Chimeric Antigen Receptors (CARs) for Treating Lymphoma and Other Cancers
Chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) are hybrid proteins that consist of two major components: a targeting domain and a signaling domain. The targeting domain allows T cells which express the CAR to selectively recognize and bind to diseased cells that express a particular protein. Once the diseased cell is bound by the targeting domain of the CAR, the signaling domain of the CAR activates the T cell, thereby allowing it to kill the diseased cell. This is a promising new therapeutic approach known as adoptive cell therapy (ACT).