Designing CD8+ T cell vaccines: it's not rocket science (yet).

CD8+ T cells play important roles in clearing viral infections and eradicating tumors. Designing vaccines that elicit effective CD8+ T cell responses requires a thorough knowledge of the pathways of antigen presentation in vivo. Here, I review recent progress in understanding the activation of naïve CD8+ T cells in vivo, with particular emphasis on cross-priming, the presentation of protein antigens acquired by dendritic cells from their environment. With the rapid advances in this area of research, the dawn of rational vaccine design is at hand. Published by Elsevier Ltd.