Vaccinia virus-mediated expression of wild-type p53 suppresses glioma cell growth and induces apoptosis.

The use of vaccinia virus vectors for cancer gene therapy may become a powerful method to achieve efficient anti-tumor effects. We used recombinant vaccinia virus expressing wild-type p53 (rVV-p53) to examine the biological effects of exogenous tumor suppressor p53 in human (U-373MG, U-87MG, LN-Z308) and rat glioma cells (9L, C6) in vitro. All glioma cell lines infected with rVV-p53 exhibited growth inhibition and underwent apoptosis as demonstrated by morphological studies using nuclear staining and flow cytometry. The key role of p53 in cell growth inhibition was confirmed as measured by colony forming efficiency. Growth inhibition and apoptosis were independent of the endogenous p53 status of the glioma cell lines.