It is the Successful Handshake that that Occurs between ‘PD-1’ – the T-Cells Checkpoint Police Officer and ‘PD-L1’ The Healthy Cells Good Citizen Pass.

Steve Holmes
CCF Australia

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Clarifying: What is the Checkpoint Pathway?

A Security Handshake between Cells

Think of the checkpoint pathway as a special security handshake. PD-1 is the T-cell’s vigilant security officer. PD-L1 is like a diplomat from a healthy cell, carrying a special handshake, or ‘pass.’ When PD-1 and PD-L1 shake hands, it’s the officer recognizing the diplomat’s pass, signaling that everything is in order.

Tumors can also over-express PD-L1 in order to survive, essentially tricking our T-cells into discontinuing their attack, thus allowing cancer cells to grow unchecked.

The handshake is a binding, it is this binding that is called the checkpoint pathway.

Understanding this binding process is crucial in the fight against cancer.

Blocking it with a targeted immunotherapy antibody (Y-shaped) is a lot like putting a glove on either the PD-1 or PD-L1 so they can no longer shake hands and become friends which prevents binding, and the sneaky tumor can longer hide or prevent the T-Cell attacking and eliminating it.

Hope this further helps
Steve

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