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Chimeric antigen receptor T cells are T cells that have been genetically engineered to produce an artificial T cell receptor for use in immunotherapy.
Chimeric antigen receptors are receptor proteins that have been engineered to give T cells the new ability to target a specific protein. The receptors are chimeric because they combine both antigen-binding and T cell activating functions into a single receptor.
CAR T cell therapy uses T cells engineered with CARs for cancer therapy. The premise of CAR T immunotherapy is to modify T cells to recognize cancer cells in order to more effectively target and destroy them. Scientists harvest T cells from people, genetically alter them, then infuse the resulting CAR T cells into patients to attack their tumors. CAR T cells can be both CD4+ and CD8+, with a 1-to-1 ratio of both cell types providing synergistic antitumor effects.
CAR T cells can be either derived from T cells in a patient's own blood or derived from the T cells of another healthy donor. Once isolated from a person, these T cells are genetically engineered to express a specific CAR, which programs them to target an antigen that is present on the surface of tumors. For safety, CAR T cells are engineered to be specific to an antigen expressed on a tumor that is not expressed on healthy cells.