CAR-T Cells: Engineered Cancer Killers
DescriptionThis work was created to show how Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell (CAR-T) technology supercharges a patient's own immune cells to combat the processes cancer cells use to hide from our immune system. This revolutionary treatment is now offered to some blood cancer patients at the Peter McCallum Cancer Centre, so we recognised a need for detailed explanation. Doing so at the molecular level highlights the elegance of the Chimeric Antigen Receptor structures (CARs) and also the complexity of our inner cellular world, which most of us are completely unaware of. Unfortunately, control of this inner world can sometimes go awry, leading to cancer.

This is the first time CARs have been accurately constructed and animated at the molecular level. No structural data were available, so CARs were assembled by inferring the protein sequences from available DNA sequences and then searching databases for protein matches. To date, only simple, conceptual animations explaining CAR-T therapy are available, which in our opinion fail to highlight the technology as a ground-breaking re-engineering of human immune structures, that seek and destroy cancer cells. Also included is trailblazing time-lapse microscopy footage of live immune cells and CAR-T cells in action in the laboratory. These unique sequences provide a window into the living human immune system, showing how CAR-T cells kill cancer cells in a specific, aggressive way.

The production is designed for a general audience, to explain this radical technology for treatment of cancer and to inspire confidence in cancer patients considering it as therapy. However, the scientific accuracy of the production also makes it suitable for presentation at scientific meetings and conferences and can also be used to educate and train those with a science or medical background. The production therefore has universal application for education, training and engagement with this emerging cancer treatment paradigm.
Event Type
Computer Animation Festival
TimeWednesday, 7 December 20229:00am - 6:00pm KST
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