May 31, 2012 - Study explores gene therapy ‘cocktail’ for feline fibrosarcoma

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Contact:Ginny Painter, Communications Director, Marshall University Research Corporation, 304-746-1964

Study explores gene therapy 'cocktail' for feline fibrosarcoma

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - A team of researchers led by a Marshall University faculty member has found that a gene therapy "cocktail" may hold the key to treating feline fibrosarcoma-an aggressive type of cancer that affects thousands of cats in the U.S. each year. Current therapies for the disease are often ineffective for long-term tumor eradication.

The research was conducted by Dr. Pier Paolo Claudio, associate professor in the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program and the Departments of Biochemistry and Microbiology and Surgery at the university's Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, and colleagues from the McKown Translational Research Institute at the school of medicine, the university's Department of Biology, the Martin Veterinary Clinic in Ashland, Ky., and the University of L'Aquila in Italy.

According to Claudio, there are two types of feline fibrosarcomas. The most common type has been linked to the use of vaccines administered to prevent rabies and feline leukemia, and occurs at the site of the injection. The second type appears to occur spontaneously, without any known external cause.

The study at Marshall focused on the more rare, non-vaccination site fibrosarcomas, which have been found to be associated with genetic alterations. It seemed a natural fit for Claudio, whose research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms governing the growth of cancers to help develop new strategies for treatment.

"Gene therapy, which we study in my lab, uses genetic and cell-based technologies to treat disease," he said. "Essentially, we were able to develop a cocktail of adenoviruses carrying functional therapeutic proteins that can be used to eliminate this deadly disease."

Claudio pointed out that more studies need to be done to determine if his lab's findings could also be applicable to cases of vaccine-induced fibrosarcomas.

The research was published yesterday in the journal PLoS ONE. The full article, "Targeting a newly established spontaneous feline fibrosarcoma cell line by gene transfer," is available online at http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0037743.

Claudio is in Italy this week to present three invited lectures about his research. He will be speaking at the National Cancer Institute and the CEINGE Institute in Naples, and at the meeting "Fragment of history:  Seminar on the oral medicine of the past and of the future" in Sorrento.

For more information, contact Claudio at claudiop@marshall.edu or 304-696-3516.

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