Cancer therapy using oncolytic viruses is an emerging area, in which viruses are engineered to selectively propagate in tumor tissues without affecting healthy cells. Because of the advantages that adenoviruses (Ads) have over other viruses, they are more considered. To achieve tumor selectivity, two main modifications on Ads genome have been applied: small deletions and insertion of tissue‐ or tumor‐specific promoters. Despite oncolytic adenoviruses ability in tumor cell lysis and immune responses stimulation, to further increase their antitumor effects, genomic modifications have been carried out including insertion of checkpoint inhibitors and antigenic or immunostimulatory molecules into the adenovirus genome and combination with dendritic cells and chemotherapeutic agents. This study reviews oncolytic adenoviruses structures, their antitumor efficacy in combination with other therapeutic strategies, and finally challenges around this treatment approach.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) which is responsible for a global pandemic that started in late 2019 in Wuhan, China. To prevent the worldwide spread of this highly pathogenic virus, development of an effective and safe vaccine is urgently needed. The SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV share a high degree of genetic and pathologic identity and share safety and immune-enhancement concerns regarding vaccine development. Prior animal studies with first generation (whole virus-based) preparations of SARS-CoV vaccines (inactivated and attenuated vaccine modalities) indicated the possibility of increased infectivity or eosinophilic infiltration by immunization. Therefore, development of second and third generation safer vaccines (by using modern vaccine platforms) is actively sought for this viral infection.The spike (S) protein of SARS-CoVs is the main determinant of cell entry and tropism and is responsible for facilitating zoonosis into humans and sustained person-to-person transmission. Furthermore, 'S' protein contains multiple neutralizing epitopes that play an essential role in the induction of neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) and protective immunity. Moreover, T-cell responses against the SARS-CoV-2 'S' protein have also been characterized that correlate to the IgG and IgA antibody titres in Covid-19 patients. Thus, S protein is an obvious candidate antigen for inclusion into vaccine platforms against SARS-CoV-2 viral infection. This

BackgroundSeveral new types of polyomavirus have been discovered in recent years mainly because of the recent state-of-the-art detection technologies. Among the polyomaviruses, Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) has attracted the most attention because of its possible role in the etiology of Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare but lethal form of skin cancer.ObjectivesThis study aimed to determine age-specific seroprevalence of MCPyV in Tehran.Patients and MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, we collected 440 serum samples from healthy individuals 2 to 78 years of age who visited the Pasteur Institute’s clinic in Tehran, Iran, using a convenience sampling strategy. We developed a virus-like particle-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay that uses VP1, the major capsid protein of MCPyV, to detect and quantitate serum antibodies to MCPyV. We compared the prevalence of MCPyV between males and females and across eight age groups.ResultsA total of 255 (57.9%) of the serum samples were MCPyV positive. The seroprevalence in children under 10 years of age was 25%. The seroprevalence increased to 56% over the next decade of life (10 - 19 years of age). The seroprevalence rate in males and females was 56.1% and 59.7% respectively, and a binary logistic regression showed no significant difference between males and females (P = 0.77). However, the prevalence of MCPyV increased with age (P = 0.012).ConclusionsOur results suggest that human exposure to MCPyV occurs throughout life. The MCPyV antibody levels remained high among older adults in our population, consistent with reports from other populations.

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