Combined suicide gene therapy for human colon cancer cells using adenovirus-mediated transfer of Escherichia coli cytosine deaminase gene and Escherichia coli uracil phosphoribosyltransferase gene with 5-fluorocytosine
F. Koyama et al., Combined suicide gene therapy for human colon cancer cells using adenovirus-mediated transfer of Escherichia coli cytosine deaminase gene and Escherichia coli uracil phosphoribosyltransferase gene with 5-fluorocytosine, CANC GENE T, 7(7), 2000, pp. 1015-1022
The virus-directed enzyme/prodrug system using the Escherichia coli cytosin
e deaminase (CD) gene and 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC) suffers from a sensitivit
y limitation in many tumor cells. The E. coli uracil phosphoribosyltransfer
ase (UPRT), which is a pyrimidine salvage enzyme, directly converts 5-fluor
ouracil (5-FU) to 5-fluorouridine monophosphate at the first step of its ac
tivating pathway. To improve the antitumoral effect of the CD/5-FC system,
we investigated a combined suicide gene transduction therapy for human colo
n cancer cells using two separate adenovirus vectors expressing the E. coli
CD and E. coli UPRT genes and systemic 5-FC administration (the CD, UPRT/5
-FC system). The present study demonstrates that the CD, UPRT/5-FC system g
enerates a co-operative effect of CD and UPRT, resulting in dramatic increa
ses in both RNA- and DNA-directed active forms, including 5-fluorouridine t
riphosphate incorporated into RNA, 5-fluorodeoxyuridine monophosphate, and
the thymidylate synthase inhibition rate, compared with the CD/5-FC system.
Furthermore a significant increase in the 5-FC sensitivity of colon cancer
cells was demonstrated in the CD, UPRT/5-FC system compared with the CD/5-
FC system in vitro and in vivo. These results suggest that the CD, UPRT/5-F
C system is a powerful approach in gene therapy for colorectal cancer.