Hajime Kurosaki

Dr. Hajime Kurosaki

Division of Molecular Medicine, Department of Genomic Medicine and Regenerative Therapeutics, School of Medicine, Tottori University Faculty of Medicine

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

6Years (2021-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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23 April 2021 in Cells
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
HKHajime Kurosaki
Hajime Kurosaki
MNMotomu Nakatake
Motomu Nakatake
TSTeruhisa Sakamoto
Teruhisa Sakamoto
NKNozomi Kuwano
Nozomi Kuwano
MYMasato Yamane
Masato Yamane
TNTakafumi Nakamura
Takafumi Nakamura
Engineered vaccinia virus serves as an oncolytic virus for cancer virotherapy. We evaluated the oncolytic characteristics of VGF- and O1-deleted recombinant mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-dependent vaccinia virus (MDRVV). We found that compared with viruses with the deletion of either gene alone, MDRVV is more attenuated in normal cells and can replicate in cancer cells that exhibit constitutive ERK1/2 activation in the MAPK pathway. We armed MDRVV with a bifunctional fusion gene encoding cytosine deaminase and uracil phosphoribosyltransferase (CD/UPRT), which converts 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC) into chemotherapeutic agents, and evaluated its oncolytic activity alone or in combination with 5-FC in human pancreatic cancer cell lines, tumor mouse models of peritoneal dissemination and liver metastasis, and ex vivo-infected live pancreatic cancer patient-derived tissues. CD/UPRT-armed MDRVV alone could efficiently eliminate pancreatic cancers, and its antitumor effects were partially enhanced in combination with 5-FC in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, the replication of MDRVV was detected in tumor cells of patient-derived, surgically resected tissues, which showed enlarged nuclei and high expression of pERK1/2 and Ki-67, and not in stromal cells. Our findings suggest that systemic injections of CD/UPRT-armed MDRVV alone or in combination with 5-FC are promising therapeutic strategies for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.