RNA expression differences in innate immune response to COVID19 with advancing age.

We investigated differences in RNA expression between aged (65-90 years), middle-aged (41-63 years) and young (21-40 years) in response to COVID 19 to gain insight into the increased susceptibility of the elderly to the virus. To investigate this fresh PBMCs (1 x 106/ml) from the three age groups were stimulated for 24h with 5ug/ml of irradiated COVID19 virus- isolate USA-WA1/2020 obtained from Bei resources (NIAID). Subsequently the cells were collected. Half of the collected cells were stored in DNA/RNA shield for RNA extraction. The rest were used for flow and other studies. Once all samples were collected, they were sent to UCI Genomics Research and Technology Hub, GRTH) for library preparation and sequencing. Overall design: Blood from various age group subjects were collected using IRB-approved protocols at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). Patient and clinical information was provided to study members as de-identified data elements.