title: Induction and function of virus-specific CD4+ T cell responses.
abstract: CD4+ T cells - often referred to as T-helper cells - play a central role in immune defense and pathogenesis. Virus infections and vaccines stimulate and expand populations of antigen-specific CD4+ T cells in mice and in man. These virus-specific CD4+ T cells are extremely important in antiviral protection: deficiencies in CD4+ T cells are associated with virus reactivation, generalized susceptibility to opportunistic infections, and poor vaccine efficacy. As described below, CD4+ T cells influence effector and memory CD8+ T cell responses, humoral immunity, and the antimicrobial activity of macrophages and are involved in recruiting cells to sites of infection. This review summarizes a few key points about the dynamics of the CD4+ T cell response to virus infection, the positive role of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the differentiation of virus-specific CD4+ T cells, and new areas of investigation to improve vaccines against virus infection.
authors.affiliation: Carolina Vaccine Institute, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. jwhitmir@email.unc.edu
authors.forename: Jason K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Whitmire
mesh_terms: D056704:Adaptive Immunity; D000818:Animals; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D056724:Immunity, Humoral; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D014765:Viral Vaccines / Q000276:immunology; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000276:immunology; D014780:Viruses / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D014765:Viral Vaccines