Ms. Yuying Wang (2nd-year doctor course student) gave a presentation as a symposist at the 31st Annual Meeting of Japanese Society for Gene and Cell Therapy.

July 23–25, 2025 Hotel Gajoen Tokyo (Meguro-ku, Tokyo)

https://square.umin.ac.jp/jsgct2025/en/index.html

Yuying Wang et al.

Oncolytic Activity of Blue Light-Controlled Measles Virus for Tongue Cancer and Melanoma Cell Lines

Measles virus (MV), a member of the Mononegavirales order, has been extensively studied for vaccine development and oncolytic virotherapy. In 2019, we reported a blue light-controlled mononegavirus gene expression system. This system enhances safety and allows for more precise control of viral vectors (Tahara et al., 2019, PNAS). We applied this system to an engineered MV vector to evaluate its oncolytic efficacy against surface-accessible cancers such as tongue cancer and melanoma.

First, we constructed a MV vector with a segmented RNA genome, incorporating the blue light-control system to enhance replication and the capacity to encode additional genes. It is well known that wild-type MV uses SLAM and nectin-4 as receptors on immune and epithelial cells, respectively. In contrast, vaccine strains additionally utilize CD46, a molecule that is overexpressed in many cancer cells. Therefore, the MV vector was modified to carry the receptor-binding H protein derived from the vaccine strain. Notably, CD46 engagement was essential for efficient oncolysis in tongue cancer and melanoma cells.

Mice bearing luciferase-expressing tongue cancer and melanoma cells received multiple intratumoral doses of the engineered MV vector. Under blue light exposure, the tumor-bearing mice showed a significant reduction in bioluminescence signals compared to the control group under ambient light, demonstrating effective tumor cell killing by the blue light-controllable MV vector.

These results highlight the potential of the blue light-controllable MV vector as a new platform for treating cancers in light-accessible sites, offering a novel direction for the development of safer and more precisely controlled MV-based oncolytic virotherapy.