Oxford University Study Finds Genetics Play Role in Durability and Efficacy of COVID Vaccines
Further to the University of Oxford's pivotal role in rapidly developing a vaccine for COVID-19, the University is again at the centre of a COVID discovery - this time finding out why some people have better immunity after a COVID-19 vaccine than others.
Scientists had been trying to understand why some people are more susceptible to being infected after the vaccination, while others enjoy longer periods of protection. Part of the answer, it now seems, is that some people carry a certain variant of an immune system gene making their antibody response better to infection, thus meaning they are less likely to suffer a breakthrough infection.
The study undertaken by researchers at the University of Oxford has identified that a certain version of a Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) gene is associated with a stronger antibody response to COVID-19.
The study, comprising 1,076 participants, tested the immune response 28 days after the initial vaccination and found that participants with the HLA-DQB1*06 allele showed a higher antibody response compared to those who did not.
On the back of this, a further 1,677 vaccinees, who had signed up to other research programmes and trials being run, were analysed. The results showed that HLA-DQB1*06 carriers were statistically less likely than non-carriers to experience a PCR confirmed breakthrough infection from the original or alpha variants of COVID-19.
The final sentence of the abstract to the paper published by Nature Medicine states: "Our results demonstrate association of HLA [gene] type with COVID-19 vaccine antibody response and risk of breakthrough infection, with implications for future vaccine design and implementation."
With such a range of time between when individuals are, or are at risk of, being reinfected by COVID-19, these findings may be the start of providing better disease forecasting and more tailored vaccines.
Comment
At the 2021 PING Conference, which VWV held in collaboration with IQVIA, entitled 'UK Life Sciences Opportunities in a Changed World', we heard from people at the centre of the UK's leading fightback against COVID-19, including Professor Chas Bountra from the University of Oxford. At the 2020 PING Conference, the theme was all about the leading role for the UK in Personalised Medicine and Genomics, with inspiring speakers from Genomics England, Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult, and others.
It is exciting to hear about more discoveries which can change the world, where the UK continues to lead the way.