ECI Digital Archives

Title

Engineering bacterial nitroreductases for anticancer gene therapy and targeted cell ablation

Authors

Abigail V. Sharrock, Victoria University of Wellington, New ZealandFollow
Elsie Williams, Emory University, United States of America
Vic Arcus, School of Science, University of Waikato, New Zealand
Jeff Mumm, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University, United States of America
David Ackerley, School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

Conference Dates

September 24-28, 2017

Abstract

Specific tumour ablation through gene therapy holds great promise as an anti-cancer strategy. Gene therapy has potential to achieve specificity and ablation through a mechanism unlike that of chemo and radio-therapies, and to be used in combination with these therapies without overlapping toxicities. In one promising therapy a bacterial or viral tumour-tropic vector can be ‘armed’ with genes encoding enzymes that convert prodrugs, non-toxic precursor molecules, into a highly cytotoxic form. Current cancer treatments are disadvantaged by their non-specificity resulting in undesirable side-effects for patients, and historically gene therapy has been hindered by the inability of the vector to infect all cancer cells necessary to eradicate the tumour and prevent recurrence.

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Recommended Citation

Abigail V. Sharrock, Elsie Williams, Vic Arcus, Jeff Mumm, and David Ackerley, "Engineering bacterial nitroreductases for anticancer gene therapy and targeted cell ablation" in "Enzyme Engineering XXIV", Pierre Monsan, Toulouse White Biotechnology, France Magali Remaud-Simeon, LISBP-INSA, University of Toulouse, France Eds, ECI Symposium Series, (2017). https://dc.engconfintl.org/enzyme_xxiv/37