Researchers at Leuven Cancer Institute used oncolytic viruses to test potency in lysing glioblastomas. The viruses studied showed high oncolytic potency across cell lines. 

Dirk Daelemans, et all. Comparative evaluation of oncolytic viruses reveals opposing preferences for glioblastoma subtypes. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.omton.2026.201263

In this study, researchers evaluated 15 clinically relevant oncolyctic viruses across a panel of 14 patient-derived GBM cell lines (PDCLs) and healthy primary neural models to identity the core molecular determinants driving viral efficacy and neurotoxicity. The research team utilized Primary Human Neurons, Immortalized Human Brain Microglia, Defined Media, and AlphaBioCoat™to model non-cancerous brain physiology, assess off-target cytotoxicity, and benchmark tumor selectivity.

(A) (Onco)lytic scores are calculated using the minimal relative viability and area under the curve (AUC) of the dose-response curve. (B) Lytic scores for each virus in three primary non-cancer cell lines: microglia, astrocytes, and neurons. (C) Oncolytic scores for each virus per glioblastoma patient-derived cell line (GBM-PDCL). Data are the mean of 2 experiments. The most prevalent subtype (MES, AC, OPC, or NPC) of the GBM-PDCLs is indicated. MES, mesenchymal-like; AC, astrocyte-like; OPC, oligodendrocyte-progenitor-like; NPC, neural-progenitor like subtype. (D) Coefficients of variation for oncolytic scores in all GBM-PDCLs per virus. Little variation is defined as less than 15% (indicated by dashed line). (E) Spearman’s correlation of oncolytic scores between viruses. Group 1 (purple) viruses correlate positively to one another and negatively to group 2 (green) viruses and vice versa. Hierarchical clustering is indicated for viruses and/or GBM-PDCLs (B), (C), and (E).

Congratulations to Tine Deconinck, Prof. Dirk Daelemans, and the research team at KU Leuven / Rega Institute on their latest study published in Molecular Therapy: Oncology! We're proud to see Neuromics Primary Human Neurons (HNC001), Brain Microglia (HBMCs001), and AlphaBioCoat™ supporting non-cancerous neurotoxicity benchmarking in this multi-virus screening platform.