Gabere, Musa

Background: Morreton virus (MORV) is an oncolytic Vesiculovirus , genetically distinct from vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV). Aim: To report that MORV induced potent cytopathic effects (CPEs) in cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in vitro models. Approach and Results: In preliminary safety analyses, high intranasal doses (up to 10 10 50% tissue culture infectious dose [TCID 50 ]) of MORV were not associated with significant adverse effects in immune competent, non–tumor‐bearing mice. MORV was shown to be efficacious in a Hep3B hepatocellular cancer xenograft model but not in a CCA xenograft HuCCT1 model. In an immune competent, syngeneic murine CCA model, single intratumoral treatments with MORV (1 × 10 7 TCID 50 ) triggered a robust antitumor immune response leading to substantial tumor regression and disease control at a dose 10‐fold lower than VSV (1 × 10 8 TCID 50 ). MORV led to increased CD8 + cytotoxic T cells without compensatory increases in tumor‐associated macrophages and granulocytic or monocytic myeloid‐derived suppressor cells. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that wild‐type MORV is safe and can induce potent tumor regression via immune‐mediated and immune‐independent mechanisms in HCC and CCA animal models without dose limiting adverse events. These data warrant further development and clinical translation of MORV as an oncolytic virotherapy platform.

Background: Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) and logopenic progressive aphasia (LPA) are two of the most common variants of atypical Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Both PCA and LPA are associated with relative sparing of hippocampus compared to neocortex, although hippocampal atrophy is observed. It is unclear whether regional patterns of hippocampal subfield involvement differ between PCA and LPA, and whether they differ from typical AD. Objective: To assess volume of specific subfields of the hippocampus in PCA, LPA, and typical AD. Methods: Fifty-nine patients with PCA and 77 patients with LPA were recruited and underwent T1-weighted MRI and Pittsburgh Compound B (PiB) PET at Mayo Clinic. Thirty-six probable AD patients and 100 controls were identified from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. Hippocampal subfield volumes were calculated using Freesurfer, and volumes were compared between PCA, LPA, AD, and controls using Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn tests. Results: The LPA and PCA groups both showed the most striking abnormalities in CA4, presubiculum, molecular layer of the hippocampus, molecular and granule cell layers of the dentate gyrus, and the hippocampal-amygdala transition area, although atrophy was left-sided in LPA. PCA showed smaller volume of right presubiculum compared to LPA, with trends for smaller volumes of right parasubiculum and fimbria. LPA showed a trend for smaller volumes of left CA1 compared to PCA. The AD group showed smaller volumes of the right subiculum, CA1, and presubiculum compared to LPA. Conclusion: Patterns of hippocampal subfield atrophy differ across the different syndromic variants of AD.