Assessing the interplay between stress, health, behavior, and inflammatory gene expression response to wildfire smoke exposures using community engaged and remote sampling approaches

项目总结/摘要 随着近年来野火的发生和强度增加，了解人类对森林火灾的影响， 野火烟雾（WFS）暴露已经变得至关重要。可以检查WFS对社区的影响 通过调查WFS暴露的近端有害生物效应，健康和福祉， 以证据为基础的减少接触干预措施在社区范围的影响。在2021年初， WFS季节，我们开始了初步研究，以衡量WFS在生物和社会方面的影响， 华盛顿州梅托谷;太平洋西北部的一个地区，历史上WFS暴露负担很高， 2021年7月初，经历了数周的WFS暴露，“几乎超出图表危险”[2]。 我们分发了一种新的试剂盒homeRNA，用于自我收集和稳定全血RNA， 对美国西部的62名参与者进行了WFS炎症基因反应评估，其中包括18名 在华盛顿州的梅托谷，收集了400多个稳定的血液样本：其中一个子集将是 使用NanoString面板分析约800个炎症基因。与此同时，利用捐赠和 向华盛顿州梅托谷的社区成员分发2,000台HEPA便携式空气净化器（PAC），我们 招募并调查了近1，000名参与者，以评估他们在WFS期间的健康和幸福感 事件，以及HEPA PAC的感知保护效果。这一前所未有的机遇使我们能够 同时探讨WFS暴露的炎症基因反应效应，以及关于 世界粮食首脑会议的接触和缓解战略对健康和福祉的影响。在这里，我们试图评估 WFS在炎症基因反应中的生物学效应，通过鉴定关键的炎症反应基因， 使用我们的homeRNA血液采样试剂盒在暴露前、暴露期间和暴露后采集血液。我们还将评估 感知WFS对健康，福祉和行为变化的影响，包括社会经济，人口统计， 职业和家庭群体，以及HEPA PAC的感知影响，一个基于证据的 减少接触的干预措施越来越多地被使用和推荐给受垃圾焚烧厂影响的社区。在一起， 这些结果将为后续R 01应用的开发提供信息，该应用将结合联合收割机homeRNA和 调查研究，以提高对WFS暴露影响的机制理解，并以证据为基础 减少暴露干预（如HEPA PAC）对炎症基因表达，行为和感知 健康和幸福。我们与梅托谷社区的长期、真诚的合作关系， 多年的合作使这项研究成为可能，并独特地允许实时科学交流， 研究翻译由于野火的频率和规模预计将增加， 关于健康影响及其基本机制以及干预措施的影响的知识， 立即和最重要的。

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT As wildfire occurrence and intensity has increased in recent years, understanding the human impact of wildfire smoke (WFS) exposure has become paramount. The impact of WFS on a community can be examined by investigating the proximal deleterious biological effects of WFS exposure, health and well-being and perceived impact of evidence-based exposure reduction interventions at community scale. At the beginning of the 2021 WFS season, we commenced preliminary research to gauge the biological and social impact of WFS in the Methow Valley, WA; a region in the Pacific Northwest with historically high WFS exposure burden, where by early July 2021, had experienced several weeks of WFS exposure that was “nearly off the chart hazardous”[2]. We distributed a novel kit, homeRNA, for self-collection and stabilization of whole blood RNA that allows for the assessment of inflammatory gene response to WFS to 62 participants across the American West, including 18 in the Methow Valley, WA, collecting over 400 stabilized blood samples to date: a subset of which will be analyzed with a NanoString panel of ~800 inflammatory genes. Concomitantly, leveraging the donation and distribution of 2,000 HEPA portable air cleaners (PACs) to community members across Methow Valley, WA, we enrolled and surveyed nearly 1,000 participants to assess their perceived health and well-being during WFS events, and the perceived protective effect of the HEPA PACs. This unprecedented opportunity allows us to simultaneously probe into the inflammatory gene response effects of WFS exposure, and perceptions regarding the health and well-being impacts of WFS exposure and mitigation strategies. Here we seek to assess the biological effect of WFS in the inflammatory gene response by identifying key inflammatory response genes in blood before, during, and after exposure using our homeRNA blood sampling kits. We also aim to assess perceived WFS impacts on health, well-being, and behavior change across socio-economic, demographic, occupational, and household groups, as well as the perceived impacts of HEPA PACs, an evidence-based exposure reduction intervention increasingly used and recommended in WFS-affected communities. Together, these results will inform the development of a subsequent R01 application that will combine homeRNA and survey research to improve mechanistic understanding of the effects of WFS exposure and evidence-based exposure reduction interventions (like HEPA PACs) on inflammatory gene expression, behavior and perceived health and well-being. Our long-standing, genuine partnership with the Methow Valley community honed through years of collaboration enables this research, and uniquely allows for real-time science communication and research translation. As wildfires are expected to increase in frequency and magnitude, enhancing our scientific knowledge about health impacts and their underlying mechanisms, as well the impact of interventions, is of immediate and paramount importance.