Immunobiology of Newcastle Disease Virus and Its Use for Prophylactic Vaccination in Poultry and as Adjuvant for Therapeutic Vaccination in Cancer Patients

Abstract

Newcastle disease (ND) is one of the most important diseases of poultry worldwide. In the last decades, molecular research has gained a lot of new information about its causative agent, newcastle disease virus (NDV). In poultry industry, certain strains of NDV have been used for preventive vaccination for more than 60 years. NDV has also been applied to cancer patients with beneficial effects for about 50 years, but this is less well known. The molecular basis for these differential effects of NDV in birds and man have been elucidated in the last decades and are explained in this review. The anti-neoplastic and immune-stimulatory properties in non-permissive hosts such as mouse and man have to do with the strong type I interferon responses induced in these foreign species. Additionally, NDV has the potential to break various types of tumor resistances and also to affect liver fibrosis. A main section is devoted to the benefits of clinical application of NDV and NDV-based vaccines to cancer patients. Reverse genetics technology allowed developing NDV into a vector suitable for gene therapy. Examples will be provided in which genetically engineered NDV is being used successfully as vector against new emerging viruses.

A review of virulent Newcastle disease viruses in the United States and the role of wild birds in viral persistence and spread

“…NDV in combination with IL-2 was found to be especially T cell stimulatory which increases the anti-tumor capacity. A strong type 1 interferon response is induced in non-permissive species, such as humans, which results in the anti-neoplastic and immune stimulatory properties observed with NDV infection [ 19 ].…”

Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) Oncolytic Activity in Human Glioma Tumors Is Dependent on CDKN2A-Type I IFN Gene Cluster Codeletion

“…In the present work we propose that NDV oncolytic therapy could be a good approach for the treatment of a specific subgroup of primary brain tumors. NDV-based antineoplastic therapy has demonstrated to elicit a robust long-term anti-tumor immunity in different preclinical tumor models [ 38 , 39 ]. In the present work, we present a new glioma stratification system based on the type I-IFN cluster genomic expression, that could classify patients as potential responders and non-responders to NDV therapy and possibly other oncolytic viruses.…”

Oncolytic Viruses and Immune Checkpoint Inhibition: The Best of Both Worlds

“…This is a large (150–400 nm), single-stranded-RNA virus that is a member of the Paramyxoviridae family 114 . Infection with a Newcastle disease virus activates the innate immune system and also causes cancer cell apoptosis, which serves to facilitate the conversion from an immune-suppressive tumor microenvironment into an inflammatory environment with immune effectors capable of anti-tumor effects 6 .…”