Lentiviral vector-mediated transfection of human cancer cell lines with tumor suppressor genes inhibits proliferation in vitro

: Background: Viral vector-mediated gene therapy has been eagerly studied as a new strategy for cancer treatment in recent years. We hypothesized that lentiviral vector-mediated gene therapy could be a promising strategy for the treatment of cancers that are highly refractory to chemotherapy or radiotherapy, such as malignant mesothelioma. In this study, we exam-ined the effects of lentiviral vector-mediated transfection of tumor suppressor genes on the growth of malignant mesothelioma and other cancer cell lines. Methods: We transfected the tumor suppressor genes p53, p16, and PTEN into various human cancer cell lines with lentiviral vectors. Results and conclusion: After transfection of the tumor suppressor genes, we observed marked growth inhibition of the cancer cells. Thus, lentivirus-mediated transfection of tumor suppressor genes exerts promising anti-tumor effects on cancer cell lines.