It has been discovered why some subjects are more protected after the vaccination for Covid-19. The answer to Vaccine it is influenced by the individual genetic profile. The study, carried out at the Molinette hospital in Turin on employees of the same Città della Salute, has just been published in the scientific journal HLA.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has left deep scars in our lives. If we are emerging from this emergency it is also thanks to the development of new vaccines that stimulate our immune system to defend itself against the virus and prevent its harmful effects,” explains in a note. “But it has also been clarified that each of us has a different response to vaccination, at one extreme there are those who develop large quantities of antibodies and immune cells ready to defend them, at the other extreme those who despite repeated vaccinations are still defenseless and at risk of illness. We know that there are many factors that can explain this variability, such as age (older people respond less), gender (women respond more vigorously), co-occurrence of other diseases, or therapies that reduce the response immunity, or, again, the previous COVID-19“.
One studio just published in the prestigious international scientific journal HLA clarifies that ours too genes are involved in vaccine response. As part of a large study, which involved nearly 10,000 employees of City of Health of Turin, the analysis of the genetic factors that most influence the response to mRNA vaccines has been deepened. This study, which included about 500 employees who underwent vaccination in 2020, was made possible thanks to the collaboration of immunogeneticists (directed by Professor Antonio Amoroso), microbiologists (directed by Professor Rossana Cavallo), epidemiologists (directed by Dr. Giovannino Ciccone), under the direction of the Health Department (directed by Dr. Antonio Scarmozzino) and the support of the Banca del Piemonte and the Molinette Research Foundation.
The effectiveness of the vaccination was measured thanks to the dosage of antibodies against the COVID-19 virus (SARS-CoV-2) and the analysis of the cells of the immune system that recognize the virus. At the same time, some genes involved in the regulation of the immune response were examined, in particular those of HLA or histocompatibility (the same ones that are studied for the matchings between donor and transplant recipient). It was thus possible to recognize that some individuals who have certain genetic characteristics (such as the HLA-A3 variant) the more likely they will produce antibodies after vaccination, unlike those with other variants (such as HLA-A24). Following vaccination, the response of the cells of the immune system against the virus is also different depending on the HLA characteristics, for example those who possess the HLA-DRB15 variant are able to adequately defend themselves against the virus, up to 5 times more.
“The research we conducted – underlines Professor Antonio Amoroso, coordinator of the study – shows that among the factors that explain the different response to the vaccine for COVID-19, there are some related to our genetic characteristics which alone can significantly predict which subjects will be better protected by vaccination. This evidence could be useful for better personalizing the vaccination strategy”.
The Director General of the City of Health of Turin, Giovanni La Valle, points out: “It is really a completely homemade research: the employees of this hospital have not only carried out an important research in relation to the response to the vaccination against COVID-19, but they are also the ones who have made themselves available for the study, donating a own blood sample for microbiological and genetic testing. My thanks go to all of them”.