Functionality of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells from tonsillar tissue.

For many years, tonsillectomy has been used routinely in children to treat chronic or recurrent acute tonsillitis. Palatine tonsils are secondary lymphoid organs and the major barrier protecting the digestive and respiratory tracts from potential invasive microorganisms. They have been used as sources of lymphoid tissue; however, despite the hundreds of papers published on tonsillectomy, no studies addressing the functionality of the CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells from chronically infected tonsils have yet been published. The aim of this study was to analyse the functionality of the CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells with respect to tonsillar tissue. We used an affordable approach to measure the frequency of antigen-specific CD4(+) T cells, the direct ex-vivo cytotoxicity of CD8(+) T cells, memory T cell phenotype, cytokine profile and DC phenotype. Our results demonstrate that CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells from tonsillar tissue are totally functional, as shown by their ability to produce cytokines, to degranulate and to differentiate into effector-memory T cells.