Measuring the effect of drug treatments on primary human CD8+ T cell activation and cytolytic potential

Abstract

Summary: CD8+ T cells are key effector cells in adaptive immune responses against intracellular pathogens and cancer cells. Systemic drug treatments, like chemotherapy, may positively or negatively affect CD8+ T cell function. In this protocol, we describe robust and optimized ex vivo polyclonal activation and cell culture conditions to measure drug treatments' effects on primary human CD8+ T cell activation and cytolytic potential. We provide streamlined methods for measuring effector cytokines and activation markers of CD8+ T cells via flow cytometry.For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Loo Yau et al. (2021).

Keywords

• Cell isolation
• Flow Cytometry/Mass Cytometry
• Cell-based Assays
• Immunology
• Molecular/Chemical Probes