Considerations for Choosing T Cell Assays during a Pandemic

J Immunol. 2023 Jul 15;211(2):169-174. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.2300129.

Abstract

The appropriate immunosurveillance tools are foundational for the creation of therapeutics, vaccines, and containment strategies when faced with outbreaks of novel pathogens. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an urgent need to rapidly assess immune memory following infection or vaccination. Although there have been attempts to standardize cellular assays more broadly, methods for measuring cell-mediated immunity remain variable across studies. Commonly used methods include ELISPOT, intracellular cytokine staining, activation-induced markers, cytokine secretion assays, and peptide-MHC tetramer staining. Although each assay offers unique and complementary information on the T cell response, there are challenges associated with standardizing these assays. The choice of assay can be driven by sample size, the need for high throughput, and the information sought. A combination of approaches may be optimal. This review describes the benefits and limitations of commonly used methods for assessing T cell immunity across SARS-CoV-2 studies.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antibodies, Viral
  • COVID-19*
  • Cytokines
  • Humans
  • Pandemics
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • T-Lymphocytes*
  • Vaccination

Substances

  • Cytokines
  • Antibodies, Viral

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