craig Meyers, Ph.D., a Distinguished Professor of Microbiology and Immunology.

For more information, feel free to visit: http://news.psu.edu/story/319106/2014/06/24/research/virus-kills-triple-negative-breast-cancer-cells-tumor-cells-mice.