Prostate-specific promoter elements (controlling adenoviral E1A expression) (PSA-E1A)

Prostate-specific promoter elements are regulatory DNA sequences, such as the Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) promoter or the probasin promoter, utilized in oncolytic virotherapy to achieve tissue-specific viral replication (Rodriguez et al., 1997, PubMed: 9205071). In this context, the expression of the adenoviral E1A gene—a critical early gene required for the initiation of the viral life cycle—is placed under the transcriptional control of these prostate-specific elements (Henderson et al., 1999, PubMed: 10524511). This ensures that the adenovirus replicates preferentially in prostate cancer cells where the necessary transcription factors, such as the androgen receptor, are present to activate the promoter. The resulting selective replication leads to the destruction of the host cancer cell through a process known as oncolysis while sparing non-prostate tissues. This approach has been evaluated in clinical trials using agents like CV706 and CG7870 for the treatment of prostate cancer (Small et al., 2006, PubMed: 17050870). However, therapeutic efficacy can be limited by the host's anti-adenoviral immune response and the potential for low-level E1A expression in non-target tissues.

Other names

PSA promoter-driven E1AProstate-specific oncolytic adenovirus regulatory elementsPSA-regulated E1AProbasin promoter-driven E1A

Conditional viral replication and selective oncolysis