A case for cytokines as effector molecules in the resolution of virus infection

Some cytokines are known to have potent antiviral activity in vitro, and recent work shows that severely immunodeficient mice, which lack conventional effector T cells, can still recover from virus infection provided these factors are present at sites of virus replication. Here Alistair Ramsay, Janet Ruby and Ian Ramshaw discuss these findings and raise fundamental questions concerning the physiological role of cytotoxic T cells in the resolution of virus infection.