Super-gene that generates higher antibodies against Covid discovered
People carrying the super-gene recorded higher antibody responses against the Covid-19 vaccines 28 days following the first dose
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A super-gene that provokes a strong immune response to Covid-19 after vaccination has been discovered by scientists.
Scientists from Oxford University found that people who carry a version of an HLA gene, known as HLA-DQB1*06, were more likely to generate a higher antibody response after getting their jab, compared to those who don’t.
Around 30-40 per cent of the UK population is thought to carry the gene.
The heightened immune response was found to be triggered by all the mainstream vaccines: Pfizer, BioNTech, Oxford and AstraZeneca.
The team published its findings in the journal Nature Medicine and believes it could improve vaccines and help prevent infection.
Dr Alexander Mentzer, a lead researcher on the study, said: “We have seen a wide variation in how quickly people test positive for Covid-19 after vaccination. Our findings suggest that our genetic code may influence how likely this is to happen over time.
The team analysed DNA samples from 1,190 clinical trial participants at Oxford University’s vaccine clinical trials, as well as from 1,677 adults enrolled on the Com-COV research programme.
Researchers also looked at samples from children who had participated in clinical trials for the AstraZeneca vaccine.
They found those carrying the super-gene recorded higher antibody responses against Covid-19 at 28 days following the first dose.
People with the gene were also less likely to experience breakthrough infection – where people still get infected with coronavirus despite being vaccinated.
Chief investigator on the study, Julian Knight, said “Further work is needed to better understand the clinical significance of this specific association, and more broadly what identifying this gene variant can tell us about how effective immune responses are generated and ways to continue to improve vaccines for everyone.”
The findings come as Covid-19 booster doses become available to over 50s on Friday with 26 million people in England eligible for the autumn jab.
The majority of them will be offered the newer bivalent vaccine which targets the original Covid-19 variant and the Omicron variant.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments