Genetic regulators of cytokine responses upon BCG vaccination in children from West Africa

Genetic variation is a key factor influencing cytokine production capacity, but which genetic loci regulate cytokine production before and after vaccination, particularly in African population is unknown. Here, we aimed to identify single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) controlling cytokine responses after microbial stimulation in infants of West-African ancestry, comprising of low-birth-weight neonates randomized to bacillus Calmette-Gue & DBLBOND;rin (BCG) vaccine-at-birth or to the usual delayed BCG. Genome-wide cytokine cytokine quantitative trait loci (cQTL) mapping revealed 12 independent loci, of which the LINC01082LINC00917 locus influenced more than half of the cytokine-stimulation pairs assessed. Furthermore, nine distinct cQTLs were found among infants randomized to BCG. Functional validation confirmed that several complement genes affect cytokine response after BCG vaccination. We observed a limited overlap of common cQTLs between the West-African infants and cohorts of Western European individuals. These data reveal strong population-specific genetic effects on cytokine production and may indicate new opportunities for therapeutic intervention and vaccine development in African populations.Copyright & COPY; 2023, The Authors. Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Genetics Society of China. Published by Elsevier Limited and Science Press. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Automated summary

This study aimed to identify single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) controlling cytokine responses after microbial stimulation in infants of West-African ancestry. The researchers found 12 independent loci, with the LINC01082LINC00917 locus influencing more than half of the cytokine-stimulation pairs assessed. Functional validation confirmed the impact of several complement genes on cytokine response after BCG vaccination. These findings highlight population-specific genetic effects on cytokine production and potential opportunities for therapeutic intervention and vaccine development in African populations.