Measurement of antigen specific immune responses: 2006 update

Measuring antigen-specific immune responses (MASIR) is essential for basic immunological research and in the clinical setting. Numerous techniques have been used and the recent years have witnessed a flourishing of flow cytometry based methods for the identification of antigen specific T cells, in addition to other methodologies. The second MASIR conference held in Santorini, Greece, from 14 to 18 June 2006 has been a forum for the discussion of methodological issues and for research or clinical applications of these techniques, as reviewed here. In addition to flow cytometry based techniques, other emerging techniques with different degrees of complexity can be applied. These novel methods are highly promising in numerous conditions to look for correlates of protection, to test responses to natural infections or to vaccination trials, to evaluate the immune status of immunocompromised patients and to monitor persistence and function of specific T cells administered as adoptive therapy.