]> http://www.caltechcancer.org/taxonomy/term/97/0 en http://www.caltechcancer.org/node/64 <p><span style="font-family: Arial"><b>Single Cell&nbsp; Micro/Nano-ImmunoChip for Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Mediated Cancer Immunotherapy</b><br /> Refined through thousands of years of evolutionary advancement, the immune system has developed elegant strategies to defend the body against foreign pathogens and disease targets.&nbsp; One of these mechanisms involve cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs).&nbsp; These T cells are a subset of white blood cells found in peripheral blood, lymph nodes, thymus and spleen.&nbsp; They are distinguished from other cells types by their unique expression of the surface marker CD8. &nbsp;&nbsp;CTLs are so named for their ability either directly or indirectly through biochemical cascades to produce targeted cell death.&nbsp; Each CTL expresses a slightly different T cell receptor (TCR), which recognizes a particular peptide sequence sequestered within the Major Histocompatibility complex (pMHC) on target cells.&nbsp; All cells constantly present digested protein fragments representative of the cellular proteome as a pMHC.&nbsp; The peptide is 7-10 amino acids long and provides sufficient information for the immune system to differentiate between the health state and identity of cells.&nbsp; For example, cells whose control over their own translational machinery that has been usurped by viruses will display &ldquo;foreign&rdquo; pMHC, which the immune system recognizes as a breach and launches a series of responses eventually leading to the elimination of the disease target.&nbsp; In similar fashion, T cells can recognize cancer antigens.&nbsp; These peptide sequences are either unique (derived from oncogenetic mutations) or self antigens (derived from chronic activation of oncogenes or signal transduction pathways).&nbsp; By maintaining a large dynamic library of different TCRs, a small population of CTLs exist that can induce cell death in cancer cells by recognizing cancer specific pMHC complexes.&nbsp; The ability to harness and augment this specialized killer CTL to launch a persistent, effective, and specific anti-tumor response remains a promising goal in cancer immunology.</span></p> Project 2 Publications Thu, 5 Jan 2006 13:11:54 -0800