ENHANCED TUMOR-SUPPRESSOR GENE-THERAPY VIA REPLICATION-DEFICIENT ADENOVIRUS VECTORS EXPRESSING AN N-TERMINAL TRUNCATED RETINOBLASTOMA PROTEIN

The preclinical studies presented here demonstrate that treatment of h uman non-small cell lung carcinoma and bladder carcinoma cells by a re combinant adenovirus vector, AdCMVpRB94, expressing the N-terminal tru ncated retinoblastoma (RB) protein (pRB(94)) completely suppressed the tumorigenicity of the treated tumor cells in nude mice, Furthermore, gene therapy of established human RB(-) and RB(+) bladder xenograft ca ncers in nude mice by AdCMVpRB94 resulted in regression of the treated tumors. Of note, although both the full-length and the truncated form s of the RB protein, when overexpressed in tumor cells via replication -deficient adenovirus vectors, were capable of suppression of tumor gr owth, the pRB(94) was evidently more potent than the full-length RB pr otein.