Sex-specific epigenetics drive low GPER expression in gastrointestinal smooth muscles in type 2 diabetic mice.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) causes gastroparesis, delayed intestinal transit, and constipation, for unknown reasons. Complications are predominant in women than men (particularly pregnant and postmenopausal women), suggesting a female hormone-mediated mechanism. Low G-protein coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) expression from epigenetic modifications may explain it. We explored sexually differentiated GPER expression and gastrointestinal symptoms related to GPER alterations in wild-type (WT) and T2D mice (db/db). We also created smooth muscle-specific GPER knockout (GPER KO) mice to phenotypically explore the effect of GPER deficiency on gastrointestinal motility. GPER mRNA and protein expression, DNA methylation and histone modifications were measured from stomach and colon samples of db/db and WT mice. Changes in gut motility were also evaluated as daily fecal pellet production patterns. We found that WT female tissues have the highest GPER mRNA and protein expressions. The expression is lowest in all db/db. GPER downregulation is associated with promoter hypermethylation and reduced enrichment of H3K4me3 and H3K27ac marks around the GPER promoter. We also observed sex-specific disparities in fecal pellet production patterns of the GPER KO mice compared to WT. We thus, conclude that T2D impairs gut GPER expression, and epigenetic sex-specific mechanisms matter in the downregulation.

Examining the Context and Content of Organizational Solidarity Statements on Black Americans' Expectations of Identity Safety.

Despite the increasing use of organizational solidarity statements following instances of social injustice, little-to-no research has examined whether these statements signal inclusion for minoritized groups. The present work investigates how different types of solidarity statements affect Black Americans' sense of identity safety and assesses mechanisms underlying their responses. Across three online experiments, Black Americans recruited from Prolific Academic (N = 1,668) saw solidarity statements from a fictional organization that were either written in response to a race-related event at the societal level (e.g., George Floyd's murder; Studies 1-2) or an instance of racism occurring at the organizational level (Study 3). The statements were manipulated on three dimensions: acknowledgment of systemic racism, acknowledgment of organizational racism, and inclusion of concrete actions to address racism (Study 2). Findings showed that statements which acknowledged systemic racism or included actions to address racism were more likely to increase identity safety, whereas statements acknowledging racist organizational practices were relatively less effective at promoting identity safety. Feelings of identity safety emerged via decreased perceptions that the organization was engaging in performative allyship and/or increased perceptions of procedural fairness. Collectively, findings elucidate features of organizational solidarity statements that are more (versus less) effective for promoting identity safety among Black Americans.

Black (patients') lives matter: Exploring the role of identity-safety cues in healthcare settings among Black Americans.

Two online experiments investigated whether hypothetical physicians' use of an identity-safety cue acknowledging systemic injustice (a Black Lives Matter pin) improves Black Americans' evaluations of the physician and feelings of identity-safety. Across studies, findings showed that when a White physician employed the identity-safety cue, Black Americans reported stronger perceptions of physician allyship and increased identity-safety (e.g. trust). As predicted, use of the identity-safety cue produced smaller or non-significant effects when employed by a Black physician. These benefits emerged regardless of physicians' perceived motivation for employing the cue (e.g. whether the physician was personally motivated to employ the cue or his medical practice encouraged use of the cue; Study 2). Furthermore, analyses revealed that exposure to the identity-safety cue promoted a greater sense of identity-safety for Black Americans due to increased perceptions that the physician is an ally for Black individuals. Implications of identity-safety cues for racially discordant medical interactions are discussed.

Change we can believe in: using perceptions of changeability to promote system-change motives over system-justification motives in information search.

People are motivated to defend and rationalize the status quo, a phenomenon known as system justification. We propose the existence of a second, countervailing system-level motivation: system-change motivation, which is concerned with bettering the status quo over time. The opportunity to receive diagnostic information about the status quo pits the two system-level motives against each other. Whereas system justification promotes a preference for positive information about the status quo, system-change motivation promotes a preference for negative information about the status quo. In three experiments, we found that people preferred negative over positive feedback about the status quo when it was presented as being changeable. Our findings are the first to suggest the operation of a system-change motive.