Private aspects of heterologous immunity.
Clinical manifestations of viral infections are highly variable, both in type and severity, among individual patients. Differences in host genetics and in dose and route of infection contribute to this variability but do not fully explain it. New studies now show that each subject's history of past infections individualizes the memory T cell pool. Private T cell receptor specificities of these preexisting memory T cell populations influence both disease severity and outcome of subsequent, unrelated virus infections.
Rehermann
Barbara
B
Liver Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. Rehermann@nih.gov
Shin
Eui-Cheol
EC
D000818:Animals; D003429:Cross Reactions / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007156:Immunologic Memory / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology