Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Preparation and Use of HIV-1 Infected Primary CD4+ T-Cells as Target Cells in Natural Killer Cell Cytotoxic Assays
Published on: March 14, 2011
The role of cytotoxic T-cells in HIV infection
S Rowland-Jones1, T Dong, P Krausa
1Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headington, Oxford, U.K.
Abstract:
HIV-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) are believed to play a major role in controlling virus levels through the asymptomatic period of HIV infection. For the rational design of an HIV vaccine, we need to know whether protective immunity can ever develop following HIV exposure in people who remain uninfected. We have detected HIV-specific CTL in 5/6 repeatedly exposed, persistently seronegative female sex-workers in The Gambia. Their CTL, repeatedly detected over two years, recognise epitopes presented by HLA-B35 which are cross-reactive between HIV-1 & HIV-2, suggesting they could have been primed first by HIV-2 exposure and subsequently boosted by exposure to HIV-1. Using previously identified clade B HIV-1 epitope peptides, we have now detected HIV-specific CTL in 6/15 highly exposed and apparently HIV-resistant Kenyan prostitutes, predominantly towards epitopes highly conserved between B and the Kenyan A & D clades of HIV-1. This CTL activity towards conserved virus epitopes may represent protective immunity to HIV generated in response to repeated exposure, and prophylactic HIV vaccines should aim to generate similar CTL responses.
Related Concept Videos
Cell-mediated Immune Responses
Cells of the Innate Immune Response
Phagocytes
Phagocytes police the peripheral tissues by removing cellular debris and responding to the invasion of foreign substances or pathogens. Many phagocytes attack and remove microorganisms even before lymphocytes detect them. The human body has two general...
T Cell Activation and Clonal Selection
Naive T cells that have not yet encountered an antigen express two primary CD...
T Cell Types and Functions
Th1 cells stimulate dendritic cells to express necessary co-stimulatory molecules on their surfaces for...
Cytotoxic T Cells-mediated Immune Response
Immunological surveillance is the ability of immune cells to monitor and eliminate infected cells with intracellular pathogens, neoplastically transformed cells, and cells with non-self antigens. Cytotoxic T cells and NK...
Immune Response Against Viral Pathogens
NK Cells
NK cells are a crucial part of our innate immune system, acting as the first line of defense against viral infections. These cells can recognize and kill infected cells without prior exposure to the virus, effectively slowing down the spread of infection. Additionally, NK cells produce proinflammatory...

