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Oncolytic viruses are promising treatments for many kinds of solid tumors. In this study, we constructed a novel oncolytic herpes simplex virus type 2: oHSV2. We investigated the cytopathic effects of oHSV2 in vitro and tested its antitumor efficacy in a 4T1 breast cancer model. We compared its effect on the cell cycle and its immunologic impact with the traditional chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin. In vitro data showed that oHSV2 infected most of the human and murine tumor cell lines and was highly oncolytic. oHSV2 infected and killed 4T1 tumor cells independent of their cell cycle phase, whereas doxorubicin mainly blocked cells that were in S and G2/M phase. In vivo study showed that both oHSV2 and doxorubicin had an antitumor effect, though the former was less toxic. oHSV2 treatment alone not only slowed down the growth of tumors without causing weight loss but also induced an elevation of NK cells and mild decrease of Tregs in spleen. In addition, combination therapy of doxorubicin followed by oHSV2 increased survival with weight loss than oHSV2 alone. The data showed that the oncolytic activity of oHSV2 was similar to oHSV1 in cell lines examined and in vivo. Therefore, we concluded that our virus is a safe and effective therapeutic agent for 4T1 breast cancer and that the sequential use of doxorubicin followed by oHSV2 could improve antitumor activity without enhancing doxorubicin’s toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) is caused by different hantaviruses within the Bunyaviridae family. HFRS is a fulminant, infectious disease that occurs worldwide and is endemic in all 31 provinces of China. Since the first HFRS case in Hubei Province was reported in 1957, the disease has spread across the province and Hubei has become one of the seriously affected areas in China with the greatest number of reported HFRS cases in the 1980's. However, the epidemic characteristics of HFRS in Hubei are still not entirely clear and long-term, systematic investigations of this epidemic area have been very limited. Methods: The spatiotemporal distribution of HFRS was investigated using data spanning the years 1980 to 2009. The annual HFRS incidence, fatality rate and seasonal incidence between 1980 and 2009 were calculated and plotted. GIS-based spatial analyses were conducted to detect the spatial distribution and seasonal pattern of HFRS. A spatial statistical analysis, using Kulldorff's spatial scan statistic, was performed to identify clustering of HFRS. Results: A total of 104,467 HFRS cases were reported in Hubei Province between 1980 and 2009. Incidence of and mortality due to HFRS declined after the outbreak in 1980s and HFRS cases have been sporadic in recent years. The locations and scale of disease clusters have changed during the three decades. The seasonal epidemic pattern of HFRS was characterized by the shift from the unimodal type (autumn/winter peak) to the bimodal type. Conclusions: Socioeconomic development has great influence on the transmission of hantaviruses to humans and new epidemic characteristics have emerged in Hubei Province. It is necessary to reinforce preventative measures against HFRS according to the newly-presented seasonal variation and to intensify these efforts especially in the urban areas of Hubei Province. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]