Although the high transfection efficiency with adenovirus in vitro is well
documented, it is still not clear whether adenoviral vectors are effective
in vivo in solid tumor models. in our preliminary experiment, transduction
of tumor tissue was limited to just around the injection site after intratu
moral injection of the adenoviral vector. To improve the transduction effic
iency in vivo, we tried a combination of adenoviral vector and liposome in
our animal model. Adenovirus carrying human placental alkaline phosphatase
(AdALP) and Lipofectamine or 1,3-di-oleoyloxy-2-(6-carboxyspermyl)-propylam
ide were used as a marker gene and the cationic liposome, respectively. A >
15-fold increase in the transfection efficiency was observed in CT26 tumor
cell lines with the combination of AdALP adenovirus carrying murine granulo
cyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (AdmGM-CSF), and liposome compare
d with adenovirus alone, showing the feasibility of the combination treatme
nt. In the animal model, with the combination of liposome and AdALP, deeper
and wider distribution of the marker gene in the tumor mass was shown. We
conclude that the limitations of direct application of adenoviral vectors i
n a solid tumor model could be overcome by the use of cationic liposomes. T
his approach will facilitate the more effective delivery of adenoviral vect
ors in a clinical trial setting.