Figure 8. Enhancing T cell immunity against cancer.

(a) Mechanism of action for antibody-viral epitope conjugates to redirect antiviral immunity against cancer: (1) Antibodies bind to tumor antigens, (2) tumor proteases cleave peptide linkers to release viral peptides, and (3) the released peptides load into empty MHC molecules on cancer cell surfaces for recognition by antiviral T cells^[167]. (b) Nanogels can be backpacked on the surfaces of T cells ex vivo, so that T cells migrate through the body carrying their own agonists, which are released in a pseudo-autocrine manner^{[68, 69]}. (c) Nanomaterials can be used as transducers to locally convert external inputs (e.g., light) into signals (e.g., heat) that activate engineered T cells to release effector molecules, such as immunostimulatory cytokines^{[80, 81]}. Ab, antibody; MHC, major histocompatibility complex.