Cited by 225Stress Responses and CortisolGenetic Associations and EpidemiologyHealth disparities and outcomes

Social regulation of human gene expression: mechanisms and implications for public health

Open access
Cole, Steven W.·2013·American Journal of Public Health

Abstract

Recent analyses have discovered broad alterations in the expression of human genes across different social environments. The emerging field of social genomics has begun to identify the types of genes sensitive to social regulation, the biological signaling pathways mediating these effects, and the genetic polymorphisms that modify their individual impact. The human genome appears to have evolved specific “social programs” to adapt molecular physiology to the changing patterns of threat and opportunity ancestrally associated with changing social conditions. In the context of the immune system, this programming now fosters many of the diseases that dominate public health. The embedding of individual genomes within a broader metagenomic network provides a framework for integrating molecular, physiologic, and social perspectives on human health.

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Crossref · 10.2105/ajph.2012.301183

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  • Both physical and psychological processes contribute to the net effect of a given social environment on gene expression, with each mechanism activating some distinct gene modules as well as a conserved generalized response to adverse life circumstances.

    “Parallel studies on the transcriptional correlates of social disparities in health subsequently suggested that both physical and psychological processes contribute to the net effect of a given social environment, with each mechanism activating some distinct gene modules as well as a conserved generalized response to adverse life circumstances (Figure 1) [3], [5], [12].”

    From Human Social Genomics (2014) · cites this paper as [3]

  • Across diverse forms of adversity, a common conserved transcriptional response to adversity (CTRA) has emerged, including increased expression of proinflammatory genes and decreased expression of genes involved in Type I interferon innate antiviral responses and IgG antibody synthesis.

    “Across these diverse forms of adversity, a common pattern of conserved transcriptional response to adversity (CTRA) has emerged, including increased expression of proinflammatory genes and decreased expression of genes involved in Type I interferon innate antiviral responses and IgG antibody synthesis [3], [5], [28].”

    From Human Social Genomics (2014) · cites this paper as [3]

  • In both leukocytes and tumors, chronic threat and SNS signaling activate tissue-specific transcriptional defense programs that enhance organismic mobility and prime wound healing and antimicrobial responses to tissue injury.

    “In both, chronic threat and SNS signaling activate tissue-specific transcriptional defense programs that enhance organismic mobility and prime wound healing and antimicrobial responses to tissue injury [3], [5], [36].”

    From Human Social Genomics (2014) · cites this paper as [3]

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. [2]Virchow R. Report on the typhus outbreak of Upper Silesia. Social Medicine. 2006;1(1):11–27. [Google Scholar]
  2. [58]Knipe DM, Howley PM, Griffin DE . Fields Virology. 5th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2007. [Google Scholar]

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Authors
Cole, S. W.
Affiliations
Steven W. Cole is with the Division of Hematology-Oncology, School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles.
Venue
American Journal of Public Health
Published
2013-10
Volume
103
Issue
S1
Pages
S84-S92
ISSN
  • 0090-0036 (ISSN-L)
  • 1541-0048
OpenAlex
W1985096225
Cited by
225
References
81
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 20 · 2019: 24 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 1
FWCI
6.23
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • American Journal of Public Health (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Institute on Aging (AG028748, R37AG033590, AG033590, P30AG028748, P30AG017265)
  • National Cancer Institute (R01CA116778, CA-116778)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic Associations and Epidemiology
  • Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
Keywords
social genomics, social environment, genetic polymorphism, immune system, disease susceptibility, adaptive evolution, public health implications
MeSH terms
Gene Expression Regulation, Humans, Public Health, Social Environment, Signal Transduction, Genome, Human, Evolution, Molecular, Genomics, Gene-Environment Interaction

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