| Abstract: |
The principal function of the mammalian immune system is to combat infectious diseases. Immune responses to microbial pathogens are divided into those mediated by cells (cell-mediated immunity) and those mediated by antibodies (humoral immunity). Although innate and adaptive immune cells both contribute to cell-mediated immune responses, T lymphocytes represent the central player in this process by providing antigen specificity, by orchestrating antimicrobial activities of innate immune cells that generally lack antigen specificity, and by killing microbially infected host cells. The ensuing chapter reviews T-cell subsets and phenotypic diversity, T-cell memory, T-cell development and lymphoid tissue architecture, innate immune recognition of microbial antigens and T-cell activation, microbial pathogenesis and the cellular immune response, and basic immunologic techniques to measure cellular immune responses. © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. |
