TY - JOUR TI - Preexisting memory CD4 T cells in naïve individuals confer robust immunity upon hepatitis B vaccination AU - Elias, George AU - Meysman, Pieter AU - Bartholomeus, Esther AU - De Neuter, Nicolas AU - Keersmaekers, Nina AU - Suls, Arvid AU - Jansens, Hilde AU - Souquette, Aisha AU - De Reu, Hans AU - Emonds, Marie-Paule AU - Smits, Evelien AU - Lion, Eva AU - Thomas, Paul G AU - Mortier, Geert AU - Van Damme, Pierre AU - Beutels, Philippe AU - Laukens, Kris AU - Van Tendeloo, Viggo AU - Ogunjimi, Benson A2 - Nourmohammad, Armita A2 - Walczak, Aleksandra M A2 - de Boer, Rob J A2 - DeWitt, William S VL - 11 PY - 2022 DA - 2022/01/25 SP - e68388 C1 - eLife 2022;11:e68388 DO - 10.7554/eLife.68388 UR - https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.68388 AB - Antigen recognition through the T cell receptor (TCR) αβ heterodimer is one of the primary determinants of the adaptive immune response. Vaccines activate naïve T cells with high specificity to expand and differentiate into memory T cells. However, antigen-specific memory CD4 T cells exist in unexposed antigen-naïve hosts. In this study, we use high-throughput sequencing of memory CD4 TCRβ repertoire and machine learning to show that individuals with preexisting vaccine-reactive memory CD4 T cell clonotypes elicited earlier and higher antibody titers and mounted a more robust CD4 T cell response to hepatitis B vaccine. In addition, integration of TCRβ sequence patterns into a hepatitis B epitope-specific annotation model can predict which individuals will have an early and more vigorous vaccine-elicited immunity. Thus, the presence of preexisting memory T cell clonotypes has a significant impact on immunity and can be used to predict immune responses to vaccination. KW - CD4 T cell KW - T cell receptor KW - TCR repertoire KW - vaccination JF - eLife SN - 2050-084X PB - eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd ER -