Menstrual blood-derived stem cells as delivery vehicles for oncolytic adenovirus virotherapy for colorectal cancer.

Oncolytic adenoviruses (Ads) have potential applications in cancer therapy due to their ability to replicate and induce tumor cell death. However, their clinical application has been limited by the lack of efficient cell based delivery systems that can provide protection from immune attack and prevent virus clearance by neutralizing antibodies. We previously demonstrated that menstrual blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MenSCs) can specifically target tumor cells and serve as a novel drug delivery platform. We engineered CRAd5/F11 chimeric oncolytic Ads that can infect MenSCs and preserve their tumor targeting ability in vitro. MenSCs loaded with these Ads were transplanted in a mouse tumor model. We found that a large number of the CRAd5/F11 viruses were accumulated in tumor site and mediated marked inhibitory effects against CRC. Thus, we conclude that MenSC-cloaked oncolytic Ads hold great potential as a novel virus-delivery platform for the therapy of various cancers including CRC.