title: Requirement of immune system heterogeneity for protective immunity.
abstract: Although our knowledge on the immune system and immunological memory has expanded enormously during the last decades, the development of strategies to induce robust protective memory against infections and tumors remains challenging. Intense efforts and immense resources have been put into the development of vaccines. However, effective tools to assess protective immunity, beyond neutralizing antibody titers and cytotoxic T cell activity, are still missing. Previous trials have primarily focused on individual cell subsets to induce and maintain protection while current research emphasizes the importance of functional heterogeneity and necessity of efficient communication within the immunological network. In this review, established knowledge as well as current perspectives on protective immunological memory will be discussed comprehensively.
authors.affiliation: Regenerative Immunology and Aging, Berlin-Brandenburg Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Charité University Medicine, CVK, Föhrer Str. 15, Berlin 13353, Germany. Electronic address: sibel.durlanik@charite.de.
authors.forename: Sibel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Durlanik
authors.affiliation: Regenerative Immunology and Aging, Berlin-Brandenburg Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Charité University Medicine, CVK, Föhrer Str. 15, Berlin 13353, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Thiel
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007109:Immunity / Q000235:genetics; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000276:immunology; D014612:Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D014612:Vaccines
keywords: CD8+ T helper/inducer cells; Immunological protection; T cells