Deep exploration of the TCR CDR3β repertoire specific for viral CD4 T-cell epitopes inside the circulating T-cell repertoire.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

This study provides an in-depth analysis of the diversity of the CD4 TCR CDR3β repertoire specific to influenza A (HA) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBNA) epitopes.

Methods

Epitope-specific CD4 T cells from 13 healthy donors were enriched using a short-term culture step, isolated based on activation markers, and sequenced for their TCR CDR3β region using high-throughput sequencing. The frequency of each clonotype was then identified within the complete circulating CD4 T-cell CDR3β repertoire.

Results

For both epitopes, the clonotype distribution was markedly skewed, with a small number of highly expanded clones comprising approximately 60% of the repertoire, alongside numerous low-frequency clonotypes. VJ gene usage and motif preferences differed between the tw

SUBMITTER: Lhomme G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12689591 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature