Reducing cancer cell growth using proteins in immunotherapy involves harnessing the body’s immune system to specifically target and destroy cancer cells. Here’s how this can be achieved:

1. Monoclonal Antibodies:

• Targeted Therapy: Monoclonal antibodies are designed to bind to specific proteins on the surface of cancer cells. Once bound, they can block growth signals, mark cancer cells for destruction by the immune system, or deliver cytotoxic agents directly to cancer cells.
• Examples: Drugs like Rituximab and Trastuzumab target specific antigens on cancer cells, helping the immune system recognize and attack them.

2. Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors:

• Blocking Inhibitors: Proteins like PD-1 and CTLA-4 are checkpoints that cancer cells exploit to evade the immune system. Checkpoint inhibitors are proteins that block these checkpoints, reactivating the immune system to attack cancer cells.
• Examples: Pembrolizumab and Ipilimumab are checkpoint inhibitors that have shown effectiveness in treating various cancers.

3. CAR-T Cell Therapy:

• Engineered T Cells: Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy involves extracting a patient’s T cells, genetically engineering them to express a receptor specific to a protein on cancer cells, and reintroducing them into the patient. These engineered T cells can then precisely target and kill cancer cells.
• Success Stories: CAR-T therapies like Kymriah and Yescarta have shown significant success in treating certain types of blood cancers.

4. Cytokine Therapy:

• Immune Activation: Proteins such as interleukins and interferons can boost the immune response against cancer. These cytokines enhance the activity of immune cells like T cells and natural killer (NK) cells, promoting the destruction of cancer cells.