Lechner F, Cuero A L, Kantzanou M, Klenerman P
Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK.
Rev Med Virol. 2001 Jan-Feb;11(1):11-22. doi: 10.1002/rmv.295.
Understanding the interactions between a host and a pathogen relies crucially on quantitative measurements of immune responses. Until recently, measurements of the levels of cellular immune responses, i.e. those mediated by CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes have depended largely on culture in vitro and subsequent measurement of specific functions (such as cytolysis). More recently, new technologies based around tetrameric class I peptide complexes (tetramers) have allowed immunologists to measure CD8+ T lymphocyte levels directly ex vivo and independently of function. Since CD8+ lymphocytes play a key role in a number of important human viral infections, these tools have yielded useful insights into the dynamics, phenotype and function of human antiviral lymphocyte populations. In this review we describe some of the basic aspects of the biology of virus-specific CD8+ lymphocytes, and the current methods available to detect them. The use of tetramers has, in just four years, transformed our understanding of the immune responses against HIV, HTLV-1, HBV, HCV, CMV and EBV, and holds promise in a number of areas where quantitative analysis of the antiviral response in terms of both number and function is critical.
了解宿主与病原体之间的相互作用，关键依赖于对免疫反应的定量测量。直到最近，对细胞免疫反应水平的测量，即由CD4+和CD8+ T淋巴细胞介导的免疫反应，在很大程度上依赖于体外培养以及随后对特定功能（如细胞溶解）的测量。最近，基于四聚体I类肽复合物（四聚体）的新技术使免疫学家能够直接在体外测量CD8+ T淋巴细胞水平，且无需考虑其功能。由于CD8+淋巴细胞在许多重要的人类病毒感染中发挥关键作用，这些工具为了解人类抗病毒淋巴细胞群体的动态、表型和功能提供了有用的见解。在这篇综述中，我们描述了病毒特异性CD8+淋巴细胞生物学的一些基本方面，以及目前可用于检测它们的方法。在短短四年时间里，四聚体的使用改变了我们对针对HIV、HTLV-1、HBV、HCV、CMV和EBV免疫反应的理解，并在许多对抗病毒反应的数量和功能进行定量分析至关重要的领域展现出前景。
