Zika Virus to Treat Brain Cancer?

The Zika virus could potentially be directed to kill brain cancer stem cells that are most resistant to treatment, according to findings of a study published recently in

.

The Journal of Experimental Medicine

The Zika virus

is a mosquito-borne flavivrus transmitted primarily by

mosquitos, according to the World Health Organization. The virus is associated with Guillain-Barré syndrome and a cause of congenital brain abnormalities, including microcephaly.

Aedes

In the study, researchers removed stem cells from patients diagnosed as having glioblastoma, and infected the tumors with 1 of 2 Zika virus strains.

The results of the study showed that after both strains infected the tumors, the virus killed the cancer stem cells and left other tumor cells alone.

“We showed that Zika virus can kill the kind of glioblastoma cells that tend to be resistant to current treatments and lead to death,” co-senior author Michael S. Diamond, MD, PhD said in a press release.

An estimated 12,000 individuals are diagnosed with gliobastoma

annually in the United States. Standard treatment involves surgery, followed by chemotherapy and radiation; however, most tumors recur within 6 months because a small population of glioblastoma stem cells often survive treatment and continue to divide.

The findings of the study suggest the Zika virus combined with chemotherapy-radiation have complementary effects. Standard treatment kills most of the tumors cells, whereas the Zika virus swoops in to attack the leftover stem cells.

“We see Zika one day being used in combination with current therapies to eradicate the whole tumor,” said co-senior author Milan G. Chheda, MD.

The investigators examined whether the virus could treat cancer in living animals. Zika virus or placebo were injected into the brain tumors of 18 and 15 mice, respectively. Mice treated with Zika had significantly smaller tumors 2 weeks after injection, and survived significantly longer compared with mice given the placebo, according to the study authors.

Additional studies of the virus were conducted using brain tissue from patients with epilepsy, which showed the virus did not infect noncancerous brain cells.

The investigators also introduced 2 mutations that suppressed the virus’ ability to combat the cell’s defenses against infection. The mutant viral strain and the original parental strain in glioblastoma stem cells were tested, revealing the original strain was more potent. However, the mutant strain was also able to successful kill the cancerous cells.

“We’re going to introduce additional mutations to sensitize the virus even more to the innate immune response and prevent the infection from spreading,” Diamond said. “Once we add a few more changes, I think it’s going to be impossible for the virus to overcome them and cause disease.”

Reference

1. Zika Virus kills brain cancer stem cells [news release]. St Louis. Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Sept. 5, 2017.

https://medicine.wustl.edu/news/zika-virus-kills-brain-cancer-stem-cells. Accessed Sept. 11, 2017.

This article originally appeared on Specialty Pharmacy Times.