Antitumor effects of apoptin expressed by the dual cancer-specific oncolytic adenovirus – a review

J.-B. Fang, G.-Z. Zhu, Y.-L. Zhu, Y.-Q. Li, C. Shang, B. Bai, N.-Y. Jin, X. Li

Academician Workstation of Jilin Province, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, Jilin, China. lixiao06@mails.jlu.edu.cn

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• Pharmacology

Apoptin is a small molecular weight protein derived from chicken anemia virus, which can induce the apoptosis of transformed cells and tumor cells and leave primary and nontransformed cells unharmed. Apoptin’s cell localization depends on its own phosphorylation state and cell type. In tumor cells, phosphorylated apoptin enters the nucleus and induces apoptosis. While, in normal cells apoptin mainly exists in the cytoplasm. Apoptin, as a disordered protein in cells, interacts with many proteins in cell signal pathways to induce apoptosis of tumor cells. The specific mechanism of apoptosis induced by apoptin has not been completely elucidated. Therefore, apoptin has become a potential anticancer agent. This review summarizes the research results of apoptin in our laboratory and reveals the specific antitumor mechanism of apoptin expressed by oncolytic virus vector on a variety of tumor cells and mouse models.

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