Viruses and Bacteria Collaborate to Cause New Cancers

Researchers have created a new cancer treatment called CAPPSID, which combines viruses and bacteria to enter tumors and kill them. In order to prevent the immune system from detecting the oncolytic virus, the system conceals it inside Salmonella typhimurium, which naturally migrates into tumors.

The virus enters the body through the bacteria and enters cancer cells, where it multiplies and spreads throughout the tumor. By limiting the virus's ability to develop close to the bacterium, built-in protections improve security and stop accidental propagation.

Important Information:

Dual Attack Strategy: combines viruses that fight cancer with bacteria that target tumors.
Immune Evasion: By protecting the virus from antibodies, bacteria enable the virus to infiltrate tumors.
Safety Control: The virus's reliance on a bacterial enzyme prevents it from spreading outside of the tumor.
Columbia University is the source.

Columbia Engineering researchers have developed a cancer treatment that enables viruses and bacteria to cooperate.

The Synthetic Biological Systems Lab demonstrates how their system conceals a virus inside a tumor-seeking bacteria, sneaks it past the immune system, and releases it into malignant tumors in a research that was published today in Nature Biomedical Engineering.