Immunotherapy: Cancer Assassin

Immunotherapy: Cancer Assassin

Research at the University of Southampton is looking at how immunotherapy can enable the body’s immune system to recognise and kill cancer cells.

This video (speeded up about 100 times) shows a microscopic view of a single Killer T cell scampering around killing a number of slow moving cancer cells. It’s a serial killer and if you watch closely you will see that as it visits each cancer cell in turn, it ‘burrows’ into the surface membrane. The cancer cell then starts to ‘bubble’ as it dies. Once these killer T cells have been developed in the body, they can provide long lasting protection against further cancer growth.

Find out more about the University’s campaign to open a new Centre for Cancer Immunology and save more lives from cancer at www.southampton.ac.uk/youreit

Original cell film footage courtesy of David Barlow.