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Journal of Virology, June 2009, p. 5933-5938, Vol. 83, No. 11
0022-538X/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JVI.00204-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Myxoma Virus Expressing Interleukin-15 Fails To Cause Lethal Myxomatosis in European Rabbits{triangledown}

Jia Liu,1 Sonia Wennier,1 Mary Reinhard,2 Edward Roy,3 Amy MacNeill,4 and Grant McFadden1*

Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32610,1 Department of Infectious Disease and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Care Services, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611,2 Neuroscience Program, College of Medicine, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801,3 Department of Pathbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 618024

Received 28 January 2009/ Accepted 5 March 2009

Myxoma virus (MYXV) is a poxvirus pathogenic only for European rabbits, but its permissiveness in human cancer cells gives it potential as an oncolytic virus. A recombinant MYXV expressing both the tdTomato red fluorescent protein and interleukin-15 (IL-15) (vMyx-IL-15-tdTr) was constructed. Cells infected with vMyx-IL-15-tdTr secreted bioactive IL-15 and had in vitro replication kinetics similar to that of wild-type MYXV. To determine the safety of this virus for future oncolytic studies, we tested its pathogenesis in European rabbits. In vivo, vMyx-IL-15-tdTr no longer causes lethal myxomatosis. Thus, ectopic IL-15 functions as an antiviral cytokine in vivo, and vMyx-IL-15-tdTr is a safe candidate for animal studies of oncolytic virotherapy.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, 1600 SW Archer Rd., P.O. Box 100266, Gainesville, FL 32610. Phone: (352) 273-6852. Fax: (352) 273-6849. E-mail: grantmcf{at}ufl.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 11 March 2009.

Journal of Virology, June 2009, p. 5933-5938, Vol. 83, No. 11
0022-538X/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JVI.00204-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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