Characterization of TCR repertoire after in vitro exposure to contact sensitiser paraphenylenediamine (PPD)

PPD is a common component of hair dye, and can cause skin sensitisation and allergic contact dermatitis, where cutaneous inflammatory reaction in the latter is driven by both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. This study aims to investigate the characteristics of the immune response to this allergen. Using a robust single strand DNA ligation protocol which tags each molecule of TCR alpha/beta mRNA with a unique molecular barcode before PCR amplification and sequencing, we were able to collect quantitative TCR repertoire data that accurately reflects TCR abundance.