Replication-incompetent influenza A viruses armed with IFN-γ effectively mediate immune modulation and tumor destruction in mice harboring lung cancer.

Low pathogenic influenza A viruses (IAVs) have shown promising oncolytic potential in lung cancer-bearing mice. However, as replication-competent pathogens, they may cause side effects in immunocompromised cancer patients. To circumvent this problem, we genetically engineered nonreplicating IAVs lacking the hemagglutinin (HA) gene (ΔHA IAVs), but reconstituted the viral envelope with recombinant HA proteins to allow a single infection cycle.