title: Revival of the identification of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte epitopes for immunological diagnosis, therapy and vaccine development.
abstract: Immunogenic T-cell epitopes have a central role in the cellular immunity against pathogens and tumors. However, in the early stage of cellular immunity studies, it was complicated and time-consuming to identify and characterize T-cell epitopes. Currently, the epitope screening is experiencing renewed enthusiasm due to advances in novel techniques and theories. Moreover, the application of T-cell epitope-based diagnoses for tuberculosis and new data on epitope-based vaccine development have also revived the field. There is a growing knowledge on the emphasis of epitope-stimulated T-cell immune responses in the elimination of pathogens and tumors. In this review, we outline the significance of the identification and characterization of T-cell epitopes. We also summarize the methods and strategies for epitope definition and, more importantly, address the relevance of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte epitopes to clinical diagnoses, therapy and vaccine development.
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Shihong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Shuguang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Beiwen
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: George F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Gao
mesh_terms: D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy; D018604:Epitope Mapping; D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007159:Immunologic Tests / Q000379:methods; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology*; D014612:Vaccines / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte; D014612:Vaccines