Coping with genetic diversity: the contribution of pathogen and human genomics to modern vaccinology

Lemaire, D.; Barbosa, T.; Rihet, P.

The influence of the genetic background has been further supported by twin-based and population-based association studies, which have revealed the association of HLA and non-HLA candidate genes with the response to hepatitis A and B, influenza, measles, rubella, and BCG vaccines (44, 49) . However, few candidates have been simultaneously tested by each research group, except for the study by Hennig et al. (47) , who analyzed 133 candidate genes. It is likely that there are genes involved in both resistance to a particular infectious disease and response to the corresponding candidate vaccines. Therefore, genes that have been associated with resistance or susceptibility to infection or disease can be considered candidates potentially involved in the response to the vaccine. The genes that will be identified through genome-wide approaches in infectious diseases will be of particular interest; conversely, the genes that affect the response to vaccination may be analyzed for their potential role in resistance or susceptibility to the corresponding disease. It may be the time to move from the candidate gene approach to genome-wide linkage and/or association approaches in order to identify genes controlling the response to vaccination (Figure 1 ).