Oncolytic reovirus can be delivered both systemically and intratumorally, in both preclinical models and in early phase clinical trials. Reovirus has direct oncolytic activity against a variety of tumor types and antitumor activity is directly associated with immune activation by virus replication in tumors. Immune mechanisms of therapy include both innate immune activation against virally infected tumor cells, and the generation of adaptive antitumor immune responses as a result of in vivo priming against tumor-associated antigens. We tested the combination of local oncolytic reovirus therapy with systemic immune checkpoint inhibition. We show that treatment of subcutaneous B16 melanomas with a combination of intravenous (i.v.) anti-PD-1 antibody and intratumoral (i.t.) reovirus significantly enhanced survival of mice compared to i.t. reovirus (P < 0.01) or anti-PD-1 therapy alone. In vitro immune analysis demonstrated that checkpoint inhibition improved the ability of NK cells to kill reovirus-infected tumor cells, reduced T(reg) activity, and increased the adaptive CD8(+) T-cell-dependent antitumor T-cell response. PD-1 blockade also enhanced the antiviral immune response but through effector mechanisms which overlapped with but also differed from those affecting the antitumor response. Therefore, combination with checkpoint inhibition represents a readily translatable next step in the clinical development of reovirus viroimmunotherapy.

Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) suppresses antiviral responses in infected cells by inhibiting host gene expression at multiple levels, including transcription, nuclear cytoplasmic transport, and translation. The inhibition of host gene expression is due to the activity of the viral matrix (M) protein. Previous studies have shown that M protein interacts with host proteins Rae1 and Nup98 that have been implicated in regulating nuclear-cytoplasmic transport. However, Rae1 function is not essential for host mRNA transport, raising the question of how interaction of a viral protein with a host protein that is not essential for gene expression causes a global inhibition at multiple levels. We tested the hypothesis that there may be multiple M protein-Rae1 complexes involved in inhibiting host gene expression at multiple levels. Using size exclusion chromatography and sedimentation velocity analysis, it was determined that Rae1 exists in high, intermediate, and low molecular weight complexes. The intermediate molecular weight complexes containing Nup98 interacted most efficiently with M protein. The low molecular weight form also interacted with M protein in cells that overexpress Rae1 or cells in which Nup98 expression was silenced. Silencing Rae1 expression had little if any effect on nuclear accumulation of host mRNA in VSV-infected cells, nor did it affect VSV's ability to inhibit host translation. Instead, silencing Rae1 expression reduced the ability of VSV to inhibit host transcription. M protein interacted efficiently with Rae1-Nup98 complexes associated with the chromatin fraction of host nuclei, consistent with an effect on host transcription. These results support the idea that M protein-Rae1 complexes serve as platforms to promote the interaction of M protein with other factors involved in host transcription. They also support the idea that Rae1-Nup98 complexes play a previously under-appreciated role in regulation of transcription.

Since different tumor types growing in the same location in the brain share a location-specific phenotype, we suggest that antigen-specific immunotherapies should be based upon expression of both histological type-specific tumor antigens and location-specific antigens. Our findings support clinical application of VSV-TAA therapy with checkpoint inhibition for aggressive brain tumors and highlight the importance of the intracranial microenvironment in sculpting a location-specific profile of tumor antigen expression.