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Annual Review of Immunology Apr 2022Strong epidemiological evidence now exists that sex is an important biologic variable in immunity. Recent studies, for example, have revealed that sex differences are... (Review)
Review
Strong epidemiological evidence now exists that sex is an important biologic variable in immunity. Recent studies, for example, have revealed that sex differences are associated with the severity of symptoms and mortality due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Despite this evidence, much remains to be learned about the mechanisms underlying associations between sex differences and immune-mediated conditions. A growing body of experimental data has made significant inroads into understanding sex-influenced immune responses. As physicians seek to provide more targeted patient care, it is critical to understand how sex-defining factors (e.g., chromosomes, gonadal hormones) alter immune responses in health and disease. In this review, we highlight recent insights into sex differences in autoimmunity; virus infection, specifically severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection; and cancer immunotherapy. A deeper understanding of underlying mechanisms will allow the development of a sex-based approach to disease screening and treatment.
Topics: Animals; COVID-19; Female; Humans; Male; SARS-CoV-2; Sex Characteristics; Sex Factors
PubMed: 34985929
DOI: 10.1146/annurev-immunol-101320-125133 -
Infection and Immunity Oct 2022There is a growing awareness of the importance of sex and gender in medicine and research. Women typically have stronger immune responses to self and foreign antigens... (Review)
Review
There is a growing awareness of the importance of sex and gender in medicine and research. Women typically have stronger immune responses to self and foreign antigens than men, resulting in sex-based differences in autoimmunity and infectious diseases. In both animals and humans, males are generally more susceptible than females to bacterial infections. At the same time, gender differences in health-seeking behavior, quality of health care, and adherence to treatment recommendations have been reported. This review explores our current understanding of differences between males and females in bacterial diseases. We describe how genetic, immunological, hormonal, and anatomical factors interact to influence sex-based differences in pathophysiology, epidemiology, clinical presentation, disease severity, and prognosis, and how gender roles affect the behavior of patients and providers in the health care system.
Topics: Humans; Male; Animals; Female; Sex Factors; Bacterial Infections; Disease Susceptibility; Immunity; Sex Characteristics
PubMed: 36121220
DOI: 10.1128/iai.00283-22 -
ELife Oct 2022A large-scale experiment demonstrates sex differences in cooperation and competition that can explain group size variation in ostriches.
A large-scale experiment demonstrates sex differences in cooperation and competition that can explain group size variation in ostriches.
Topics: Animals; Female; Male; Sex Characteristics; Sexual Behavior; Sexual Behavior, Animal
PubMed: 36205708
DOI: 10.7554/eLife.83254 -
Alcohol Research : Current Reviews 2020
Topics: Alcohol-Related Disorders; Female; Humans; Male; Sex Characteristics
PubMed: 33163317
DOI: 10.35946/arcr.v40.2.14 -
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews Aug 2019Despite the exponential increase in fear research during the last years, few studies have included female subjects in their design. The need to include females arises... (Review)
Review
Despite the exponential increase in fear research during the last years, few studies have included female subjects in their design. The need to include females arises from the knowledge gap of mechanistic processes underlying the behavioral and neural differences observed in fear extinction. Moreover, the exact contribution of sex and hormones in relation to learning and behavior is still largely unknown. Insights from this field could be beneficial as fear-related disorders are twice as prevalent in women compared to men. Here, we review an up-to-date summary of animal and human studies in adulthood that report sex differences in fear extinction from a structural and functional approach. Furthermore, we describe how these factors could contribute to the observed sex differences in fear extinction during normal and pathological conditions.
Topics: Animals; Brain; Extinction, Psychological; Fear; Female; Humans; Male; Sex Characteristics
PubMed: 31129235
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.05.020 -
Journal of the American College of... Apr 2022
Topics: Cardiovascular System; Humans; Sex Characteristics; Sex Factors
PubMed: 35393020
DOI: 10.1016/j.jacc.2022.02.008 -
Nature Reviews. Endocrinology Sep 2022Understanding sex differences in physiology and disease requires the identification of the molecular agents that cause phenotypic sex differences. Two groups of such... (Review)
Review
Understanding sex differences in physiology and disease requires the identification of the molecular agents that cause phenotypic sex differences. Two groups of such agents are genes located on the sex chromosomes, and gonadal hormones. The former have coherent linkage to chromosomes that form differently in the two sexes under the influence of genomic forces that are not related to reproductive function, whereas the latter have a direct or indirect relationship to reproduction. Evidence published in the past 5 years supports the identification of several agents of sexual differentiation encoded by the X chromosome in mice, including Kdm5c, Kdm6a, Ogt and Xist. These X chromosome agents have wide pleiotropic effects, potentially influencing sex differences in many different tissues, a characteristic shared with the gonadal hormones. The identification of X chromosome agents of sexual differentiation will facilitate understanding of complex intersecting gene pathways underlying sex differences in disease.
Topics: Animals; Female; Gonadal Hormones; Humans; Male; Mice; Sex Characteristics; Sex Chromosomes; Sex Differentiation; X Chromosome
PubMed: 35705742
DOI: 10.1038/s41574-022-00697-0 -
Frontiers in Endocrinology 2022
Topics: Bone and Bones; Female; Gonadal Steroid Hormones; Humans; Male; Sex Characteristics; Steroids
PubMed: 36176471
DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2022.991989 -
Biology of Sex Differences Jun 2022The sexual dimorphism represents one of the triggers of the metabolic disparities between the organisms, advising about wild implications in research or diagnostics... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
The sexual dimorphism represents one of the triggers of the metabolic disparities between the organisms, advising about wild implications in research or diagnostics contexts. Despite the mounting recognition of the importance of sex consideration in the biomedical fields, the identification of male- and female-specific metabolic signatures has not been achieved.
MAIN BODY
This review pointed the focus on the metabolic differences related to the sex, evidenced by metabolomics studies performed on healthy populations, with the leading aim of understanding how the sex influences the baseline metabolome. The main shared signatures and the apparent dissimilarities between males and females were extracted and highlighted from the metabolome of the most commonly analyzed biological fluids, such as serum, plasma, and urine. Furthermore, the influence of age and the significant interactions between sex and age have been taken into account.
CONCLUSIONS
The recognition of sex patterns in human metabolomics has been defined in diverse biofluids. The detection of sex- and age-related differences in the metabolome of healthy individuals are helpful for translational applications from the bench to the bedside to set targeted diagnostic and prevention approaches in the context of personalized medicine.
Topics: Female; Humans; Male; Metabolome; Metabolomics; Sex Characteristics
PubMed: 35706042
DOI: 10.1186/s13293-022-00440-4 -
Internal and Emergency Medicine Aug 2022Platelets are multifunctional cells that ensure the integrity of the vascular wall and modulate the immune response at the blood/vascular interface. Their pathological... (Review)
Review
Platelets are multifunctional cells that ensure the integrity of the vascular wall and modulate the immune response at the blood/vascular interface. Their pathological activation results in both thrombosis and inflammation and implicates them in the pathogenesis of vascular disease. Vascular diseases are sexually dimorphic in terms of incidence, clinical presentation, outcome, and efficacy of anti-platelet therapy. We here provide an overview of what is known about the role of platelets in the initiation and progression of vascular diseases and summarize what is known about the sex differences in platelet reactivity and in the thromboinflammatory mechanisms that drive these diseases, with a particular focus on atherosclerosis, obstructive and non-obstructive coronary artery disease, and ischemic stroke. Understanding the sex differences at the platelet-vascular interface is clinically relevant as it will enable: (1) to design new therapeutic strategies that prevent the detrimental effects of the immune-modulatory function of platelets taking sex into account, and (2) to evaluate if sex-specific anti-platelet drug regimens should be used to reduce the risk not only of thrombosis but also of vascular disease progression.
Topics: Atherosclerosis; Blood Platelets; Female; Humans; Inflammation; Male; Sex Characteristics; Thrombosis
PubMed: 35576047
DOI: 10.1007/s11739-022-02994-y