Principles of an Adenovirus-Based Assay for Candidate Compounds with Broad Spectrum of Anti-Neoplastic Activities

Several classes of anti-neoplastic drugs, in particular, those targeting protein kinase mTOR, topoisomerases and histone deacetylases, along with yet unknown pathways which inhibition is beneficial in cancer treatment, can augment expression of encoded by recombinant adenoviruses transgenes. We used enhancement of transgene expression encoded by recombinant adenovirus as a sensor enabling simultaneous identification of compounds with the above-mentioned diverse activities, and developed principles of screening assay for primary identification of candidate compounds with anti-neoplastic properties. The assay is suited for high-throughput application, with homogeneous format and green/blue fluorescence readout.