In Chronic Infection, HIV Gag-Specific CD4 + T Cell Receptor Diversity Is Higher than CD8 + T Cell Receptor Diversity and Is Associated with Less HIV Quasispecies Diversity

Abstract

Human T cells recognize portions of viral proteins bound to host molecules (human leukocyte antigens) on the surface of infected cells. T cells recognize these foreign proteins through their T cell receptors (TCRs), which are formed by the assortment of several available V, D, and J genes to create millions of combinations of unique TCRs.