Institute of Immunology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Front Immunol. 2022 Sep 16;13:986840. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.986840. eCollection 2022.
The immune system protects us from pathogens, such as viruses. Antiviral immune mechanisms aim to limit viral replication, and must maintain immunological homeostasis to avoid excessive inflammation and damage to the host. Sex differences in the manifestation and progression of immune-mediated disease point to sex-specific factors modulating antiviral immunity. The exact mechanisms regulating these immunological differences between females and males are still insufficiently understood. Females are known to display stronger Type I IFN responses and are less susceptible to viral infections compared to males, indicating that Type I IFN responses might contribute to the sexual dimorphisms observed in antiviral responses. Here, we review the impact of sex hormones and X chromosome-encoded genes on differences in Type I IFN responses between females and males; and discuss the consequences of sex differences in Type I IFN responses for the regulation of antiviral immune responses.
免疫系统保护我们免受病原体(如病毒)的侵害。抗病毒免疫机制旨在限制病毒复制,并且必须维持免疫稳态,以避免过度炎症和宿主损伤。免疫介导的疾病在女性和男性中的表现和进展存在性别差异,这表明有性别特异性因素调节抗病毒免疫。调节女性和男性之间这些免疫学差异的确切机制还不够了解。与男性相比,女性表现出更强的 I 型干扰素反应,并且对病毒感染的敏感性较低,这表明 I 型干扰素反应可能有助于观察到的抗病毒反应中的性别二态性。在这里,我们回顾了性激素和 X 染色体编码基因对女性和男性 I 型干扰素反应差异的影响;并讨论了 I 型干扰素反应的性别差异对抗病毒免疫反应调节的影响。