Institute for Policy Research and Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
Institute for Policy Research and Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
Brain Behav Immun. 2022 Feb;100:1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2021.11.003. Epub 2021 Nov 17.
Individuals exposed to persistent neighborhood violence are at increased risk for developing mental and physical health problems across the lifespan. The biological mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are not well understood. Thus, we examined the relationship between children's exposure to neighborhood violence and inflammatory activity, a process involved in the pathogenesis of multiple health problems. 236 children from the Chicago area participated in a two-year longitudinal study (mean age at baseline, 13.9 years; 67% female; 39% White, 34% Black, 33% Hispanic). Neighborhood violence was measured as the homicide frequency in a child's Census block group in the five years before study entry. Fasting blood was drawn at study entry and two years later (in eighth and tenth grade). The blood was used to quantify protein biomarkers of systemic inflammatory activity and perform genome-wide expression profiling of isolated monocytes. Neighborhood violence was associated with higher systemic inflammatory activity at both assessments. It also was associated with a monocyte transcriptional profile indicative of increased signaling along the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and activator protein 1 (AP-1) control pathways, which are key orchestrators of pro-inflammatory effector functions. Neighborhood violence also was associated with transcriptional indications of higher beta-adrenergic and lower glucocorticoid signaling, which could function as neuroendocrine conduits linking threatening experiences with inflammatory activity. Neighborhood violence was not associated with two-year changes in protein biomarkers, although it did presage a transcriptional profile indicative of increasing AP-1 and declining glucocorticoid signaling over follow-up. Collectively, these observations highlight cellular and molecular pathways that could underlie health risks associated with neighborhood violence.
个体长期暴露于邻里暴力环境中，会增加其在整个生命周期中出现精神和身体健康问题的风险。目前人们对这种现象的生物学机制还不甚了解。因此，我们研究了儿童接触邻里暴力与炎症活动之间的关系，炎症活动是多种健康问题发病机制中的一个过程。 236 名来自芝加哥地区的儿童参与了一项为期两年的纵向研究（基线时的平均年龄为 13.9 岁；67%为女性；39%为白人，34%为黑人，33%为西班牙裔）。邻里暴力以儿童入组前五年所在的街区组的凶杀频率来衡量。在研究入组时和两年后（八年级和十年级）抽取空腹血样。使用这些血液来定量检测系统炎症活性的蛋白生物标志物，并对分离的单核细胞进行全基因组表达谱分析。邻里暴力与两次评估中的全身炎症活性升高均有关。它还与单核细胞转录谱有关，表明核因子-κB（NF-κB）和激活蛋白 1（AP-1）控制途径的信号增强，这些途径是促炎效应功能的关键协调因子。邻里暴力还与β-肾上腺素能信号升高和糖皮质激素信号降低的转录迹象有关，这可能是将威胁性体验与炎症活动联系起来的神经内分泌途径。邻里暴力与两年间的蛋白生物标志物变化无关，但它预示着随着随访时间的增加，AP-1 信号增强和糖皮质激素信号下降的转录特征。总的来说，这些观察结果突出了可能导致与邻里暴力相关的健康风险的细胞和分子途径。
