Abstract
5-fluorouracil (5-FU), although a widely used chemotherapuetic agent, has a limited effect in the treatment of human solid tumors due to their resistance to the cytotoxic effects of 5-FU. Escherichia coli uracil phosphoribosyltransferase (UPRT) is a pyrimidine salvage enzyme that catalyzes the synthesis of UMP from uracil and 5-phosphoribosyl-α-1-diphosphate. The present study demonstrates that adenovirus-mediated transduction of E. coli UPRT gene results in marked sensitization of colon, gastric, liver, and pancreas cancer cell lines to low concentration of 5-FU in vitro. The in vitro bystander effect was observed when only 10% of the hepatoma Hep3B cells were infected with UPRT-expressing adenovirus. In addition, 5-FU treatment of human hepatoma or gastric cancer xenografts in nude mice transduced with UPRT was demonstrated to result in significant in vivo antitumor effects. The adenovirus vector transduction of the UPRT gene followed by 5-FU administration is representative of a new chemosensitization strategy for cancer gene therapy.
Footnotes
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↵1 This work was supported by research grants from the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture of Japan; Kanae Foundation of Research for New Medicine; Sagawa Foundation for Promotion of Cancer Research; and the Foundation for Advancement of International Science (to F. K.).
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↵2 To whom requests for reprints should be addressed, at Second Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113, Japan. Phone: 3-3815-5411, ext. 3070; Fax: 3-3814-0021; E-mail: kanai2im@h.u-tokyo.ac.jp.
- Received October 10, 1997.
- Accepted March 4, 1998.
- ©1998 American Association for Cancer Research.
Volume 58, Issue 9
