Common antidepressant boosts engineered virus treatment for brain cancer in mice
An experimental brain cancer treatment using a modified measles virus becomes more effective in mice when combined with a common antidepressant, which helps release trapped immune cells from the bone marrow to fight the tumor.
A small study in mice suggests that combining a common antidepressant with an engineered virus and immunotherapy could improve outcomes for glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of brain cancer. The research, published in Molecular Therapy: Oncology, shows the antidepressant paroxetine can boost the immune response by untrapping white blood cells, allowing them to travel to the brain to attack the tumor.
Glioblastoma creates an environment that suppresses the immune system by capturing lymphocytes in the bone marrow. A receptor called S1P1 normally allows these immune cells to exit the bone marrow and enter the bloodstream. However, brain tumors pull this receptor inside the cell, trapping the immune cells. The researchers behind the study found that paroxetine blocks the enzyme GRK-2 that drags the S1P1 receptor inward, thereby releasing trapped immune cells.
They tested this combination on glioblastoma cells in petri dishes and observed that even low doses of paroxetine did not reduce the virus's ability to kill the cancer. In mice with brain tumors, the combination of the engineered measles virus, immunotherapy, and paroxetine led to a 65% survival rate over 60 days, compared to a 40% survival rate for mice treated with the viral therapy and immunotherapy alone.
The researchers also note that the immune cells in the surviving mice showed signs of sustained activity against the tumor.
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