2. WHAT IS T CELL?
A T cell, or T lymphocyte, is a type
of lymphocyte that plays a central role
in cell-mediated immunity.
T cells can be distinguished from other
lymphocytes, such as B cells and natural
killer cells, by the presence of a T-cell
receptor on the cell surface.
They are called T cells because they
mature in the thymus from thymocytes.
Scanning electron
micrograph of a
human
T cell
3. T CELL ENGINEERING
T lymphocytes express on their surface a heterodimeric αβ
receptor, called the T cell receptor (TCR), which recognizes
foreign antigens.
The recognition requires both an antigenic peptide epitope
and a protein encoded by the major histocompatibility
complex (MHC).
In the past 10 years, there have been significant efforts to
engineer TCRs in various formats, which would allow
improved recognition and destruction of virus-infected cells
or cancer.
The proposed therapeutic approaches involve the use of
engineered TCRs whose genes are reintroduced into
4. Types Of Engineered T cell therapies:
There are various methods of
T cell engineering. Some of them are:
1.TCR gene transfer
2.CAR gene transfer
5. Engineered T cell therapies: TCR gene
transfer
•Transfer of genes encoding a TCR
•Endow patient T cells with tumour-
reactivity of a defined Ag-specificity
•Destroy tumours without damaging
normal tissues
Antigen specificity of a T cells is
determined by the TCR. It
expresses :
6. Ag-receptor engineered T cell therapy
Cancer patient
Removal of peripheral
blood lymphocytes
Infusion of autologous TCR
gene modified T cells
Ex vivo transduction process
7. Engineered T cell therapies: CAR gene
transfer
T cell specificity can be
redirected towards cell
surface antigens by
engineering T cells with
a Chimeric Antigen
Receptor (CAR)
CAR:
Artificial T cell receptor
that combines the
antigen recognition
domains of an antibody
fused to T cell
activating signaling
domains
8. CAR T-Cells – A New Paradigm in the
Treatment of Cancer
9. Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR)
Step 1: Create monoclonal
antibodies
○ mice or human tumor cells in
lab Step 2: Create single chain
variable fragments (scFv’s)
VH and VL obtain from
antibodies to make scFv
Step 3: Zeta chain from T-Cell
signaling complex attached by
spacer.
10. Effects of CAR
• Recognition of tumor associated antigen (TAA) on
target cell via CAR sends activating signal
• Once activated it triggers release of perforin and
granzymes along with cytokines by other immune
cells
12. Delivery Method
Mainly through viral vectors (adenovirus and retrovirus are
most common)
1.method of infecting
host cell by adenovirus
2.retrovirus method of
integration
13. Correct Vector is Dependent
on Event
Type of target cell (dividing or non-
dividing)
Short-term or long-term expression
Retrovirus:
▪ Long-term expression
▪ Infect dividing cells
▪ Integrates into target cell genome
Adenovirus:
▪ Can infect dividing and non-dividing cells
▪ Short-term gene expression
▪ Does not integrate into target cell genome
14. Patient Involvement
• Isolate WBCs from patient
• Genetically modified T-cells in
vitro
• Expand modified T-cells
• Reintroduce patients own
modified T-cells with CAR
back into circulation
• Monitor and run tests for
proliferation in vivo
15. Might this technology make chemotherapy
obsolete?
Probably not. It should be noted that this
approach required pre-conditioning with
chemotherapy to allow the
"programmed-to-kill" t-cells to be
accepted by the body and to allow them
to multiply.
16. Is there a reason to be optimistic?
Yes, we think so, because in this case the clinical results are
dramatic in patients with very advanced disease, and the
regressions are causally linked to the activity of the engineered t-
cells by findings from samples taken from the bone marrow.
Further, unlike chemical therapeutics, the programmed cells
have no half-life limitation and the killing of malignant cells has
very good specificity - targeting mainly mature b-cells, a type of
immune cell that one can live without and that could regenerate
once the programmed t-cells are disabled or eliminated.
Finally, we can hope that resistance might be futile - the cancer
cells may not be able to escape or survive them.