AUTHOR=Ciabattini Annalisa , Pettini Elena , Medaglini Donata 

TITLE=CD4+ T Cell Priming as Biomarker to Study Immune Response to Preventive Vaccines

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=4

YEAR=2013

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2013.00421

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2013.00421

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=<p>T cell priming is a critical event in the initiation of the immune response to vaccination since it deeply influences both the magnitude and the quality of the immune response induced. CD4<sup>+</sup> T cell priming, required for the induction of high-affinity antibodies and immune memory, represents a key target for improving and modulating vaccine immunogenicity. A major challenge in the study of <italic>in vivo</italic> T cell priming is due to the low frequency of antigen-specific T cells. This review discusses the current knowledge on antigen-specific CD4<sup>+</sup> T cell priming in the context of vaccination, as well as the most advanced tools for the characterization of the <italic>in vivo</italic> T cell priming and the opportunities offered by the application of systems biology.</p>