TY - JOUR
T1 - Sex drives dimorphic immune responses to viral infections
AU - Ghosh, Soumitra
AU - Klein, Robyn S.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by National Institutes of Health Grants R01 NS052632 and U19 AI083019 and a grant from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (all to R.S.K.).
PY - 2017/3/1
Y1 - 2017/3/1
N2 - New attention to sexual dimorphism in normal mammalian physiology and disease has uncovered a previously unappreciated breadth of mechanisms by which females and males differentially exhibit quantitative phenotypes. Thus, in addition to the established modifying effects of hormones, which prenatally and postpubertally pattern cells and tissues in a sexually dimorphic fashion, sex differences are caused by extragonadal and dosage effects of genes encoded on sex chromosomes. Sex differences in immune responses, especially during autoimmunity, have been studied predominantly within the context of sex hormone effects. More recently, immune response genes have been localized to sex chromosomes themselves or found to be regulated by sex chromosome genes. Thus, understanding how sex impacts immunity requires the elucidation of complex interactions among sex hormones, sex chromosomes, and immune response genes. In this Brief Review, we discuss current knowledge and new insights into these intricate relationships in the context of viral infections.
AB - New attention to sexual dimorphism in normal mammalian physiology and disease has uncovered a previously unappreciated breadth of mechanisms by which females and males differentially exhibit quantitative phenotypes. Thus, in addition to the established modifying effects of hormones, which prenatally and postpubertally pattern cells and tissues in a sexually dimorphic fashion, sex differences are caused by extragonadal and dosage effects of genes encoded on sex chromosomes. Sex differences in immune responses, especially during autoimmunity, have been studied predominantly within the context of sex hormone effects. More recently, immune response genes have been localized to sex chromosomes themselves or found to be regulated by sex chromosome genes. Thus, understanding how sex impacts immunity requires the elucidation of complex interactions among sex hormones, sex chromosomes, and immune response genes. In this Brief Review, we discuss current knowledge and new insights into these intricate relationships in the context of viral infections.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85014882617&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.4049/jimmunol.1601166
DO - 10.4049/jimmunol.1601166
M3 - Review article
C2 - 28223406
AN - SCOPUS:85014882617
SN - 0022-1767
VL - 198
SP - 1782
EP - 1790
JO - Journal of Immunology
JF - Journal of Immunology
IS - 5
ER -