Background: Blood has proven to be a useful resource for molecular analysis in numerous biomedical studies,\nwith peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and whole blood being the major specimen types. However,\ncomparative analyses between these two major compartments (PBMCs and whole blood) are few and far between.\nIn this study, we compared gene expression profiles of PBMCs and whole blood samples obtained from research\nsubjects with or without mild allergic asthma.\nMethods: Whole blood (PAXgene) and PBMC samples were obtained from 5 mild allergic asthmatics and 5 healthy\ncontrols. RNA from both sample types was measured for expression of 730 immune-related genes using the\nNanoString nCounter platform.\nResults: We identified 64 uniquely expressed transcripts in whole blood that reflected a variety of innate, humoral,\nand adaptive immune processes, and 13 uniquely expressed transcripts in PBMCs which were representative of T-cell\nand monocyte-mediated processes. Furthermore, analysis of mild allergic asthmatics versus non-asthmatics revealed\n47 differentially expressed transcripts in whole blood compared to 1 differentially expressed transcript in PBMCs\n(FDR < 0.25). Finally, through simultaneous measurement of PBMC proteins on the nCounter assay, we identified\nCD28 and OX40 (TNFRSF4), both of which are critical co-stimulatory molecules during T-cell activation, as significantly\nupregulated in asthmatics.\nConclusions: Whole blood RNA preserved in PAXgene tubes is excellent for producing gene expression data with\nminimal variability and good sensitivity, suggesting its utility in multi-centre studies requiring measurement of blood\ngene expression.
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