Evaluating CD8+ T Cell Responses In Vitro

The 51 Cr-release assay described in the 1960s has been for decades the gold standard cytolytic assay and remains in use in many laboratories. Whereas other radioactive tests were later on described, they never fully replaced the 51 Cr-release assay. More thorough understanding of CTL biology and killing pathways has more recently resulted in the design of reliable nonradioactive tests to analyze CD8+ T cell responses which are likely to supplant in a close future the 51 Cr-release assay.