Linking stressful life events and chronic inflammation using suPAR (soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor)

Kyle J. Bourassa; Line J.H. Rasmussen; Andrea Danese; Jesper Eugen-Olsen; Hona Lee Harrington; Renate Houts; Richie Poulton; Sandhya Ramrakha; Karen Sugden; Ben Williams; Terrie E. Moffitt; Avshalom Caspi

doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2021.06.018

Linking stressful life events and chronic inflammation using suPAR (soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor)

Kyle J. Bourassa, Line J.H. Rasmussen, Andrea Danese, Jesper Eugen-Olsen, Hona Lee Harrington, Renate Houts, Richie Poulton, Sandhya Ramrakha, Karen Sugden, Ben Williams, Terrie E. Moffitt, Avshalom Caspi

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

25 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Stressful life events have been linked to declining health, and inflammation has been proposed as a physiological mechanism that might explain this association. Using 828 participants from the Dunedin Longitudinal Study, we tested whether people who experienced more stressful life events during adulthood would show elevated systemic inflammation when followed up in midlife, at age 45. We studied three inflammatory biomarkers: C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and a newer biomarker, soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR), which is thought to index systemic chronic inflammation. Stressful life events were not associated with CRP or IL-6. However, people who experienced more stressful life events from age 38 to 44 had elevated suPAR at age 45, and had significantly greater increases in suPAR from baseline to follow-up across the same period. When examining stressful life events across the lifespan, both adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and adult stressful life events were independently associated with suPAR at age 45. ACEs moderated the association of adult stressful life events and suPAR at age 45—children with more ACEs showed higher suPAR levels after experiencing stressful life events as adults. The results suggest systemic chronic inflammation is one physiological mechanism that could link stressful life events and health, and support the use of suPAR as a useful biomarker for such research.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	79-88
Number of pages	10
Journal	Brain, Behavior, and Immunity
Volume	97
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2021.06.018
Publication status	Published - Oct 2021

Keywords

Adverse childhood experiences
C-reactive protein
Inflammatory biomarkers
Interleukin-6
Stress

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10.1016/j.bbi.2021.06.018

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Bourassa, K. J., Rasmussen, L. J. H., Danese, A., Eugen-Olsen, J., Harrington, H. L., Houts, R., Poulton, R., Ramrakha, S., Sugden, K., Williams, B., Moffitt, T. E., & Caspi, A. (2021). Linking stressful life events and chronic inflammation using suPAR (soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor). Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 97, 79-88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2021.06.018

@article{6c0fa4814dbd4bcb9b4ab73add8e9448,

title = "Linking stressful life events and chronic inflammation using suPAR (soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor)",

abstract = "Stressful life events have been linked to declining health, and inflammation has been proposed as a physiological mechanism that might explain this association. Using 828 participants from the Dunedin Longitudinal Study, we tested whether people who experienced more stressful life events during adulthood would show elevated systemic inflammation when followed up in midlife, at age 45. We studied three inflammatory biomarkers: C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and a newer biomarker, soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR), which is thought to index systemic chronic inflammation. Stressful life events were not associated with CRP or IL-6. However, people who experienced more stressful life events from age 38 to 44 had elevated suPAR at age 45, and had significantly greater increases in suPAR from baseline to follow-up across the same period. When examining stressful life events across the lifespan, both adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and adult stressful life events were independently associated with suPAR at age 45. ACEs moderated the association of adult stressful life events and suPAR at age 45—children with more ACEs showed higher suPAR levels after experiencing stressful life events as adults. The results suggest systemic chronic inflammation is one physiological mechanism that could link stressful life events and health, and support the use of suPAR as a useful biomarker for such research.",

keywords = "Adverse childhood experiences, C-reactive protein, Inflammatory biomarkers, Interleukin-6, Stress",

author = "Bourassa, {Kyle J.} and Rasmussen, {Line J.H.} and Andrea Danese and Jesper Eugen-Olsen and Harrington, {Hona Lee} and Renate Houts and Richie Poulton and Sandhya Ramrakha and Karen Sugden and Ben Williams and Moffitt, {Terrie E.} and Avshalom Caspi",

note = "Funding Information: Note: The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit is supported by the New Zealand Health Research Council and New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). The Dunedin Study received support from the US-National Institute on Aging [grants R01AG032282, P30AG028716, P30AG034424] and the UK Medical Research Council [grant MR/P005918/1]. KJB received support from the National Institute on Aging [grant T32-AG000029]. LJHR received support from the Lundbeck Foundation [grant R288-2018–380]. We thank the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study members, Unit research staff, and Study founder Phil Silva, PhD, University of Otago. The study{\textquoteright}s preregistration materials can be accessed online at https://sites.google.com/site/moffittcaspiprojects/home/projectlist/bourassa_rasmussen_2019 . Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 Elsevier Inc. Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",

year = "2021",

month = oct,

doi = "10.1016/j.bbi.2021.06.018",

language = "English",

volume = "97",

pages = "79--88",

journal = "Brain, Behavior, and Immunity",

issn = "0889-1591",

publisher = "ACADEMIC PRESS INC",

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Bourassa, KJ, Rasmussen, LJH, Danese, A, Eugen-Olsen, J, Harrington, HL, Houts, R, Poulton, R, Ramrakha, S, Sugden, K, Williams, B, Moffitt, TE & Caspi, A 2021, 'Linking stressful life events and chronic inflammation using suPAR (soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor)', Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, vol. 97, pp. 79-88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2021.06.018

TY - JOUR

T1 - Linking stressful life events and chronic inflammation using suPAR (soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor)

AU - Bourassa, Kyle J.

AU - Rasmussen, Line J.H.

AU - Danese, Andrea

AU - Eugen-Olsen, Jesper

AU - Harrington, Hona Lee

AU - Houts, Renate

AU - Poulton, Richie

AU - Ramrakha, Sandhya

AU - Sugden, Karen

AU - Williams, Ben

AU - Moffitt, Terrie E.

AU - Caspi, Avshalom

N1 - Funding Information: Note: The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit is supported by the New Zealand Health Research Council and New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). The Dunedin Study received support from the US-National Institute on Aging [grants R01AG032282, P30AG028716, P30AG034424] and the UK Medical Research Council [grant MR/P005918/1]. KJB received support from the National Institute on Aging [grant T32-AG000029]. LJHR received support from the Lundbeck Foundation [grant R288-2018–380]. We thank the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study members, Unit research staff, and Study founder Phil Silva, PhD, University of Otago. The study’s preregistration materials can be accessed online at https://sites.google.com/site/moffittcaspiprojects/home/projectlist/bourassa_rasmussen_2019 . Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Elsevier Inc. Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2021/10

Y1 - 2021/10

N2 - Stressful life events have been linked to declining health, and inflammation has been proposed as a physiological mechanism that might explain this association. Using 828 participants from the Dunedin Longitudinal Study, we tested whether people who experienced more stressful life events during adulthood would show elevated systemic inflammation when followed up in midlife, at age 45. We studied three inflammatory biomarkers: C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and a newer biomarker, soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR), which is thought to index systemic chronic inflammation. Stressful life events were not associated with CRP or IL-6. However, people who experienced more stressful life events from age 38 to 44 had elevated suPAR at age 45, and had significantly greater increases in suPAR from baseline to follow-up across the same period. When examining stressful life events across the lifespan, both adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and adult stressful life events were independently associated with suPAR at age 45. ACEs moderated the association of adult stressful life events and suPAR at age 45—children with more ACEs showed higher suPAR levels after experiencing stressful life events as adults. The results suggest systemic chronic inflammation is one physiological mechanism that could link stressful life events and health, and support the use of suPAR as a useful biomarker for such research.

AB - Stressful life events have been linked to declining health, and inflammation has been proposed as a physiological mechanism that might explain this association. Using 828 participants from the Dunedin Longitudinal Study, we tested whether people who experienced more stressful life events during adulthood would show elevated systemic inflammation when followed up in midlife, at age 45. We studied three inflammatory biomarkers: C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and a newer biomarker, soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR), which is thought to index systemic chronic inflammation. Stressful life events were not associated with CRP or IL-6. However, people who experienced more stressful life events from age 38 to 44 had elevated suPAR at age 45, and had significantly greater increases in suPAR from baseline to follow-up across the same period. When examining stressful life events across the lifespan, both adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and adult stressful life events were independently associated with suPAR at age 45. ACEs moderated the association of adult stressful life events and suPAR at age 45—children with more ACEs showed higher suPAR levels after experiencing stressful life events as adults. The results suggest systemic chronic inflammation is one physiological mechanism that could link stressful life events and health, and support the use of suPAR as a useful biomarker for such research.

KW - Adverse childhood experiences

KW - C-reactive protein

KW - Inflammatory biomarkers

KW - Interleukin-6

KW - Stress

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U2 - 10.1016/j.bbi.2021.06.018

DO - 10.1016/j.bbi.2021.06.018

M3 - Article

C2 - 34224821

AN - SCOPUS:85112808816

SN - 0889-1591

VL - 97

SP - 79

EP - 88

JO - Brain, Behavior, and Immunity

JF - Brain, Behavior, and Immunity

ER -

Linking stressful life events and chronic inflammation using suPAR (soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor)

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Keywords

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