A recent study from the Ndhlovu Lab at the Ragon Institute has uncovered significant gaps in global vaccine strategies, revealing that immune system gene diversity in African populations has been widely overlooked in current vaccine design approaches.

The study, published in Scientific Reports, investigated high-resolution data on Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) genes in populations from Eastern and Southern Africa, including Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, and South Africa. HLA genes are critical for immune responses and influence how effectively individuals respond to vaccines.

Findings revealed extensive genetic variation among these populations, with major differences compared to genetic profiles commonly used for vaccine development, which are predominantly based on U.S. and European populations. The study shows that African populations have unique and highly diverse HLA profiles, significantly different even from African American populations. This diversity affects immune response, vaccine efficacy, and susceptibility to disease, underscoring the ineffectiveness of applying vaccine data from other regions directly to African populations.

This groundbreaking research highlights the importance of including diverse populations in genetic studies to improve health outcomes worldwide, and could potentially influence the way future studies are conducted to ensure more accurate results are found.