Butyrate-inducible and tumor-restricted gene expression by adenovirus vectors.

Efficient introduction of biologically active genes into tumor cells in vivo would facilitate cancer gene therapy. In this study, recombinant adenoviruses mediated high-level expression of reporter genes in both human and murine tumor cell lines and freshly resected human solid tumors in vitro. When adenovirus vectors were inoculated intratumorally in a living animal, reporter activity was detected only in the tumor nodule and not in other sites, in contrast to intracardiac injections in which expression was found in several organs. Adenovirus-mediated gene expression was further enhanced by butyrate treatment.