Affective reactivity to daily stressors and immune cell gene expression in the MIDUS study

Affective reactivity to stress is a person-level measurement of how well an individual copes with daily stressors. A common method of measuring affective reactivity entails the estimation of within-person differences of either positive or negative affect on days with and without stressors present. Individuals more reactive to common stressors, as evidenced by affective reactivity measurements, have been shown to have increased levels of circulating pro-inflammatory markers. While affective reactivity has previously been associated with inflammatory markers, the upstream mechanistic links underlying these associations are unknown. Using data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Refresher study (N = 195; 52% female; 84% white), we quantified daily stress processes over 10 days and determined individuals’ positive and negative affective reactivities to stressors. We then examined affective reactivity association with peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) gene expression of the immune-related conserved transcriptional response to adversity. Results indicated that individuals with a greater decrease in positive affect to daily stressors exhibited heightened PBMC JUNB expression after Bonferroni corrections (p-adjusted < 0.05). JUNB encodes a protein that acts as a transcription factor which regulates many aspects of the immune response, including inflammation and cell proliferation. Due to its critical role in the activation of macrophages and maintenance of CD4+ T-cells during inflammation, JUNB may serve as a potential upstream mechanistic target for future studies of the connection between affective reactivity and inflammatory processes. Overall, our findings provide evidence that affective reactivity to stress is associated with levels of immune cell gene expression.

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Work Title Affective reactivity to daily stressors and immune cell gene expression in the MIDUS study
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Open Access
Creators
  1. Abner T. Apsley
  2. Sun Ah Lee
  3. Aarti C. Bhat
  4. Jonathan Rush
  5. David M. Almeida
  6. Steven W. Cole
  7. Idan Shalev
Keyword
  1. Affective reactivity
  2. Stress
  3. Daily-diary methods
  4. Conserved transcriptional response to adversity (CTRA)
  5. inflamation
  6. JUNB
  7. Gene Expression
License In Copyright (Rights Reserved)
Work Type Article
Publisher
  1. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity
Publication Date October 3, 2023
Publisher Identifier (DOI)
  1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2023.09.025
Deposited August 12, 2024

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Version 1
published

  • Created
  • Added Apsley_et_al_2023_BBI.pdf
  • Added Creator Abner T. Apsley
  • Added Creator Sun Ah Lee
  • Added Creator Aarti C. Bhat
  • Added Creator Jonathan Rush
  • Added Creator David M. Almeida
  • Added Creator Steven W. Cole
  • Added Creator Idan Shalev
  • Published
  • Updated
  • Updated Keyword, Publication Date Show Changes
    Keyword
    • Affective reactivity, Stress, Daily-diary methods, Conserved transcriptional response to adversity (CTRA), inflamation, JUNB, Gene Expression
    Publication Date
    • 2024-01-01
    • 2023-10-03