Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6, Canada.
Centre for Cardiovascular Innovation, Division of Cardiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 2A1, Canada.
Int J Mol Sci. 2024 May 29;25(11):5964. doi: 10.3390/ijms25115964.
Males and females exhibit intrinsic differences in the structure and function of the heart, while the prevalence and severity of cardiovascular disease vary in the two sexes. However, the mechanisms of this sex-based dimorphism are yet to be elucidated. Sex chromosomes and sex hormones are the main contributors to sex-based differences in cardiac physiology and pathophysiology. In recent years, the advances in induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiac models and multi-omic approaches have enabled a more comprehensive understanding of the sex-specific differences in the human heart. Here, we provide an overview of the roles of these two factors throughout cardiac development and explore the sex hormone signaling pathways involved. We will also discuss how the employment of stem cell-based cardiac models and single-cell RNA sequencing help us further investigate sex differences in healthy and diseased hearts.
男性和女性的心脏结构和功能存在内在差异，而心血管疾病在两性中的患病率和严重程度也有所不同。然而，这种基于性别的二态性的机制尚不清楚。性染色体和性激素是导致心脏生理学和病理生理学存在性别差异的主要因素。近年来，诱导多能干细胞衍生的心脏模型和多组学方法的进步使人们能够更全面地了解人类心脏的性别特异性差异。在这里，我们概述了这两个因素在心脏发育过程中的作用，并探讨了涉及的性激素信号通路。我们还将讨论基于干细胞的心脏模型和单细胞 RNA 测序的应用如何帮助我们进一步研究健康和患病心脏中的性别差异。
