Evaluation of Oncolytic Virus-Induced Therapeutic Tumor Vaccination Effects in Murine Tumor Models

Abstract

Oncolytic virotherapy is rapidly advancing into clinical practice as an appealing strategy for cancer therapy. Studies in the recent decades indicate that immunostimulatory properties of oncolytic viruses (OVs) are crucial for their therapeutic efficacy. The specific lysis of tumor cells and release of tumor associated antigens in the context of an OV infection ensures activation of a tumor-specific immune response. The evidence for induction of a systemic, specific antitumor immune response after OV therapy in preclinical and clinical studies allows to consider oncolytic virotherapy as a type of therapeutic cancer vaccination strategy. This chapter describes methods to evaluate the therapeutic tumor vaccination effect of an oncolytic virus in murine tumor models. Protocols for a tumor rechallenge experiment in vivo and tumor cell specific splenocyte restimulation in vitro are included, as well as protocols for analysis of memory T cell subpopulations in tumor draining lymph nodes using flow cytometry.