Construction of CIK cell vehicles carrying oncolytic virus and preliminary study on its antihepatoma ability

Objective: To construct cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cell vehicles carrying recombinant adenovirus carrying tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) gene, and preliminarily observe its anti-hepatoma ability. Methods: Lymphocytes were isolated from peripheral blood to culture CIK cells. The phenotypic identification of CIK cells was performed by flow cytometry (FCM). Then, the lentiviral pLenti-hCD40L-E1AB containing CD40L promoter and the recombined adenovirus vector pAd5/35-TRAIL were constructed, respectively. The two viruses were infected into CIK cells by two-step method. After that, the secretory function and proliferative capacity of CIK cells as well as the effect on angiogenesis and the ablility of colony-formation of hepatoma cells were assessed by ELISA, MTT method, Tubule formation assay and soft agarose assay, respectively. Results: The CIK lymphocytes grew vigorously, in which the expressions of CD3, CD56, CD11a and CD226 were positive, while the expressions of CD8 and CD305 were negative. The lentiviral pLenti-hCD40L-E1AB containing active hCD40L promoter and adenovirus E1 gene was successfully constructed, and the recombined adenovirus vector pAd5/35-TRAIL containing human TRAIL gene was also constructed. In CIK cells infected with Ad5/F35-TRAIL and pLenti-hCD40L-E1AB, the expression level of interferon-? was significanly increased (P < 0.05), and the angiogenesis and the colony-formation rate of hepatoma cells were inhibited, but the proliferative capacity of CIK cells was less affected. Conclusion: CIK cell vehicles carrying adenovirus and expressing TRAIL gene are successfully constructed. The growth inhibition of hepatoma cells may be induced by CIK cells.