A genome-wide association study of hepatitis B vaccine response in an Indonesian population reveals multiple independent risk variants in the HLA region.

We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study (GWAS) of antibody titer in 3614 hepatitis B vaccine recipients from Indonesia's Riau Archipelago, leading to the identification of at least three independent signals within the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) complex. These appear to implicate HLA-DR [rs3135363; P= 6.53 × 10(-22); odds ratio (OR) = 1.53, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.35-1.74]; HLA-DP, previously associated with the risk of chronic hepatitis B infection (rs9277535; P= 2.91 × 10(-12); OR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.63-0.81); and a gene rich HLA Class III interval (rs9267665; P = 1.24 × 10(-17); OR = 2.05, CI = 1.64-2.57). The substantial overlap of these variants and those identified by GWAS of chronic hepatitis B infection confirms vaccine response as a model for infection, while suggesting that the vaccine is least effective in those most at risk of lifelong infection, following exposure to the virus.