Immunotherapy usingengineered T-cells (CARs): A significantevolution in modern medical biotechnology

Chimeric antigen receptor- (CAR-) based immunotherapies (CARs), as one of the newest methods for immunotherapy, have heralded a new era of treating cancer. When the CAR is derived from an antibody, the resultant cell should combine the desirable targeting features of an antibody (e.g. lack of requirement for major histocompatibility complex recognition, ability to recognize self antigens). These potential benefits result in the identification of tumor-sprcific antigens which in turneliminates tumor cells by summoning cytokines and co-stimulatory molecules that kill other tumor cells.
This review briefly describes basic CAR structure and function, how their antigenic targets are selected, and the development and advancements of this technology to improve their function intumor micro-environment. Afterwards, several examples of successful treatments with the help of this technology are presented and finally, we take a glance at the side effects of this method.