Serial vaccination expands and refines human CD4 + T cell memory

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Abstract CD4 + T cells coordinate protective immunity against pathogens. However, a major unresolved question is how human CD4 + T cell memory is established and evolves following primary and repeated vaccination. Using COVID-19 mRNA vaccination as a model, we tracked 50 distinct antigen-specific populations directly ex vivo with peptide–MHC class II tetramers in eight SARS-CoV-2–naïve individuals from pre-vaccine baseline through memory time points after three mRNA doses. Our findings identify the primary vaccine series as the main driver of memory pool size. It leverages pre-existing memory while preferentially recruiting high-avidity T cells, establishing an immunodominance hierarchy dominated by a small subset of precursors. Booster vaccination refines both the magnitude and quality of T cell memory. It increases select populations and enhances differentiation of subdominant CD4 + T cells. Populations that did not become more abundant after boosting retained their polyfunctional potential. Beyond establishing memory to the ancestral spike, vaccinations broadened responses by recruiting cross-reactive T cells recognizing viral variants. Collectively, these findings reveal how human CD4 + T cell memory evolves through sequential immunizations to generate a functionally diverse and broadly responsive memory repertoire against future viral challenges.

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