Genome-wide association study of conjugated pneumococcal vaccine antibody responses in South African infants
Abstract Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines have substantially reduced global mortality, yet the genetic basis of vaccine-induced immunity is unclear. We analysed host genetic determinants of PCV7-induced IgG responses in 1017 South African infants. No genome-wide significant associations were identified, including at the HLA locus. In contrast to protein vaccines, where HLA strongly shapes responses, PCV7 responses appear less constrained by HLA-mediated antigen presentation. This reduced constraint could partially explain their consistent effectiveness across diverse populations.
Authors
- Gaby P. Smits (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4890-0940)
- James J. Gilchrist (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2045-6788)
- Alexander J. Mentzer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4502-2209)
- Fiona R.M. van der Klis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6759-3539)
- Alexander Dilthey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6394-4581)
- Manjinder S. Sandhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2725-142X)
- Shabir Ahmed Madhi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7629-0636)
- Amanda Yoon-Yee Chong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4919-2632)
- Clare Cutland (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8250-8307)
- Yong En Goh
- Callum R. O’Neill (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1903-6348)
Institutions
- South African Medical Research Council (ZA)
- Centre for Human Genetics (GB)
- Nanyang Technological University (SG)
- University of the Witwatersrand (ZA)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Düsseldorf University Hospital (DE)
- National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (NL)
- MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine (GB)
- Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (DE)
- Imperial College London (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- npj Vaccines
- Published
- 2026-10-15
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41541-026-01585-8
- Primary Topic
- Pneumonia and Respiratory Infections
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Wellcome Trust
- National Institute for Health and Care Research
- Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences