Medical researchers are using genetic engineering to revolutionise the treatment of cancer.
The way T cell therapy works is that first the cells are taken from a patient’s blood. In the laboratory, they are re-programmed by inserting synthetic genes which make them recognize cancer cells. Finally, these engineered T cells are given back to the patient intravenously. The synthetic genes instruct the T cell to make a so-called ‘chimeric antigen receptor’, a chemical hook that can make the T cell target cancerous cells.
Part of the receptor, projecting from the cell wall, is based on an antibody that can identify a cancer cell. When it encounters such a cell, the receptor activates the T cell, instructing it to attack the cancer, replicate itself and recruit other parts of the immune response to the fight.”
See on www.scienceworldreport.com
