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Review Article Open Access

CTL-mediated APC elimination: Constraining effective humoral immunity

  • 1Zyxell Inc., Carrollton, Texas, USA
  • 2Department of Infectious Diseases, Beida Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China
+ Affiliations - Affiliations

Corresponding Author

Yongxin Zhang, zyx@zyxbiotech.com

Received Date: October 27, 2025

Accepted Date: November 04, 2025

Abstract

Cytotoxic CD8+ T lymphocytes (CTLs) are classically viewed as effectors of cellular immunity, eliminating infected or malignant cells. Yet an underappreciated facet of their biology is their capacity to impose negative regulation on antigen-presenting cells (APCs), including dendritic cells (DCs), macrophages, and B cells. In this review, we explore the hypothesis that overly robust CTL responses may inadvertently impair humoral immunity by prematurely trimming APC lifespan, constraining T follicular helper (Tfh) induction, and reducing antibody production and immune durability. We review evidence for CTL-mediated APC killing, mechanistic modulators, and cross-talk with helper T cells, then connect this to Tfh–B cell dynamics, immune complex formation on follicular dendritic cells (FDCs), and long-term antibody retention. We also discuss how this process fits into broader immune regulation, its clinical implications for autoimmune diseases, cancer, and infections (including limited human studies), and propose experimental strategies to validate or disprove this regulatory axis. Finally, we outline implications for vaccine design.

Keywords

Immunity, Immunology, Vaccine, T cells, B cells, Dendritic cell, Antigen-presenting cell, Antibody

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