New breakthrough in cancer immunotherapy
The body's immune system is an effective weapon against disease, and immunotherapy is currently at the forefront of research for cancer and other diseases.
Recently, researchers at the university of Notre Dame have found specific features that react with two distinct peptide antigens to a t-cell receptor (TCR), providing new clues for optimizing the molecular structure to develop immunotherapy.
The results are published in a recent issue of the journal Nature Chemical Biology.
"We found that t-cell receptors may be more cross-reactive than we previously thought," said lead author Timothy Riley.
T cells are a subtype of white blood cells that sense health or infection, but they often ignore cancer cells in the body. In t-cell immunotherapy, by adding receptor molecules to cancer cells that are recognized by the body's immune system, T cells seek out and destroy specific cells. While the treatment is effective in some cases, it tends to affect healthy cells. So the researchers wanted to reduce the nonspecific reactions as much as possible by predicting reactivity.
In this study, the authors found that a TCR molecule called DMF5 binds to different types of peptides. Two different peptide antigens had the same effect in stimulating receptors and inducing immune responses after binding to DMF5. "The way it works doesn't matter as long as the combination occurs," the author said.
In summary, while previous studies have learned that TCR can attack healthy cells, this study fully explains why.
Recently, researchers at the university of Notre Dame have found specific features that react with two distinct peptide antigens to a t-cell receptor (TCR), providing new clues for optimizing the molecular structure to develop immunotherapy.
The results are published in a recent issue of the journal Nature Chemical Biology.
"We found that t-cell receptors may be more cross-reactive than we previously thought," said lead author Timothy Riley.
T cells are a subtype of white blood cells that sense health or infection, but they often ignore cancer cells in the body. In t-cell immunotherapy, by adding receptor molecules to cancer cells that are recognized by the body's immune system, T cells seek out and destroy specific cells. While the treatment is effective in some cases, it tends to affect healthy cells. So the researchers wanted to reduce the nonspecific reactions as much as possible by predicting reactivity.
In this study, the authors found that a TCR molecule called DMF5 binds to different types of peptides. Two different peptide antigens had the same effect in stimulating receptors and inducing immune responses after binding to DMF5. "The way it works doesn't matter as long as the combination occurs," the author said.
In summary, while previous studies have learned that TCR can attack healthy cells, this study fully explains why.
