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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2018 Nov 15.
Published in final edited form as: Clin Cancer Res. 2017 Jun 29;23(22):6764–6770. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-17-0019

Figure 1. Requirements for effective immunotherapy.

Figure 1

A) Generation of immune response.

Antigen-presenting cells process targeted antigens (green) and present them to T cells with major histocompatibility complexes (MHC) on their surface, along with costimulatory molecules. This complex stimulates T cells to become cytotoxic CD8+ T cells.

B) Functional effector cells within the tumor.

Activated cytotoxic T cells recognize targeted antigens on the surface of cancer cells and release cytotoxins such as perforin and granzymes, triggering caspases and apoptosis. In addition, activated T cells also express Fas ligands that bind to Fas receptors on tumor cells, also inducing apoptosis.