Immunological Differences in Women Compared with Men: Overview and Contributing Factors

Abstract

Ghazeeri G, Abdullah L, Abbas O. Immunological differences in women compared with men: overview and contributing factors. Am J Reprod Immunol 2011; 66: 163-169 Gender differences in the innate and adaptive immune systems have long been observed in humans. These immunological differences in immune function manifest as diverse susceptibilities to different types of infections and varied risks of developing autoimmune disorders and maybe even, cancers. Several factors contribute to the development of this immunological dimorphism including sex hormones, genetic makeup, environmental causes, and more recently microchimerism. Although the aim behind this sexual immune dimorphism is still unclear, it is tempting to believe that the higher risk of developing autoimmune diseases in women somehow serves the higher evolutionary goal of reproduction and creating new life.

Reduced regulatory T cells are associated with higher levels of Th1/TH17 cytokines and activated MAPK in type 1 bipolar disorder

“…Considering that our subjects had $10 years of illness duration, it was rather difficult to recruit euthymic type 1 BD patients. In order to avoid confounding effects of the genderrelated immunological changes (Ghazeeri et al, 2011), only females were recruited in this study. Future studies should thus confirm our results with male BD patients.…”

“…Only women took part in this study to avoid immunological differences associated with sexual dimorphism (Ghazeeri et al, 2011). Age-and sex-matched healthy controls also took part in this study.…”

Sex affects immunity

“…Evidence suggests that the activation of the CD4þ lymphocyte compartment differs between males and females. Females show a preponderance toward Th2 immune responses and B cell activation, whereas, males predominantly generate Th1 CD4þ and CD8þ lymphocytes [8]. In a mouse model of Sjogren's syndrome, the cellular CD4þ T lymphocyte infiltrate in females was predominantly Th17 (producing IL-17A) and Th2 (producing IL-4, IL-5 and IL-9), in contrast to males, which had a predominant Th1 (producing IFN-g) infiltrate [57].…”

“…These observations suggest that gonadal hormones may have a role in this sex differential. The fundamental differences in the immune systems of males and females are attributed not only to differences in sex hormones, but are related to X chromosome gene contributions and the effects of environmental factors [7,8]. A comprehensive understanding of the role that sex plays in the immune response is required for therapeutic intervention strategies against infections and the development of appropriate and effective therapies for autoimmune diseases for both males and females.…”

Polymorphisms within the human leucocyte antigen-E gene and their associations with susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis as well as clinical outcome of anti-tumour necrosis factor therapy

“…In comparison to men, women are two to three times more prone to develop RA, exhibit a more aggressive disease course and display worse responses to treatments with biological agents [22]. The higher prevalence of RA among women may reflect gender differences in the innate and adaptive immune systems [23,24]. The exact mechanisms underlying this sexual dimorphism in the immune response remain obscure; however, sex hormones, environmental factors and microchimerism have been implicated in this phenomenon [25,26].…”