Video: Microscopic view of Killer T cell vs cancer

[alanazar]

http://holykaw.alltop.com/killer-t-cell ... ncer-video

”…Cytotoxic T cells are very precise and efficient killers. They are able to destroy infected or cancerous cells, without destroying healthy cells surrounding them. The Wellcome Trust funded laboratory of Professor Gillian Griffiths, at the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, investigates just how this is accomplished. By understanding how this works, we can develop ways to control killer cells. This will allow us to find ways to improve cancer therapies, and ameliorate autoimmune diseases caused when killer cells run amok and attack healthy cells in our bodies."

[Jesse_V]

Wow. Interesting. But don't cytotoxic T cells recognize a particular protein on the surface of the infected cell? I thought the cell was like "hey I need to die, come kill me" and then the T cell comes over and dissects it, putting everything in vesicles and whatnot. So I don't think it's the T cells job to identify bad cells, it just does its job.

I think simulating p53 is a far more effective way to find cures for cancer. It can either launch a process to fix damaged DNA, stop the cellular growth cycle, or induce cellular suicide. If it misfolds and can't be fixed or destroyed, it can't do its job and cancer is a possibility.