SeXX matters in immunity.
The significant contributions of sex to an immune response, specifically in the context of the sex bias observed in susceptibility to infectious and autoimmune diseases and their pathogenesis, have until recently, largely been ignored and understudied. This review highlights recent findings related to sex-specific factors that provide new insights into how sex determines the transcriptome, the microbiome, and the consequent immune cell functional profile to define an immune response. Unquestionably, accumulating data confirm that sex matters and must be a consideration when decisions around therapeutic intervention strategies are developed.
St. Giles Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases, Rockefeller Branch, The Rockefeller University, New York NY, 10065, USA.
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Markle
Toronto General Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, Canada; Department of Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. Electronic address: en.fish@utoronto.ca.
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Fish
D000818:Animals; D015551:Autoimmunity / Q000276:immunology*; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000276:immunology*; D004198:Disease Susceptibility / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D014611:Vaccination
autoimmunity; immune response; infection; sex; vaccination