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. 2016 Dec 27;27(1):38–58. doi: 10.1038/cr.2016.154

Figure 2.

Figure 2

T-cell receptor (TCR) and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) structure. T-cell receptors are composed of two separate proteins, the alpha (α) and beta (β) chains. TCR antigen-binding sites are located in the membrane-distal variable regions, which are attached to the membrane-proximal constant region. CARs are composed of a membrane-distal single-chain variable region (scFv) made of the variable heavy and light chains joined by a linker molecule. Upon encountering cognate antigen, T-cell activation by both TCR and CAR occurs through intracellular TCR zeta (ζ) signaling.