Social Experiences and Demographic Factors in the Regulation of Immune Cells

Enrolling by invitation · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Perceived Discrimination, RNA, Inflammatory Response

In brief

Immune-mediated inflammatory diseases are a health burden for approximately seven percent of the population of Western nations. Preliminary data suggest variations in ethnic identity and/or geography influence discrimination experiences and inflammatory response trends. This study investigates how geography, ethnicity, and laboratory manipulation of discrimination experiences affect immune cell function and genomic regulation. Flow cytometry and immune cell stimulation will test monocytes collected from peripheral blood for functional effects. Next-generation transcriptomics and epigenomics will assess genomic and epigenetic mechanisms. The hypothesis is that geography, self-identified race, and ethnicity, interacting with laboratory discrimination conditions during the virtual ballgame Cyberball™, significantly affect immune cell function through genomic and epigenetic mechanisms, with perceived discrimination as a moderating factor on the immune outcomes. The transdisciplinary nature of the proposed study aims to provide valuable insights into differential susceptibility to immune-mediated inflammatory diseases across diverse populations. Uncovering these insights will better inform population-relevant interventions for immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT06519487

Run by

Morgan State University

People needed

480

Starts

2025-02-27

Expected to finish

2028-06-03

Last updated by the study team

2026-05-05

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Non-Hispanic Black, Non-Hispanic White, or Hispanic
• At least 18 years of age
• Lives within 25 miles of, works, or attends Morgan State University, The University of Baltimore or Texas Christian University

You may not qualify if…

• Anyone not identifying as either non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic White, or Hispanic,
• Under 18 years old
• Does not live within 25 miles of, works, or attends Morgan State University, the University of Baltimore or Texas Christian University

Where it is running

• Morgan State University — Baltimore, Maryland, United States
• Texas Christian University — Fort Worth, Texas, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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