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Researchers Identify ‘Switch’ to Activate Cancer Cell Death

A graphic shows two circles in blue and gold representing tumor cells and a red circle representing CAR-T immunotherapy.
An antigen-negative tumor cell, shown in the golden color on the right, is killed by Fas-mediated “bystander” killing.

A research team from the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center has identified a crucial epitope (a protein section that can activate the larger protein) on the CD95 receptor that can cause cells to die. This new ability to trigger programmed cell death could open the door for improved cancer treatments. The findings were published Oct. 14 in the Nature journal Cell Death & Differentiation.

CD95 receptors, also known as Fas, are called death receptors. These protein receptors reside on cell membranes. When activated, they release a signal that causes the cells to self-destruct.

Modulating Fas may also extend the benefits of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell th...

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