CD127 CCR5 CD38 CD4 Th1 effector cells are an early component of the primary immune response to vaccinia virus and precede development of interleukin-2 memory CD4 T cells

Abstract

The stages of development of human antigen-specific CD4+ T cells responding to viral infection and their differentiation into long-term memory cells are not well understood. The inoculation of healthy adults with vaccinia virus presents an opportunity to study these events intensively. Between days 11 and 14 postinoculation, there was a peak of proliferating CCR5 +CD38+++ CD4+ effector cells which contained the cytotoxic granule marker T-cell intracellular antigen 1 and included gamma interferon (IFN-γ)-producing vaccinia virus-specific CD4+ T cells. The majority of these initial vaccinia virus-specific CD4+ T cells were CD127+ and produced interleukin-2 (IL-2) but not CTLA-4 in response to ..