Synthetic biology approaches to engineer T cells

Curr Opin Immunol. 2015 Aug:35:123-30. doi: 10.1016/j.coi.2015.06.015. Epub 2015 Jul 25.

Abstract

There is rapidly growing interest in learning how to engineer immune cells, such as T lymphocytes, because of the potential of these engineered cells to be used for therapeutic applications such as the recognition and killing of cancer cells. At the same time, our knowhow and capability to logically engineer cellular behavior is growing rapidly with the development of synthetic biology. Here we describe how synthetic biology approaches are being used to rationally alter the behavior of T cells to optimize them for therapeutic functions. We also describe future developments that will be important in order to construct safe and precise T cell therapeutics.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Autoimmune Diseases / immunology
  • Autoimmune Diseases / therapy*
  • Genetic Engineering
  • Humans
  • Neoplasms / immunology
  • Neoplasms / therapy*
  • Synthetic Biology / methods*
  • T-Lymphocytes / physiology*
  • T-Lymphocytes / transplantation