Rapamycin: A rheostat for CD8(+) T-cell-mediated tumor therapy

Vaccines that generate Ag-specific CD8(+) T-cell responses of appropriate quality, magnitude and duration are highly desirable. The ability of mTOR to regulate CD8(+) T-cell functional differentiation must be exploited for clinical benefit. In a recent paper, we report that varying the regimen of rapamycin administration regulates viral vaccine-induced CD8(+) T-cell responses for tumor immunity. These observations validate the use of rapamycin in vaccination strategies and demonstrate the efficacy of memory CD8(+) T-cell responses for tumor immunity.