|
Virotherapy
Virotherapy is a treatment using biotechnology to convert viruses into therapeutic agents by reprogramming viruses to treat diseases. There are three main branches of virotherapy: anti-cancer oncolytic viruses, viral vectors for gene therapy and viral immunotherapy. These branches use three different types of treatment methods: gene overexpression, gene knockout, and suicide gene delivery. Gene overexpression adds genetic sequences that compensate for low to zero levels of needed gene expression. Gene knockout uses RNA methods to silence or reduce expression of disease-causing genes. Suicide gene delivery introduces genetic sequences that induce an apoptotic response in cells, usually to kill cancerous growths. In a slightly different context, virotherapy can also refer more broadly to the use of viruses to treat certain medical conditions by killing pathogens. History Chester M. Southam, a researcher at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, pioneered the study of viruses as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oncolytic Virus
An oncolytic virus is a virus that preferentially infects and kills cancer cells. As the infected cancer cells are destroyed by oncolysis, they release new infectious virus particles or virions to help destroy the remaining tumour. Oncolytic viruses are thought not only to cause direct destruction of the tumour cells, but also to stimulate host anti-tumour immune system responses. Oncolytic viruses also have the ability to affect the tumor micro-environment in multiple ways. The potential of viruses as anti-cancer agents was first realised in the early twentieth century, although coordinated research efforts did not begin until the 1960s. A number of viruses including adenovirus, reovirus, measles, herpes simplex, Newcastle disease virus, and vaccinia have been clinically tested as oncolytic agents. Most current oncolytic viruses are engineered for tumour selectivity, although there are naturally occurring examples such as reovirus and the senecavirus, resulting in clinical ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RIGVIR
ECHO-7 (trade name Rigvir) is a wild type member of the echovirus group of viruses. It was formerly approved as a virotherapy medication by the State Agency of Medicines of the Republic of Latvia (2004–19). In March 2019, the distribution in Latvia was stopped by the State Agency of Medicines, after laboratory tests found that the amount of ECHO-7 virus was in much smaller amounts than claimed. On May 31, 2019, the State Agency of Medicines suspended the registration licence of ECHO-7. History The potential use of echovirus as an oncolytic virus to treat cancer was discovered by Latvian scientist and immunologist Aina Muceniece in the 1960s and 1970s. The virus was obtained from intestinal tract of a healthy children and has not been genetically modified. She was an honorary member of the Latvian Association of Oncologists and the founder of ''The Aina Muceniece Virotherapy Foundation''. Approval The data used to register the drug in Latvia is not sufficient to obtain appro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virus
A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living Cell (biology), cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Viruses are found in almost every ecosystem on Earth and are the most numerous type of biological entity. Since Dmitri Ivanovsky's 1892 article describing a non-bacterial pathogen infecting tobacco plants and the discovery of the tobacco mosaic virus by Martinus Beijerinck in 1898, more than 16,000 of the millions of List of virus species, virus species have been described in detail. The study of viruses is known as virology, a subspeciality of microbiology. When infected, a host cell is often forced to rapidly produce thousands of copies of the original virus. When not inside an infected cell or in the process of infecting a cell, viruses exist in the form of independent viral particles, or ''virions'', consisting of (i) genetic material, i.e., long ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Talimogene Laherparepvec
Talimogene laherparepvec, sold under the brand name Imlygic among others, is a biopharmaceutical medication used to treat melanoma that cannot be operated on; it is injected directly into a subset of lesions which generates a systemic immune response against the recipient's cancer. The final four year analysis from the pivotal phase 3 study upon which TVEC was approved by the FDA showed a 31.5% response rate with a 16.9% remission (medicine), complete response (CR) rate. There was also a substantial and statistically significant survival benefit in patients with earlier metastatic disease (stages IIIb-IVM1a) and in patients who hadn't received prior systemic treatment for melanoma. The earlier stage group had a reduction in the risk of death of approximately 50% with one in four patients appearing to have met, or be close to be reaching, the medical definition of cure. Real world use of talimogene laherparepvec have shown response rates of up to 88.5% with CR rates of up to 61.5 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Viral Vector
A viral vector is a modified virus designed to gene delivery, deliver genetic material into cell (biology), cells. This process can be performed inside an organism or in cell culture. Viral vectors have widespread applications in basic research, agriculture, and medicine. Viruses have evolved specialized molecular mechanisms to transport their genomes into infected hosts, a process termed transduction (genetics), transduction. This capability has been exploited for use as viral vectors, which may integrate their genetic cargo—the transgene—into the host genome, although non-integrative vectors are also commonly used. In addition to agriculture and laboratory research, viral vectors are widely applied in gene therapy: as of 2022, all approved gene therapies were viral vector-based. Further, compared to traditional vaccines, the intracellular antigen expression enabled by viral vector vaccines offers more robust immune activation. Many types of viruses have been developed into ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy or biological therapy is the treatment of disease by activating or suppressing the immune system. Immunotherapies designed to elicit or amplify an immune response are classified as ''activation immunotherapies,'' while immunotherapies that reduce or suppress are classified as '' suppression immunotherapies''. Immunotherapy is under preliminary research for its potential to treat various forms of cancer. Cell-based immunotherapies are effective for some cancers. Immune effector cells such as lymphocytes, macrophages, dendritic cells, natural killer cells, and cytotoxic T lymphocytes work together to defend the body against cancer by targeting abnormal antigens expressed on the surface of tumor cells. Vaccine-induced immunity to COVID-19 relies mostly on an immunomodulatory T-cell response. Therapies such as granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), interferons, imiquimod and cellular membrane fractions from bacteria are licensed for medical use. Others in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Measles
Measles (probably from Middle Dutch or Middle High German ''masel(e)'', meaning "blemish, blood blister") is a highly contagious, Vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine-preventable infectious disease caused by Measles morbillivirus, measles virus. Other names include ''morbilli'', ''rubeola'', ''9-day measles, red measles'', and ''English measles''. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, Rhinitis, runny nose, and conjunctivitis, inflamed eyes. Small white spots known as Koplik's spots, Koplik spots may form inside the mouth two or three days after the start of symptoms. A red, flat rash which usually starts on the face and then spreads to the rest of the body typically begins three to five days after the start of symptoms. Common complications include diarrhea (in 8% of cases), Otitis media, middle ear infection (7%), and pneumonia (6%). These occur i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melanoma
Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer; it develops from the melanin-producing cells known as melanocytes. It typically occurs in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye (uveal melanoma). In very rare cases melanoma can also happen in the lung which is known as primary pulmonary melanoma and only happens in 0.01% of primary lung tumors. In women, melanomas most commonly occur on the legs; while in men, on the back. Melanoma is frequently referred to as malignant melanoma. However, the medical community stresses that there is no such thing as a 'benign melanoma' and recommends that the term 'malignant melanoma' should be avoided as redundant. About 25% of melanomas develop from nevus, moles. Changes in a mole that can indicate melanoma include increaseespecially rapid increasein size, irregular edges, change in color, itchiness, or nevus#Classification, skin breakdown. The primary cause of melanoma is ultraviolet light (UV) exposure in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Immunosuppression
Immunosuppression is a reduction of the activation or efficacy of the immune system. Some portions of the immune system itself have immunosuppressive effects on other parts of the immune system, and immunosuppression may occur as an adverse reaction to treatment of other conditions. In general, deliberately induced immunosuppression is performed to prevent the body from rejecting an organ transplant. Additionally, it is used for treating graft-versus-host disease after a bone marrow transplant, or for the treatment of auto-immune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren's syndrome, or Crohn's disease. This is typically done using medications, but may involve surgery (splenectomy), plasmapheresis, or radiation. A person who is undergoing immunosuppression, or whose immune system is weak for some other reasons (such as chemotherapy or HIV), is said to be ''immunocompromised''. Deliberately induced Administration of immunosuppressive medi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cancer Immunology
Cancer immunology (immuno-oncology) is an interdisciplinary branch of biology and a sub-discipline of immunology that is concerned with understanding the role of the immune system in the progression and development of cancer; the most well known application is cancer immunotherapy, which utilises the immune system as a treatment for cancer. Cancer immunosurveillance and immunoediting are based on protection against development of tumors in animal systems and (ii) identification of targets for immune recognition of human cancer. Definition Cancer immunology is an interdisciplinary branch of biology concerned with the role of the immune system in the progression and development of cancer; the most well known application is cancer immunotherapy, where the immune system is used to treat cancer. Cancer immunosurveillance is a theory formulated in 1957 by Burnet and Thomas, who proposed that lymphocytes act as sentinels in recognizing and eliminating continuously arising, nascent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists in the field are known as biotechnologists. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used by Károly Ereky in 1919 to refer to the production of products from raw materials with the aid of living organisms. The core principle of biotechnology involves harnessing biological systems and organisms, such as bacteria, yeast, and plants, to perform specific tasks or produce valuable substances. Biotechnology had a significant impact on many areas of society, from medicine to agriculture to environmental science. One of the key techniques used in biotechnology is genetic engineering, which allows scientists to modify the genetic makeup of organisms to achieve desired outcomes. This can involve inserting genes from one organism into another, and con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
