Effects of retroviral-mediated herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene transfer to murine neuroblastoma cell lines in vitro and in vivo.

Selective introduction of genes conferring chemosensitivity on proliferating tumor cells can be used to treat cancer. We investigated the efficacy of retrovirus-mediated gene transfer of the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-TK) gene to murine neuroblastoma cell lines (neuro-2a) in vitro and in vivo. Retrovirus-mediated HSV-TK gene transfer to the neuro-2a cells resulted in sensitivity to ganciclovir (GCV) in vitro. In A/J mice, tumors produced from HSV-TK transduced neuro-2a cells regressed after GCV treatment. Intratumoral injection of recombinant retrovirus expressing HSV-TK gene also inhibited growth of the tumor established in A/J mice. These results demonstrate that HSV-TK gene therapy might be a feasible approach for inhibiting the growth of neuroblastoma.