The Molecular Basis of Host Cell Permissiveness to Reovirus Infection

We don't normally think of viruses as beneficial organisms because they are invariably associated with human diseases. In 1998, we demonstrated that a naturally occurring, benign human virus, called reovirus, is a potent cancer killer. This virus is able to infect a variety of cancer cells, eventually killing them. Progeny viruses made in these cells are released and can in turn infect and kill neighboring cancer cells. We have further shown that reovirus is very effective against various human cancers implanted in mice, including brain, breast, pancreas, prostate, ovarian, and colorectal cancers. Reovirus is now undergoing phase I/II clinical trials in the US and the UK. Presently my laboratory is focusing on the precise mechanism whereby reovirus specifically infects and kills cancer cells.