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Esposito M, Minnai F, Copetti M, Miscio G, Perna R, Piepoli A, De Vincentis G, Benvenuto M, D'Addetta P, Croci S, Baldassarri M, Bruttini M, Fallerini C, Brugnoni R, Cavalcante P, Baggi F, Corsini EMG, Ciusani E, Andreetta F, Dragani TA, Fratelli M, Carella M, Mantegazza RE, Renieri A, Colombo F. Human leukocyte antigen variants associate with BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine response. Commun Med (Lond) 2024; 4:63. [PMID: 38575714 PMCID: PMC10995155 DOI: 10.1038/s43856-024-00490-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2023] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Since the beginning of the anti-COVID-19 vaccination campaign, it has become evident that vaccinated subjects exhibit considerable inter-individual variability in the response to the vaccine that could be partly explained by host genetic factors. A recent study reported that the immune response elicited by the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in individuals from the United Kingdom was influenced by a specific allele of the human leukocyte antigen gene HLA-DQB1. METHODS We carried out a genome-wide association study to investigate the genetic determinants of the antibody response to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in an Italian cohort of 1351 subjects recruited in three centers. Linear regressions between normalized antibody levels and genotypes of more than 7 million variants was performed, using sex, age, centers, days between vaccination boost and serological test, and five principal components as covariates. We also analyzed the association between normalized antibody levels and 204 HLA alleles, with the same covariates as above. RESULTS Our study confirms the involvement of the HLA locus and shows significant associations with variants in HLA-A, HLA-DQA1, and HLA-DQB1 genes. In particular, the HLA-A*03:01 allele is the most significantly associated with serum levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Other alleles, from both major histocompatibility complex class I and II are significantly associated with antibody levels. CONCLUSIONS These results support the hypothesis that HLA genes modulate the response to Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and highlight the need for genetic studies in diverse populations and for functional studies aimed to elucidate the relationship between HLA-A*03:01 and CD8+ cell response upon Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Esposito
- National Research Council, Institute for Biomedical Technologies, Segrate, MI, Italy
| | - Francesca Minnai
- National Research Council, Institute for Biomedical Technologies, Segrate, MI, Italy
- Department of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine (BioMeTra), Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Massimiliano Copetti
- Fondazione IRCCS Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, San Giovanni Rotondo, FG, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Miscio
- Fondazione IRCCS Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, San Giovanni Rotondo, FG, Italy
| | - Rita Perna
- Fondazione IRCCS Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, San Giovanni Rotondo, FG, Italy
| | - Ada Piepoli
- Fondazione IRCCS Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, San Giovanni Rotondo, FG, Italy
| | | | - Mario Benvenuto
- Fondazione IRCCS Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, San Giovanni Rotondo, FG, Italy
| | - Paola D'Addetta
- Fondazione IRCCS Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, San Giovanni Rotondo, FG, Italy
| | - Susanna Croci
- Med Biotech Hub and Competence Center, Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
- Medical Genetics, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Margherita Baldassarri
- Med Biotech Hub and Competence Center, Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
- Medical Genetics, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Mirella Bruttini
- Med Biotech Hub and Competence Center, Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
- Medical Genetics, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
- Genetica Medica, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Senese, Siena, Italy
| | - Chiara Fallerini
- Med Biotech Hub and Competence Center, Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
- Medical Genetics, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | | | | | - Fulvio Baggi
- Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Emilio Ciusani
- Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | | | | | | | - Massimo Carella
- Fondazione IRCCS Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, San Giovanni Rotondo, FG, Italy
| | | | - Alessandra Renieri
- Med Biotech Hub and Competence Center, Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
- Medical Genetics, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
- Genetica Medica, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Senese, Siena, Italy
| | - Francesca Colombo
- National Research Council, Institute for Biomedical Technologies, Segrate, MI, Italy.
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