T-Cell Responses to Varicella Zoster Virus

Diversity and size of the antigen-specific T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire are two critical determinants for successful control of chronic infection. Varicella zoster virus (VZV) that establishes latency during childhood is able to escape control mechanisms, in particular with increasing age. We examined the TCR diversity of VZV-specific CD4 T cells in individuals older than 50 years by studying three identical twin pairs and three unrelated individuals before and after vaccination with live attenuated VZV. While all individuals had a small number of dominant T cell clones, the breadth of the VZV-specific repertoire differed markedly among different individuals. A genetic influence was seen for the sharing of individual TCR sequences from antigen-specific cells, but not for repertoire richness or the selection of clonal dominance. VZV vaccination favored the expansion of infrequent VZV-specific TCRs including those from naive T cells while leaving dominant... (for more see dbGaP study page.)