title: Preclinical models in the study of sex differences.
abstract: The biology of sex differences deals with the study of the disparities between females and males and the related biological mechanisms. Gender medicine focuses on the impact of gender and sex on human physiology, pathophysiology and clinical features of diseases that are common to women and men. The term gender refers to a complex interrelation and integration of sex-as a biological and functional determinant-and psychological and cultural behaviours (due to ethnical, social or religious background). The attention to the impact of gender differences on the pathophysiology and, therefore, on the clinical management of the most common diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases (CVD), neurodegenerative disorders, immune and autoimmune diseases as well as several tumours, is in fact often neglected. Hence, studies covering different fields of investigation and including sex differences in the pathogenesis, in diagnostic and prognostic criteria as well as in response to therapy appear mandatory. However, prerequisites for this development are preclinical studies, includingin vitroandin vivoapproaches. They represent the first step in the development of a drug or in the comprehension of the pathogenetic mechanisms of diseases, in turn a necessary step for the development of new or more appropriate therapeutic strategies. However, sex differences are still poorly considered and the great majority of preclinical studies do not take into account the relevance of such disparities. In this review, we describe the state of the art of these studies and provide some paradigmatic examples of key fields of investigation, such as oncology, neurology and CVD, where preclinical models should be improved.
authors.affiliation: Section of Experimental Immunotherapy, Department of Hematology, Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Buoncervello
authors.affiliation: Section of Gender Medicine, Department of Therapeutic Research and Medicine Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marconi
authors.affiliation: Section of Molecular Oncology, Department of Hematology, Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carè
authors.affiliation: Section of Clinical, Diagnosis and Therapy of CNS Degenerative Diseases, Department of Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Piscopo
authors.affiliation: Section of Gender Medicine, Department of Therapeutic Research and Medicine Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy malorni@iss.it.|Center of Gender-Specific Medicine, Istituto Speriore di Sanita', 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Malorni
authors.affiliation: Section of Gender Medicine, Department of Therapeutic Research and Medicine Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy.|Center of Gender-Specific Medicine, Istituto Speriore di Sanita', 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Matarrese
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007938:Leukemia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008223:Lymphoma / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000453:epidemiology; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D017678:Sex Distribution; D020521:Stroke / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: animal models; cell models; experimental medicine; gender; gender medicine; sex