Carcinoembryonic antigen promoter-driven infected cell protein 27 (CEA-ICP27)

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) promoter-driven infected cell protein 27 (ICP27) expression is a genetic regulatory system designed for targeted cancer therapy, particularly within the field of oncolytic virotherapy. This system places the expression of ICP27, an essential immediate-early protein of the Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV-1) required for viral replication and mRNA processing, under the control of the CEA (CEACAM5) promoter. CEA is a well-characterized tumor-associated antigen frequently overexpressed in gastrointestinal, lung, and breast cancers, while remaining largely absent in most healthy adult tissues. By linking ICP27 expression to the CEA promoter, viral replication is restricted to CEA-positive malignant cells, leading to selective oncolysis and the release of tumor antigens. This transcriptional targeting strategy minimizes off-target toxicity to normal cells that do not express CEA. Therapeutic candidates such as the oncolytic virus NV1042 utilize this mechanism to treat solid tumors, often in combination with other modalities to enhance the anti-tumor immune response.

Other names

CEA-ICP27CEA promoter-controlled ICP27CEA-targeted oncolytic HSV-1 systemCarcinoembryonic antigen-targeted infected cell protein 27

The system utilizes the CEA promoter to restrict the expression of the essential viral gene ICP27 to CEA-positive tumor cells, thereby enabling selective viral replication and subsequent lysis of the cancer cells while sparing normal tissues.