Journal article
Social regulation of inflammation related gene expression in the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis
Psychoneuroendocrinology, v 117, 104654
Jul 2020
PMID: 32387875
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
•Exposure to loneliness, chronic burden, and discrimination are associated with chronic inflammatory gene expression.•Different social factors associate with expression of the same genes, supporting a conserved effect of social exposure on the genome.•Complementary statistical approaches can provide different perspectives, yet consistent findings in human social genomics research.
Exposure to adverse social factors has been associated with an altered inflammatory profile, a risk factor for several acute and chronic diseases. Differential gene expression may be a biological mediator in the relationship. In this study, associations between a range of social factors and expression of inflammation-related genes were investigated.
Social factor and gene expression data were collected from 1,264 individuals in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Inflammation-related genes were identified from the Gene Ontology database. The associations between social factors and gene expression were first assessed using the Global Analysis of Covariance (Global ANCOVA) gene set enrichment test. When the global test was significant, linear regression and elastic net penalized regression were employed to identify the individual gene transcripts within each gene set associated with the social factor.
Loneliness (p = 0.003), chronic burden (p = 0.002), and major or lifetime discrimination (p = 0.045) were significantly associated with global expression of the chronic inflammatory gene set. Of the 20 transcripts that comprise this gene set, elastic net selected 12 transcripts for loneliness, 8 for chronic burden, and 3 for major or lifetime discrimination. Major or lifetime discrimination was also associated with the inflammatory response (p = 0.029), regulation of the inflammatory response (p = 0.041), and immune response (p = 0.025) gene sets in global analyses, and 53, 136, and 26 transcripts were selected via elastic net for these gene sets respectively. There were no significant associations in linear regression analyses after adjustment for multiple testing.
This study highlights gene expression as a biological mechanism through which social factors may affect inflammation.
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Details
- Title
- Social regulation of inflammation related gene expression in the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis
- Creators
- Kristen M. Brown - Emory UniversityAna V. Diez-Roux - Drexel UniversityJennifer A. Smith - University of Michigan–Ann ArborBelinda L. Needham - University of Michigan–Ann ArborBhramar Mukherjee - University of Michigan–Ann ArborErin B. Ware - University of Michigan–Ann ArborYongmei Liu - Duke Medical CenterSteven W. Cole - Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology-Oncology, University of California-Los Angeles, 11-934 Factor Building, UCLA School of Medicine Campus – 167817, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United StatesTeresa E. Seeman - University of California, Los AngelesSharon L.R. Kardia - University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
- Publication Details
- Psychoneuroendocrinology, v 117, 104654
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Urban Health Collaborative
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000540728600021
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85086419488
- Other Identifier
- 991019168682904721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Endocrinology & Metabolism
- Neurosciences
- Psychiatry