Monitoring Multifunctionality of Immune-Exhausted CD8 T Cells in Cancer Patients

CD8 T cells play a critical role in the host defense against cancers and infectious diseases. However, the presence of antigen-specific CD8 T cells does not always imply that cancers and/or pathogens are efficiently eliminated in the body. Concerning this point, the recent studies suggest the concept of immune exhaustion of CD8 T cells, characterized by their decreased production of IL-2, TNFα, and IFNγ even after antigen stimulation. Thus, continuous stimulation of CD8 T cells by the persistent antigens results in immune exhaustion, which eventually causes immune tolerance against cancers and chronic infections. The identification of immune effector and/or exhausted CD8 T cells by monitoring multiple parameters including T cell exhaustion markers such as PD-1 and Tim-3 and intracellular cytokines is, therefore, crucial to understand the real-time, ongoing immune status. For this purpose, polychromatic flow cytometry is the most common and reliable tool to monitor T cell functions.
Source: Springer protocols feed by Molecular Medicine - Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: news