Abstract
The vagus nerve mediates parasympathetic nervous system control of peripheral physiological processes including cardiovascular activity and immune response. In mice, tonic vagal activation down-regulates inflammation via nicotinic acetylcholine receptor-mediated inhibition of the pro-inflammatory transcription factor NF-κB in monocyte/macrophages. Because Type I interferon and pro-inflammatory genes are regulated reciprocally at the level of transcription factor activation and cell differentiation, we hypothesized that vagal activity would up-regulate Type I interferon response genes concurrently with inflammatory downregulation in human immune cells. We mapped empirical individual differences in the circulating leukocyte transcriptome and vagal activity indexed by high frequency (0.15-0.40 Hz) heart rate variability (HF-HRV) in 380 participants in the Midlife in the US study. Here we show that promoter-based bioinformatics analyses linked greater HF-HRV to reduced NF-κB activity and increased activity of IRF transcription factors involved in Type I interferon response (independent of β-antagonists, BMI, smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, and demographic factors). Transcript origin analyses implicated myeloid lineage immune cells as targets, representing per-cell alterations in gene transcription as HF-HRV was not associated with differential prevalence of leukocyte subsets. These findings support the concept of parasympathetic inhibition of pro-inflammatory gene expression in humans and up-regulation of Type I interferons that could augment host defense against viral infections.