After revealing in a groundbreaking study that Zika virus can be used to combat brain tumors, researchers at the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in ScE3o Paulo State, Brazil, have shown that the pathogen may also be a weapon against prostate cancer.
In experiments with a human prostate adenocarcinoma cell line (PC-3), the scientists found that Zika inhibits tumor cell proliferation even when inactivated by high temperature.
After studies confirmed that Zika can infect and destroy neural progenitor cells, which are precursors of the various types of brain cells in the fetus, Catharino decided to determine the effects of the virus on glioblastoma cells.
The positive in vitro results obtained by the UNICAMP group were confirmed in an animal model by scientists at the Human Genome and Stem Cell Research Center (HUG-CELL), a Research, Innovation and Dissemination Center (RIDC) supported by FAPESP and hosted by the University of ScE3o Paulo-USP “Because it’s been confirmed that Zika is sexually transmitted and prefers infecting reproductive cells, we now want to test its effectiveness against prostate cancer,” Innovare laboratory team member Jeany Delafiori told AgcEAncia FAPESP.
The next step was to expose cultured PC-3 (prostate cancer) cells to the inactivated virus for 24 or 48 hours and then compare these treated cells with tumor cells that had not been exposed to the pathogen.
information: Jeany Delafiori et al, Molecular signatures associated with prostate cancer cell line (PC-3) exposure to inactivated Zika virus, Scientific Reports (2019).