High-dose VitC plus oncolytic adenoviruses enhance immunogenic tumor cell death and reprogram tumor immune microenvironment

Abstract

Preclinical and clinical studies have validated the antitumor effects of several oncolytic viruses (OVs). However, the efficacy of OVs is limited when they are administered as monotherapies. Combination therapy is a promising direction for oncolytic virotherapy in the future. A high dose of vitamin C (VitC) exerts anticancer effects by triggering the accretion of substantial amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS). OVs can induce immunogenic tumor cell death and elicit an antitumor immune response. ROS play an important role in immunogenic cell death (ICD). This study aimed to explore whether high-dose VitC in combination with oncolytic adenoviruses (oAds) exhibited a synergistic antitumor effect. High-dose VitC synergized with oAds against tumor by enhancing immunogenic tumor cell death. Combination therapy with high-dose VitC and oAds significantly increased the number of T cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME) and promoted the activation of T cells. Furthermore, the antitumor effect of the combination therapy was CD8⁺ T cell dependent. In addition, combination therapy with high-dose VitC and oAds reprogramed the immunosuppressive TME. Our study provides a new strategy for combination therapy of OVs.

Keywords: combination therapy; immunogenic cell death; oncolytic adenoviruses; tumor microenvironment; vitamin C.