Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2017 Oct 1.
Published in final edited form as: Pharmacol Ther. 2016 Jun 29;166:30–39. doi: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2016.06.010

Fig. 1. Schematic comparing the structure of T cell receptors (TCRs) and chimeric antigen receptors (CARs).

Fig. 1

The TCR complex is composed of TCR-α and -β chains that are assembled together with invariant CD3 molecules. In contrast, a CAR is a modular protein that comprises an extracellular domain (ligand binding region), a hinge region, and an intracellular domain (signaling components). TCR: T cell receptor; CD3: cluster of differentiation 3; scFv: single-chain variable fragment.