RNA-based transcriptome analysis to investigate variability in vaccine response in healthy recipients of a booster (third) dose schedule of the mRNA BNT162b2 vaccine against COVID-19.
This study aims to comprehend the Underlying molecular mechanisms that lead to the host responsiveness variability to COVID-19 vaccines in a cohort sampled from Southeast Brazil (Rio de Janeiro state). The cohort was divided into two groups: (1) low-stable individuals, with antibody concentration anti SARS-CoV IgG S1 below 0.4 percentile at 180 days after boosting vaccination; and (2) high-stable individuals, with antibody values greater than 0.6 percentil of the range in the same period (median 9,525 [185-80,000] AU/mL). Differential gene expression, expressed single nucleotide variants and insertions/deletions, differential splicing events, and allelic imbalance were explored to broaden our understanding of the immune response sustenance. Our analysis revealed a differential expression of genes with immunological functions in individuals with low antibody titers, compared to those with a more robust response to vaccination, underscoring the fundamental importance of the innate immune response for boosting immunity. Our findings also provide new insights into the determinants of the immune response variability to the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine booster, highlighting the significance of differential splicing regulatory mechanisms, mainly concerning HLA alleles, in delineating vaccine immunogenicity.