title: Antigen-specific T cell responses: determination of their frequencies, homing properties, and effector functions in human whole blood.
abstract: Several prevalent and life-threatening agents enter the organism via the mucosa. In this case, a mucosal cellular immune response is essential for protection and is therefore considered the main objective of vaccination. The frequency of antigen-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells can be determined directly in human whole blood by a combination of surface marker and intracellular cytokine staining. Immune cells primed in the mucosal compartment also migrate through the blood and can be identified by expression of the gut-specific homing receptor alpha4beta7. Simultaneously, these lymphocytes can be functionally characterized regarding their differentiation status by analysis of CD45RO and CD27 expression and effector functions by measuring intracellular perforin or granzyme B content. Thus, the technique described in the paper is a powerful tool for clinical monitoring of the total cellular immune response to complex antigens during infection or vaccination.
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, Saarland University, 66421 Homburg, Germany. tanja.breinig@uniklinik-saarland.de
authors.forename: Tanja
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Breinig
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sester
authors.forename: Urban
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Sester
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Meyerhans
mesh_terms: D000941:Antigens / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D000946:Antigens, Fungal / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D000954:Antigens, Surface / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000276:immunology; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000276:immunology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular / Q000276:immunology; D018928:Immunity, Mucosal / Q000276:immunology; D007156:Immunologic Memory / Q000276:immunology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000276:immunology*; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology; D014612:Vaccines / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000941:Antigens; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D000946:Antigens, Fungal; D000954:Antigens, Surface; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D016207:Cytokines; D014612:Vaccines