Illustration highlighting the interaction between CTLA-4 (on a T cell) and B7 (on an antigen presenting cell or tumor), and interaction between PD-1 (on a T cell) and PD-L1 (on an antigen presenting cell or tumor). Inhibitors of CTLA-4 (for example, ipilimumab) block the interaction between CTLA-4 and B7. Nivolumab and pembrolizumab are examples of immunotherapy agents that block PD-1, preventing the interaction between PD-1 and PD-L1. These inhibitors enhance anti-tumor activity through the aforementioned blockades.
APC = antigen presenting cell, TCR = T cell receptor, MHC = major histocompatibility complex, CD28 interacts with B7 to generate a co-stimulatory signal to T-cells. Yellow “oval” insert between MHC and TCR indicates processed peptide presented by MHC to TCR/T cell.