Development of optimised oncolytic adenovirus vectors

Oncolytic adenovirus vectors (OAdVs) are genetically engineered adenoviruses specifically designed to infect and lyse cancer cells. We are investigating different approaches to increase their specificity and therapeutic efficiency. Bispecific adaptors and tumour-specific promoters can ensure the specificity of OAdVs by only infecting cancer cells or expressing their gene. We are also investigating large libraries of naturally occurring human adenoviruses as well as chimeric vectors pseudotyped with other types of fibre shaft or fibre knob to analyse which vectors have the best oncolytic properties in different cancer models. These models include triple-negative breast cancer and primary cultures of head and neck tumours.