https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsb.2025.09.030
This new article publication from
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B, discusses injectable hydrogel-mediated co-delivery of oncolytic adenovirus and melphalan for retinoblastoma control and vision preservation.
Retinoblastoma (RB) is the most common primary ocular malignancy in children, arising from the developing retina. While higher doses of local chemotherapy have improved tumor control, concerns regarding retinal toxicity and the development of chemoresistance remain significant. Oncolytic adenovirus (OA) presents a promising therapeutic approach for RB, but rapid clearance often limits its therapeutic effects. The authors of this article engineered a genetically modified OA derived from human adenovirus 5 (Ad5), designed to selectively target and lyse RB cells. The combination of OA with low-dose melphalan demonstrates an enhanced antitumor effect, while minimizing retinal toxicity.
In vitro and
in vivo experiments demonstrated that melphalan significantly enhanced the antitumor effect of OA and extended ocular survival. More importantly, a biocompatible injectable hydrogel delivery system was developed, based on the covalent coupling of collagen and aldehyde-modified cyclodextrin, which effectively enhances the loading efficiency of melphalan and enables sustained co-delivery of OA and melphalan. The mouse RB tumor model confirmed that this hydrogel system (OA-Mel@CCA) achieved localized and sustained delivery of both therapeutics, effectively controlling tumor growth and preventing brain metastasis. Additionally, retinal structure and function were notably preserved in mice treated with OA-Mel@CCA, with no observed retinal toxicity.
These findings suggest that the injectable hydrogel-based co-delivery of melphalan and oncolytic adenovirus could represent a promising strategy for RB treatment.
Keywords: Retinoblastoma, Oncolytic adenovirus, Melphalan, Injectable hydrogel, Cyclodextrin, Intravitreal delivery, Viral therapy, Combination therapy
Graphical Abstract: available
https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S2211383525006343-ga1_lrg.jpg
The collagen-based hydrogel enabled controlled oncolytic adenovirus and melphalan release and sustained retention. This approach eradicated retinoblastoma tumors and restored normal ocular structure and visual function following intravitreal administration.
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The Journal of the
Institute of Materia Medica, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and the
Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.
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CiteScore: 24.3
Impact Factor: 14.6 (Top 6 journal in the category of Pharmacology and pharmacy)
JIF without self-citation: 13.8
ISSN 2211-3835
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Guoqing Wang, Kai Wu, Zongliang Zhang, Yongdong Chen, Yanfang Li, Xiaoshuang Jiang, Licong Liang, Yiliu Yang, Hongsong Fan, Jing Sun, Aiping Tong, Fang Lu, Injectable hydrogel-mediated co-delivery of oncolytic adenovirus and melphalan for retinoblastoma control and vision preservation,
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B, Volume 15, Issue 12, 2025, Pages 6638-6656, ISSN 2211-3835,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsb.2025.09.030