Mechanism of Action
Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) can recognize and destroy cancer cells. However, there is also an inhibitory mechanism that interrupts this destruction. Ipilimumab turns off this inhibitory mechanism and allows CTLs to continue to destroy the cancer cells.
Cancer cells produce antigens, which the immune system can use to identify and destroy them. These antigens are recognized by dendritic cells, which present the antigens to CTLs in the lymph nodes. The CTLs can then recognize the cancer cells by those antigens and destroy them. However, dendritic cells also present the antigens to CTLs along with an inhibitory signal, which binds to a receptor, CTLA-4 (cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4), on the CTL and turns off the cytotoxic reaction. This allows the cancer cells to survive.
Ipilimumab blocks the CTLA-4 inhibitory signal, and allows the CTLs to destroy the cancer cells.
Ipilimumab is a fully human antibody that binds to CTLA-4.
Read more about this topic: Ipilimumab
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