This protein construct combines DNA from several genes to create a new T cell receptor that binds to antigens found on tumor cells and activates the T cell in response to that binding.
CAR T cell therapy is provided by removing or harvesting T cells from a patient with cancer, transfecting the cells with CAR genes that are directed against the patient’s tumor type, expanding the modified T cell population, and reinfusing the cells back into the patient.
![](-/media/Themes/Global/Global/Global/images/migration/stories/science/08-14-the-shape-of-drugs-to-come/CAR-T-Cells-Fig1_1169x800.jpg)
(CAR) T cell immunotherapies may include an antibody-derived target binding domain, a co-stimulatory domain, and an essential activating domain. The first domain aims to make the T cell highly selective for cancer cells. The latter domains are responsible for activating the T cell upon binding to the target cell, resulting in the proliferation of the CAR T cells and the direct killing of the cancer cell. (Illustration adapted from Kite Pharma.)