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The Merck STEP and the Thai RV144 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) vaccine trials confirmed that we still have a long way to go before developing a prophylactic HIV vaccine. The main issue at hand is that we have yet to identify an immunological correlate of protection against HIV. While many question the T-cell-based approach towards vaccine development, it is likely that T cells will be a necessary part of any vaccine strategy. CD8 T cells remain an attractive option because of their ability to specifically recognize and eliminate virally infected host cells. In this review, we recapitulate the evidence for CD8 T cells as an immunological correlate against HIV, but more importantly, we assess the means by which we evaluate their antiviral capacity. To achieve a breakthrough in the domain of T-cell-based HIV vaccine development, it has become abundantly clear that we must overhaul our system of immune monitoring and come up with a 'rational' tactic to evaluate the efficacy of HIV-specific CD8 T cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A detailed understanding of the immune response to human immunodeficiency virus ( HIV) infection is needed to inform prevention and therapeutic strategies that aim to contain the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome ( AIDS) pandemic. The cellular immune response plays a critical role in controlling viral replication during HIV infection and will likely need to be a part of any vaccine approach. The qualitative feature of the cellular response most closely associated with immunological control of HIV infection is CD8+ T-cell cytotoxic potential, which is responsible for mediating the elimination of infected CD4+ T cells. Understanding the underlying mechanisms involved in regulating the elicitation and maintenance of this kind of effector response can provide guidance for vaccine design. In this review, we discuss the evidence for CD8+ T cells as correlates of protection, the means by which their antiviral capacity is evaluated, and transcription factors responsible for their function, or dysfunction, during HIV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]