Science: Cambridge University discovered why T cells can kill cancer cells again and again

Researchers at the University of Cambridge discovered how T cells-an important part of our immune system-continuously kill cancer cells in the process of hunting them, and constantly reload their toxic weapons

Cytotoxic T cells are specialized white blood cells trained by our immune system to recognize and eliminate threats, including tumor cells and cells infected by invading viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19

Professor Gillian Griffith of the Cambridge Institute of Medicine, who led the research, said: “T cells are well-trained assassins, sent by the immune system to perform deadly tasks

"Once a T cell finds a target, it will bind to the target and release toxic substances

Today, a study published in the journal Science shows that the replenishment of T cell toxin weapons is regulated by mitochondria

Professor Griffith added: “These assassins need to replenish their toxic load so that they can continue to kill without destroying the T cells themselves

In order to cooperate with this research, Professor Griffiths and colleagues released a video showing the process of killing and destroying cancer cells by killer T cells

Studies have shown that only one teaspoon of blood contains about 5 million T cells, and each T cell is about 10 microns in length, which is about one-tenth the width of a human hair

When a T cell finds an infected cell, or a cancer cell, the cell membrane protrusion will quickly explore the cell surface to check for signs that it is an uninvited guest

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Lisci, M et al.

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