Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB), Mainz, Germany.
University Medical Center (UMC), Mainz, Germany.
Open Biol. 2024 Oct;14(10):240177. doi: 10.1098/rsob.240177. Epub 2024 Oct 30.
Sex-specific differences in lifespan and ageing are observed in various species. In humans, women generally live longer but are frailer and suffer from different age-related diseases compared to men. The hallmarks of ageing, such as genomic instability, telomere attrition or loss of proteostasis, exhibit sex-specific patterns. Sex chromosomes and sex hormones, as well as the epigenetic regulation of the inactive X chromosome, have been shown to affect lifespan and age-related diseases. Here we review the current knowledge on the biological basis of sex-biased ageing. While our review is focused on humans, we also discuss examples of model organisms such as the mouse, fruit fly or the killifish. Understanding these molecular differences is crucial as the elderly population is expected to double worldwide by 2050, making sex-specific approaches in the diagnosis, treatment, therapeutic development and prevention of age-related diseases a pressing need.
在不同物种中，均观察到寿命和衰老的性别特异性差异。在人类中，女性通常寿命更长，但与男性相比，她们的身体更脆弱，易患不同的与年龄相关的疾病。衰老的标志，如基因组不稳定性、端粒磨损或蛋白质稳态丧失，表现出性别特异性模式。性染色体和性激素，以及失活 X 染色体的表观遗传调控，已被证明会影响寿命和与年龄相关的疾病。在这里，我们回顾了关于性别偏向衰老的生物学基础的现有知识。虽然我们的综述重点是人类，但我们也讨论了模型生物的例子，如老鼠、果蝇或食蚊鱼。了解这些分子差异至关重要，因为到 2050 年，全球老年人口预计将翻一番，因此针对与年龄相关的疾病的诊断、治疗、治疗开发和预防，采用性别特异性方法迫在眉睫。
