Lipsa Anuja, Prabhu Jyothi S
St Johns Research Institute and St Johns Medical College, St Johns National Academy of Health Sciences, Bangalore-560034. Karnataka, India.
Asian Pac J Trop Med. 2021;14(1):5-9. doi: 10.4103/1995-7645.304293. Epub 2021 Jan 5.
The emerging pandemic of COVID-19 caused by the novel pathogenic human coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has caused significant morbidity and mortality across the globe, prompting the scientific world to search for preventive measures to interrupt the disease process. Demographic data indicates gender-based differences in COVID-19 morbidity with better outcome amongst females. Disparity in sex-dependent morbidity and mortality in COVID-19 patients may be attributed to difference in levels of sex steroid hormones -androgens and estrogens. Evidence suggests that apart from the regulation of viral host factors, immunomodulatory and cardioprotective roles exerted by estrogen and progesterone may provide protection to females against COVID-19. Exploring the underlying mechanisms and beneficial effects of these hormones as an adjuvant to existing therapy may be a step towards improving the outcomes. This article aims to review studies demonstrating the role of sex steroidal hormones in modulating SARS-CoV-2 host factors and summarize plausible biological reasons for sex-based differences seen in COVID-19 mortality.
由新型致病性人类冠状病毒SARS-CoV-2引起的COVID-19大流行在全球范围内造成了严重的发病和死亡，促使科学界寻找预防措施以中断疾病进程。人口统计学数据表明，COVID-19的发病率存在性别差异，女性的预后更好。COVID-19患者性别依赖性发病和死亡的差异可能归因于性类固醇激素——雄激素和雌激素水平的差异。有证据表明，除了调节病毒宿主因子外，雌激素和孕酮发挥的免疫调节和心脏保护作用可能为女性提供针对COVID-19的保护。探索这些激素作为现有疗法辅助手段的潜在机制和有益效果可能是改善治疗结果的一个步骤。本文旨在综述证明性甾体激素在调节SARS-CoV-2宿主因子中作用的研究，并总结在COVID-19死亡率中观察到的基于性别的差异的合理生物学原因。
