Cancer Immunology Research Program, Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia. michael.kershaw@ petermac.org
Nat Rev Cancer. 2013 Aug;13(8):525-41. doi: 10.1038/nrc3565.
T cells have the capacity to eradicate diseased cells, but tumours present considerable challenges that render T cells ineffectual. Cancer cells often make themselves almost 'invisible' to the immune system, and they sculpt a microenvironment that suppresses T cell activity, survival and migration. Genetic engineering of T cells can be used therapeutically to overcome these challenges. T cells can be taken from the blood of cancer patients and then modified with genes encoding receptors that recognize cancer-specific antigens. Additional genes can be used to enable resistance to immunosuppression, to extend survival and to facilitate the penetration of engineered T cells into tumours. Using genetic modification, highly active, self-propagating 'slayers' of cancer cells can be generated.
T 细胞具有消灭病变细胞的能力，但肿瘤会带来巨大的挑战，使 T 细胞失去作用。癌细胞通常使自己对免疫系统几乎“不可见”，并塑造出抑制 T 细胞活性、存活和迁移的微环境。T 细胞的基因工程可用于治疗以克服这些挑战。可以从癌症患者的血液中提取 T 细胞，然后用编码识别癌症特异性抗原的受体的基因进行修饰。可以使用其他基因来使 T 细胞抵抗免疫抑制、延长存活时间并促进工程化 T 细胞进入肿瘤。通过遗传修饰，可以产生高度活跃、自我繁殖的癌细胞“杀手”。
