Multi-omics microsampling for the profiling of lifestyle-associated changes in health.

Current healthcare practices are reactive and use limited physiological and clinical information, often collected months or years apart. Moreover, the discovery and profiling of blood biomarkers in clinical and research settings are constrained by geographical barriers, the cost and inconvenience of in-clinic venepuncture, low sampling frequency and the low depth of molecular measurements. Here we describe a strategy for the frequent capture and analysis of thousands of metabolites, lipids, cytokines and proteins in 10 µl of blood alongside physiological information from wearable sensors. We show the advantages of such frequent and dense multi-omics microsampling in two applications: the assessment of the reactions to a complex mixture of dietary interventions, to discover individualized inflammatory and metabolic responses; and deep individualized profiling, to reveal large-scale molecular fluctuations as well as thousands of molecular relationships associated with intra-day physiological variations (in heart rate, for example) and with the levels of clinical biomarkers (specifically, glucose and cortisol) and of physical activity. Combining wearables and multi-omics microsampling for frequent and scalable omics may facilitate dynamic health profiling and biomarker discovery.

Integration of Waiting Room "Know Your Rights" Education into Medical Care of Immigrant Patients in a Federally Qualified Health Center: A Case Study.

Background: Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) are implementing innovative interventions to address heightened anxieties of immigrant patients amid changing immigration policies. Purpose: To describe the integration of "Know Your Rights" legal rights education in clinic waiting rooms of an FQHC in Los Angeles, California. Methods: This is a qualitative study using key informant interviews, direct field observations, and document review. Results: Collaboration with community health workers and local immigrant-serving community-based and legal organizations was key to intervention design and implementation. Conclusion: Integrating legal education into medical care is one action health centers can take to support immigrant patients, address their complex realities, and optimize patients.

The Role of MicroRNA-155 in Chlamydia muridarum Infected lungs.

Our laboratory has investigated the role of an evolutionarily conserved RNA species called microRNAs (miRs) in regulation of anti-chlamydial protective immunity. MiRs including miR-155 expressed in specific immune effector cells are critical for antigen specific protective immunity and IFN-γ production. Using miR-155 deficient mice, and a murine pulmonary model for chlamydial infection, we report here 1) the effect of host miR-155 on bacterial burden, and 2) identify probable immune genes regulated by miR-155.

Antigen specific immune response in Chlamydia muridarum genital infection is dependent on murine microRNAs-155 and -182.

Anti-chlamydial immunity involves efficient presentation of antigens (Ag) to effector cells resulting in Ag-specific immune responses. There is limited information on inherent underlying mechanisms regulating these events. Previous studies from our laboratory have established that select microRNAs (miRs) function as molecular regulators of immunity in Chlamydia muridarum (Cm) genital infection. In this report, we investigated immune cell type-specific miRs, i.e. miR-155 and -182, and the role in Ag-specific immunity. We observed significant up-regulation of miR-155 in C57BL/6 bone marrow derived dendritic cells (BMDC), and miR-182 in splenic Ag-specific CD4+ T-cells. Using mimics and inhibitors, we determined that miR-155 contributed to BMDC activation following Cm infection. Co-cultures of miR-155 over-expressed in BMDC and miR-182 over-expressed in Ag-specific CD4+ T-cells, or miR-155-/- BMDC with miR-182 inhibitor treated Ag-specific CD4+ T-cells, resulted in IFN-γ production comparable to Ag-specific CD4+ T-cells isolated from Cm infected mice. Additionally, miR-182 was significantly up-regulated in intranasally vaccinated mice protected against Cm infection. In vivo depletion of miR-182 resulted in reduction in Ag-specific IFN-γ and genital pathology in Cm infected mice. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report an interaction of miR-155 (in Cm infected DC) and miR-182 (in CD4+ T-cell) resulting in Ag specific immune responses against genital Cm.