Thom Graves
Scientists are working on several approaches to coax the immune system into attacking cancer. Here, artificial antigen-presenting cells are used to stimulate the patient's own tumor-specific T cells.
Like a modern army, the human immune system possesses an array of sophisticated cellular and molecular detection systems and weaponry. Against most pathogens these forces mount a formidable defense, but not when the disease in question involves the body's own cells. Having learned to recognize and ignore familiar proteins early in life, the immune system mostly turns a blind eye to diseases such as cancer.
As researchers look for ways to circumvent cancer's stealth capabilities, they are taking their cues from the immune system, calling their approach "cancer immunotherapy." Their cellular muse, as it were, is the dendritic cell, whose normal job is to present antigens in a way that draws the attention of cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Early clinical trials ...
