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New findings from team MATCHMAKERS
MATCHMAKERS is addressing our T-cell receptors challenge, to improve our understanding of how T cells interact with cancer antigens. The team continue to push the boundaries of TCR engineering, and are finding ways to boost the effectiveness of immunotherapies to fight cancer.
MATCHMAKERS Co-Investigator Chris Garcia’s group published its latest work in Science detailing how catch-bond engineering can overcome T cell tolerance to tumour self-antigens. By strengthening how T cells bind to tumour signals under physical force, they were able to improve their ability to target cancer cells without losing precision. This approach could help expand immunotherapy to cancers that currently evade treatment.
“By engineering a key catch-bond hotspot in T cell receptors, the team transformed weak, tolerised T cells into powerful tumour killers without altering their natural antigen specificity. These findings highlight how knowledge of TCR structure and mechanism can be harnessed to overcome immune tolerance and advance next-generation cancer immunotherapies.”
Team MATCHMAKERS is funded through Cancer Grand Challenges by Cancer Research UK, the National Cancer Institute and The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research.
Read the paper, Overcoming T cell tolerance to tumour self- antigens through catch bond engineering, in 'Science'.
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