The dynamics of the cellular immune response to HIV infection: implications for vaccination

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Recent advances in measuring T–cell responses to viruses have led to new insights into how these T cells respond. In the acute infection there are massive CD8+ T–cell responses to both Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) and to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Many of these T cells are effector cells and only a minority appear to be capable of maintaining immunological memory. In persistent virus infections, high levels of antigen–specific effector cells persist. If virus does not persist, the effectors fade in number but memory is maintained and is primed to react rapidly to a new challenge. A vaccine that stimulates only T–cell responses may protect when these memory cells respond rapidly enough to generate high numbers of effectors before the infecting virus becomes established.