PRJNA728117: Large-scale genomic study reveals robust activation of the immune system following advanced Inner Engineering meditation retreat

Summary: Purpose: The goal of this study was to characterized the transcriptome profiles of whole-blood cells from 388 specimens obtained from 106 individuals before and after the meditation retreat at four-time points (T1–T4) by RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq). T1 samples were collected 5-8 weeks before the retreat, T2 samples were collected on the day of retreat before starting the meditation method, T3 samples were collected immediately after the retreat, and T4 samples were collected three months after the retreat. Methods: The human blood samples were collected into PAXgene Blood RNA Tubes and stored at -80°C freezer. Before RNA extraction the samples were removed from -80°C and incubated overnight at room temperature. The samples were randomized before RNA extraction to eliminate any time point or age or sex or batch effect. Manufacturer’s protocol of manual purification of total RNA from human whole blood was followed (Qiagen, cat #762164). RNA was reverse transcribed to complementary DNA (Lexogen QuantSeq 3′ FWD), and sequenced on a HiSeq 4000 instrument (Illumina). Results: We applied a comprehensive systems biology approach starting with whole blood gene expression profiling combined with multi-level bioinformatic analyses to characterize the co-expression, transcriptional, and protein-protein interaction networks to identify meditation-specific core network after an advanced eight-day Inner Engineering retreat program. We found the response to oxidative stress, detoxification, and cell cycle regulation pathways were downregulated after meditation. Strikingly, 220 genes directly associated with immune response, including 68 genes related to interferon (IFN) signaling were upregulated, with no significant expression changes in the inflammatory genes. This robust meditation-specific immune response network is significantly dysregulated in multiple sclerosis and severe COVID-19 patients. Conclusions: The present proof-of-principle study demonstrates that the immune system can be voluntarily influenced by non-pharmaceutical interventions like yoga and meditation. This suggests that meditation as a behavioral intervention could have important implications for treating various conditions associated with excessive or persistent inflammation with a dampened immune system profile.

Overall Design: RNA sequencing at four-time points (T1–T4) before and after the meditation retreat. (T1= 97, T2= 105, T3= 104, T4= 82; N= 388).