title: Skin test to assess virus-specific cytotoxic T-cell activity.
abstract: A way to assess specific CD8+ T-cell activity in a skin test analogous to the conventional delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) reaction for CD4+ T cells is presented. Local injection of viral class I binding peptides caused a specific CD8+ T-cell-mediated DTH in footpads of virally infected mice. The DTH was inducible only during the acute phase of the infection. Apparently because of the short half-life of locally available peptide, only activated CD8+ effector T cells could mediate the reaction. This skin test may prove to be particularly interesting for use in humans to evaluate the activation status of CD8+ T cells during acute viral infections and of memory CD8+ T cells, for example, in chronically active immunopathological disease or infection.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Kündig
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Althage
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hengartner
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Zinkernagel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015704:CD4 Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D016827:CD8 Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D002460:Cell Line; D006968:Hypersensitivity, Delayed; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D012882:Skin Tests; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014721:Vesicular stomatitis Indiana virus / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D015704:CD4 Antigens; D016827:CD8 Antigens