Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Multiplex Immunohistochemical Analysis of the Spatial Immune Cell Landscape of the Tumor Microenvironment
Published on: August 18, 2023
An overview of the immune system and technical advances in tumor antigen discovery and validation
1Department of Immunology, Institute for Cancer Research, The Norwegian Radium Hospital, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Abstract:
The ability of the immune system to distinguish between self- and nonself antigens is controlled by mechanisms of central and peripheral tolerance. Although the induction and maintenance of tolerance is important for preventing autoimmunity, breaking self-tolerance is a crucial constituent for combating cancers. Cancer patients are able to develop spontaneous immune responses to tumors that they bear, however these responses are not suboptimal for eradicating tumors. Moreover, none of the current immune strategies is able to activate the immune system to respond against tumor cells as it responds against infectious agents. These observations have raised the question of how to activate immunity in cancer patients to a threshold required for tumor rejection. Because tolerance is emerging as a central obstacle for immune recognition of human tumor antigens, this chapter describes how T- and B-cells are generated and activated in the periphery. It also outlines the technical advances in tumor antigen discovery and validation.
Related Concept Videos
Tumor Immunotherapy
T Cell Activation and Clonal Selection
Naive T cells that have not yet encountered an antigen express two primary CD...
Cytotoxic T Cells-mediated Immune Response
Immunological surveillance is the ability of immune cells to monitor and eliminate infected cells with intracellular pathogens, neoplastically transformed cells, and cells with non-self antigens. Cytotoxic T cells and NK...
Cell-mediated Immune Responses
Antigen Presenting Cells
T cells require the help of antigen-presenting cells (APCs), which process foreign antigens into smaller fragments that can be recognized by T cells. These APCs are highly specialized cells that efficiently internalize antigens...
Special Features of Adaptive Immunity
The primary cell types involved in adaptive immunity are T cells and B cells. Each type has a unique role in defending the body against pathogens. T cells are responsible for cell-mediated immunity. They identify and eliminate infected cells directly,...

