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Fig. 3 | Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research

Fig. 3

From: Clinical development of targeted and immune based anti-cancer therapies

Fig. 3

Mechanism of action of trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1). T-DM1 binds via Fc receptors to the Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (HER2) on the cell membrane. This agent has three main mechanisms of action. a The T-DM1/HER2 complex is internalized by endosomes and subsequently degraded within lysosomes, releasing emtansine. Emtansine then binds to microtubules and inhibits polymerization. b T-DM1 also inhibits downstream signaling of HER2 by preventing ligand binding and c induces antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) where natural killer (NK) cells bind to the immune complex (consisting of T-DM1 bound to surface-expressing HER2) through Fc gamma receptors (FcγR) and kill the tumor cell

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