
Immune profiling tool to identify exhausted cells
T cell exhaustion is a type of immune dysfunction that occurs in cancer and chronic infections. Most exhausted T cells express common markers, but not all exhausted cells respond to immunotherapy. Bengsch and colleagues have developed an immune profiling tool to identify subsets of exhausted T cells. Their strategy was developed by comparing exhaustion genes in mice and humans. They also looked at exhausted T cells in different diseases, including HIV. They found a way to separate exhausted T cells into subsets indicating disease status and response to immunotherapy. This work may enable better use of immunotherapy in HIV infection.