Retroviral vectors for the treatment of tumors, and cell lines containing them
AssigneeUniversite Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris VI)
InventorsDavid Klatzmann, Manuel Caruso
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Abstract
The invention relates to recombinant retroviral vectors, derived from Moloney MuLV, carrying a suicide gene susceptible of transforming an inactive substance into a toxic substance for cells going through a division process, said vectors being characterized by the presence in their structure of LTR sequences from variants of MuLV, and having the properties: (a) of not being inactivated during passage through the carcino-embryonic or line germinal cells of mice; (b) the expression of the suicide gene kills only the cells in the course of division.
Claims3
A genetically altered Moloney MuLV retroviral vector comprising:
- (a) a suicide gene comprising the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene (HSV-tK);
- and
- (b) Mov3, Mov9 and Mov13 LTR sequences;
- wherein said genetically altered Moloney MuLV retroviral vector is not inactivated by passage through mouse carcinoembryonic or germ cell lines.
A method for killing solid tumor cells, said method comprising the steps of:
- (a) injecting into a solid tumor a fibroblast packaging cell line transformed with a genetically altered Moloney MuLV retroviral vector comprising:
- (i) the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene (HSV-tK);
- (ii) Mov3, Mov9 and Mov13 LTR sequences;
- wherein said genetically altered Moloney MuLV retroviral vector is not inactivated by passage through mouse carcinoembryonic or germ cell lines;
- and thus transferring the retroviral vector which expresses the HSV-tK gene into the tumor cells;
- and
- (b) killing the tumor cells in said solid tumor by administering to the solid tumor a prodrug that is converted by the thymidine kinase expressed from the HSV-tK gene of step (a), said prodrug is converted by said thymidine kinase to a toxic product that kills the tumor cells.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.