How do killer T cells recognise cancer cells from other body cells?
1 Answer
T-cells are part of what is known as the cancer - immunity cycle.
Explanation:
As cancer cells die, they release antigens, substances that can be recognised by the immune system. These antigens are presented on the cell surface of special immune cells called antigen presenting cells. The T cells can then travel via the blood vessels, to reach the tumor, infilterate it, recognise the cancer cell and kill them.
It is now proven that tumor specific antigens exist and the body mounts spontaneous T cell responses against such antigens. In cancer patients, about a half of the highly tumor specific antigens recognised by spontaneous T cell responses are encoded by mutated genes, the other half being encoded by cancer germline genes. Cancer germline genes are an important source of tumor specific antigens.
