May 21, 2001

1 min read

Google Logo Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm

GM Poliovirus Battles Brain Tumors in Mice

By Kate Wong

Join Our Community of Science Lovers!

On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

A modified version of the virus that causes poliomyelitis shows great promise for treating brain tumors, researchers say. According to findings being presented today at a meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Orlando, Fla., a poliovirus carrying a piece of the virus that causes the common cold eliminated tumors in the brains of mice.

Matthias Gromeier of Duke University and his colleagues began looking into this new therapy when they discovered that the molecule poliovirus binds to, CD155, is expressed in malignant gliomas, the most common type of brain tumor. They reasoned that CD155 would naturally home in on the tumors. But because poliovirus can cause disease in humans, the team first modified it by inserting a piece of rhinovirus DNA into the poliovirus. "The mixed polio/rhinovirus construct had very surprising properties," Gromeier reports. "It had lost its ability to cause poliomyelitis in humans but retained excellent killing potential for malignant glioma cells."

The team then administered a single dose of the treatment to mice harboring implanted brain tumors. Within days, the mice fully recovered, and pathological analyses of their brains revealed that the tumors had been eliminated. Whether the therapy will work in humans remains to be seen. But indications may come soon: the researchers note that a prototype of the recombinant virus is currently being prepared for clinical trials in patients with incurable brain tumors.

Kate Wong is an award-winning science writer and senior editor for features at Scientific American, where she has focused on evolution, ecology, anthropology, archaeology, paleontology and animal behavior. She is fascinated by human origins, which she has covered for nearly 30 years. Recently she has become obsessed with birds. Her reporting has taken her to caves in France and Croatia that Neandertals once called home to the shores of Kenya’s Lake Turkana in search of the oldest stone tools in the world, as well as to Madagascar on an expedition to unearth ancient mammals and dinosaurs, the icy waters of Antarctica, where humpback whales feast on krill, and a “Big Day” race around the state of Connecticut to find as many bird species as possible in 24 hours. Wong is co-author, with Donald Johanson, of Lucy’s Legacy: The Quest for Human Origins. She holds a bachelor of science degree in biological anthropology and zoology from the University of Michigan. Follow her on Bluesky @katewong.bsky.social

More by Kate Wong

It’s Time to Stand Up for Science

If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.

I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.

If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.

In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can't-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world's best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.

There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you’ll support us in that mission.

Thank you,

David M. Ewalt, Editor in Chief, Scientific American

Subscribe