Determination of Antigen and Fine Peptide Specificity of EBV-Specific CTLs

Currently, the antigen specificity of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-specific cytotoxic T cells (CTLs) can be determined using a set of recombinant vaccinia viruses expressing individual EBV proteins. These recombinant viruses are used to infect EBV-negative target cells, which are then tested for recognition by CTLs in standard cytotoxicity assay. Autologous fibroblasts are the most frequently used target cells for this type of experiment.