Reoviruses: from replication cycle to oncolytic activity

Among the wide range of viruses studied for their possible use as an oncolytic virus, the mammalian reovirus has the particularity of being naturally oncolytic, without requiring prior genetic modification. Since the 1970s, it has been observed that this virus has a propensity to destroy transformed cells in a preferential manner. These preliminary observations were refined at the end of the 1990s, and the idea of using reovirus as an oncolytic virus in anticancer virotherapy quickly took hold. This review briefly describes the main steps of the viral replication cycle pertinent to the oncolytic activity of the virus, as well as possible strategies for better optimization of this activity.