Genetic polymorphisms associated with rubella virus-specific cellular immunity following MMR vaccination

Abstract

Rubella virus causes a relatively benign disease in most cases, although infection during pregnancy can result in serious birth defects. An effective vaccine has been available since the early 1970s and outbreaks typically do not occur among highly vaccinated (≥2 doses) populations. Nevertheless, considerable inter-individual variation in immune response to rubella immunization does exist, with single dose seroconversion rates ~95%. Understanding the mechanisms behind this variability may provide important insights into rubella immunity. In the current study, we examined associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in selected cytokine, cytokine receptor, and innate/antiviral genes and immune responses following rubella vaccination in order to understand genetic influences on vaccine response. Our approach consisted of a discovery cohort of 887 subjects ages 11–22 at the time of enrollment and a replication cohort of 542 older adolescents and young adults (ages 18–40). Our data indicate that SNPs near the butyrophilin genes (BTN3A3/BTN2A1) and cytokine receptors (IL10RB/IFNAR1) are associated with variations in IFNγ secretion and that multiple SNPs in the PVR gene, as well as SNPs located in the ADAR gene, exhibit significant associations with rubella virus-specific IL-6 secretion. This information may be useful, not only in furthering our understanding immune responses to rubella vaccine, but also in identifying key pathways for targeted adjuvant use to boost immunity in those with weak or absent immunity following vaccination.

Seasonal influence on TORCH infection and analysis of multi‐positive samples with indirect immunofluorescence assay

“…Our finding is similar to Feng’s observation of RV‐IgM prevalence in 2009 . Although the advent of vaccine has decreased the incidence of RV infection and CRS dramatically, women are advised not to become RV‐vaccinated during pregnancy . The limitation of this study is that the data were collected from a 12‐month period; cumulative observation for years might provide a better understanding about the seasonal influence on TORCH infections …”

Gene-Based Genome-Wide Association Analysis in European and Asian Populations Identified Novel Genes for Rheumatoid Arthritis

“…BTN3A3 may act as one of the inhibitors of co-stimulation for T lymphocyte priming, similar to CTLA-4 [38]. It also found that SNPs near the butyrophilin genes ( BTN3A3/BTN2A1 ) are associated with variations in IFN-γ secretion [39]. As for FLOT1 (flotillin-1), another gene verified by our ELISA test, its important roles in promoting tumorigenesis and progression of several cancers like non-small cell lung cancer, breast cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma have been recently reported [40,41].…”

Vaccine–Drug Interactions: Cytokines, Cytochromes, and Molecular Mechanisms

“…Increasing evidence indicating that specific risk factors exist have been provided in the literature, including the role of age, sex, and SNPs [3,5,16,39,44,45,47].…”

“…A number of studies have been reported on this topic, including significant evidence about the role of several SNPs in cytokines production following vaccinations [44][45][46][47][48][49][50].…”

“…As a number of genes and SNPs are known to potentially influence the risk of vaccine-drug interactions by interfering with both immune response [44][45][46][47][48][49][50] and CYP activity [41][42][43], further studies are required to fully explore this topic.…”