Cytokine & Growth Factor Reviews RSS feed: Articles in Press. Cytokine & Growth Factor Reviews publishes thought-provoking articles (critical reviews, state-of-the-art reviews, letters to the editor, meeting reviews) devoted to important advances in the rapidly changing fields of growth factor and cytokine research. Major emphasis is placed on the multidisciplinary significance of cytokines and growth factors in areas as diverse as signal transduction, cell growth and differentiation, embryonic development, immunology, tumorigenesis and clinical medicine.http://www.cgfr.co.uk//inpress?rss=yesElsevier Inc.en © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Cytokine & Growth Factor Reviews1359-61012010-03-08 © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. healthpermissions@elsevier.comhttp://www.cgfr.co.uk/article/PIIS1359610110000213/abstract?rss=yesAbstract: High-dose chemotherapy and radiation followed by autologous blood and marrow transplantation (ABMT) has been used for the treatment of certain cancers that are refractory to standard therapeutic regimes. However, a major challenge with ABMT for patients with hematologic malignancies is disease relapse, mainly due to either contamination with cancerous hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) within the autograft or the persistence of residual therapy-resistant disease niches within the patient. Oncolytic viruses represent a promising therapeutic approach to prevent cancer relapse by eliminating tumor-initiating cells that contaminate the autograft. Here we summarize an ex vivo “purging” strategy with oncolytic Myxoma virus (MYXV) to remove cancer-initiating cells from patient autografts prior to transplantation. MYXV, a novel oncolytic poxvirus with potent anti-cancer properties in a variety of in vivo tumor models, can specifically eliminate cancerous stem and progenitor cells from samples obtained from acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) patients, while sparing normal CD34+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells capable of rescuing hematopoiesis following high dose conditioning. We propose that a broader subset of patients with intractable hematologic malignancies who have failed standard therapy could become eligible for ABMT when the treatment schema is coupled with ex vivo oncolytic therapy.Oncolytic viral purging of leukemic hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells with Myxoma virus - Corrected ProofMasmudur M. Rahman, Gerard J. Madlambayan, Christopher R. Cogle, Grant McFadden10.1016/j.cytogfr.2010.02.010Cytokine & Growth Factor Reviews (2010)2010-03-08Cytokine & Growth Factor Reviews2010-03-08SURVEYhttp://www.cgfr.co.uk/article/PIIS1359610110000225/abstract?rss=yesAbstract: The experimental infectivity and excellent tolerance of some rodent autonomous parvoviruses in humans, together with their oncosuppressive effects in preclinical models, speak for the inclusion of these agents in the arsenal of oncolytic viruses under consideration for cancer therapy. In particular, wild-type parvovirus H-1PV can achieve a complete cure of various tumors in animal models and kill tumor cells that resist conventional anticancer treatments. There is growing evidence that H-1PV oncosuppression involves an immune component in addition to the direct viral oncolytic effect. This article summarizes the recent assessment of H-1PV antineoplastic activity in glioma, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma models, laying the foundation for the present launch of a first phase I/IIa clinical trial on glioma patients.Oncolytic parvoviruses as cancer therapeutics - Corrected ProofJean Rommelaere, Karsten Geletneky, Assia L. Angelova, Laurent Daeffler, Christiane Dinsart, Irina Kiprianova, Joerg R. Schlehofer, Zahari Raykov10.1016/j.cytogfr.2010.02.011Cytokine & Growth Factor Reviews (2010)2010-03-08Cytokine & Growth Factor Reviews2010-03-08SURVEYhttp://www.cgfr.co.uk/article/PIIS1359610110000249/abstract?rss=yesAbstract: Replicating virus-based therapeutics for cancer, or oncolytic virus therapy (OVT), is rapidly emerging as a promising treatment modality for a wide range of cancers. In pre-clinical studies, oncolytic viruses have produced remarkable results in a variety of experimental animal models, and several viruses have entered phase I/II clinical trials. However, OVT is not effective against all tumours, with major treatment bottlenecks being the inability to infect, replicate within, or kill certain cancer cells. Unfortunately, the underlying molecular mechanisms governing these limitations are largely unknown. Recently, RNAi technology has been adapted for systematic interrogation of entire eukaryotic genomes. Since then, several groups have conducted genome-wide RNAi screens to study host/virus interactions. Herein we briefly summarize RNAi screening and its recent application to virology, and propose its use in overcoming key barriers to successful OVT.A call to arms: Using RNAi screening to improve oncolytic viral therapy - Corrected ProofD.J. Mahoney, D.F. Stojdl10.1016/j.cytogfr.2010.02.013Cytokine & Growth Factor Reviews (2010)2010-03-08Cytokine & Growth Factor Reviews2010-03-08MINI REVIEW