Autophagy Gene Activity May Act As a Key Factor for Sensitivity of Tumor Cells to Oncolytic Vesicular Stomatitis Virus

BACKGROUND Beclin1 is an important, primary molecule for autophagy. OBJECTIVES It is suggested that the control of the autophagy path increases the sensitivity of tumor cells to VSV. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this study, the degree of Beclin1 gene expression in two cell lines, HeLa and A549, has been examined and the percentage of living cells subsequent infection with virus has been evaluated by MTT assay method. RESULTS The results showed that the degree of Beclin1 gene expression in HeLa cells in comparison with A549 cells has reduced, and the sensitivity of these cells to vesicular stomatits virus (VSV) oncolysis is more than A549. CONCLUSIONS It seems that by using some methods for reducing autophagy, it is possible to make tumor cells more sensitive to virotherapy and even other treatments.