Gohal et al. Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol (2016) 12:10 DOI 10.1186/s13223-016-0115-3 RESEARCH T-cell receptor phenotype pattern in atopic children using commercial fuorescently labeled antibodies against 21 human class-specifc v segments for the tcrβ chain (vβ) of peripheral blood: a cross sectional study Gassem Gohal 1* , Christine McCusker 1 , Bruce Mazer 2 , Reza Alizadehfar 1 , Duncan Lejtenyi 1 and Moshe Ben-shoshan 1 Abstract Background: T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoire development is an integral part of the adaptive immune response. T-cell activation requires recognition of appropriately processed antigens by the TCR. Development of a diverse repertoire of TCRs is therefore essential to ensure adequate protection from potential threats. The majority of T-cells in peripheral blood have TCRs composed of an alpha and a beta chain. At the DNA level, the TCR genes are formed through directed recombination from germline sequences—the so-called VDJ recombination [variable (V) joining (J) diversity (D) gene segments] which results in variations in the repertoire. The most variable part of TCRs is the Vβ region (VβTCR), which has multiple V segment families that can be quantitatively measured. However, only sparse data exists on the normal levels of the VβTCR repertoire in healthy children. We aimed to establish normal values for the VβTCR repertoire in atopic children without immunodeficiency. Methods: Fifty-three children were recruited from food allergy, drug allergy, chronic urticaria and anaphylaxis regis- tries and were divided into groups based on age: >0–2 years, 3–6 years, and 6–18 years. We used commercially avail- able and fluorescently labeled antibodies against 21 human class-specific V segments of the TCRβ chain (Vβ) to study in peripheral blood the quantitative pattern of Vβ variation by flow cytometry. Results: Children of all ages exhibited a similar pattern of TCR Vβ expression. Vβ 2 was the most commonly expressed family in all three age groups [9.5 % (95 % CI, 8.9, 10 %), 8.8 % (95 % CI, 7.4, 10.2 %) and 7.6 % (7.0, 8.3 %) respectively]. However, the percentage of Vβ 2 decreased in older children and the percentage of Vβ 1 was higher in males. TCR Vβ expression in our sample of atopic children did not differ substantially from previously published levels in non-atopic cohorts. Conclusion: TCR Vβ diversity follows a predictable and comparable pattern in atopic and healthy non-atopic chil- dren. Establishing normal levels for healthy children with and without atopy will contribute to a better definition of Vβ receptor deviation in children with primary immunodeficiency and/or immunodysregulation conditions. © 2016 Gohal et al. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/ publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. Open Access Allergy, Asthma & Clinical Immunology *Correspondence: dr.gassem@gmail.com 1 Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Department of Pediatrics, Montreal Children’s Hospital, McGill University, 1001 Boulevard Décarie, Room A 02.2227, Montréal, QC H4A 3J1, Canada Full list of author information is available at the end of the article