Adenovirus-mediated transfer of a wild-type p53 gene and induction of apoptosis in cervical cancer.

In most cervical cancers, the function of p53 is down regulated. To explore the potential use of p53 in gene therapy for cervical cancer, we introduced wild-type p53 into cervical cancer cell lines via a recombinant adenoviral vector, Ad5CMV-p53, and analyzed its effects on cell and tumor growth. The transduction efficiencies of all cell lines were 100% at a multiplicity of infection of 100 or greater. The p53 protein was detected in Ad5CMV-p53-infected cells. Protein expression peaked at day 3 after infection and lasted 15 days. The Ad5CMV-p53-infected cells underwent apoptosis, and cell growth was greatly suppressed. The Ad5CMV-p53 treatment significantly reduced the volumes of established s.c. tumors in vivo. These results indicate that transfection of cervical cancer cells with the wild-type p53 gene via Ad5CMV-p53 is a potential novel approach to the therapy of cervical cancer.