Company: CERO
Filing Date: 2025-04-15
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001213900-25-032134
Chunk: 102

Company: CERO THERAPEUTICS HOLDINGS, INC.
Filing Date: 2025-04-15
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 102
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 of other immune cells.

T cells are differentiated by the expression of protein markers on
their surface. The two most prominent types of T cells are those that express CD8 molecules and are known as CD8 T cells, and those that
express CD4 molecules and are known as CD4 T cells. CD8 T cells, also referred to as cytotoxic lymphocytes (“CTLs”), eliminate
cells which they encounter that are recognized as being infected with viruses or other pathogens or are otherwise damaged or dysfunctional
through a process referred to as cell lysis, which involves the release by these killer T cells of perforins and granzymes to compromise
the integrity of the target cell’s membrane. Endogenous pathogens are broken down by mechanisms present in virtually all cells into
smaller fragments and presented to CD8 T cells in combination with an MHC Class I molecule. CD4 T cells, also referred to as T helper
cells, have limited cytotoxic activity and typically do not kill infected or dysfunctional cells or eliminate pathogens directly. Instead,
they participate in the immune response by providing signals which activate and orchestrate other types of immune cells to perform these
tasks. Professional APCs, such as dendritic cells and macrophages, process exogenous pathogens and then present small fragments of the
degraded pathogen to CD4 T cells in combination with an MHC Class II molecule, through a phenomenon known as cross-presentation, while
antigens of exogenous origin are coupled with an MHC Class I molecule to amplify CD8 T cell activity. Antigen cross presentation is of
particular importance in the immune system’s response to cancer.

3

Genetically Engineered T Cells

The ability to enhance the
activity of T cells against human cancers through genetic engineering has been among the most significant advances in cancer therapy in
the last decade. Advances in understanding T cells and their role in immunology, and an appreciation of their potential use to treat cancer,
has increased interest in the clinical application of T cells in recent years, with the field of adoptive immunotherapy attaining increased
prominence as a means of enhancing immune control over tumors. Modern molecular biological techniques allow scientists to introduce genes
into human T cells that enhance T cell activity, expand their numbers and infuse them back into the patient from whom they were originally
collected. We have developed a novel approach to T cell engineering which has enabled us to integrate certain desirable characteristics
of both the innate immune system and the adaptive immune system into a single therapeutic