Adeno-associated parvoviruses inhibit growth of cells derived from malignant human tumors.

Infection of freshly established malignant human tumor cells with the adeno-associated viruses AAV-2 or AAV-5 inhibits cell proliferation. Normal human fibroblasts are also affected, but appear to partially escape the inhibition. In cell cultures of permanent lines of human and rodent origin, cell number reduction could not be observed. The AAV-mediated influence on cell growth is not due to helper-independent replication of the virus, since neither of the cell cultures supported AAV propagation in the absence of a viral helper.