Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy.
Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Mar 27;24(7):6302. doi: 10.3390/ijms24076302.
Sex hormones are key determinants of gender-related differences and regulate growth and development during puberty. They also exert a broad range modulation of immune cell functions, and a dichotomy exists in the immune response between the sexes. Both clinical and animal models have demonstrated that androgens, estrogens, and progestogens mediate many of the gender-specific differences in immune responses, from the susceptibility to infectious diseases to the prevalence of autoimmune disorders. Androgens and progestogens mainly promote immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory effects, whereas estrogens enhance humoral immunity both in men and in women. This study summarizes the available evidence regarding the physiological effects of sex hormones on human immune cell function and the underlying biological mechanisms, focusing on gender differences triggered by different amounts of androgens between males and females.
性激素是性别相关差异的关键决定因素，它们调节青春期的生长和发育。性激素还广泛调节免疫细胞的功能，并且在性别之间的免疫反应中存在二分法。临床和动物模型都表明，雄激素、雌激素和孕激素介导了许多免疫反应中的性别特异性差异，从对传染病的易感性到自身免疫性疾病的流行。雄激素和孕激素主要促进免疫抑制或免疫调节作用，而雌激素增强男女的体液免疫。本研究总结了关于性激素对人类免疫细胞功能的生理影响及其潜在生物学机制的现有证据，重点关注男性和女性之间雄激素数量差异引发的性别差异。
