University of Virginia Patent Foundation

Leland W Chung

Chinghai Kao

Song-Chu Ko

Robert A Sikes

Jun Cheon

Ronald P Taylor

William M Sutherland

Alessandra Nardin

Mitchell H Sokoloff

The present invention relates to the treatment and prevention of cancer, viral infections and microbial infections by the administration of anti-C3b(i) antibodies. The present invention also relates to methods of treating and preventing cancer, viral infection, or microbial infection in an animal comprising administering to said animal IgG antibodies, IgM antibodies and/or complement components in combination with antibodies specific for C3b(i). The present invention also relates methods of treating and preventing cancer, viral infection or microbial infection in an animal comprising administrating said animal antibodies that immunospecifically bind to one or more cancer cell antigens, viral antigens or microbial antigens, respectively, in combination with antibodies immunospecific for C3b(i). The present invention further relates to the detection, imaging, diagnosis and monitoring of cancer utilizing C3b(i) specific antibodies.

Methods for the prevention and treatment of cancer using anti-C3b(i) antibodies

A therapeutic agent based on a recombinant adenovirus which employs an osteocalcin promoter for the expression of thymidine kinase can be administered intravascularly to treat metastatic cancer, including osteosarcoma, breast cancer, prostate cancer, ocular melanoma or brain cancer. Systemic administration of this agent provides a preferred route over previous disclosure of local direct administration. The same therapeutic agent can be effectively employed in the treatment of benign conditions, including benign prostatic hypertrophy and arteriosclerosis.

In vivo suppression of osteosarcoma pulmonary metastasis with

A recombinant adenovirus Ad-OC-TK was constructed, with cell specific gene expression, which contains osteocalcin (OC) promoter that drives the expression of herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (TK); the addition of acyclovir (ACV), a pro-drug for the inhibition of cell proliferation, to Ad-OC-TK resulted in the induction of osteoblast-specific cell death in vitro. The Ad-OC-TK virus plus ACV treatment is highly selective in blocking the growth of both murine and human osteosarcoma cell lines in vitro and murine osteosarcoma in vivo.

Osteocalcin promoter-based toxic gene therapy for the treatment of

Growing community of inventors

Lovingston, VA, United States of America

Leland W Chung