Chimeric receptors for the generation of selectively-activatable TH-independent cytotoxic T cells

Abstract

The invention provides cytotoxic T lymphocytes that express a chimeric cell surface receptor. The chimeric receptor enables the lymphocytes to become activated and to proliferate (via a T.sub.H -independent autocrine cycle) in response to adhesion between the lymphocyte and an antigen displaying cell (ADC) that might not normally activate the T cell. The chimeric receptors of the present invention comprise fusion polypeptides of the following structure: XC--TM--IC28 wherein (XC) is an extracellular region derived from a receptor for a ligand that is expressed on the surface of an antigen-displaying cell, fused via a transmembrane region is (TM) to an intracellular region (IC28) which is derived from the intracellular region of the CD28 receptor.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.