Searching for immunotherapeutic targets in oncology during immune synapse formation

Immunological synapse (IS) is a high-specialized connection between a T-lymphocyte and an antigen-presenting cell (APC), consisting of a cluster of T-cell receptors (TCR) surrounded by a ring of adhesion molecules. It has now been shown that formation of immune synapses is an active and dynamic mechanism that allows T cells to discriminate between potential antigenic ligands. At the first stage T-cell receptor ligands are involved in the external ring of the forming synapse. The movement of these complexes into the central cluster depends on the kinetics of T-cell receptor-ligand molecule interaction. Thus, the formation of a stable central cluster in the immunological synapse is a determining event for T-cell proliferation. The application of effective ways to influence on the IS by introduction into practice of new antitumor drugs and immunological synapse modulators allows to take a new look at the possibilities of tumor immunotherapy.