Identification of molecular signatures of cystic fibrosis disease status using plasma-based functional genomics

The complex milieu of inflammatory mediators associated with many diseases is often too dilute to directly measure in the periphery, necessitating development of more sensitive measurements suitable for mechanistic studies, earlier diagnosis, guiding selection of therapy, and monitoring interventions. Previously, we determined that plasma of recent-onset (RO) Type 1 diabetes (T1D) patients induce a proinflammatory transcriptional signature in fresh peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) relative to that of unrelated healthy controls (HC). Here, using an optimized cryopreserved PBMC-based protocol, we compared the signature found between unrelated healthy controls and non-diabetic cystic fibrosis patients possessing Pseudomonas aeruginosa pulmonary tract infection. UPN727 cells were stimulated with unrelated healthy control (uHC) plasma (n=31), or plasma from patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) possessing Psuedomonas aeruginosa pulmonary tract infection (n=103). Gene expression analysis was perfromed in order to evaluate the transcriptional signature associated with cystic fibrosis.