Abstract
Abstract Recent studies have demonstrated potent oncolytic effects of wild-type Zika virus (ZIKV) against primary central nervous system (CNS) tumors, including Medulloblastoma, Atypical Teratoid/Rhabdoid Tumor (AT/RT), and Glioblastoma (GBM). However, the neurotropism of ZIKV urges further evaluation of specific tumor-targeting properties and comparative toxicity to non-neoplastic neural cells in order to address its therapeutic potential. We have developed a hybrid organoid model by co-culturing GBM cells with mature human cerebral organoids and assessed cytotoxicity of the Brazilian ZIKV isolate (ZIKVBR) towards normal brain organoid cells and GBM cells. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC)-derived cerebral organoids were co-cultured with 105 GFP-expressing cells of three different GBM cell lines. A total of 20.000 PFU of ZIKVBR or mock condition was added per co-cultured model. Viable cells were analyzed by flow cytometry (FC) and fluorescence microscopy at different time points. ZIKVBR presence was assessed by PFU assay. Although ZIKVBR infection did not cause a pronounced reduction of GFP+ cell proportion over time in all GBM cell lines, cell viability analysis showed a greater amount of non-viable GFP+ cells over GFP- cells in all ZIKVBR-treated groups, compared to their corresponding mock groups. PFU assays of cell culture supernatants confirmed the presence of infectious viral particles in treated groups and absence in mock groups. Our data reveal that ZIKVBR has a potential oncolytic effect characterized by preferential killing of GBM tumor cells over normal cerebral cells, in a hybrid organoid model. These findings support the development of an oncolytic virus therapy platform based on ZIKV.
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