Analysing transcriptomic signatures and identifying potential genes for the protective effect of inactivated COVID-19 vaccines

Hongquan Chen; Lu Zhang; Chen Xu; Xiaoyun Shen; Jiazhou Lou; Shengjun Wu

doi:10.7717/peerj.15155

Analysing transcriptomic signatures and identifying potential genes for the protective effect of inactivated COVID-19 vaccines

PeerJ. 2023 Apr 19:11:e15155. doi: 10.7717/peerj.15155. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Hongquan Chen^#^{1

2}, Lu Zhang^#^{1

2}, Chen Xu^{1

2}, Xiaoyun Shen³, Jiazhou Lou^{1

2}, Shengjun Wu^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical Laboratory, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
² Key Laboratory of Precision Medicine in Diagnosis and Monitoring Research of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Endoscopic Technology Research, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Inactivated vaccines are one of the most effective strategies for controlling the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, the response genes for the protective effect of inactivated vaccines are still unclear. Herein, we analysed the neutralization antibody responses elicited by vaccine serum and carried out transcriptome sequencing of RNAs isolated from the PBMCs of 29 medical staff receiving two doses of the CoronaVac vaccine. The results showed that SARS-CoV-2 neutralization antibody titers varied considerably among individuals, and revealed that many innate immune pathways were activated after vaccination. Furthermore, the blue module revealed that NRAS, YWHAB, SMARCA5, PPP1CC and CDC5L may be correlated with the protective effect of the inactivated vaccine. Additionally, MAPK1, CDC42, PPP2CA, EP300, YWHAZ and NRAS were demonstrated as the hub genes having a significant association with vaccines. These findings provide a basis for understanding the molecular mechanism of the host immune response induced by inactivated vaccines.

Keywords: Inactivated vaccine; Neutralization antibody; RNA-seq; SARS-CoV-2; Transcriptome profile.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Antibodies, Viral
COVID-19 Vaccines
COVID-19*
Cell Cycle Proteins
Humans
RNA-Binding Proteins
SARS-CoV-2
Transcriptome*
Vaccines, Inactivated

Substances

sinovac COVID-19 vaccine
COVID-19 Vaccines
Antibodies, Viral
Vaccines, Inactivated
CDC5L protein, human
RNA-Binding Proteins
Cell Cycle Proteins

Grants and funding

This study was funded by Department of Education of Zhejiang Province (Y202043596), Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang province (LQ21H190005) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (82102476). There was no additional external funding received for this study. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.