title: Effect of sex on Coxiella burnetii infection: protective role of 17beta-estradiol.
abstract: Q fever is a zoonosis caused by Coxiella burnetii and recently has been recognized as a potential agent of bioterrorism. In Q fever, men are symptomatic more often than women, despite equal seroprevalence. We hypothesized that sex hormones play a role in the pathogenesis of C. burnetii infection. When C57/BL6 mice were injected with C. burnetii, bacteria load and granuloma numbers were lower in females than in males. Ovarectomized mice showed increased bacteria load in the spleen and the liver, similar to that found in males. The granuloma number was also increased in ovarectomized mice and reached the levels found in males. Tissue infection and granulomatous response are largely under the control of estrogens: treatment of ovarectomized mice with 17beta-estradiol reduced both bacteria loads and granuloma numbers. These results show that sex hormones control host response to C. burnetii infection and may account for host-dependent clinical presentation of Q fever.
authors.affiliation: Unité des Rickettsies, Université de la Méditerranée, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 6020, Faculté de Médecine, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leone
authors.forename: Amélie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Honstettre
authors.forename: Hubert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lepidi
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Capo
authors.forename: Francis
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bayard
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raoult
authors.forename: Jean-Louis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Mege
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004958:Estradiol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D006099:Granuloma / Q000209:etiology; D008099:Liver / Q000382:microbiology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D010052:Ovariectomy; D011778:Q Fever / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D012737:Sex Factors; D013154:Spleen / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D004958:Estradiol