GenderBiology.net

Beyond Expectation -- Philippa “Pippa” Marrack has made some unanticipated discoveries about how the immune system functions in health and disease.

SOURCE:  The Scientist

DATE:  September 1, 2011

EXCERPT: "   ....   Marrack has started looking into why women are more susceptible to many autoimmune diseases than men. “The emphasis of genome-wide association studies has been on polymorphisms: can we look at people who have lupus and find they have a particular polymorphism that distinguishes them from people who don’t have lupus? Well, I thought, the X chromosome is the most common polymorphism in the population. So maybe there’s something intrinsically different about the immune systems of men and women—or male and female mice. We discovered that old female mice all have a collection of B cells not present in young mice or in old males. And when you stimulate these cells, they make autoantibodies against chromatin.” In mice, the proliferation of these B cells depends on a Toll-like receptor protein called Tlr7—which is encoded by a gene on the X chromosome. Marrack and her colleagues have found the same autoantibody-producing B cells in elderly women with rheumatoid arthritis or scleroderma, a finding they’re continuing to pursue.  ....  [Marrack] Discovered a subset of B cells—which sport a Toll-like receptor protein encoded on the X chromosome—that could help explain why women are
more susceptible to certain autoimmune diseases than men."   more

Gender Difference in Autoimmune Disease Explained by Newly Discovered B Cells

SOURCE: Medical News Today

DATE:  August 8, 2011

EXCERPT: "Researchers at National Jewish Health have discovered a type of cell that may contribute to autoimmune disease. The findings also suggest why diseases such as lupus, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis strike women more frequently than men."   more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Rubtsov AV, Rubtsova K, Fischer A, Meehan RT, Gillis JZ, Kappler JW, Marrack P. Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7)-driven accumulation of a novel CD11c+ B-cell population is important for the development of autoimmunity. Blood. 2011 Aug 4;118(5):1305-15.

*Note: if you do not have access to this journal, contact your local librarian for assistance in accessing this article through library resources.

Sex differences journal publishes inflammatory response research

SOURCE:  Society for Women's Health Research

DATE:  July 12, 2011

EXCERPT: Biology of Sex Differences (BSD) recently published riveting research on sex differences of certain brain cells and their response to inflammation  ... "  more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:
style="color: #936386"


Santos-Galindo M, Acaz-Fonseca E, Bellini MJ, Garcia-Segura LM. Sex differences in the inflammatory response of primary astrocytes to lipopolysaccharide. Biol Sex Differ. 2011 Jul 11;2:7.

*Note: if you do not have access to this journal, contact your local librarian for assistance in accessing this article through library resources.

Immunity to the common cold virus: sex and age matter

SOURCE:  Medical News Today

DATE: June 23, 2011

EXCERPT: "Researchers in the UQ School of Medicine at Princess Alexandra Hospital have made an important discovery about how the immune system reacts to rhinoviruses, the viruses that usually cause the common cold.

The research team, led by Professor John Upham, found that young women make a much stronger immune response to rhinoviruses than young men. These differences disappear after menopause, so they are probably regulated by sex hormones."   more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Carroll ML, Yerkovich ST, Pritchard AL, Davies JM, Upham JW. Adaptive immunity to rhinoviruses: sex and age matter.
Respir Res. 2010 Dec 31;11:184.


*Note: if you do not have access to this journal, contact your local librarian for assistance in accessing this article through library resources.

Research Deepens Understanding of Most Common Gastrointestinal Disorder in U.S., Linking It to Bacterial Overgrowth, Food Poisoning

SOURCE: Newswise

DATE:  May 10, 2011

EXCERPT: "Cedars-Sinai researchers have reported two advances in the understanding of Irritable Bowel Syndrome, the most common gastrointestinal disorder in the United States, affecting an estimated 30 million people."   more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Presented at the Digestive Disease Week meeting, 18-22 May 2011, Chicago

Men's and Women's Immune Systems Respond Differently to PTSD

SOURCE: Science Daily

DATE:  April 27, 2011

EXCERPT:  "Men and women had starkly different immune system responses to chronic post-traumatic stress disorder, with men showing no response and women showing a strong response, in two studies by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco."  more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Neylan TC, Sun B, Rempel H, Ross J, Lenoci M, O'Donovan A, Pulliam L. Suppressed monocyte gene expression profile in men versus women with PTSD. Brain Behav Immun. 2011 Mar;25(3):524-31.

*Note: if you do not have access to this journal, contact your local librarian for assistance in accessing this article through library resources.

Research On The Balance Of Bacteria In Women's Bodies Holds Key To Improving Women's Health

SOURCE:  Medical News Today

DATE:  October 18, 2010

EXCERPT: "A team of Canadian researchers are examining the delicate balance of bacteria and viruses in women's bodies in order to optimize women's health through their lives.  ...  [Vaginal Microbiome Project]"   more

Genetics Home Reference: X-linked lymphoproliferative disease

SOURCE:  Genetics Home Reference

DATE:  August 23, 2010

EXCERPT: "X-linked lymphoproliferative disease (XLP) is a disorder of the immune system and blood-forming cells that is found almost exclusively in males. More than half of individuals with this disorder experience an exaggerated immune response to the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). EBV is a very common virus that eventually infects most humans. In ome people it causes infectious mononucleosis (commonly
known as "mono"). Normally, after initial infection, EBV remains in certain immune system cells (lymphocytes) called B cells. However, the virus is generally inactive (latent) because it is controlled by other lymphocytes called T cells that specifically target EBV-infected B cells.

People with XLP may respond to EBV infection by producing abnormally large numbers of T cells, B cells, and other lymphocytes called macrophages."   more

Faculty Tackles Immune System Differences Between the Sexes

SOURCE:  Newswise

DATE:  June 9, 2010

EXCERPT: "In the book Sex Hormones and Immunity to Infection, Sabra Klein, PhD, assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, explores the differences in the immune systems of men and women and how these differences can impact disease. Klein and co-editor, Craig Roberts, PhD, offer a fresh perspective for the treatment and management of infectious diseases through analyses of published research. In addition, they highlight areas where sex differences research is lacking and recommend areas for additional research."   more

RELATED LINK:

Klein, Sabra L & Craig Roberts [eds]. Sex Hormones and Immunity to Infections. Heidelberg ; New York : Springer, ©2010 319 p.  ISBN: 9783642021541.    Publisher info    WorldCat.org

 

Man Flu: Why Men Are The Weaker Sex Where Disease Is Concerned

SOURCE:  Medical News Today

DATE: March 25, 2010

EXCERPT:  "Two UK researchers who developed a mathematical model to investigate why men appear to be the weaker sex where disease is concerned suggest there may be good reasons behind the "man flu" of popular imagination: it could be the result of evolution where ability to pursue adventure and be competitive has given them greater survival advantage than building immunity to disease."   more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Restif O, Amos W. The evolution of sex-specific immune defences. Proc Biol Sci. 2010 Mar 24.

*Note: if you do not have access to this journal, contact your local librarian for assistance in accessing this article through library resources.