The Role of Il-12 and Type I Interferon in Governing the Magnitude of CD8 T Cell Responses

Abstract

Antigen-specific CD8 T cells provide an important protective role in response to infection by viruses, intracellular bacteria, and parasites. Pathogen-specific CD8 T cells render this protection by undergoing robust expansion in numbers while gaining the ability to produce cytokines and cytolytic machinery. Creating optimal CD8 T cell responses to infection can be critical for raising sufficient armament to provide protection against invading intracellular pathogens. Although CD8 T cells have protective value, many vaccine strategies tend to focus on creating productive B cell antibody responses to promote immunological protection. Even though antibody responses can be highly protective, coupling optimal CD8 T cell responses with suboptimal B cell responses could provide higher orders of protection than either one on their own. Therefore, a deeper understanding of the pathways that ultimately guide the magnitude of CD8 T cell responses is required to explore this potential therapeutic benefit. The following chapter highlights our current understanding of how inflammatory cytokines regulate the magnitude of CD8 T cell responses.