2026 - Додаткова сесія - зима (АМПС)

Immunology
Cancer immunotherapy (immune-oncology) loosely echoes the radical therapy developed by William Coley in the late 19th century, in which he injected bacteria into cancer patients. Modern immunotherapy focuses on "educating" and boosting a body’s immune system so that it can recognize and attack cancer cells. Natural killer cells (a type of white blood cell are harnessed to identify and target infected cells. In 1975, two biochemists - Cesar Milstein and Georges Kohler - laid the foundations for using antibodies as a means to destroy cancer cells. Antibodies are protein molecules made by B-cells, which are a type of lymphocyte. They bind to molecules (antigens) on the surface of targeted cells, such as bacteria, and signal to the immune system to destroy them. Milstein and Kohler found a way to stimulate B-cells to produce unlimited numbers of one specific type of antibody (monoclonal antibodies). The next step was to develop them to target cancer cells, a technique now used in the diagnosis and treatment of some cancers. The quest for immunotherapy with a greater reach has continued into the early 21st century. Much contemporary research focuses on T-cells, another type of lymphocyte. The role of killer T-cells is to travel around the body finding and destroying defective cells. When someone comes in contact with an infection, the body makes T-cells to fight that specific disease. After T-cells have performed their search-and-destroy mission, the body keeps a few of them in reserve, in case the same infection reoccurs. However, even though T-cells are good at fighting infections, they find it hard to identify cancer cells as "enemies". During the 1980s, American immunologist James P. Allison and his Japanese counterpart Tasuku Honjo, had discovered the chemical mechanism T-cells use to, recognize "hostile"infection cells and realized their potential to identify cancer cells. In 2002, researchers used CAR (chimeric antigen receptor) T-cells to destroy prostate cancer cells in a laboratory experiment. After successful clinical trials, CAR T-cells are now used to fight certain kinds of leukaemia and lymphoma cancers.