# Psychosocial and Genetic Effects on Gene Expression and Asthma

> **NIH NIH R01** · WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $645,626

## Abstract

Abstract
 In the past 8 years, we have studied a cohort of youth from metropolitan Detroit to investigate the effects of
psychosocial stressors and resources on health, with a specific focus on asthma symptoms (Asthma in the Lives
Of Families Today, ALOFT study). Our preliminary results from bulk RNA-seq analysis in peripheral leukocytes
demonstrate that psychosocial factors are associated with transcriptional changes for a large number of genes,
many of them involved in immunological functions. Importantly, we and others have uncovered an important role
for blood cell type composition in inter-individual variation in response to psychosocial environments and their
effects on immunological health and asthma symptoms. Here, we propose 1) to disentangle the contribution of
psychosocial factors and asthmatic state on patterns of transcriptional dysregulation; 2) to investigate the effects
of psychosocial factors on transcriptional regulation in blood cell type subpopulations; and 3) to determine the
role of genetic variation in modulating these effects and their consequences for asthmatic children's health. To
this end, we will use a combination of bulk and single cell RNA-sequencing on immune cells collected from
children with asthma and their asymptomatic siblings. The complementary expertise of our team will uncover
specific genetic and psychosocial factors associated with increased risk for poor physical health and wellbeing.
These results will be important to design personalized medical and behavioral interventions to alleviate disease
severity in children with asthma.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10798130
- **Project number:** 5R01HL162574-03
- **Recipient organization:** WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Francesca Luca
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $645,626
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-03-15 → 2026-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10798130

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10798130, Psychosocial and Genetic Effects on Gene Expression and Asthma (5R01HL162574-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10798130. Licensed CC0.

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