Stimulating T cells with VZV (IE63) peptide pool releases downstream cytokines and upregulates activation markers, enabling antigen-specific T cells to be detected or isolated for analysis. VZV (IE63) peptide pool is a lyophilised mixture of 67 peptides from the transcriptional regulator ICP22 homolog (IE63) of Varicella-zoster virus (VZV; strain Oka vaccine), and consists of 15-mer peptides with 11-amino-acid overlaps that cover amino acids 1 to 278 on IE63. Expressed during VZV latency and reactivation (Lungu et al.), IE63 demonstrates repressive activity in both the cytoplasm and nucleus of infected cells (Bontems et al.). Host interferon alpha (IFN-α) activity is inhibited by VZV IE63, which likely contributes to VZV pathogenesis (Ambagala and Cohen). Viral peptide pools are useful for a broad range of applications, including vaccine development, immunological research, and diagnostic assay development.