Small Molecule Potentiators of Oncolytic Virus Therapy Suppress the Innate Antiviral Response

Abstract

Oncolytic Viruses (OVs) are often attenuated to increase their safety profile, however this can lead to reduced efficacy in heterogeneous malignancies and result in resistance to OV therapy. Our group utilizes small molecule enhancers of OV therapy termed viral sensitizers. These small molecules have been shown to enhance the replication and spread of oncolytic rhabdovirus VSVΔ51 in vitro and prolong survival in tumour-bearing mice. In this study, we evaluate the ef-fect of these viral sensitizers on the innate antiviral response in order to identify the mechanism of action responsible for their viral-sensitizing properties. Our previous data suggest that VSe1 and its structural analogues affect the type I IFN antiviral response and have the potential to af-fect cellular redox homeostasis. We hypothesized that VSe1 and its structural analogues potenti-ate VSV∆51 activity by inhibiting the type I IFN response via redox-mediated dysregulation. In this study, we demonstrate that the viral sensitizers inhibit the nuclear translocation and transcrip-tional activity of NFκB, which in turn dampens the expression of antiviral cytokines IFN-, TNFα and IL-6. We also provide evidence supporting the possibility that the NFκB inhibition may be a result of the formation of ROS intermediates by the viral sensitizers, which leads to re-duced nuclear translocation of NFκB subunits, thereby preventing NFκB-mediated cytokine production. Overall, this work contributes to the identification of the mechanism of action of our viral sensitizers and highlights the finding that oncolytic VSV infection can be enhanced through redox-mediated modulation of the innate antiviral response.