Ep 4: Hijacking T Cells

This episode addresses the question of whether lymphocytes can be harvested, reprogrammed in their specificity for a selected tumor antigen ex vivo, and then re-administered to the patient to combat their cancer.  The first paper, from 1989, by Gross et al., examines whether a chimeric receptor, forged from the antigen-binding region of an immunoglobulin and the internal signaling elements of a T Cell Receptor, could be functionally expressed on harvested cells. A review from 2023, will provide context for how this nascent work has since developed into a powerful, clinical therapy against some forms of cancer.