INVOLVEMENT OF HLA AND C4 IN THE NON RESPONSIVENESS TO HEPATITIS-B VACCINE

The use of the HBV vaccine has been, in the last years, of social and epidemiological interest, The interest in studying the genetic mechani sms that regulate the immune response led us to investigate the possib ility that HLA genes, and in particular the complement C4, may influen ce the response to this vaccination. HLA polymorphisms in non responde r subjects out of 1100 vaccinated health care workers were investigate d. We analysed two groups of subjects: 300 individuals treated with th e non-recombinant vaccine and 800 vaccinated with the recombinant form . The group of thirty non responder subjects to the non recombinant va ccine shows an increased frequency of the extended phenotype: B8, BfS, C4AQ0, C4B1, DR3. We report the HLA phenotypes of 7 individuals non r esponder to the recombinant vaccine: this group is characterised by th e HLA supratype B12(44), BfF, C4A3, C4B1, DR7. The lack of response to the HBsAg vaccine is probably MHC linked, due to interactions of diff erent immunogenetic factors (Fund. Clin. Immunol. 4: 73-78, 1996).