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Poverty shapes the transcriptome of immune cells

ABSTRACT: Social determinants of health influence health outcomes and life expectancy. Specifically, individuals living in poverty often have adverse health outcomes related to chronic inflammation that affect the cardiovascular, renal, and pulmonary systems. However, the underlying mechanisms by which poverty increases the risk of disease and health disparities are still not fully understood. To bridge the gap in our understanding of the link between living in poverty and adverse health outcomes, we performed RNA sequencing of blood immune cells from 204 participants of the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span (HANDLS) study in Baltimore City, Maryland. This study cohort included men and women self-identified as African American and White. We identified genes differentially expressed in association with poverty. Our results suggest that living in poverty influences inflammation and the risk for chronic disease through gene expression changes in immune cells, and that some of the effects of living in poverty are different in women and men.

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

PROVIDER: GSE221766 | GEO | 2025/04/08

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Socioeconomic status (SES), living in poverty, and other social determinants of health contribute to health disparities in the United States. African American (AA) men living below poverty in Baltimore City have a higher incidence of mortality when compared to either white males or AA females living below poverty. Previous studies in our laboratory and elsewhere suggest that environmental conditions are associated with differential gene expression (DGE) patterns in white blood cells, and this may contribute to the onset of diseases in the immune or cardiovascular systems. DGE have also been associated with hypertension and cardiovascular disease (CVD) and correlate with race and gender. However, no studies have investigated how poverty status associates with DGE between male and female AAs and whites living in Baltimore City. We examined DGE in 52 AA and white participants of the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span (HANDLS) cohort, who were living above or below 125% of the 2004 federal poverty line at time of sample collection. We performed a microarray to assess DGE patterns in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from these participants. AA males and females living in poverty had the most genes differentially-expressed compared with above poverty controls. Gene ontology (GO) analysis identified unique and overlapping pathways related to the endosome, single-stranded RNA binding, long-chain fatty-acyl-CoA biosynthesis, toll-like receptor signaling, and others within AA males and females living in poverty and compared with their above poverty controls. We performed RT-qPCR to validate top differentially-expressed genes in AA males. We found that KLF6, DUSP2, RBM34, and CD19 are expressed at significantly lower levels in AA males in poverty and KCTD12 is higher compared to above poverty controls. This study serves as initial link to better understand the biological mechanisms of poverty status with health outcomes and disparities.

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Poverty shapes the transcriptome of immune cells

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