Richard C Pyles

US Patent:

6509020, Jan 21, 2003

Filed:

Sep 22, 1999

Appl. No.:

09/381733

Inventors:

Richard Brent Pyles - Cincinnati OH
Linda Marie Parysek - Cincinnati OH
Ronald E. Warnick - Loveland OH

Assignee:

The University of Cincinnati - Cincinnati OH

International Classification:

A61K 3912

US Classification:

4242311, 4241991, 4242051, 435 5, 4353201, 4351733, 435 691, 536 2372

Abstract:

A promising approach for the therapeutic treatment of brain tumors utilizes replication-competent, neuroattenuated herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) mutants. This approach requires mutation of HSV-1 to eliminate killing of normal, non-dividing cells of the brain (e. g. , neurons). The present invention discloses methods for killing malignant brain tumor cells in vivo entails providing replication competent herpes simplex virus vectors to tumor cells. A replication competent herpes simplex virus vector, with defective expression of the gamma 34. 5 gene and the uracil DNA glycosylase (UNG) gene, specifically destroys tumor cells, is hypersensitive to anti-viral agents, and is not neurovirulent.