Super-gene that generates higher antibodies against Covid discovered

People carrying the super-gene recorded higher antibody responses against the Covid-19 vaccines 28 days following the first dose

30-40 per cent of Brits are believed to be carrying the HLA-DQB1*06 super-gene (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A super-gene that provokes a strong immune response to Covid-19 after vaccination has been discovered by scientists.

Scientists from Oxford University found that people who carry a version of an HLA gene, known as HLA-DQB1*06, were more likely to generate a higher antibody response after getting their jab, compared to those who don’t.

Around 30-40 per cent of the UK population is thought to carry the gene.

The heightened immune response was found to be triggered by all the mainstream vaccines: Pfizer, BioNTech, Oxford and AstraZeneca.

The team published its findings in the journal Nature Medicine and believes it could improve vaccines and help prevent infection.

Dr Alexander Mentzer, a lead researcher on the study, said: “We have seen a wide variation in how quickly people test positive for Covid-19 after vaccination. Our findings suggest that our genetic code may influence how likely this is to happen over time.

The team analysed DNA samples from 1,190 clinical trial participants at Oxford University’s vaccine clinical trials, as well as from 1,677 adults enrolled on the Com-COV research programme.

Researchers also looked at samples from children who had participated in clinical trials for the AstraZeneca vaccine.

They found those carrying the super-gene recorded higher antibody responses against Covid-19 at 28 days following the first dose.

People with the gene were also less likely to experience breakthrough infection – where people still get infected with coronavirus despite being vaccinated.

Chief investigator on the study, Julian Knight, said “Further work is needed to better understand the clinical significance of this specific association, and more broadly what identifying this gene variant can tell us about how effective immune responses are generated and ways to continue to improve vaccines for everyone.”

The findings come as Covid-19 booster doses become available to over 50s on Friday with 26 million people in England eligible for the autumn jab.

The majority of them will be offered the newer bivalent vaccine which targets the original Covid-19 variant and the Omicron variant.