AuthOr’s VIew AuthOr’s VIew

Oncolytic viruses (OVs) have attracted increasing attention as novel weapons in the fight against cancer. Nowadays, more than 20 viruses have been recognized as poten-tial OVs, with new candidates continuing to emerge while established viruses enter clinical trials. Among OVs, non-modified rodent parvoviruses (PVs) are especially interesting, as they are non-pathogenic for humans and possess oncotropic and oncolytic features.1 Recent work from our group focused on the ability of the parvo-viruses Minute Virus of Mice (MVMp) and rat parvovirus H-1 (H-1PV) to trigger, direct and indirectly, the activation of the immune system against tumor cells. In terms of direct effects on the immune system, our work showed that in vitro infection of immune cells includ-ing human peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMCs) and mouse dendritic cells (DCs) by PVs is abortive, since virus can enter cells, but fails to replicate and pro-duce new virions.2,3 However, infection of human immune cells does not remain completely silent. H-1PV treatment leads indeed to PBMC foci formation as a result of T-cell proliferation, with the early release of tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) and th