Investigating the role of B cells in limiting the efficacy of oncolytic virus therapy

Abstract

B cells limit the efficacy of oncolytic virus therapy, both through their role as antibody producers. After VSV infection, neutralizing antibodies are detectable in mouse serum four days post-infection, persisting for many weeks. Pre-existing immunity to VSV precludes viral replication in tumours and is caused by the action of anti-VSV antibodies, and not other immune compartments. I hypothesize that B cells are important in limiting the efficacy of oncolytic virus treatment, and that a lack of B cells would correlate with improved therapeutic outcome. To better study the role of B cells, I have chosen to study VSV infection and oncolytic activity in a B cell-deficient mouse model, muMT. My data indicate that while the absence of B cells correlates with the ability to deliver multiple doses of virus to the tumour and improve efficacy, under the current treatment protocol, this does not correlate with significantly improved survival.