https://video.igem.org/videos/watch/e647ed43-187b-43a7-abbf-68567714cb0f Title: IGNITE Description: Our project focuses on MSS‑type colorectal cancer cold tumors, which pose great clinical therapeutic challenges. Using HSV‑2 as the viral backbone, our team knocks out ICP34.5 and ICP47 to construct a safe empty oncolytic virus that specifically targets tumor cells without harming normal cells. To address the limited immune‑activating capacity of the empty vector and severe systemic toxicity induced by native IL‑2, we remodel IL‑2 with artificial intelligence. The modified IL‑2 loses the ability to bind CD25 while retaining binding activity towards CD122 and CD132, so that it can selectively activate CD8⁺ T cells and NK cells and effectively avoid corresponding toxic side‑effects. By inserting the optimized Neo‑IL‑2 gene into the oncolytic viral genome, we generate the armed virus oHSV2‑Neo‑IL‑2. It can lyse tumor cells to release tumor antigens and secrete Neo‑IL‑2 locally within tumors, converting immune‑suppressive cold tumors into immunologically active hot tumors to exert anti‑tumor effects. Supported by both wet‑lab and computational experiments, this integrated strategy combining viral backbone modification and AI‑driven cytokine optimization offers new insights for cold‑tumor therapy. Official Page Tue, 01 Sep 2026 16:55:03 GMT https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html PeerTube - https://video.igem.org https://video.igem.org/client/assets/images/icons/icon-1500x1500.png https://video.igem.org/videos/watch/e647ed43-187b-43a7-abbf-68567714cb0f All rights reserved, unless otherwise specified in the terms specified at https://video.igem.org/about and potential licenses granted by each content's rightholder.