Cytotoxic effect of cloned EGFP gene on NCI-H727 cell line via genetically engineered gene transfer system

Introduction and Aim: Cancers are a complex group of genetic illnesses that develop through multistep, mutagenic processes which can invade or spread throughout the body. Recent advances in cancer treatment involve oncolytic viruses to infect and destroy cancer cells. The Newcastle disease virus (NDV), an oncolytic virus has shown to have anti-cancer effects either directly by lysing cancer cells or indirectly by activating the immune system. The green fluorescent protein (GFP) has been widely used in studying the anti-tumor activity of oncolytic viruses. This study aimed to study the anticancer effect of a recombinant rNDV-GFP clone on NCI-H727 lung carcinoma cell line in vitro. Materials and Methods: The GFP gene was inserted to a NDV strain to create a recombinant NDV (rNDV- GFP) using reverse genetics technology. The MTT assay was used in evaluating the oncolytic effect of rNDV- GFP on the lung carcinoma NCI-H727 cells. Light and fluorescent microscopy was used to study the cytopathic effects of rNDV-GFP. Results: MTT assay showed that rNDV-GPF inhibited the NCI-H727 tumor cell death in a time-dependent manner. A significant inhibitory effect (78.3%) for rNDV-GPF on cancer cells was observed at 96h in comparison to rNDV (22.7%) and the cytotoxicity rate was directly proportional to the MOI used. Microscopic studies showed rNDV-GPF to induce cytopathic effect post 24 h of infection. Conclusion: The GFP-expressing recombinant NDV strains exhibited encouraging results in terms of tumor growth inhibition. Our research set the groundwork for employing recombinant NDV as an anticancer viral vector.