Figure 1.

Simplified schematic illustrating three different types of ATCT currently in development for cancer therapy: TILs, CAR-, and TCR-transduced T cells. In general, all types require activation (typically with anti-CD3/CD28 beads) and expansion prior to reinfusion. However, for CAR-T and TCR-T cells, genetic modification is performed to equip the cells with tumor antigen-recognizing receptors. Blue box: While TCRs recognize peptides on the surface presented by the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), CARs recognize protein antigens expressed on the tumor cell surface. Since both intracellular and surface proteins can be presented as peptides in the context of MHC, transgenic TCRs have the potential to target more tumor antigens than CARs.