What is it about?
Men and women differ in their ability to fight infections and risk for autoimmune diseases. Neutrophils are the first responders to infections and other dangers. This paper examined how neutrophil responses differ between men and women and found significant differences, likely driven by sex hormones, in various fundamental aspects that modify how neutrophils function in health and disease.
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Why is it important?
Our findings show that neutrophils behave differently in men and women that may explain, at least in part, why women tend to fight infections better but have a higher risk for developing autoimmune diseases.
Perspectives
This study provides evidence that better understanding biological differences in the immune system of men and women will allow us to better define therapies that can address unique aspects of biology in females and males.
Mariana Kaplan
National Institutes of Health
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Sex differences in neutrophil biology modulate response to type I interferons and immunometabolism, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, June 2020, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2003603117.
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