Age and Cytokine Gene Variants Modulate the Immunogenicity and Protective Effect of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-Based Vaccination

The introduction of anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in late 2020 substantially changed the pandemic picture, inducing effective protection in the population. However, individual variability was observed with different levels of cellular response and neutralizing antibodies. We report data on the impact of age, gender, and 16 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of cytokine genes on the anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG titers measured 31 and 105 days after administration of the second dose of BNT162b2 vaccine to 122 healthy subjects from the health care staff of the Palermo University Hospital, Italy. The higher titers at 31 days were measured in the younger subjects and in subjects bearing T-positive genotypes of IL-1R1 rs2234650 or the GG homozygous genotype of IL-6 rs1800795 SNP. T-positive genotypes are also significantly more common in subjects with higher titers at day 105. In addition, in this group of subjects, the frequency of the CT genotype of IL-4 rs2243250 is higher among those vaccinated with higher titers. Moreover, these SNPs and TNFA rs1800629 are differently distributed in a group of subjects that were found infected by SARS-CoV-2 at day 105 of evaluation. Finally, subjects that were found to be infected by SARS-CoV-2 at day 105 were significantly older than the uninfected subjects. Taken together, these data seem to suggest that age and polymorphisms of key cytokines, which regulate inflammation and humoral immune response, might influence the magnitude of the antibody response to vaccination with BNT162B2, prompting speculation about the possible benefit of a genetic background-based assessment of a personalized approach to the anti-COVID vaccination schedule.

Automated summary

The introduction of anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in late 2020 has had a significant impact on the pandemic, providing effective protection in the population. However, there is individual variability in cellular response and neutralizing antibodies. This study investigated the influence of age, gender, and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of cytokine genes on the antibody response to the BNT162b2 vaccine.