Gender, immunity and the regulation of longevity.
For humans and many other animals, gender is a fact of life. Most individuals are born either male or female and their sex will have an enormous influence on their behaviour, physiology and life history. In this review, I consider the effect gender has on lifespan. In particular, I discuss the role played by behaviour, immunity and oxidative damage in determining sex-dependent differences in longevity. I consider existing explanations for the effect of gender on lifespan and how these explanations fit together. Finally, I expand on the recent suggestion of a key role for the insulin/IGF-1 signalling pathway in regulating sex-dependent differences in lifespan and I highlight a number of areas for future investigation.
May
Robin C
RC
School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK. r.c.may@bham.ac.uk
D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000401:mortality; D017281:Cost of Illness; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007109:Immunity / Q000502:physiology*; D008136:Longevity / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008954:Models, Biological; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000502:physiology; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000473:pathology